Excerpts
from the Klamath TMDL
compiled by Siskiyou County
Supervisor Marcia Armstrong 7/2/09
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/water_issues/programs/tmdls/klamath_river/090701/Chapter_6_Implementation_Plan.pdf
Shasta River (pg 21 in display of section)
6.4.4 Shasta River
6.4.4.1 Responsible Parties
The parties responsible for meeting the Klamath TMDL allocations
and targets in the Shasta River Basin are the same as those
identified in the Shasta River TMDL Action
Plan.
6.4.4.2 Implementation
The Klamath River TMDL analysis found that the load reductions
called for in the Shasta
River TMDL are sufficient to meet water quality standards in the
Klamath River. The
Shasta River TMDL Action Plan includes a goal to increase
dedicated instream cold
water flows by 45 cubic feet per second (cfs). Attainment of the
Klamath River
temperature TMDL, and associated temperature standards, requires
achieving the Shasta
River flow goal. The Shasta River TMDL Action Plan includes a
conditional waiver of
WDRs for parties discharging to the Shasta River basin as long as
they comply with the
Scott River (pg 22 in display of section)
6.4.5.2 Implementation
The Scott River TMDL Action Plan includes sediment and temperature
control measures,
and it is anticipated that these measures are sufficient to meet
the Klamath River TMDL
watershed-wide temperature allocations and targets and are
consistent with the proposed
prohibition on the discharge of excess sediment. The Scott River
TMDL recommended
that the County of Siskiyou, in cooperation with other appropriate
stakeholders, study the
connection between groundwater and surface water in the Scott
Valley. This study is
currently underway. Attainment of the Klamath River temperature
TMDL, and
associated temperature standards, requires that this study move
forward and that
appropriate management practices are implemented following the
study in order to ensure
adequate flow in the Scott River.
The Klamath River TMDL assigns nutrient and organic matter
allocations to the Scott
River, and the Scott River Action Plan does not include measures
to control discharges of
these pollutants Measures to control discharges of nutrients
and organic matter from
grazing and irrigated agriculture are discussed in the
watershed-wide section of the
Klamath River TMDL implementation plan (Sections 6.5.5 and 6.5.6,
respectively).
Parties conducting these activities in the Scott River basin are
responsible for meeting the
Klamath River TMDL allocations and targets and will be responsible
for implementing
measures to control the discharge of nutrients and organic matter
consistent with the
proposed grazing and irrigated agriculture WDRs and/or conditional
waivers.
(page 24 of section display)
6.5 Implementation of Allocations and Targets – Watershed-Wide
This section discusses TMDL implementation for land use activities
that occur
throughout the Klamath River basin in California from nonpoint
sources of pollution, and
recommends implementation measures for various responsible parties
to comply with the
TMDL. The following land uses were identified as the primary
nonpoint sources of
pollution in the Klamath River basin that contribute to the water
quality impairments:
Road Construction and
Maintenance;
Grazing;
Irrigated Agriculture; and
Timber Harvest
After summarizing the watershed-wide allocations and targets
(Section 6.5.1), this
section presents watershed-wide prohibitions (Sections 6.5.2 and
6.5.3), and then
addresses implementation measures associated with road
construction and maintenance
(Section 6.5.4), grazing (Section 6.5.5), irrigated agriculture
(Section 6.5.6), and timber
harvest (Section 6.5.7) land use activities separately. For each
of the land use activities,
the sections include an analysis of the efficacy of the current
Regional Water Board
regulatory strategy along with other water quality protection
efforts in the basin.
Recommendations are given for additional implementation measures
staff believe to be
necessary to effectively implement the TMDL. Section 6.6 then
addresses
implementation measures for all land use activities on federally
managed lands.
Ultimately it is the Regional Water Board’s goal to combine as
many discharge
requirements for various land use activities as comprehensively as
possible into one
permitting structure. Already some parties have requested that
the Regional Water Board
adopt ownership-wide WDRs for timber harvest companies operating
within a large
ownership within the Klamath River basin (i.e., Green Diamond).
Ownership-wide
WDRs have the advantage of being developed specifically for the
lands within the
ownership, and covering all activities within that area. Regional
Water Board staff may
work with companies to develop terms and conditions in the WDRs
that meet TMDL
requirements. Ownership-wide WDRs can also be coordinated with the
landowner’s
other management plans and policies, such as Habitat Conservation
Plans (HCPs) and
Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs).
For temperature, specific shade and sediment-related allocations
are identified in detail
that will apply to most land use activities already regulated by a
Regional Water Board
permitting mechanism or scheduled for permitting in the near
future. For example, sitespecific
shade potential requirements are already required for timber
harvest activity
enrolled under the timber waiver, and indirectly required through
a general provision of
the timber WDR, which requires compliance with the Basin Plan.
Similarly, shade
requirements will be implemented in any individual water quality
certifications for
specific projects under section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
Shade requirements will
apply to grazing and irrigated agriculture through the TMDL
conditional waiver while the
Regional Water Board develops permits for those activities.
At this time, the
Regional Water Board will not impose shade requirements on rural
residential land use activities
that do not otherwise require permitting by the Regional Water
Board unless the activity
is associated with another discharge of waste.
Compliance with state and local
regulations, general plans, and ordinances is critical to
preventing water quality impacts
from these activities (e.g. onsite wastewater treatment systems,
grading and construction
that results in soil disturbances of less than one acre of total
land area, and residential
pesticide and fertilizer use). The proposed prohibition on the
discharge of excess
sediment (Section 6.5.2) is intended to apply to all land use
activity, including residential,
unless already covered by an existing permitting mechanism.
(See page 25 for shade targets)
(excerpt) In simple terms, compliance with the shade allocation is
achieved by not removing trees that provide shade to the waterbody.
To
accomplish this, it is recommended that responsible parties
delineate a separate
management area for riparian vegetation that has the potential to
shade a waterbody, and
manage these riparian areas differently than the surrounding land.
These areas are
referred to variously as a riparian management zone, streamside
buffer area, or a
watershed and lake protection zone. The riparian management
area should be large
enough to include any trees that have the potential to provide
shade to surface waters
once they reach their site potential height. In most cases, the
landowner will not be
required to actively restore riparian conditions by planting trees
in order to comply with
the TMDL. However, active restoration of riparian conditions may
be required in
instances where riparian vegetation has been removed and causes
violation of the Basin
Plan temperature standards and the Klamath River shade allocations
and targets, or where
natural vegetation is not readily becoming reestablished on its
own. Regional Water
Board staff acknowledge that it may be necessary in some cases to
remove some riparian
vegetation to hasten recovery towards site potential effective
shade conditions.
(See page 26 for sediment)
(excerpt) 6.5.2 Watershed-wide Prohibition on the Discharge
of Excess Sediment
To help achieve these watershed-wide TMDL allocations and
targets, the implementation
plan includes a conditional prohibition that regulates excess
sediment (waste) discharges
from human related activities. The prohibition applies to all
sediment sources in the
Klamath River basin that are not regulated under a Regional Water
Board adopted WDR
or waiver. The prohibition is included so that the implementation
plan complies with the
State NPS Policy that requires the Regional Water Board to address
all discharges of
waste that can affect water quality, including non-point sources,
by using some
combination of WDRs, waivers, and/or prohibitions. This
prohibition applies to land
uses that contribute to the temperature impairment through the
discharge of excess
sediment. Sediment discharge sites would be regulated by this
prohibition until the
Regional Water Board adopts an alternative means of regulation,
such as WDRs or
waivers, as the implementation plan recommends for some categories
of sediment
discharges.
(excerpt) Parties responsible for existing sediment sources must
implement the following
measures.
1. Inventory: Identify sources of excess sediment discharge or
threatened discharge
and quantify the discharge or threatened discharge from the
sources.
2. Prioritize: Prioritize efforts to control the inventoried
sediment sources based on,
but not limited to, severity of threat to water quality and
beneficial uses, the
feasibility of source control, and source site accessibility.
3. Schedule: Develop a schedule to implement the cleanup of
controllable sediment
discharge sites.
4. Implement: Develop and implement feasible sediment control
practices to
prevent, minimize, and control the discharge.
5. Monitor and Adapt: Use monitoring results to direct adaptive
management in
order to refine excess sediment control practices and
implementation schedules
until discharges are reduced to a level that meets the TMDL load
allocations and
water quality standards.
Landowners and land managers actively engaged in implementation of
these measures
will be considered on a path towards compliance with the
prohibition. In cases where
preventive or corrective action has not taken place, the Regional
Water Board and/or staff
will take the appropriate enforcement measures pursuant to the
Statewide Enforcement
Policy. Further, the NPS Policy allows the Regional Water Board
the discretion to waive
application or enforcement of the prohibition for a particular
discharge based on the
circumstances of the case.
Page 28 excerpt
6.5.3.1 Flow
Maintaining near natural flows in the Klamath River tributaries in
California is an
important component of meeting the Basin Plan water temperature
objective. In
particular, cold water flows are necessary to maintain the
function of thermal refugia in
the Klamath River basin. Regional Water Board staff will work
with other state and
federal agencies and tribes to identify and eliminate illegal
diversions in the Klamath
River basin in California. In addition, Regional Water Board
staff recommend that the
State Water Board staff issuing water rights permits to divert
surface water in the
Klamath River basin in California consider the impact of increased
diversions on
tributaries that provide thermal refugia.
Page 33 excerpt
6.5.4.3 Implementation to Address Road-Related Discharges on
Private Lands
Most roads located on private lands in the Klamath River basin are
associated with
timberland ownerships, however roads associated with other land
uses, such as
agriculture, also exist as do a significant number of rural
residential roads. In order to
comply with the TMDL, landowners are responsible for implementing
effective
management practices to address nonpoint source pollution from
roads on their property.
Staff recommend that sediment discharges from roads on private
lands be regulated
through the proposed prohibition on discharges of excess sediment
in coordination with
existing plans and programs....
Page 38 excerpt
6.5.5 Grazing
Grazing activities in the Klamath River basin have the
potential to contribute to TMDL
impairments mainly through erosion, alteration of riparian
functions, and discharge of
nutrients and organic matter. Grazing on nonfederal lands in
California occurs mostly in
the tributary basins in the upper middle reach of the Klamath
River from Scott River to
Iron Gate dam, including the Scott and Shasta River basins, and in
the Lost River basin
that drains into the Klamath River in Oregon. The Regional Water
Board currently does
not regulate grazing activities in the Klamath River basin, except
through waivers of
WDRs adopted as part of the Scott River and Shasta River TMDL
Action Plans or
through an NPDES permit if an operation is classified as a
concentrated animal feeding
operation (CAFO). To control nonpoint sources of
pollution from grazing activities
consistently throughout the Klamath River basin, to comply with
the State NPS Policy,
and to meet the watershed-wide and tributary TMDL allocations and
targets, staff
recommend the development of a Klamath River basin-wide
conditional waiver of WDRs
and/or general WDRs for grazing for consideration by the Regional
Water Board. A
conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for grazing would
not apply to
CAFOs already regulated through an NPDES permit.
To comply with the
Klamath River
watershed-wide and tributary specific load allocations and
targets, any party conducting
grazing activities in the Klamath River basin must select and
implement management
practices that control sediment sources, protect and maintain
riparian functions, and
address discharges of nutrients and organic matter.
6.5.5.1 Responsible
Parties
Any party
conducting grazing activities in the Klamath River basin in
California.
6.5.5.2
Implementation
Protection and Maintenance of Riparian Shade
Parties conducting grazing activities within the Klamath River
basin in California are
responsible for protecting and maintaining riparian conditions
that meet the riparian
shade allocation and targets. This allocation requires that
riparian shade to a stream be
maintained where it exists, and that grazing activities not impede
progress towards
reaching site potential effective shade conditions.
Control of Sediment Discharges
The prohibition on the discharges of excess sediment (Section
6.5.2) will apply to
sediment discharges from grazing activities until a conditional
waiver of WDRs and/or
general WDRs for grazing are developed for the Klamath River
basin. The prohibition as
well as a conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for
grazing will require
those responsible parties discharging sediment to survey all
sediment sources on their
land and then systematically implement management practices to
control those sources
pursuant to a time schedule.
Control of Nutrient and Organic Matter Discharges
To control
discharges of nutrients and organic matter from animal waste
deposited to
surface waters, Regional Water Board staff recommend including, as
a condition of
eligibility for general WDRs or a waiver, that responsible parties
implement measures to
limit livestock access to the stream channel. This recommendation
is not intended to
prohibit use of surface waters for livestock watering, but rather
eliminate the direct
discharge of nutrients and organic matter to surface waters in the
Klamath River basin.
Ranch Water Quality Management Plans
Responsible parties shall develop a ranch management plan to
organize their
implementation efforts. Ranch water quality management plans may
be required as part
of the conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for grazing
and may be
required at any time by the Regional Water Board’s Executive
Officer. Landowners may
choose to implement measures from an existing plan, develop their
own plan, or
implement measures from a plan that is developed as a group. If an
existing plan is to be
used, it is the responsibility of the landowner to ensure the plan
complies with the TMDL
allocations and targets and that additional measures are included
if needed. The ranch
water quality management plan should include the management
practices selected by the
landowner(s) to comply with the TMDL and also include elements
such as:
A description of the
existing beneficial uses to be protected from grazing
activities;
A survey of sediment
sources on the ranch, including roads, and a time schedule
for implementing measures to address those sediment sources as
required by the
prohibition on the discharge of excess sediment;
An inventory of
riparian vegetation conditions, and a plan to monitor progress
towards meeting the watershed-wide riparian shade allocation and
targets;
Nutrient and organic
matter control measures including limiting livestock access
to the stream channel; and
Tracking and
effectiveness monitoring of pollution control practices selected
for
implementation.
Implementation
Measures
Regional Water Board: Measure
Develop general WDRs and/or a
conditional waiver of WDRs for grazing activities in the Klamath
River basin for Regional Water Board consideration. The waiver
would require compliance with the existing TMDL load allocations
in the Scott and Shasta River basins in addition to the
watershed-wide temperature and nutrient allocations in the Klamath
River basin.
Timeline
December 2013
Responsible Parties-
Any party conducting grazing activities in the Klamath River basin
in California: Measure
Protect and maintain site
potential effective shade conditions
Measure
Control sources of sediment as
required by the prohibition on the discharges of excess sediment
and compliance with the forthcoming conditional waiver of WDRs
and/or general WDRs for grazing
Measure
Develop and implement nutrient
and organic
matter control measures including limiting
livestock access to the stream channel
Measure
Develop a ranch water quality
management plan
to implement the TMDL on a prioritized
schedule or implement measures through an
existing plan.
Timeline
1 year from USEPA adoption of
the TMDL
6.5.6 Irrigated Agriculture
Activities associated with irrigated agriculture have the
potential to contribute to water
quality impairments through discharges of polluted irrigation
tailwater and by degrading
riparian conditions. Irrigated agriculture occurs in the Klamath
River basin in California
mostly in the tributary basins in the upper middle reach of the
Klamath River from Scott
River to Iron Gate dam, including the Scott and Shasta River
basins, and in the Lost
River basin that drains into the Klamath River in Oregon.
6.5.6.1 Responsible Parties
Any party conducting activities associated with irrigated
agriculture in the Klamath River
basin in California including irrigated pastures.
6.5.6.2 Implementation
The Regional Water Board currently does not regulate irrigated
agriculture activities in
the Klamath River basin, except through waivers of WDRs adopted as
part of the Scott
River and Shasta River TMDL implementation plans. To control
nonpoint sources of
pollution from irrigated agriculture activities consistently
throughout the Klamath River
basin in California, to comply with the State NPS Policy, and to
meet the watershed-wide
and tributary TMDL allocations and targets, staff recommend the
development of a
Klamath River basin-wide conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general
WDRs for
irrigated agriculture for consideration by the Regional Water
Board. The basin-wide
conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for irrigated
agriculture would
succeed the existing waivers in the Scott and Shasta River basins.
Staff recommend that a Klamath River basin-wide conditional waiver
of WDRs and/or
general WDRs for irrigated agriculture provide landowners the
option of complying with
the waiver or WDR individually or as part of a group compliance
program. Group
compliance programs could be coordinated by a local RCD or other
local group. As part
of a group program, the individual’s responsibility would be to
implement best
management practices (BMPs) that control discharges resulting from
irrigated agriculture
activities, comply with the prohibition on the discharge of excess
sediment, and meet the
TMDL allocations and targets for shade, nutrients, and organic
matter. Management
measures should focus on maintaining and restoring riparian
vegetation, road
management to control sediment discharges, and controlling
irrigation tailwater quality.
Water Quality Management Plans
Responsible parties conducting activities associated with
irrigated agriculture in the
Klamath River basin shall develop water quality management plans
to organize their
implementation efforts. Water quality management plans may be
required as part of the
conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for irrigated
agriculture and may be
required at any time by the Regional Water Board’s Executive
Officer. .Landowners
may choose to implement measures from an existing plan, develop
their own plan, or
implement measures from a plan that is developed as a group. If an
existing plan is to be
used, it is the responsibility of the landowner to ensure that the
plan complies with the
TMDL allocations and that additional measures are included if
needed. The water quality
management plan should include the management practices selected
by the landowner(s)
to comply with the TMDL and may include elements such as:
A description of the existing
beneficial uses to be protected from activities associated with
irrigated agriculture;
A survey of sediment sources
and a time schedule for implementing measures to address those
sediment sources as required by the prohibition on the discharge
of excess sediment;
Development of a nutrient
management plan to control the application of fertilizers;
Implementation of control
measures to reduce or eliminate irrigation tailwater discharges
that contain elevated nutrient, organic matter, and temperature
loads;
Tracking and effectiveness
monitoring of pollution control practices selected for
implementation.
Implementation Measures
Regional Water Board: Measure
Adopt WDRs and/or a
conditional waiver of WDRs for activities associated with
irrigated agriculture, including irrigated pastures used for
grazing, by December 2012. The WDRs/waiver of WDRs will consider
the existing load allocations in the Shasta and Scott River basin
TMDLs and will take the place of the waivers in those basins.
Responsible Parties-
Any party conducting activities associated with irrigated
agriculture in the Klamath River basin in California: Measure
Control sources of sediment as
required by the prohibition on the discharge of excess sediment
and forthcoming conditional waiver of WDRs and/or general WDRs for
irrigated agriculture;
Measure
Implement control measures to
reduce or eliminate irrigation tailwater discharges that contain
elevated nutrient, organic matter, and temperature loads
Measure
Develop a water quality
management plan to implement the TMDL on a prioritized schedule or
implement an existing plan. |