RBOC & BoatU.S. Urge State to Consider Sound Science Before Adopting Non-point Source Plan

RBOC and BoatU.S. are urging the State Water Resources Control Board to utilize sound science and site-specific testing as the critical path forward, and to resolve key boater concerns, prior to adoption of a proposed Nonpoint Source Program Implementation Plan.

Boating and the boating industry represent a significant recreational resource and an important part of California’s economy. Together, we have been engaged continually over many years to protect the environment as the state and regional boards have addressed impaired water bodies, have developed basin plans, and have developed new standards including anti-fouling paints for boat hulls.

RBOC and BoatU.S. are emphasizing several key points in our request to the State Water Board:

  • As stated in our July 10 comments, it is essential that stakeholders be engaged in the consideration of comprehensive plans such as this proposal, especially when they will have significant impacts. To the best of our knowledge, this has not occurred with the current proposal.

  • It is critical to boaters that any decisions that restrict or prohibit the use of anti-fouling paints containing copper be predicated on clear findings that alternatives are available, effective and affordable. However, at this time, no single alternative will work, boat paint formulations are constantly changing, and non-biocidal paint safety has not been confirmed.

  • Current TMDL models are ineffective as management tools yet adaptations to those models are practically impossible to achieve. Updated science is overlooked.

  • The recreational boating community and industry are challenged by the absence of coordination among the regulatory entities including the State Water Board, regional water boards, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation. This impacts numerous issues ranging from the available paints, the models for managing water quality, the appropriate monitoring schemes, and the interconnection among toxicity labs.

  • Background levels of copper confound the ability to achieve numerical standards. High background levels of dissolved copper in hydraulically connected waters make achieving the numerical limit impossible.

  • The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board should not issue an investigative order and should not develop conditional WDRs for the discharge of biocides from boats residing in marinas until the boating community has a feasible, reasonable and readily-available alternative non-biocidal anti-fouling paints. RBOC and BoatU.S. remain committed to the protection and enhancement of the state’s waterways.

These and other public comments have been prepared and submitted to the State Water Board by a number of stakeholders representing the recreational boating community including boaters, clubs and industry.

RBOC is endorsing and urging consideration of the comments, concerns and requests set forth in the public comments of the Marine Recreation Association comment letter dated July 29, the Moffatt and Nichol Memorandum “Review of Non-copper-based Alternative Antifouling Paints to Support Discussion on Implementation Strategies for Reducing Copper by Boat-Paint Conversions” dated July 29, and the ChemMetrics comment letter dated July 29.

RBOC and BoatU.S. Urge Extended Comment Period, Inclusion of Boaters and Science in Draft Nonpoint Pollution Source Plan

RBOC and its national partner BoatU.S. are urging the State Water Resources Control Board to extend the July 13 public deadline, engage the boating community, and address critical boating issues in the State Board’s Draft 2020-2025 Nonpoint Source Program Implementation Plan.

For a copy of the complete letter: click here

The proposed 2020-2025 Nonpoint Source Program Implementation Plan presents the general goals and objectives of the co-lead state agencies for addressing nonpoint source pollution over the timeframe of July 2020 to June 2025.

It is important to note that the plan is being developed at a unique time for all Californians during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, with stay-at-home orders and other necessarily impacting personal and business activities including recreational boating and our related industries. The protection of public health and safety is paramount, and demands the dedication of resources and effort that limit the ability of the public stakeholders to give the draft the time and attention it deserves. RBOC and BoatUS urge forbearance.

It is also essential that stakeholders be engaged in the consideration of comprehensive plans such as this proposal, especially when they will have significant impacts. To the best of our knowledge, this has not occurred with the current proposal: members of the boating community have not been contacted, boating and boating industry organizations have not been consulted. Individual subscribers to the State Water Board’s email notifications were not notified.

Testing that has been done at a few sites in Southern California indicates no negative impacts on aquatic organisms. Before a policy is implemented in a haphazard patchwork throughout the state, the organizations are requesting a statewide Water Effects Ratio [WER] Policy and a comprehensive plan for site-specific testing so that we can properly evaluate all coastal water bodies in Southern California. This is a goal outlined in the February 2019 Executive Director’s report.

RBOC and  BoatU.S. are also expressing concerns that the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board uses a steady state model that does not use tidal information or basin dimensions to predict environmental copper concentrations. That is the methodology that yields an 85% load reduction for Marina Del Rey. The California Department of Pesticide Regulations [DPR] made regulatory decisions based on Predicted Environmental Concentrations of Copper using the MAMPEC model. As a result, DPR has approved anti-fouling paints containing low-leach-rate copper that they expect to achieve a sufficient copper load reduction.

These disparate approaches yield predictions that differ more than 300% from one another causing uncertainty for boaters and marina operators. We need a statewide Water Effects Ratio (WER) Policy and a comprehensive plan for site-specific testing.

Additional issues have been preliminarily identified. For instance, throughout the plan, objectives and milestones identify specific dates that are overly ambitious and, in today’s pandemic, unachievable.

RBOC and BoatU.S. remain committed to the protection and enhancement of the state’s waterways. Sound science and site-specific testing are the critical path forward.