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Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report Gill Medical Center Project California, was present at 0.71 milligrams per liter(mg/L, equivalent to parts per million, or ppm) as Nitrogen, well below the drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L. Several metals were detected in the groundwater sample, including aluminum, arsenic, barium, chromium, copper, mercury, uranium, and vanadium. However, all of the detected metals were present at concentrations well below their respective MCLS. Naturally-occurring radionuclide activity levels were also well below their respective MCLS. The reported levels for specific conductivity and general minerals detected in the groundwater sample were relatively low for groundwater within many parts of the San Joaquin Valley. 4.12.2 Regulatory Seffing 4.12.3 Federal 4.12.3.1 Clean Water Act The federal CWA was enacted with the primary purpose of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. The CWA also directs states to establish water quality standards for all "Waters of the United States" and to review and update such standards on a triennial basis. Section 319 mandates specific actions for the control of pollution from nonpoint sources. The USEPA has delegated responsibility for implementation of portions of the CWA, including water quality control planning and control programs, such as the NPDES Program, to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the RWQCB. Section 3O3(c)(2)(b) of the CWA requires states to adopt water quality standards for all surface waters of the United States based on the water body's designated beneficial use. Where multiple uses exist, water quality standards must protect the most sensitive use. Water quality standards are typically numeric, although narrative criteria based upon biomonitoring methods may be employed where numerical standards cannot be established or where they are needed to supplement numeric standards.Water quality standards applicable to the proposed project are listed in the Basin Plan (RWQCB 2016). 4.12.3.2 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System The goal of the NPDES diffuse source regulations is to improve the quality of stormwater discharged to receiving waters to the "maximum extent practicable"through the use of best management practices (BMPs).The NPDES permit system was established in the CWA to regulate point source discharges (a municipal or industrial discharge at a specific location or pipe) and certain types of diffuse source dischargers. As defined in the federal regulations, nonpoint sources are generally exempt from federal NPDES permit program requirements. Nonpoint pollution sources are diffuse and originate over a wide area rather than from a definable point. Nonpoint pollution often enters receiving water in the form of surface runoff and is not conveyed by way of pipelines or discrete conveyances. Urban stormwater runoff and construction site runoff, however, are diffuse-sources regulated under the NPDES permit program because they discharge to receiving waters at discrete locations in a confined conveyance system. Sections 401 and 402 of the CWA contain general requirements regarding NPDES permits. Hydrology and Water Quality 4.12-15 October 2021