Problems with the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Copper proposed by

the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board for Shelter Island Yacht Basin

 

 

1)                              Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-02-03 establishing a moratorium on new regulations in California; nevertheless, representatives of the State Water Resources Control Board instructed the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to “ignore” the Governor’s mandate.

 

2)                              The copper-based antifouling paint used to protect boat hulls is a legal product that was approved by both U.S. EPA and the California Dept. of Pesticides.  The Regional Water Quality Control Board has nor authority to override the decision by these federal and state authorities.

 

3)                              The San Diego Board’s own scientific peer reviewer says the proposed TMDL is deeply flawed because:

 

·                    It fails to account for other water chemistry factors (e.g. hardness, alkalinity, organic carbon, etc.) that significantly reduce the potential for copper toxicity in SIYB..

 

·                    The computer model used to calculate the TMDL failed to consider the amount of copper that may come from the sediment rather than from paint on boat hulls.

 

4)                              The San Diego Regional Water Quality Board greatly underestimated the economic impact of their proposed regulation because they incorrectly assumed that the vast majority of boats must be stripped and repainted every 10-12 years anyway.  Surveys of boat owners in SIYB clearly demonstrate that fewer than 5% have ever stripped their boats to bare hull.

 

5)                              Compliance with the new regulations will triple the cost of repainting the boat hull (from $50/ft2 to $150/ft2) and double the frequency and expense of hull-cleaning maintenance.

 

6)                              The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board adjusted the generic national standards to better reflect local water chemistry conditions.   The San Diego Regional Board refuses to even consider using EPA’s recommended approach for calculating site-specific water quality criteria.

 

7)                              Even if every boat in Shelter Island Yacht Basin stopped using copper-based antifouling paint today, the concentration of dissolved copper in the water would not decline much because the amount of copper in greater San Diego Bay also exceeds the standard and will prevent SIYB from achieving compliance.