(a) The state board shall formulate and adopt a water quality control plan for ocean waters of the state which shall be known as the California Ocean Plan.
(b) The plan shall be reviewed at least every three years to guarantee that the current standards are adequate and are not allowing degradation to indigenous marine species or posing a threat to human health.
(c) In formulating the plan, the state board shall develop bioassay protocols to evaluate the effect of municipal and industrial waste discharges on the marine environment.
(d) The state board shall adopt the bioassay protocols and complementary chemical testing methods and shall require their use in the monitoring of complex effluent ocean discharges. For purposes of this section, “complex effluent” means an effluent in which all chemical constituents are not known or monitored. The state board shall adopt bioassay protocols and complementary chemical testing methods for complex effluent ocean monitoring by January 1, 1990, and shall require their use in monitoring complex effluent ocean discharges by entities discharging 100 million gallons per day or more by January 1, 1991. The state board shall also adopt a schedule for requiring the use of these protocols for complex effluent ocean discharges of under 100 million gallons per day by January 1, 1992.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1478, Sec. 2.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018