Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board
NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION Bacteria Water Quality Objectives Evaluation Project
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) is circulating a pre-recorded informational video presentation about the Bacteria Water Quality Objectives Evaluation Project . Several weeks after circulation of the presentation, Water Board staff will host a live Question and Answer (Q&A) webinar session about the Project to answer questions and receive informal comments from interested parties.
Informational Video Presentation (40mins) slides only
Live Q&A Session: Wednesday, August 5th at 6 p.m. – 8.00 p.m. Registration Link for Live Q&A Session
Remote Participation Only for Q&A Session
BACKGROUND
The Water Board is evaluating the Basin Plan fecal coliform bacteria water quality objective (WQO) as a result of the August 2018 State Water Resources Control Board action to adopt another fecal indicator bacteria WQO specifically to protect the Water Contact Recreation (REC-1) beneficial use. The recently adopted REC-1 WQO uses Escherichia Coli (E. coli) to indicate the likely presence of fecal matter in surface waters. The Water Board is seeking to engage with Lahontan Region interested parties or persons so that a comprehensive evaluation of the current fecal coliform objective can be completed.
Surface waters contaminated by fecal matter present a human health concern because pathogens and viruses which can be harmful to human health are shed with fecal matter and can be transmitted to people via contact with contaminated water. The presence of fecal matter in surface waters also contributes to environmental degradation. In light of the recently adopted E. coli objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial use and because of the significant human health risks associated with fecal contamination of surface waters, the Water Board has made evaluation of the current Basin Plan fecal coliform WQO a top planning priority.
The pre-recorded video presentation will provide an opportunity for interested parties to learn details about the project and highlight some of the issues this project will address. The live Q&A webinar session will provide a forum for interested parties to ask
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questions of Water Board staff and give informal comments to staff regarding the project.
DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY
The presentation video, presentation slides, Project contact information, and other documents for the Project can be found at the Project website.
PROCEDURAL MATTERS
Due to ongoing circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency, all public participation for this project will be remote via an online or telephone hosted platform. The presentation video and presentation slides are now available for review at the links provided above. Staff strongly encourage questions, comments, and discussion items be submitted to LahontanBacteriaObjectives@waterboards.ca.gov in advance of the live Q&A webinar session to guarantee their inclusion in the live event.
The purpose of the live Q&A webinar session is for interested parties to ask Water Board staff questions about the Project and to provide informal comments should they have any. Staff will not be giving a formal presentation at the live webinar, although there will be some brief, introductory comments to get the discussion started. Staff strongly encourage all webinar attendees to review the informational video presentation prior to the webinar. The presentation is available at the links provided above. The live Q&A webinar session will be recorded and made available on the Project website for those who are unable attend the live event.
ACCESSIBILITY
Please register for the live Q&A webinar session using the Registration Link provided above. Registrations are made through Eventbrite. The session will be held online over Zoom. Additional information about how to access the webinar will be provided through your Eventbrite registration.
FUTURE NOTICES
The Water Board will hold the public Q&A webinar session at the time and place noted above. Any change in the date, time, or place of the webinar will be noticed through the Project e-mail distribution list. Any person interested in receiving future notices, including any changes to this notice of public webinars, must sign up for the e-mail distribution list using the subscription form, select the box for ‘Basin Planning – Regionwide’ list, and provide the required information.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions regarding this notice may be directed to LahontanBacteriaObjectives@waterboards.ca.gov or to the Project Lead, Ed Hancock Ed.Hancock@waterboards.ca.gov. Ed can also be reached via telephone on 530-542- 5574.