Final California 2010 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 3 - Central Coast Region

Water Body Name: Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
Water Body ID: CAX3153201120021002214553
Water Body Type: Coastal & Bay Shoreline
 
DECISION ID
5895
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Indicator Bacteria
Final Listing Decision: Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2006)
Revision Status Revised
Reason for Delisting: Other
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for removal from the section 303(d) list under section 4.1 of the Listing Policy. Under section 4.1 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

USEPA placed this water body-pollutant combination on the 2006 section 303(d) list using the data and information contained in the line of evidence.

Currently, Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach, is listed for Indicator Bacteria. It is not possible, in a general listing, to determine which specific pollutant is causing or contributing to a water quality impacts. There is sufficient justification for removing the general listings for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach from the 303(d) list and replace this general listing with decisions for each of the specific pollutants that apply.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should be removed from the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards for the pollutant are not being exceeded.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable):
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 5895, Indicator Bacteria
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 3507
 
Pollutant: Indicator Bacteria
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Total
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 690
Number of Exceedances: 121
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Available data indicate sufficient exceedances of bacterial indicator objectives. There were 49 out of 352 samples exceeding the single sample maximum for enterococci, and 72 out of 338 exceedances of the geomean for enterococci (USEPA, 2007).
Data Reference: Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: Title 17 C.C.R. Section 7958 states: Based on a single sample, the density of bacteria in water from each sampling station at a public beach or public water contact sports area shall not exceed:
(A) 1,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters, if the ratio of fecal/total coliform bacteria exceeds 0.1; or
(B) 10,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(C) 400 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(D) 104 enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters.

Based on the mean of the logarithms of the results of at least five weekly samples during any 30-day sampling period, the density of bacteria in water from any sampling station at a public beach or public water contact sports area, shall not exceed:
(A) 1,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(B) 200 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(C) 35 enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters. (DHS, 1999)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Station ID# SBC12
Temporal Representation: 06/28/1999-10/31/2005
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data record: 1999-2005, Santa Barbara County Health Dept.
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
 
DECISION ID
10943
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.3 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

Three lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess Enterococcus consistent with Listing Policy section 3.3.

One line of evidence (LOE # 3507) summarizes data collected by Santa Barbara County Health Department between June 1999 and October 2005. This data was the basis for adding Leadbetter Beach to the Section 303(d) list for Indicator Bacteria and the justification for this follows: 49 out of 352 samples exceed the single sample maximum water quality objective for Water Contact Recreation and 72 out of 338 samples exceed the geomean water quality objective for Water Contact Recreation. Although the number of geomean exceedances does exceed the allowable frequency in Table 4.2, this assessment is based on calculation of a rolling geomean which results in biasing the assessment to a high number of exceedances. In addition, this assessment is for data through October 2005 and more recent data is now available for this assessment.

Two additional lines of evidence summarize weekly data collected from January 2004 to December 2006. This overlaps with the data used in EPA's assessment, through October 2005 and contains and additional 14 months of data. Therefore, these more recent data are used. Assessment of these data demonstrates that applicable water quality standards for Enterococcus are not being exceeded in this water segment, between January 2004 and December 2006. This assessment differs from EPA's in that a non-overlapping 30-day geomean was calculated for every month that had 2 or more samples.

When compared to the Ocean Plan objectives for Water Contact Recreation, fourteen of 151 samples exceeded the single sample maximum objective and 4 of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean objective.

Based on the current data-set (which includes weekly monitoring for 3 years) and on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. When compared to the Ocean Plan objectives for Water Contact Recreation, fourteen of 151 samples exceeded the single sample maximum objective and 4 of 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean objective. Neither of these exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable):
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 10943, Enterococcus
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 3507
 
Pollutant: Indicator Bacteria
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Total
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 690
Number of Exceedances: 121
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Available data indicate sufficient exceedances of bacterial indicator objectives. There were 49 out of 352 samples exceeding the single sample maximum for enterococci, and 72 out of 338 exceedances of the geomean for enterococci (USEPA, 2007).
Data Reference: Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: Title 17 C.C.R. Section 7958 states: Based on a single sample, the density of bacteria in water from each sampling station at a public beach or public water contact sports area shall not exceed:
(A) 1,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters, if the ratio of fecal/total coliform bacteria exceeds 0.1; or
(B) 10,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(C) 400 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(D) 104 enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters.

Based on the mean of the logarithms of the results of at least five weekly samples during any 30-day sampling period, the density of bacteria in water from any sampling station at a public beach or public water contact sports area, shall not exceed:
(A) 1,000 total coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(B) 200 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters; or
(C) 35 enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters. (DHS, 1999)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Placeholder reference 2006 303(d)
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Station ID# SBC12
Temporal Representation: 06/28/1999-10/31/2005
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data record: 1999-2005, Santa Barbara County Health Dept.
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 10943, Enterococcus
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19511
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 151
Number of Exceedances: 14
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 14 of 151 samples exceed the criterion for Enterococci.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the single sample maximum for Enterococcus shall not exceed 104 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Leadbetter)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 10943, Enterococcus
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19510
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 32
Number of Exceedances: 4
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 4 of 32 samples exceed the criterion for Enterococci.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the geometric mean for Enterococcus shall not exceed 35 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Leadbetter)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
 
DECISION ID
12563
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.3 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

Two lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. When compared to the Ocean Plan Objectives for Water Contact Recreation, four of 150 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective, None of the 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. When compared to the Ocean Plan Objectives for Water Contact Recreation, four of 150 samples exceeded the single sample maximum Objective, None of the 32 geomean assessments exceeded the geomean Objective. Neither of these exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable):
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 12563, Fecal Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19509
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 150
Number of Exceedances: 4
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 4 of 150 samples exceed the criterion for Coliform, Fecal.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the single sample maximum for fecal coliform shall not exceed 400 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Leadbetter)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 12563, Fecal Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 19508
 
Pollutant: Fecal Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 32
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed data for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 32 samples exceed the criterion for Coliform, Fecal.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that the 30-day geometric mean for fecal coliform shall not exceed 200 MPN/100 mL.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) was collected at one AB411 monitoring site (Leadbetter)
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006. This includes weekly AB411 monitoring between April 1 and October 31 of each year.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QA information not available
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
 
DECISION ID
12566
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
Pollutant: Total Coliform
Final Listing Decision: List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Sources: Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date: 2013
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under sections 2.1 and 3.3 of the Listing Policy.

Four lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Based on section 3.3 the site exceeded numeric objectives for conventional pollutants. Three LOEs assess weekly data compared to three different Total Coliform water quality objectives for Water Contact Recreation and the number of exceedances for each objective does exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy. However, in LOE #19512, this same total coliform data is compared to the water quality objective for Shellfish Harvesting and 58 of the 151 samples exceed the objective.

According to the binomial distribution, waters shall be placed on the section 303(d) list if the number of measured exceedances supports rejection of the null hypothesis as presented in Table 3.2. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification for placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category due to exceedances of the Shellfish Harvesting Objective.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. Fifty-eight of the 151 samples exceeded the water quality objective for Shellfish Harvesting and this exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are exceeded and a pollutant contributes to or causes the problem.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable): USEPA approved the listing of this water body as a water quality limited segment requiring a TMDL for this pollutant.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 12566, Total Coliform
Region 3     
Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County)
 
LOE ID: 25567
 
Pollutant: Total Coliform
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Shellfish Harvesting
 
Number of Samples: 151
Number of Exceedances: 58
 
Data and Information Type: Not Specified
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Data for this line of evidence was collected by County of Santa Barbara staff at one site located at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) between January 2004 and December 2006. Fifty-eight of 151 samples exceed the California Ocean Plan Objective for Shellfish Harvesting.
Data Reference: AB 411 Data for 2004
  AB 411 Data for 2005
  AB 411 Data for 2006
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2005) states that not more than 10 percent of the total coliform samples shall exceed 230 per 100 ml.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California. California Ocean Plan 2005. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board, California Environmental Protection Agency
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence was collected at Pacific Ocean at Leadbetter Beach (Santa Barbara County) at one AB 411 site (Leadbetter Beach).
Temporal Representation: Data was collected over the time period 1/5/2004 - 12/27/2006.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: No QA Information is available.
QAPP Information Reference(s):