SU0014502 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report Gill Medical Center Project The federal policy directs states to adopt a statewide policy that includes the following primary provisions (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 131.12): 1. Existing instream water uses and the level of water quality necessary to protect the existing uses shall be maintained and protected. 2. Where the quality of waters exceeds levels necessary to support propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water, that quality shall be maintained and protected unless the state finds, after full satisfaction of the intergovernmental coordination and public participation provisions of the state's continuing planning process, that allowing lower water quality is necessary to accommodate important economic or social development in the area in which the waters are located. 3. Where high quality waters constitute an outstanding National resource, such as waters of national and state parks and wildlife refuges and waters of exceptional recreational or ecological significance, that water quality shall be maintained and protected. 4.12.3.7 Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 prohibits obstructions, alternations, and modifications to any navigable waters of the United States. 4.12.4 State 4.12.4.1 Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act is California's statutory authority for the protection of water quality. Under the act, California must adopt water quality policies, plans, and objectives (synonymous with the term "criteria" used by USEPA) that ensure beneficial uses of state waters are reasonably protected.The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act requires the nine RWQCBs to adopt water quality control plans that define the beneficial uses of the water bodies throughout the region to be protected, the water quality objectives necessary for reasonable protection of the beneficial uses, and a program of implementation for achieving the water quality objectives. In addition, the act authorizes the SWRCB and RWQCBs to issue and enforce waste discharge requirements for discharges of waste to surface waters and land. The San Joaquin River is within the jurisdiction of the Central Valley RWQCB. 4.12.4.2 Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins The Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins (Basin Plan) (RWQCB 2016) defines the beneficial uses, water quality objectives, implementation programs, and surveillance and monitoring programs for waters of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River basins. The Basin Plan contains specific numeric water quality objectives for bacteria, dissolved oxygen, pH, pesticides, electrical conductivity, temperature, turbidity, and trace elements, as well as numerous Hydrology and Water Quality 4.12-17 October 2021