[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.

                          ____________________