1. CA Industrial Storm Water
Program Brainslam
An intensive overview of the program,
its key principles, and likely future –
slammed into a 20 minute format.
Greg Gearheart, PE
CA State Water Board
916.341.5892

2. The view ahead….

3. Grand Slam Game Plan
• Two main concepts to take home from
this:
1. Effluent Limitations are not the same as
Receiving Water Limitations (dually
enforceable under current scheme)
2. Numerics come in 4 basic varieties, but we
have the technology to make new hybrids or
varieties.

4. SW Permits
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permit
• Effluent Limitations
– Provisions
– Prohibitions
– SWPPP (by extension)
– Technology-based standards, mostly
• Receiving Water Limitations
– Water Quality Standards (WQS)

5. Technology Based Standards
• Industrial and construction: BAT/BCT
• Permits may require best management
practices (BMPs)
• In establishing requirements, permit
writers use best professional judgment
(BPJ)
• NRDC v USEPA: states establish BMP
requirements

6. Water Quality Standards
• Water Quality Standards are made up of:
– Beneficial Uses (designated to specific waterbodies),
plus
– water quality criteria; and
– an antidegradation policy.
• Beneficial Uses (BUs) are:
• often not directly related to key water resource uses
valued by communities (it might take a suite of them to
protect wetlands and streams, for example)
• Narrative or Numeric

8. Humboldt Bay
BUs:
• REC1
• REC2
• NAV
• WILD
• EST
• MAR
• MIGR
• SPWM
• SHELL
SW Effluent Limitations
Receiving Water Limitations
Narrative: reduce pollutants using
BAT/BCT - technology-based standard
Do not cause or contribute to an
Exceedance of a water quality
standard (WQS).
Numeric: could be technology-
(TBEL) or water quality-based (WQBEL)
Example
Storm Water (SW) Discharges
from an industrial facility to
Humboldt Bay

9. Humboldt Bay
BUs:
• REC1
• REC2
• NAV
• WILD
• EST
• MAR
• MIGR
• SPWM
• SHELL
Example
Storm Water (SW) Discharges
from an industrial facility to
Humboldt Bay
SW Effluent Limitations
Technology-based BMPs:
• Covering waste piles
• Sweeping/cleaning of open
areas
• Treatment (basins) of solids
• Etc.
Receiving Water Limitations
Numbers – TSS < 100 mg/L
Narrative – “no toxics in toxic
amounts”

10. Humboldt Bay
BUs:
• REC1
• REC2
• NAV
• WILD
• EST
• MAR
• MIGR
• SPWM
• SHELL
Example
Storm Water (SW) Discharges
from an industrial facility to
Humboldt Bay
SW Effluent Limitations
Technology-based BMPs:
• Covering waste piles
• Sweeping/cleaning of open
areas
• Treatment (basins) of solids
• Etc.
Receiving Water Limitations
Numbers – TSS < 100 mg/L
Narrative – “no toxics in toxic
amounts”
(1) Enforce ELs
(2) Enforce RWLs

11. Compliance Scenarios
• ELs are violated and RWLs are fine
• ELs are violated and RWLs are violated
• ELs are fine and RWLs are fine
• ELs are fine and RWLs are violated
• TBALs and WQBALs  indicators for ELs and
RWLs
• TBELs and WQBELs  direct compliance
measures for ELs (in the case of WQBELs these
also should ensure RWL compliance)

13. The Challenge of Numerics
• Effluent limitations can either be
“narrative” or “numeric”
• Numeric effluent limitations can either be
“technology-based” or “water quality-
based”
• Benchmark values are being used my
many as training wheels for NELs
– And just to be different, CA calls these
“Numeric Action Levels” - NALs

14. NELs and NALs
Water Quality Technology
Numeric
Effluent
Limitations
WQBELs TBELs
Numeric
Action Levels WQBALs TBALs

15. WQBELs
• Derived from water quality standards
• Apply to the effluent at the point of
discharge
• Could include mixing zone or dilution
credit
• If NELs are met, water quality standards
(WQS) would be met (in theory)
• Site specific!

16. TBELs
• Using the BAT/BCT approach, these are
derived from performance data on specific
BMPs (probably treatment control, but
could be others, too)
• Apply to the effluent at the point of
discharge
• Probably somewhat sector specific, but
otherwise generally applicable

17. Action Levels
• aka Benchmark values in the MSGP
• These are typically a hybrid of technology-
and water quality-based values
• MSGP values are derived from water
quality criteria, however not site specific
(nor are they CA specific)
• If exceeded these generally do not
constitute a violation of the permit

18. CA Expert Panel on Numerics
• Recommended differentiating between TMDL
based NELs and the rest of the pack
• Recommended a specific approach to setting
TBALs and TBELs
• Technology-based numbers should be based on
effluent characterization data – mean plus one
or two standard deviations
• Panel went on to say our data was not
acceptable

19. More on TBALs, TBELs, WQBALs
and WQBELs
• Effluent data is only helpful in setting
technology-based numbers if there is
more known about the relationship to
BAT/BCT implementation
• Some individual NPDES permits for
industrial storm water have WQBELs –
Boeing SSFL, refineries, etc.

20. Charts and graphs.

21. Industrial Facilities Inspected
FY10/11

22. Industrial Facilities Inspected
FY10/11

23. Industrial Facilities Submitting
Annual Reports FY10/11

24. Industrial Facilities Submitting
Annual Reports FY10/11

25. Next steps.

26. IGP - Next Steps
• Release new IGP draft (early November)
• Public, staff workshops (outreach) in
November and December
• Public Hearing in December
• Comment period ends
• Staff digests and puts out FINAL draft for
adoption
• Adoption in Spring 2012

27. The Scoop
• Staff will recommend a continuation of narrative
ELs this permit cycle
• USEPA Benchmark values  quasi-WQBALs
(and TBALs) in draft
• Progressive (iterative) approach, akin to CASQA
recommendations from 2006
• Improve data quality and breadth of information
gathered, per Panel  QiSP role and other
features
• Aiming for possible TBELs in next permit

28. Greg Gearheart | 916-341-5892 | ggearheart@waterboards.ca.gov