Draft Staff Report/SED in Support of Sacramento/Delta Update to Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary

Draft Staff Report/SED in Support of Sacramento/Delta Update to Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary

The draft Staff Report/Substitute Environmental Document (Staff Report) was prepared by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and fulfills the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State Water Board’s regulations (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 23, § 3775 et seq.), as well as the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and other applicable requirements. The State Water Board’s water quality control planning program is a certified regulatory program and is exempt from certain CEQA requirements, such as preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR). The draft Staff Report has been prepared in lieu of an EIR because it is recognized under CEQA and the regulations implementing CEQA as providing the functional equivalent. CEQA does not require the State Water Board to submit this draft Staff Report for posting to the State Clearinghouse, but the State Water Board does so in the interest of transparency and in consideration of the anticipated public interest relating to the project. The draft Staff Report supports possible updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan) that are focused on the Sacramento River watershed, Delta, and Delta eastside tributaries (the Calaveras, Consumnes, and Mokelumne Rivers). The purpose of the Sacramento/Delta update to the Bay-Delta Plan is to establish flow-based water quality objectives, a program of implementation, and monitoring and special studies for the reasonable protection of fish and wildlife beneficial uses in the Sacramento/Delta. The draft Staff Report includes scientific information and environmental and economic evaluations to support updates to the Bay-Delta Plan. The report assesses a range of alternatives for updating the Sacramento/Delta portions of the Bay-Delta Plan, including: an alternative based on a 2018 Framework document identifying a 55% of unimpaired flow level (within an adaptive range from 45-65%) from Sacramento/Delta tributaries and associated Delta outflows; and a proposed voluntary agreements alternative that includes voluntary water contributions and physical habitat restoration on major tributaries to the Delta. In addition, in response to comments from California Native American Tribes within the watershed, the State Water Board is considering incorporation of tribal and subsistence beneficial uses of water to the Bay-Delta Plan.

Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba

Statewide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Baldwin Hills Conservancy (BHC), California Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy (CVMC), California Coastal Commission (CCC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Habitat Conservation Planning (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Inland Deserts Region 6 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin Region 7 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northern and Eureka Region 1 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, South Coast Region 5 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), California Department of State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 1 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 10 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 11 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 12 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 2 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 3 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 7 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 8 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 9 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Energy Commission, California Fish and Game Commission (CDFGC), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Redding Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region 7 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan South Lake Tahoe Region 6 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Victorville Region 6 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region 4 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region 1 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region 9 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region 8 (RWQCB), California San Diego River Conservancy (SDRC), California San Joaquin River Conservancy (SJRC), California Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC), California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), California Tahoe Conservancy, Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Colorado River Board, Delta Protection Commission, Delta Stewardship Council, Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Department of General Services (DGS), Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC), Santa Monica Bay Restoration, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 1, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 10, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 11, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 12, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 13, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 14, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 15, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 16, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 17, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 18, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 19, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 2, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 20, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 21, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 22, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 23, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 24, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 25 (SWRCB), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 26, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 28, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 3, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 4, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 5, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 6, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 7, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 8, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 9, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)

Other (Not Applicable)

Bay-Delta Plan Update

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Economics/Jobs, Fiscal Impacts, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Solid Waste, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire