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Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin to Incorporate Total Maximum Daily Loads for Copper for Newport Bay, Orange County,CA

Forecast

R8-2022-0012State & Local

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The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board has amended the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin to incorporate Copper Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Upper and Lower Newport Bay in Orange County, California. This regulatory action, initiated via Resolution No. R8-2022-0012 and approved by the State Water Resources Control Board and the Office of Administrative Law, aims to restore water quality and protect beneficial uses by reducing copper impairments. The primary responsible parties for implementation include the City of Newport Beach, the County of Orange, marina operators, underwater hull cleaners, and boat owners, with a specific focus on reducing copper discharges from antifouling paints. The implementation plan includes a compliance schedule requiring a 60 percent reduction in copper within 8 years of the effective date, with final compliance achieved within 12 years. To support these goals, the project outlines an estimated budget of approximately 2.74 million dollars for activities including water quality, sediment, and tissue monitoring, special studies on copper loading from sediment and vegetation, a diver certification program, and public education initiatives. The process adhered to the California Environmental Quality Act and included scientific peer reviews and multilingual public outreach to ensure accessibility for disadvantaged communities.

General Info

Amended plan enforces copper discharge limits in Newport Bay, targeting boat antifouling paints, led by Newport Beach and Orange County.

Agency

California → Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 8 - Santa Ana

NAICS

541620 - Environmental Consulting Services

Place of Performance

Newport Beach, CA

Set-Aside

NONE

Documents

No documents available

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Timeline

PhaseForecast

PostedJun 18

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Organization & Contact Information

AgencyCalifornia → Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 8 - Santa Ana

Contacts1 person available

OfficeN/A

Organization / AgencyCalifornia → Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 8 - Santa Ana

Office AddressN/A

Contacts

Emily FerrillEnvironmental Scientist

contact@example.gov

+1 (555) 000-0000

Full Description

On December 2, 2022, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted Resolution No. R8-2022-0012 to incorporate Copper Total Maximum Daily Loads (Copper TMDLs) for Newport Bay, Orange County, California into the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (the Basin Plan Amendment). The State Water Resources Control Board approved the Basin Plan Amendment under Resolution No. 2025-0023 on August 5, 2025. On April 28, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Regulatory Provisions for the Newport Bay Copper TMDLs. The Basin Plan Amendment incorporates TMDLs for copper in Newport Bay, and an implementation plan to restore water quality into Chapter 6 of the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (the Basin Plan). TMDLs are a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act. Upper Newport Bay and Lower Newport Bay are assigned TMDLs in this Basin Plan amendment. The parties responsible for implementing the Copper TMDLs include the City of Newport Beach, County of Orange, marina owners/operators, underwater hull cleaners, and private and commercial boat owners/operators. The Santa Ana Water Board expects that the primary trustees in Newport Bay granted sovereign tidelands and submerged tidelands in trust the City of Newport Beach and County of Orange will take the lead on developing and implementing plans to reduce copper in the bay. An implementation schedule with interim compliance milestones and dates has been developed for these Copper TMDLs. This schedule allows time to implement and adaptively manage the tasks to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness. In particular, this compliance schedule is applicable to the reduction of copper discharges from copper antifouling paints on boats. If copper discharges from sources other than boats exceed their allocations, a plan would be required to reduce those discharges.