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.s ITEM: 13 SUBJECT: Update on Development of the San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen Total Daily Maximum Load(TMDL)—Status Report DISCUSSION: The San Joaquin River experiences regular violations of the Basin Plan water quality objective for dissolved oxygen in the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC)between Channel Point and Disappointment Slough. Low dissolved oxygen concentrations may act as a barrier to upstream spawning migration of Chinook salmon and may stress and kill other resident aquatic organisms. In January 1998, the Board approved a 303(d) list identifying this dissolved oxygen impairment as a high priority. The Board has committed to submitting a TMDL to U.S. EPA by June 2003. The implementation plan for the TMDL will then need to be adopted as a Basin Plan Amendment. In April 1999, the Board approved the Regional Bay Protection &Toxic Cleanup Plan (BPTCP), which outlined the formation of a Steering Committee consisting of representatives from the various stakeholder groups. The BPTCP gives the Steering Committee the opportunity to propose its own oxygen demand reduction allocations and a TMDL implementation plan to Board staff by December 2002. Board staff will consider all Steering Committee input for development of the TMDL and the implementation plan. The Board requested regular updates on the progress of the Steering Committee TMDL effort and has received four such updates since January 2000. The last update was given at the January 2002 Board meeting. At this meeting the Board requested another update from the Steering Committee in about six months on its progress towards proposing an implementation plan and load allocations for consideration by Regional Board staff by December 2002. RECOMMENDATION: This is an informational item Mgmt. Review Legal Review rL.M