Notice of Availability of Draft Document, Public Comment Period, and Public Workshops,
For the Klamath River Total Maximum Daily Loads and Action Plan Addressing Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Nutrient, and Microcystin Impairments

June 10, 2009

Purpose of Notice

Notice is hereby given that the California Regional Water Quality Control
Board, North Coast Region (Regional Water Board) and United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 are making available for
public review and comment the Public Review Draft Staff Report for the
Klamath River Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Action Plan Addressing
Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Nutrient, and Microcystin Impairments (Public
Review Draft). Written comments for this joint Regional Water Board and EPA
Region 9 public comment period should be submitted to the Regional Water
Board, as described below, by August 17, 2009. After the public comment
period, the Regional Water Board staff will make any necessary revisions and
propose the Klamath Basin TMDLs and associated Action Plan to the Regional
Water Board as an amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the North
Coast Region.

The Regional Water Board has been working collaboratively with EPA Regions 9
and 10, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) on the
development of coordinated TMDLs for the Oregon and California portions of
the Klamath River and the Lost River. Nutrient and temperature TMDLs for the
Klamath River, from the Oregon border to the Pacific Ocean, are to be
established by December 31, 2010 in accordance with the consent decree
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, et al. v. Marcus (No.
95-4474 MHP, 11 March 1997), amended in December 2007 (Notice of Agreement
to Modify Schedule for Establishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads (filed in
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California).

Should the nutrient and temperature TMDLs for the California Klamath River
mainstem not be adopted by California in time to be approved by EPA Region 9
by December 31, 2010, EPA Region 9 would be required to establish federal
TMDLs for the Klamath River by that date. EPA would not establish any
implementation plan for these federal TMDLs, in that implementation plans
are solely the responsibility of the state. To address the potential need
for EPA to establish federal TMDLs for the Klamath River, EPA is jointly
issuing this notice to solicit public comment on the Public Review Draft and
to announce public workshops.

Overview of the Public Review Draft

The Public Review Draft includes the following elements: Public Notice -2-
June 10, 2009
   
1.    Pollutant load allocations and water quality targets associated with
pollutant sources that contribute to the water temperature, nutrients,
dissolved oxygen, and microcystin impairments in the Klamath River in
California.

2.    An implementation plan for attaining the allocations and targets
that identifies responsible parties and requires them to implement measures
that control pollutant sources.

3.    A California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental analysis
that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of reasonably foreseeable
compliance measures.

4.    A plan to monitor water quality conditions in the Klamath Basin in
California in comparison to the TMDL allocations and targets.

5.    Reporting requirements for responsible parties that track the
implementation and effectiveness of compliance measures.

6.    An explanation of existing regulatory authorities the Regional Water
Board may use to achieve compliance with the TMDLs.

The TMDL implementation plan will build upon on-going water quality control
efforts in the Klamath River Basin in California by recommending additional
measures where current efforts are not sufficient to meet TMDL requirements.
The implementation plan will recommend the appropriate combination of Waste
Discharge Requirements (WDRs), conditional waiver of WDRs, and/or
prohibitions to make the TMDL implementation measures and discharger
reporting requirements enforceable. The TMDL allocations and targets and the
implementation plan are summarized in a TMDL Action Plan.

Availability of the Public Review Draft Documents

Chapters 1 through 5 of the Public Review Draft will be available for review
on June 15, 2009. The remaining chapters of the Public Review Draft,
including the TMDL Action Plan and CEQA environmental analyses, will be
available for review on or before June 29, 2009. Copies of the proposed
Public Review Draft will be available at the following Regional Water Board
and EPA web sites:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/