Compliance with SEP Criteria. This study complies with the following SEP criteria: It is a monitoring program and/or study of surface water quality or quantity and/or the beneficial uses of the water. Its nexus to violations is that is located within the same Water Board region in which violations occurred and downstream of the receiving waterbody for the discharge violations. This study goes above and beyond applicable obligations dischargers because of the following: This project is a study and associated products above and beyond what is required in permits or orders issued by the Regional Water Board or what can be accomplished with Dischargers’ required monetary contributions to the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. The studies comply with the following SEP criteria: ● Development and implementation of a monitoring program and/or study of surface water quality or quantity and/or the beneficial uses of the water. ● Nexus to violation(s) located within the same Water Board region in which the violation(s) occurred. The studies go above and beyond applicable obligations of dischargers because of the following: ● The studies and associated products are above and beyond what is required in permits or orders issued by the Regional Water Board or what can be accomplished with dischargers’ required monetary contributions to the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. This section must address how the project meets all the following SEP criteria.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. A SEP must directly benefit or study groundwater or surface water quality or quantity and the beneficial uses of the water of the State.1 This study complies with the SEP criteria and supports development and implementation of a monitoring program, including sediment transport within and between subembayments of San Francisco Bay and its beneficial uses.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. A SEP must directly benefit or study groundwater, surface water, or drinking water quality or quantity and the beneficial uses of waters of the State, and it must fit within one or more of designated categories. This SEP directly benefits surface water quality and the beneficial uses of waters of the State, and it fits into the assessment and audit SEP category.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. A SEP must directly benefit or study groundwater, surface water, or drinking water quality or quantity and the beneficial uses of waters of the State, and must fit within one or more of designated categories. Many aspects of this SEP directly benefit surface water quality and the beneficial uses of waters of the State, and fit into several SEP categories. The SEP is primarily a pollution reduction SEP because trash cleanups result in a decrease in the amount of waste and pollutants discharged to waters of the State. It is also an environmental restoration and protection SEP because it benefits surface water quality and enhances the condition of the ecosystem and immediate geographic area adversely affected by the violations. It is also an assessment and audit SEP because classes identify and report trash hotspots and adopt of a local watershed habitat for monitoring and cleanup.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. This study complies with the following SEP criteria: • It is a monitoring program and/or direct study of surface water quality or quantity and/or the beneficial uses of the water. • Its nexus to the violations is that it will monitor and calculate sediment loading to northern San Francisco Bay from the North Bay watersheds, including the location in which the violations occurred. This study goes above and beyond the discharger's applicable obligations because of the following: • This project is a study and the associated product goes above and beyond what the Regional Water Board requires through permits or other orders, or what can be accomplished with dischargers' required monetary contributions to the RMP This study will be funded by the direct payment of the full study budget to SFEI, in accordance with the Stipulated Order that approves this study as a SEP. SFEI has the institutional stability and capacity to complete this study and provide the identified work product, and will report directly to the Regional Water Board.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. 1. Benefit to Water Quality and Beneficial Uses The City’s Extensive Private Sewer Lateral Grant Program will reduce inflow and infiltration (I/I) into the City’s collection system from defective private sewer laterals. A reduction in I/I will benefit surface water quality and beneficial uses by decreasing the number and volume of spills of untreated or partially treated sewage from the City’s collection system to surface waters during wet weather. In addition, the program will reduce the number and volume of spills to surface waters from private laterals.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. A SEP must be environmentally beneficial, which means a SEP must improve, protect, or reduce risks to public health or the environment. While in some cases a SEP may provide the settling party with an incidental benefit, there must be no doubt that the project primarily benefits public health and/or the environment. This project meets this SEP criterion by addressing VOC impact to soil vapor in an area where the depth to groundwater is reported at 90 feet below ground surface (ft bgs) and where the vertical extent of VOCs impacting the subsurface has not been determined. Hydrogeologically, the site lies within the La Brea Plain of the Central Groundwater Basin. Water bearing sediments in the Central Basin extend to a maximum depth of 2,200 feet. In an area roughly 800 feet northwest of the site, groundwater was reported at between approximately 70 and 85 feet bgs when last measured in 2010. The extent of secondary source PCE and its by-products is also currently unknown. This SEP is projected to reduce the indoor air concentrations of pollutants, thus reducing the health risks to the residents at the site.
Compliance with SEP Criteria. The Sonoma Creek Watershed Sediment TMDL and Habitat Enhancement Plan states “The primary goals of the Sonoma Creek Watershed Sediment TMDL and Habitat Enhancement Plan are to: a) attain water quality objectives for sediment, settleable material, and population and community ecology; and b) support a broader suite of actions, also needed to conserve steelhead and other native fish and wildlife populations. Based on evidence of excessive erosion, and concerns regarding decline of native fishes, Sonoma Creek has been officially designated as impaired by sediment since 1996. Staff of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) propose to address this impairment, and the larger goal of conservation of steelhead and other native fish populations, by amending the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Basin (Basin Plan) to incorporate a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sediment, and a Habitat Enhancement Plan. A key aspect of the Basin Plan amendment is its implementation plan, which in this case specifies both the required actions to achieve water quality objectives for sediment, and recommended actions to enhance other habitat attributes including baseflow, fish passage, and habitat complexity”. The goals of the Sonoma Creek Watershed Sediment TMDL and Habitat Enhancement Plan are to: • Conserve the steelhead trout population • Restore water quality to meet water quality standards, including attaining beneficial uses • Enhance the overall health of the native fish community • Protect and enhance habitat for native aquatic species • Enhance the aesthetic and recreational values of the river and its tributaries The Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) being proposed will address issues identified in the TMDL such as: creation of upland and aquatic wildlife habitat improvement of the native fisheries conditions, and preservation of special-status -species, such as Western pond turtle and possibly steelhead. In addition, planting of native species to stabilize the channel and banks will reduce erosion and sediment inputs to the stream channel. The restoration work will be coordinated with and follow Water Agency planned sediment removal implementation in the Fryer Creek Flood control Channels. Restoration planting is also intended to filter and slow adjacent surface storm water runoff to prevent sediment build up and decrease the frequency of intrusive sediment removal projects. Combined, the benefits include impro...
