San Francisco Bay Delta Watershed
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Water Issues
With California's water resources facing ever increasing demands, state and federal agencies are bringing a new level of attention to the state of the West's largest estuary. As part of this effort, EPA is reviewing its water quality programs to gauge their success and identify actions needed.
EPA's review, which was triggered by the plummeting numbers of salmon and other fish species over the last 10 years, has shown that state and federal programs under the Clean Water Act have not stemmed the decline of the estuary's aquatic resources. One species, the Delta smelt, had declined to such low levels in 2010 that fishery scientists feared it could become extinct at any time.
EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on February 10, 2011 asking the public to consider broadly whether EPA should be taking new or different actions under its programs to address recent significant declines in multiple aquatic species in the Bay Delta Estuary.
Seven stressors affecting fish were considered in EPA's review: ammonia, selenium, pesticides, emerging contaminants, declining estuarine habitat, fragmented migratory corridors for fish, and wetlands loss.
EPA's review highlighted the following priority activities to work on in partnership with California water quality agencies:
- update the state's water quality standards that protect the Bay-Delta Estuary habitat, consistent with recent science
- advance regional water quality monitoring in the Central Valley
- improve implementation of watershed plans, including Total Maximum Daily Loads
- provide relevant water quality data for EPA's pesticide registration reviews
- develop methylmercury controls in wetlands
The ANPR public comment period closed on April 25, 2011. EPA is currently completing its review of the comments received.
- ANPR Public Comments
- Press Release
- Federal Register Text
- Unabridged ANPR (PDF) (91pp, 1.29M)
- Fact Sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 274K)
- Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (4 pp, 303K)
- EPA presentation to Delta Stewardship Council 2/24/11 (PDF) (11 pp, 1.6M)
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Webcast of EPA presentation to Delta Stewardship Council
