The following is the Central California Regional Waste Water Control Board’s resolution condemning racism by proclaiming the racism of Racial Equity. This is from the Thursday December 8th agenda. Proceedings to begin at 1:00 pm. Click here for a link.
CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD CENTRAL VALLEY REGION
RESOLUTION R5-_________
AFFIRMING THE CENTRAL VALLEY WATER BOARD’S COMMITMENT TO STATE
WATER BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 2021-0050 (RESOLUTION CONDEMNING
RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, BIGOTRY AND RACIAL INJUSTICE AND
STRENGTHENING COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION,
ACCESS, AND ANTI-RACISM), AND ESTABLISHING WATER QUALITY PROGRAM
GOALS IN SUPPORT OF RACIAL EQUITY
WHEREAS, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region
(Central Valley Water Board or Board) finds that:
Affirmation of the Central Valley Water Board’s History and of State Water Board
Resolution No. 2021-0050
- The Central Valley Water Board’s jurisdiction includes the most productive
agricultural lands in the world, several of the fastest growing communities in the
Western United States, and growing agricultural, manufacturing, pharmaceutical,
and information technology industries. However, the bounty of the Central Valley has
never been equitably shared by the communities that have contributed to the valley’s
wealth and prosperity.
- The Central Valley of California has a legacy stained by a history of racially
exclusive policies, xenophobia, bigotry, and racial injustice. To this day, race
predicts the availability of safe drinking water and the collection, treatment, and
reuse of wastewater. To progress towards a future where race can no longer be
used to predict life outcomes, the Central Valley Water Board must acknowledge
that the Board itself, and the authority that it wields, was established over a
structural framework that perpetuated inequities based on race.
- Since 2012, California law (Wat. Code, § 106.3) has declared that every person in
the state has a right to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water. Ensuring that
every person in California has access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water
requires first acknowledging that many of California’s most critical current water
quality problems find their roots in policies that intentionally disadvantage
communities of color, including a historic lack of investment in drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure within these communities.
- The Water Boards are a member of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity
(GARE) and have adopted its definition of racial equity: racial equity occurs when
race can no longer be used to predict life outcomes, and outcomes for all groups are
improved. Because race intersects with many, if not all, other marginalized identities,
prioritizing and addressing racial inequities improves outcomes for all marginalized
communities.
- Public Resources Code section 30107.3 defines environmental justice as, “the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes, and
national origins, with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” Similarly, the United
States Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as, “the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be
achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental
and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a
healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.” As used within this document,
environmental justice communities are those communities that have historically
received disparate treatment in the development, implementation, and enforcement
of environmental laws, regulations, and policies based on the race, culture, income,
or national origin of the people living within those communities.
- In fall 2020, the State Water Board established a Racial Equity Team, which was
directed to establish a foundation of internal and external engagement that values
listening and collaboration to drive action, draft a resolution on racial equity to be
considered for adoption by the State Water Board, and to develop a subsequent
racial equity action plan to implement the resolution and drive the Water Boards’
efforts to institutionalize racial equity. Central Valley Water Board staff have served
as members of the Racial Equity Working Group since it was established and
continue to be active participants.
- On November 16, 2021, the State Water Board adopted Resolution No. 2021-0050,
Condemning Racism, Xenophobia, Bigotry, and Racial Injustice and Strengthening
Commitment to Racial Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Access, and Anti-Racism (State
Water Board Resolution). The State Water Board Resolution acknowledged the role
racism has played in creating inequities in affordability and access to clean and safe
water, committed to advancing racial equity within the Water Boards and the
communities they serve, directed its staff to develop a racial equity action plan, and
encouraged the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards to adopt similar
resolutions.
- The Central Valley Water Board, in adopting this Resolution, affirms and endorses
the State Water Board Resolution in its entirety. The Central Valley Water Board
stands with the State Water Board and other Regional Boards and state agencies in
accepting responsibility for confronting structural and institutional racism and
advancing racial equity. This is an obligation shared by all staff, managers, the
Board’s Executive Team, and the Board members themselves.
Description of Portfolio Management Process and
Rationale for Establishing Racial Equity Goals
- Following the State Water Board’s adoption of the State Racial Equity Resolution,
the Central Valley Water Board’s Executive Officer convened a Racial Equity
Resolution Team composed of staff and managers drawn from throughout the
Region who expressed an interest in participating in this effort. The regional
resolution was jointly developed by the Racial Equity Resolution Team, executive
management, and the Board’s Program Managers.
10.The Central Valley Water Board has established a Portfolio Management
Framework to create a transparent process where each of the Board’s 19 water
quality programs establish program priorities, allocate limited resources, and ensure
accountability for core work and special projects. The Portfolio Management
Framework specifies roles for the Board’s Executive Management Group, Program
Managers, Senior and Supervisory Managers, and Staff. Under the framework, each
of the water quality programs develops annual workplans based off the State’s fiscal
year (starting July 1), and program priorities are set in a public forum in the
preceding December. The goals set forth in this resolution will be incorporated into
the water quality program annual workplans for FY 22/23 and beyond.
11.The Board will help ensure accountability for the goals set forth in this resolution by
convening a Racial Equity Accountability Team that will periodically meet with the
Board’s Program Managers to assess progress in achieving the Board’s Racial
Equity goals.
12.In October of 2021, the Central Valley Water Board completed a Strategic Plan that
established four strategic objectives that would apply to all the Board’s Programs.
Two of those objectives specified strategies for enhanced engagement with
underserved and underrepresented communities and internal process improvements
to achieve greater efficiency, higher employee engagement, and racial equity. The
Board hereby finds that this resolution is consistent with the strategic objectives
developed and established as part of the Central Valley Water Board’s Strategic
Plan.
13.The goals developed and described herein are intended to be “SMARTIE” goals,
which are goals that are Strategic, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound,
Inclusive, and Equitable.
14.During the pendency of the development of this Resolution, a package of legislative
changes was signed by Governor Newsom creating new obligations to advance
racial equity goals at the State Water Board and at the Regional Boards. Among the
changes brought about by the new legislation, in particular AB 2108, were changes
to the Water Code that require the Boards to conduct “equitable, culturally relevant
community outreach to promote meaningful civil engagement from potentially
impacted communities” for “board planning, policy, and permitting processes.” In
addition, the Water Code now requires Basin Planning activities, Regional Permits,
and Permits that have associated time schedules must include findings “on potential
environmental justice, tribal impacts, and racial equity considerations.” Several of the
Board’s programs will be aligning their resources to meet these obligations.
15.In addition to using translation services provided by the Office of Public Participation,
culturally relevant community outreach can be enhanced when administrative and
technical staff at the Central Valley Water Board are certified in languages spoken
by community members. As the Board strives to conduct engagement that provides
communities with meaningful opportunities to participate in the decisions that will
affect them, the Board will seek opportunities to prioritize multi-lingual proficiencies
at all levels of our organization.
Racial Equity Goals for Water Quality Programs
16.The Central Valley Water Board Permitting Programs:
- NPDES Program: The Clean Water Act’s National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) program is a federal program delegated to the
State of California. This program protects beneficial uses by regulating point
source discharges of pollutants to surface waters. Staff resources for the NPDES
Program (25.7 PYs1
) is allocated for permitting (15.4 PYs),
compliance/enforcement (7.8 PYs), and management/support (2.5 PYs).
Racial Equity Goal: The Program will develop a process to broaden contact with
tribal groups when sending out notices for permitting actions, including Draft
Orders and enforcement actions. This will require periodic reviews of mailing lists
to ensure regional and local tribal groups and their representatives receive
notices, as well as a commitment to designate a NPDES permitting staff person
to periodically liaise with the Regional Tribal Liaison and to attend, as necessary,
tribal group meetings.
- Waste Discharge to Land Program (Non-15 Program): The Waste Discharge
to Land Program protects groundwater quality by regulating facilities whose
discharges do not fall within the jurisdiction of the federal NPDES Program or
other special permitting programs. This Program is the oldest state water quality
control program, covering wastewater (sewage) treatment facilities, food
processing industries (including wineries), wastewater recycling, sand and gravel
mines, and other industries that discharge non-hazardous wastes. The Program
currently regulates over 1,400 facilities in the Central Valley. There are currently
25 PYs in the Program. Approximately 7 PYs are dedicated for compliance and
enforcement and miscellaneous cleanups, 2 PYs are dedicated to the
wastewater consolidation program, leaving a little over 15 PYs for general
permitting obligations.
Racial Equity Goal: Program staff, working in collaboration with the Board’s
Executive Team and legal counsel, will immediately form a work group to
develop a strategy for enhanced outreach for all regional permitting actions that
meets the requirement under AB 2108 for the Board to conduct “equitable,
culturally relevant community outreach to promote meaningful civil engagement
1 Resources are described as “personnel years” or PYs, which are equivalent to the number of hours a
full-time staff person would work over the course of a year.
from potentially impacted communities” for “board planning, policy, and
permitting processes.” In addition, the work group will also evaluate all General
Orders currently being drafted as well as future permitting activities that will have
associated time schedules (including those that will be undertaken to meet the
requirements of the Nitrate Control Program) and will develop a strategy to
develop findings “on potential environmental justice, tribal impacts, and racial
equity considerations” for these permitting activities.
- Water Quality Certifications Program: The Water Quality Certification program
regulates removal or placement of materials in wetlands and waterways in the
state. Examples of such projects include navigational dredging, flood control
channelization, levee construction, channel clearing, fill of wetlands for
development, installation and/or repair of bridge piers and docks, and habitat
restoration projects. These projects generally require a Clean Water Act Section
404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and the state’s Water
Quality Certification certifies that the projects will be constructed in a manner that
is protective of water quality. The Central Valley Water Board has approximately
13 PYs to implement the program, with resources distributed between the
region’s three offices.
Racial Equity Goal: Program staff will develop a process flow chart that details
the permitting process and enhance noticing for public participation in permitting
processes. Enhanced noticing may include, but will not be limited to, engaging
with tribes beyond currently applicable legal requirements, referencing
CalEnviroScreen or similar tool to better understand cumulative environmental
burdens faced by the communities in which the development subject to the
certification will be occurring, and translating notices into languages spoken by
stakeholders.
- Storm Water Program: The Storm Water Program implements NPDES
requirements established by the State Water Board to regulate the discharge of
pollutants in storm water to waters of the U.S. The program is divided into three
main areas of activity: construction (including Caltrans projects), industrial, and
municipal. The permits require implementation of Best Management Practices
(BMPs) and other program elements and controls to minimize the discharge of
pollutants and requires visual and chemical monitoring. Board staff review
monitoring and other program reports, conduct compliance inspections and
audits, and conduct enforcement activities as needed. The Board has 12.75 PYs
to implement the program. Since many of the industrial facilities that are
regulated by the Stormwater Permitting Program are found in disadvantaged
communities and communities of color, much of the work of the Stormwater
Program currently focuses on enforcement within environmental justice
communities.
Racial Equity Goal 1: The Storm Water Program will develop a tool (e.g., table or
map) to help assess and prioritize regulated sites based in part by
CalEnviroScreen scores. Disadvantaged communities (DACs) and Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities tend to have high
CalEnviroScreen scores and are often overburdened by cumulative effects of
pollution.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Many dischargers regulated by the Storm Water Program
struggle with compliance due to language access barriers. When appropriate,
materials used to help dischargers understand the path to compliance (e.g.,
handouts, power points, webpages, applications, etc.) should be available in
multiple languages. In FY 23/24, program staff will work with State Water Board
staff and other regions and shall review outreach materials and assess which
materials should be available in multiple languages and shall disseminate
translated materials within affected communities.
17.Planning, Monitoring and Assessment Programs
- Basin Planning and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Programs: Water
Quality Control Plans or “Basin Plans” provide the foundation for all Central
Valley Water Board regulatory actions. Basin Plans identify beneficial uses of
surface and ground waters, water quality objectives to protect those uses,
implementation actions to achieve objectives, and describe monitoring and
surveillance program to ensure implementation actions are effective. There are
two Basin Plans for the Central Valley Region, one for the Sacramento and San
Joaquin River Basins, and one for the Tulare Lake Basin. The resources for this
program are 9 PYs, 5 PYs of which are allocated to the Central Valley Salinity
Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) Program, 1 PY for the
Tribal Beneficial Uses project, 1 PY for biostimulatory projects and assessments,
and the remaining for program management, permitting support, and other
projects.
Further, Clean Water Act section 303(d) requires States to develop a list of
surface water bodies that do not meet water quality standards (called the 303(d)
list), and to establish programs, such as TMDLs, that will reduce pollutant loading
to achieve water quality standards. In California, TMDLs must include
implementation plans to achieve pollutant load reductions. The TMDL Program
has 9.5 PYs allocated that include 3 PYs for developing the 303(d) list and other
federal water quality reporting and 3 PYs and 2 PYs for Mercury and Pesticide
TMDLs, respectively. The remaining PYs are allocated to program management,
permitting support, staff training and implementation of existing TMDLs.
Racial Equity Goal 1: The Basin Planning Program shall propose, as part of the
triennial review process, a project to update the Basin Plans to add references to
the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool
(CalEnviroScreen) and the State Water Board’s Racial Equity Resolution.
Racial Equity Goal 2: The Program shall continue to prioritize the designation of
tribal beneficial uses within the region, and shall develop processes to conduct,
“equitable, culturally relevant community outreach to promote meaningful civil
engagement from potentially impacted communities” in accordance with the
requirements of AB 2108.
- The Delta Program: The objectives of the Delta Program are to improve and
protect water quality in the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta through Central
Valley Water Board actions and coordination with other agencies that include
development and implementation of total maximum daily load control programs
and assessment of data relative to water quality objectives. Actions are guided
by the Central Valley Water Board’s 2014 Delta Strategic Work Plan and the
Delta Nutrient Research Plan. There are 3 PYs allocated to the Delta Program,
mostly allocated to the Delta Regional Monitoring Program and the Delta Nutrient
Research Plan.
Racial Equity Goal 1: The Delta Program will increase and track participation with
disproportionately burdened BIPOC communities impacted by HABs and
nutrients. These efforts will include continuing to develop collaborations and
partnerships with citizen scientists and BIPOC communities and track progress.
Racial Equity Goal 2: The Program will request that the Delta RMP add an EJ
member to the program Board of Directors or Steering Committee by 2024.
Racial Equity Goal 3: Central Valley Board staff will endeavor to use
CalEnviroScreen, and related vulnerability tools developed by the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, to create separate data analyses
records when reviewing preliminary and final DRMP data, starting with the
annual report due Feb 1, 2023. These analyses may be considered to inform FY
2023/24 monitoring priorities for the Delta RMP.
- Central Valley Salinity Alternatives (CV-SALTS) Program: The Central Valley
Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) initiative is a
stakeholder-driven effort that developed a regulatory framework to address
legacy and ongoing salt and nitrate accumulation. In 2018, the Board established
the Salt and Nitrate Control Programs. Implementation of the new nitrate
regulations began in May 2020 and implementation of the new salinity
regulations began in January 2021. The CV-SALTS program has approximately
5 PY dedicated to maintaining and implementing the Nitrate and Salt Control
Programs.
Racial Equity Goal: See ILRP Racial Equity Goal.
- Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP): The SWAMP program
was created to coordinate surface water quality monitoring conducted by the
State and Regional Water Boards. The SWAMP program conducts water quality
monitoring directly and through collaborative partnerships, and provides
numerous reports, fact sheets and tools, all designed to support water resource
management in California. SWAMP monitoring projects assess overall water
quality status and trends, identify water quality problems and potential sources,
and evaluate program effectiveness. The SWAMP program has 5 PY shared
between 7 staff in the Rancho Cordova office, 1 staff in the Redding office, and 3
staff in the Fresno office. One of these PYs is dedicated to implementing the
statewide Freshwater Harmful Algal Bloom (FHAB) program.
Racial Equity Goal 1: In recognition that many BIPOC/EJ communities within the
Central Valley are reliant on natural swimming places for recreational
opportunities, particularly in hot summer months, collaborate with the State
Water Board on the development of a process to solicit input from community
members on monitoring priorities for the SWAMP Program, including areas
where additional funding is necessary to monitor and protect recreational areas
of high value to EJ communities.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Broaden availability of water quality monitoring data by
translating public-facing map tools into languages spoken by visitors and by
creating a video that explains, in accessible language, how tools such as the E.
coli indicator bacteria maps can be used by the public.
Racial Equity Goal 3: Add measures to internal operating procedures and field
safety documents to enhance protections and support for at-risk staff, including
women and people of color.
- Nonpoint Source Program: Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of
water quality impairments in California. The primary nonpoint sources in the
Central Valley include runoff and percolation from land use activities related to
agriculture, timber harvests, cannabis cultivation, abandoned mines, recreation,
and urban and rural development. This Program works to leverage limited
resources to restore waters impacted by NPS pollution and protect unimpaired
water bodies by assessing problem sources and implementing management
programs consistent with the statewide California Nonpoint Source Program
Implementation Plan for 2020-2025 (Six-Year Implementation Plan). NPS
Program activities funded by federal 319(h) resources are implemented by three
different sections spread across all three offices in the Region. For FY22/23, 3.3
PY are allocated amongst eleven staff positions.
Racial Equity Goal: Identify communities that have suffered disproportionate
socio-economic burdens and racial inequality and advocate for the prioritization
of implementation efforts in the Six-Year Implementation Plan for communities
based on racial equity and environmental justice concerns and promptly prioritize
funding for controlling human health exposure.
18.Administrative Program: The Central Valley Water Board’s Administrative Program
serves to support the Region’s mission, initiatives, and priorities by providing
constant, reliable administrative assistance to our customers, both internally and
externally, while applying the highest standards and ethics. A total of 18 personnel
years (PYs) has been allocated between all three offices in the Central Valley
Region.
Racial Equity Goal: The Central Valley Water Board’s Administrative Program, as
the program most directly responsible for the Region’s efforts to create a more
diverse workforce through recruitment, retention, and advancement, will continue to
coordinate with the State Water Board on the development and implementation of
the State Water Board’s Racial Equity Work Plan.
Racial Equity Goal 2: The program will continue to facilitate training and education of
managerial staff in conducting interviews, with a particular focus on implicit bias and
equity considerations relevant to the Board’s work.
Racial Equity Goal 3: Continue ongoing racial equity training and development for
staff and leadership.
Racial Equity Goal 4: As the Board adapts to a hybrid work environment that is more
dependent on shared spaces rather than individually assigned office space, the
Administrative Program will work to ensure that rooms can be made available to
facilitate affinity groups as well as individual staff persons’ religious and cultural
practices.
19.Special Permitting Programs
- Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program: In the Central Valley region, there are
approximately 30,000 irrigated agricultural operations on over 6 million acres of
land. The Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) regulates these operations
to protect beneficial uses of surface and groundwater. Growers who are part of a
third-party group (coalitions) are regulated under one commodity-specific and
seven geographic General Orders. There are 14 coalitions assisting growers
comply with the General Orders. Resources for 18.3 full-time staff are distributed
between the three offices of the Central Valley Water Board.
Racial Equity Goal: The CV-SALTS Program has developed a prioritized Nitrate
Control Program to address nitrate pollution within areas of the region where
communities have been most heavily impacted by nitrate pollution. In Priority I
areas, permittees are working to provide drinking water to affected communities
while nitrate reduction efforts are underway. This involves substantial outreach
efforts, as well as the development and implementation of expansive drinking
water well sampling programs. Meanwhile, the ILRP has developed a drinking
water well sampling program that has, to date, resulted in the sampling of over
11,000 domestic wells on farm parcels. For FY 23/24, the CV-SALTS and ILRP
programs will integrate the domestic well sampling efforts currently being
undertaken by Management Zones under the Nitrate Control Program and those
efforts being undertaken by growers under the ILRP to ensure persons whose
domestic wells are contaminated with nitrates in Priority I areas are provided with
options to obtain free, safe drinking water.
- Oil Fields Program: Most California oil production occurs in the Central Valley.
Formation water produced with the oil, known as “produced wastewater,”
comprises the largest volume of waste generated by oil production. Produced
wastewater is typically saline, and disposed of by land application, primarily
ponds, or by underground injection. Some is recycled and reused for irrigation of
crops. Other oil field (OF) wastes include drilling muds, solids, and sludges
generated when tanks and equipment are cleaned. The program employs 23 PY
to regulate produced wastewater disposal to land (ponds) and reuse,
underground injection control (UIC) practices, and well stimulation practices
(SB4) to ensure the protection of water quality.
Racial Equity Goal 1: While most of the OF sites are in remote areas used almost
exclusively for oil and gas production, some are located near residential areas.
Generally, underlying groundwater quality in OF sites is naturally poor and
domestic use water must be brought in from an outside source. Oil Field sites
often have high CalEnviroScreen scores, driven by multiple factors (e.g., air and
water quality). In FY 23/24, program staff will assess which sites are in proximity
to residential areas and compare these areas to CalEnviroScreen scores and
identify sites for program work prioritization. Even where impacts to drinking
water are not a program consideration, prioritizing work (e.g., closing ponds,
ensuring site compliance, enforcing best practices) can help lower a
CalEnviroScreen score, and positively impact communities situated near
program sites, many of which are DACs or BIPOC communities.
Racial Equity Goal 2: In addition to this, program staff will work to increase
outreach to DACs and BIPOC communities. A part of this outreach will be for
program staff to host informational meetings, where staff will broadly discuss
work being done in the OF program. In FY 23/24, OF program staff will begin
planning meetings, with a general goal of holding two meetings in FY 24/25.
- Land Disposal Program: The Land Disposal Program regulates the land
discharge of solid and liquid wastes to prevent water quality impacts. These
wastes include municipal solid waste, hazardous wastes, designated wastes
(such as petroleum-impacted soils), and nonhazardous and inert solid wastes. In
general, these wastes cannot be discharged directly to the ground surface
without impacting groundwater or surface water and, therefore, they must be
contained at facilities that prohibit the wastes from migrating to groundwater. The
facilities are regulated pursuant to Title 27 (nonhazardous wastes) or Chapter 15
of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations (hazardous wastes). A total of
14.26 PYs are allocated to the program with 6.00 PYs directed to compliance
and enforcement activities and 8.26 to permitting.
Racial Equity Goal 1: In prioritizing permit renewals, consider impacts that
facilities may be having on local communities by incorporating EnviroScreen
score into prioritization matrix.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Preceding permit renewals and revisions, site cleanup staff
will be proactive on requiring dischargers/ consultants create fact sheets that
include environmental burdens. Using EnviroScreen census data, the fact sheet
can be translated into different languages accordingly. A three-year goal is set to
provide the framework for language translation of factsheets.
- Confined Animal Facilities Program: The Central Valley is home to a variety of
agricultural operations that rely on animals (cows, steers, sheep, goats, pigs, and
poultry). Confined Animal Facilities (CAFs) are ranches where livestock are held
and provided food for a significant part of the time, as opposed to grazing, where
livestock eat forage that grows in pastures or rangeland. Most CAFs in the
Central Valley are dairies. There are also a significant number of feedlots (beef
cattle and support stock for dairies) and poultry facilities. There are 12 PY
working full time in the CAF Program, supplemented by 3 other staff with a
percentage of their time dedicated to the Program, for a total of about 14 PYs.
Racial Equity Goal: The Board’s 2013 Dairy General Order is currently being
reviewed by the State Water Board in response to a water quality petition filed by
environmental and environmental justice organizations. It is expected that the
State Water Board will remand the 2013 Dairy General Order to the Central
Valley Water Board for reconsideration in 2023. In FY 23/24, this program will be
tasked with developing a revised Dairy General Order and will ensure that
development of this order includes “equitable, culturally relevant community
outreach to promote meaningful civil engagement from potentially impacted
communities.” The revised order will also include findings that consider impacts
on potential environmental justice, tribal impacts, and racial equity considerations
that shall be developed in collaboration with affected communities.
- Mines Program: Central Valley Water Board staff have identified 106 mine sites
with features known to, or that have the potential to, impact water quality. This is
a subset of the 47,000 abandoned mine sites with physical and/or environmental
hazards identified throughout California by the Department of Conservation. Most
mine sites regulated by the Central Valley Water Board are closed and
abandoned mines that have not operated for decades, at a minimum, with some
mines inactive for more than 100 years. During FY 22/23, a total of 6.8 PY has
been allocated towards Mines Program oversight, of which 5.25 PY is directed
towards permitting, compliance and enforcement.
Racial Equity Goal: Program staff will prioritize mine cleanup or oversight in
consideration of threat to water quality and disproportionate environmental
burdens faced by disadvantaged communities and tribes. Each mine project
selected for the racial equity goal in the Mines FY 23/24 Workplan will require the
development of individual action plans because of their unique and often
complex site characteristics causing or contributing to water quality impairments.
Individual action plans will be developed and implemented through enhanced
public outreach and tribal engagement. Each project will include a succinct
summary that describes opportunities for public participation and provides
updates regarding project progress.
- Cannabis Program: The Central Valley Water Board’s Cannabis Regulatory
Program regulates waste discharges associated with cannabis cultivation and
related ground disturbance activities. The Program is implemented through the
Principals and Guidelines for Cannabis Cultivation (Policy) and the statewide
Cannabis Cultivation General Order. Board staff engage in coordinated multiagency efforts for permitting actions, compliance inspections, and if necessary,
targeted enforcement actions against cultivators who fail to comply with
permitting requirements. Cannabis Regulatory Program staff regularly coordinate
with the Department of Cannabis Control, California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, local regulatory agencies, and state and local law enforcement agencies.
The Central Valley Water Board’s Cannabis Regulatory Program is currently
supported by 7 PY in technical staff and 1.5 PY managerial staff.
Racial Equity Goal: Translate important information, including the implementation
of best management practices, into languages other than English to increase
awareness of the regulatory program among BIPOC communities, including
within counties where cannabis cultivation may still be banned. Translate
module-by-topic presentations into Spanish by the end of 2023.
- Forest Activities Program: California’s forested lands produce most of the
state’s highest quality waters. However, activities in forested lands can lead to
non-point source pollution, the leading cause of water quality impairments in
California, if not properly mitigated. The Forest Activities Program focuses
regulatory efforts and grant funding on land use and restoration activities across
16 million acres of federal and non-federal lands within the Central Valley
Region. The Forest Activities Program has 17 PY across all three offices.
Racial Equity Goal: Conduct staff training on CalEnviroScreen tools by the end of
- Staff will consider CalEnviroScreen, and related vulnerability tools
developed by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in
prioritizing work near vulnerable communities. Where appropriate, staff will
conduct “equitable, culturally relevant community outreach to promote
meaningful civil engagement from potentially impacted communities” in
connection with the adoption of the Federal Permit. Make findings within the
Federal Permit consistent with the requirements of AB 2108.
20.Enforcement and Cleanup Programs
- Compliance and Enforcement Program: The State Water Resources Control
Board and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards protect the waters of
the state by ensuring compliance with clean water laws and taking enforcement
actions when violations occur. The Water Boards have authority under the Water
Code to regulate and enforce any activity or factor that may affect the quality of
the waters of the state. The Water Boards’ compliance and enforcement actions
are guided by the State Water Board’s 5 October 2017 Enforcement Policy. 57
PYs work in C/E (14 PYs in Fresno; 12 PYs in Redding; and 31 PYs in
Sacramento).
Racial Equity Goal 1: The State Water Board’s Racial Equity Resolution found
that violations of clean water laws and regulations disproportionately impact
DACs/ BIPOC communities. Although the Enforcement Program currently
prioritizes sites based on whether violations have the potential to impact a source
of drinking water, or a source of water used by a Tribal Nation, during FY 23/24,
program staff will also assess how violations impact DACs and communities of
color using tools, including CalEnviroScreen.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Program staff will include a tally of high CalEnviroScreen
score sites receiving formal enforcement in quarterly Executive Officer’s reports.
The Enforcement Program will continue to prioritize Class A priority violations
which are those violations that potentially pose an immediate and substantial
threat to beneficial uses and/or that have the potential to cause significant
detrimental impacts individually or cumulatively to human health or the
environment. When appropriate, Executive Officer’s reports may also include
summary statements about specific sites, and how these violations impact DACs/
BIPOC communities, and the enforcement actions taken.
- Site Cleanup Program: The Site Cleanup Program (SCP) regulates and
oversees the investigation and cleanup of contaminated sites. Staff overseeing
investigation and cleanup actions at sites that have been impacted by releases of
pollutants to soil, soil gas, groundwater, surface water, sediments, and indoor air.
SCP sites include large industrial facilities, military bases, oil refineries, factories,
and smaller facilities such as dry cleaners and plating shops. Many properties
are in urban areas and environmental justice communities and cleanup often
results in contaminant removal, reduced impact to water and economic growth.
The types of pollutants encountered at SCP sites are diverse and include
fertilizers, heavy metals, solvents, and many others. 30 PY are divided amongst
the regulatory oversight of Private, Military, and Department of Energy (D.O.E.)
sites.
Racial Equity Goal 1: Program management will ensure that program staff have
been trained on the availability and use of GeoTracker tools and layers
presenting CalEnviroScreen scores and demographics of communities
surrounding SCP sites. Using these tools, SCP staff will record the
CalEnviroScreen scores and GeoTracker site status to evaluate cleanup
progress relative to burdened communities.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Site Cleanup and UST program staff, in collaboration with
the State Water Board’s Office of Public Participation, will develop revisions to
public outreach guidelines to incorporate “equitable, culturally relevant
community outreach to promote meaningful civil engagement” from those
communities where remedial action plans and site closures are going to be
considered by the Board, consistent with the requirements of AB 2108.
- Underground Storage Tank (UST) and Aboveground Storage Tank (AST)
Program: The Underground Storage Tank (UST) and Aboveground Storage
Tank (AST) Program address leak prevention, oversight of leaking underground
tank cleanups, and reimbursement to responsible parties conducting cleanups.
Board staff is primarily involved with the oversight of cleanups. Currently, Board
staff is actively directing the cleanup work at approximately 289 leaking
underground tank sites. Since inception of the program, over 3,000 UST releases
have been investigated, remediated, and closed at the direction of the Board.
Racial Equity Goal 1: Develop a means of prioritizing efforts to move stalled
cases toward closure where cases are located within environmental justice
communities.
Racial Equity Goal 2: Site Cleanup and UST program staff, in collaboration with
the State Water Board’s Office of Public Participation, will also develop revisions
to public outreach guidelines to incorporate “equitable, culturally relevant
community outreach to promote meaningful civil engagement” from those
communities where remedial action plans and site closures are going to be
considered by the Board, consistent with the requirements of AB 2108. Specific
to the UST program, outreach efforts shall acknowledge that a large percentage
of UST/gas station sites are owned and operated by the South Asian community,
and therefore “culturally relevant community outreach” will include language
assistance will be provided in languages spoken by this community.
Regulatory Findings
21.Public Notice: The Central Valley Water Board provided notice of its intention to
consider this matter at a public meeting and provided an opportunity for interested
persons to comment on the tentative resolution and its attachments. The draft
resolution and its attachments were mailed to the interested persons and regulatory
agencies and posted on the Board’s website.
22.34.Public Hearing: The Central Valley Water Board, at a public meeting, heard and
considered all comments pertaining to this matter.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the California Regional Water Quality Control
Board, Central Valley Region, adopts the goals for inclusion in Programmatic Workplans
for FY 23/24 and beyond.
I, Patrick Pulupa, Executive Officer, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true,
and correct copy of a resolution adopted by the California Regional Water Quality
Control Board, Central Valley Region, on _____ 2022.
[Signature block]