[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 101 (Thursday, July 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H5490-H5491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WATER QUALITY
(Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, this month, the Department of Interior and
the California Department of Water Resources announced an increase in
water allocation to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. Our efforts to
press the administration for more water is producing results and is
already flowing to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
But our fight for our valley's jobs and economy is far from over.
Regulations that restrict the flow of water to our valley must be
revised. I am pleased that the administration has announced its
intention to revise and integrate the two biological opinions that
single out valley agriculture for degrading the delta when we know that
this simply is not true. All factors affecting the health of the
Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta must be taken into account as we move
forward, including predation of invasive species and other water
quality factors.
I would like to submit a letter for the Record from the Central
Valley Regional Water Control Board that confirms the need to address
water quality issues. This includes the dumping of pollutants, such as
ammonia and toxic urban run-off and the impact of power plants on the
ecosystem, among other things. We will win this fight, and common sense
will prevail. Recognizing all of the factors impacting the delta will
allow more water to flow to the valley and the rest of California.
Congress of the United States,
Washington, DC, June 9, 2010.
Charles R. Hoppin,
Chair, State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento, CA.
Katherine Hart,
Chair, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board,
Rancho Cordova, CA.
Dear Chairs Hoppin and Hart: We are writing to request that
the State Water Resources Control Board and the Central
Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board take immediate
action to address ammonia discharges from wastewater
facilities into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta).
As you are aware, we have long held that the single focus
of regulatory agencies on water exports is misguided in that
it overlooks other key stressors that contribute to the
decline of fisheries in the Delta. The effect of this single
focus is to punish farmers, farmworkers and communities in
the San Joaquin Valley at a tremendous impact to state's
economy, and in the end the fish are no better off.
Two recent studies point to Sacramento's wastewater as a
significant cause behind the declining fish populations in
the Delta. One study, authored by Patricia Glibert of the
University of Maryland, concludes that the Delta's
environmental problems are more likely tied to wastewater
pollution than to water diversions, indicating that increased
ammonia in Sacramento wastewater has disrupted algae
production in the Delta, which rippled up the food chain to
compromise fish species. Another study by Inge Werner, a
toxicologist at UC Davis, concluded that threatened Delta
smelt may be harmed by exposure to ammonia at levels below
federal limits and that longterm exposure could reduce smelt
growth and feeding activity, which would ultimately affect
their breeding success.
These studies cry out for immediate action by the
responsible regulatory agencies. We understand that the
Regional Board has renewed Sacramento Regional County
Sanitation District's wastewater discharge permit annually
without substantive review since it expired in 2005. As the
single largest wastewater discharger in the Delta, it is
crucial that the Regional Board conducts a full and immediate
review of the District's permit and that the Regional Board
conditions any renewal upon upgrading the sewage treatment
system to a tertiary system. Tertiary systems have been
installed throughout San Joaquin Valley communities as a
result of regulations imposed by the Regional Board in order
to improve water quality. We find it incongruous that the
very board that has imposed tertiary treatment requirements
on communities in the San Joaquin Valley, including Stockton,
Modesto, Turlock and Fresno, has failed to impose similar
requirements on the Sacramento District.
These studies confirm that ammonia wastewater discharges
are a large part of the problem in the Delta. Reducing
ammonia discharges needs to be part of the solution, along
with the other key factors that are contributing to the
environmental decline in the Delta. We call upon the Regional
Board to take immediate action to correct this problem.
Sincerely,
Jim Costa,
Member of Congress.
Dennis Cardoza,
Member of Congress.
____
California Regional Water
Quality Control Board,
Rancho Cordova, CA, June 24, 2010.
Congressman Jim Costa,
U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.
Congressman Dennis Cardoza,
U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.
Dear Congressmen Costa and Cardoza: Thank you for your
letter addressed to State Board Chair Charles Hoppin and
Central Valley Water Board Chair Kate Hart, dated June 9,
2010, concerning ammonia discharges into and affecting the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. We appreciate your interest in
this issue and look forward to working with you--and all
interested parties--as we pursue real solutions for the
problems facing the Delta. This letter is being sent over my
signature instead of Ms. Hart's because your letter
specifically addressed the Sacramento Regional Wastewater
Treatment Plant NPDES permit which is a pending item before
the Central Valley Water Board. Chair Hoppin's response will
be sent to you under separate cover.
As you know, the California Water Boards have been
aggressively engaged in this topic for several years. The
boards have undertaken, sponsored, or participated in several
studies to examine the acute and chronic toxicity associated
with elevated levels of ammonia/ium to the Delta ecosystem.
Some of these studies have focused specifically on toxicity
with respect to Federally and State-Listed endangered and
threatened species. The studies are designed to determine if
elevated ammonia levels may be inhibiting the food web upon
which pelagic and salmonid species of the Delta depend. Some
of those studies are being concluded, while others are
ongoing.
The Central Valley Water Board anticipates conducting a
public hearing in December 2010 to consider a permit renewal
for the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Regional Water Board staff has met frequently with the
Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and many other
stakeholders to evaluate the impacts of the discharge.
Agencies using downstream waters have been active
participants in these meetings. In considering the available
information and preparing for the hearing, Regional Water
Board staff developed issue papers on human health and
aquatic toxicity and circulated them for public review and
comment. The issue papers help identify concerns, crystallize
issues, and provide information to assist the permitting
process and to educate stakeholders.
Our evolving understanding of the myriad stressors
affecting the Delta will be a key issue in the Central Valley
Water Board's consideration of the Sacramento Regional
Wastewater Treatment Plant permit. The Central Valley Water
Board will do everything it reasonably can to complete this
[[Page H5491]]
process as quickly as possible and in full compliance with
the Federal Clean Water Act and California's Porter-Cologne
Water Quality Control Act. Both Acts require discharge
permits to be protective of human health and the Delta
ecosystem.
The Water Boards are committed to the use of sound science
to guide regulatory decisions. We are following the National
Academy of Sciences review last fall of the federal agencies'
``biological opinions'' related to the Delta smelt and the
Chinook salmon, and similar scientific review efforts by
Federal and State agencies. The State Water Board recently
concluded three days of testimony on flow criteria for the
Delta ecosystem. As part of the flow criteria proceeding, the
State Water Board heard extensive scientific and expert
testimony on flow and other factors, including ammonia that
impacts the Delta ecosystem. The scientific information from
these proceedings will be used in future proceedings to
protect and restore the Delta.
The same commitment to sound science guides the Central
Valley Water Board's development of the draft permit for the
Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The recent
studies by Doctors Glibert and Werner are part of a large
body of research being reviewed for permit development.
Central Valley Water Board staff has met with both Dr.
Glibert and Dr. Werner to understand the application of their
respective studies.
The Central Valley Water Board greatly appreciate and value
your concern and interest in this matter, and we look forward
to working with you and other federal and state elected
officials in trying to resolve the complex water quality
challenges facing the Delta today. Many challenges remain
ahead, and these challenges can only be overcome by the
collective resolve of all parties to work toward a common
good and collectively beneficial result. As the Sacramento
Bee Editorial Board opined on May 21, 2010, such an effort
``would be far more productive than continuing with the
current pattern of finger-pointing and scientific cherry-
picking.''
Very truly yours,
Pamela C. Creedon,
Executive Officer.
____________________