San Francisco Bay Nutrient Numeric Endpoint Development
San Francisco Bay Water Board staff has embarked on an effort working with the State Water Board, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Program (SCCWRP) and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) to develop nutrient numeric endpoints (NNE) for the San Francisco Bay Estuary.  This effort is part of broader efforts statewide, supported by the U.S. EPA Region IX and the State Water Board, to address nutrient over-enrichment or eutrophication in State waters, specifically work that is ongoing to develop the NNE framework for streams and lakes and for California’s coastal estuaries. 

The process for developing nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient criteria for California started in 1998 with the publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria (USEPA, 1998).

The goal of this effort is to develop a set of NNEs that can used by the Water Boards in our water quality programs. A stakeholder advisory group (SAG) will help guide the development of the San Francisco Bay Estuary NNE.  The effort will also rely on input from technical advisors. 		

Nutrient Related Background Documents 

U.S. EPA National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria (1998)
Technical Approach for Developing Nutrient Numeric Endpoints in California ( July 2006)
Technical Approach for Developing Nutrient Numeric Endpoints California Estuaries (March 2007)
U.S. EPA Nutrient Control Design Manual (January 2009)
Draft Document - Science Supporting Dissolved Oxygen Objectives for Estuaries (September 2010)

Project Technical Reports 

Literature Review and Data Gaps Analysis (in Progress)

Public Involvement in the Project – Stakeholder Advisory Group
We have established a San Francisco Bay Stakeholder Advisory Group (SF Bay SAG) to guide the development of the NNE for the Estuary.   The purpose of the SF Bay SAG is to advise the Water Board on the science and policy supporting NNE development and specifically to review background policy and technical information, provide stakeholder perspective and input on the NNE process and technical documents.

The SAG also advises the Water Board on the selection of experts to be part of the Technical Team and the Scientific Advisory Panel. 

We expect the SAG to collectively identify topics of agreement and disagreement regarding the development of the NNE and to work in good faith with other stakeholders to identify potential options for agreement.

SF Bay SAG Invitation Letter September 2010

Initial Stakeholder meeting - October 4, 2010:
October SAG Meeting Agenda
October 4, 2010 SAG Meeting Presentation

Second Stakeholder meeting – February 4, 2011
February SAG Meeting Agenda
February 4, 2011 SAG Meeting Presentation

Third Stakeholder meeting – May 20, 2011 
All meeting materials will be posted here when available

San Francisco Estuary Technical Team Committee
Technical Team members:
Jim Cloern (United States Geological Service)
Dick Dugdale (Romberg Tiburon Center – San Francisco State University)
Raphael Kudela (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Kathy Bowyer (Romberg Tiburon Center – San Francisco State University)

Initial Meeting December 2, 2010
Agenda SF Bay Tech Team Meeting 
Key questions 
SCCWRP Presentation

Meeting #2 February 11, 20111

Other Links
USGS San Francisco Bay Water Quality Monitoring (http://sfbay.wr.usgs.gov/access/wqdata/overview/people/jim.html)
SCCWRP Web Site (http://sccwrp.org/ResearchAreas/Nutrients.aspx)
Nutrients in Estuaries, A Summary Report of the National Estuarine Experts Workgroup 2005–2007 (November 2010) (link to file in directory)

For more information contact: 
Naomi Feger
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-622-2328
Fax: 510-622-2460
E-mail: nfeger@waterboards.ca.gov