CV-SALTS – Managing Salt and Nitrate in the California Central Valley
Basin Planning
Basin Plan Amendments
Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basin and the Tulare Lake Basin
In May 2018, because of CV-SALTS program efforts, a new Salt and Nitrate Control Program (SNMP) was approved by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board as Amendments to the Basin Plans for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basin and the Tulare Lake Basin. The State Water Resources Control Board then directed targeted revisions to the Amendments adopted by the Central Valley Water Board. The Proposed Revisions were approved with an effective date of November 10, 2021.
Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins
On June 9, 2017, the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board adopted Resolution R5-2017-0062 amending the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins to add EC water quality objectives in the San Joaquin River between the mouth of the Merced River and the Airport Way Bridge near Vernalis. The amendment was approved by the State Water Board and Office of Administrative Law in early 2018. This stakeholder driven effort was led by the CV-SALTS Lower San Joaquin River Committee.
Final Salt and Nitrate Management Plan (SNMP) – 2017
The Final SNMP for Central Valley Water Board Consideration was formally submitted by the CV-SALTS Executive Committee to the Central Valley Water Board on 12 January 2017. The SNMP recommended that the Basin Plans be amended to incorporate new requirements for managing salt and nitrate in the Central Valley. On 9 March 2017, the Board accepted the SNMP developed under the CV-SALTS initiative and directed staff to initiate basin planning actions to develop and incorporate amendments to the Basin Plans that would allow for the implementation of the strategies, policies, guidance and revisions to existing policies recommended by the SNMP as appropriate to develop a Central Valley-wide Salt and Nitrate Control Program (Resolution No. R5-2017-0031) .
SNMP SECTIONS
- Executive Summary
- Front Material
- Section 1 – Introduction
- Section 2 – Central Valley Region
- Section 3 – Salt & Nitrate Conditions in the Central Valley
- Section 4 – Central Valley Salt & Nitrate Management Strategy
- Section 5 – Surveillance and Monitoring Program
- Section 6 – Environmental Review and Economics Analysis
- Section 7 – References
- A-1 Groundwater Management Zone Policy
- A-2 Nitrate Permitting Strategy
- A-3 Salinity Management Strategy
- A-4 Revisions to the Exceptions Policy for Waste Discharges to Groundwater
- A-5 AGR Policy
- A-6 Salinity Variance Program Policy
- A-7 Offsets Policy
- A-8 Drought and Water Conservation Policy
- A-9 Guidance to Implement Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels
- A-10 Guidance for Developing Alternative Compliance Projects for Nitrate Discharges
- A-11 Factors to Support a Maximum Benefit Finding