The primary goal of the Implementation Plan is to restore supporting conditions for beneficial uses and ensure compliance with water quality objectives in the impaired waterbodies impacted by anthropogenic activities generating fecal waste. In order to prevent future impairments, the Implementation Plan also addresses polluted waterbodies that have not been identified as impaired, but do show exceedances of the REC­1 objective.
Available data indicates that all six impaired coastal streams, 13 coastal streams with exceedances of the REC­1 Objective, and nine REC­1 and/or SHELL impaired ocean beaches all have anthropogenic sources of pollution that can be controlled – specifically, fecal waste from humans, dogs, and cattle. Three impaired ocean beaches are not addressed in the Implementation Plan as these beaches did not show evidence of anthropogenic fecal sources that could be controlled. Available data collected from these three beaches points to gulls, deer, and elk as the sources of fecal pollution.
The Implementation Plan does not establish or change any existing regulations but rather references existing regulatory and non­regulatory actions that are expected to result in attainment of objectives in these waterbodies. The Implementation Plan describes pollutant sources to the impaired and polluted waterbodies and describes ongoing and expected implementation actions to reduce pollutant loading.
The Plan identifies pet waste, onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS), stormwater runoff, damaged, defective, or non­functioning wastewater collection systems, grazing, recreation, and transient communities as potential causes of pollution to these waterbodies and outlines actions to reduce potential pollutant discharges due to all these causes and sources.
An overview of the regulatory mechanisms currently being used to control dog, human, and cattle fecal waste sources in the waterbodies on the Action and Watch Lists is provided below:

• Dog and Human Fecal Waste Sources
• Proposed requirements within the upcoming Phase II Municipal Separate Stormwater System (MS4) Permit
• Sanitary Sewer Systems (SSS) General Order
• Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma County Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) requirements for OWTS and septic systems
• Existing Pet Waste Control Mechanisms employed by California Department of Parks and Recreation, Humboldt County Parks Department, Trinidad Coastal Land Trust, Mendocino Land Trust, and Jacoby Land Trust
• Existing and Upcoming pet waste, transient housing and community connection building, sewer system construction and improvement projects being conducted by the Cities of Arcata and Eureka
• Dairy and Non­Dairy Cattle Fecal Waste
• General Waste Discharge Requirements for Dairies in the North Coast Region (Dairy Permit)
• Existing enforcement action, and future action if needed, by the North Coast Water Board Enforcement program

Ongoing and foreseeable actions by the regulatory and non-regulatory bodies listed below using the mechanisms described above are expected to continue to improve and protect water quality in the waterbodies included in the Implementation Plan.

• Humboldt County Department of Environmental Health
• Humboldt County Public Works Department
• City of Arcata Environmental Services Department
• City of Eureka Public Works Department
• Jacoby Creek Land Trust
• Trinidad Coastal Land Trust
• Mendocino County Environmental Health Division
• Mendocino Land Trust
• North Coast Water Board Dairy Program
• North Coast Water Board Enforcement Program
• North Coast Water Board Storm Water Unit
• California Department of Parks and Recreation

Since 2020 and continuing through the early part of 2025, North Coast Water Board staff have actively engaged the interested parties that represent regulatory, environmental, and community perspectives to develop and conduct Coastal Pathogen Project sampling, share and obtain water quality data, and to develop and inform the Implementation Plan. The coordination has included meetings with both regulatory agencies and non­government organizations, including Humboldt County Department of Environmental Health, Humboldt County Public Works Department, City of Arcata Environmental Services Department, City of Eureka Public Works Department, Jacoby Creek Land Trust, Trinidad Coastal Land Trust, Humboldt Waterkeeper, Mendocino County Environmental Health Division, Mendocino Land Trust, North Coast Water Board Dairy Program, North Coast Water Board Enforcement Program, North Coast Water Board Storm Water Unit, California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the State Water Resources Control Board. Staff also distributed fact sheets to these entities as well as five Native American tribes (Trinidad Rancheria, Wiyot Tribe, Yurok Tribe, Round Valley Indian Tribes, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria) with lands in the watersheds of the waterbodies included in the Implementation Plan,  describing the Implementation Plan in order to provide information and solicit feedback.

Technical Reports

• Assessment of Fecal Indicator Bacteria Data from 21 Humboldt County Coastal Streams
• Assessment of Fecal Indicator Bacteria Data from 19 North Coast Ocean Beaches
• Assessment of Land Cover, Land Use, and Microbial Source Tracking Data from 28 Coastal Streams, and 12 Ocean Beaches in the North Coast Region
• Assessment of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Microbial Source Tracking Data from Jolly Giant Creek
• Coastal Pathogen Project Synthesis Report
• An Interpretation of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Narrative Natural Background Water Quality Objective for Bacteria as Applied in Freshwater Streams of the Coast Range Ecoregion
  

Technical Memoranda

• 2022 Salinity Study
• Exclusion of Specific Source Assessment Study Sampling Stations from Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Microbial Source Tracking Data Assessment
• Technical Reports and Memoranda of the Coastal Pathogen Project
  

Fact Sheet

• Coastal Pathogen Source Reduction Strategy Fact Sheet

Quality Assurance Project Plan

• Coastal Watershed Pathogen Indicator Study Quality Assurance Project Plan