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Water Quality Management Planning o N en ..... The Water Quality Control Plan for the Colorado River Basin was adopted by the Regional Board in November 1993. Following public hearings, the updated plan was adopted by the Regional Board and approved by the State Water Resources Control Board in February 1994. The revised plan became effective upon approval of the Qffice of Administrative Law in August 1994. The salinity control component of the Water Quality Control Plan is consistent with the Forum's Plan of Implementation for salinity control. The Regioual Board is working with local entities and the Colorado River Board of California to ensure that implementation of the water quality plan is achieved. The Colorado River Basin Regional Board initiated a Triennial Review of the Water Quality Control Plan in September 2001. The purpose of this review is to reaffIrm and/or revise water quality objectives and beneficial uses for ground and surface waters, and evaluate the adequacy of the Basin Plan for protecting water quality. Several projects that require Basin Plan amendments are underway and include Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for the Salton Sea, New and Alamo Rivers, and localized septic tank prohibitions. Qther Activities State Water Resources Control Board policy 75-58 established priorities for the use of poor quality waters for cooling of inland power plants, and has been in effect since 1975. The State Water Resources Control Board has included salinity control in the Colorado River among its top priority items. Colorado NPDES Permits The NPDES permit program has been delegated to the State of Colorado by theEP A since 1978. The Water Quality Control Division ("WQCD") of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment administers the NPDES program in Colorado. The Water Quality Control Commission ("WQCC") has adopted regulations which reflect all of the current Forum policies for implementation of the Colorado River Salinity Standards. Permits issued for discharges tributary to the Colorado River require compliance with these regulations and monitoring of discharged salt loads. Consistent with the Forum's policies, industrial and municipal permittees who cannot meet the no salt discharge objective of those policies, and do not otherwise qualify for a waiver of the objective, are required to conduct studies to demonstrate that meeting these standards is not practicable. The State of Colorado administers far more NPDES permits in the Colorado River Basin than any other Basin state. As of December 31,2001, there were approximately 370 NPDES permits in the Colorado River Basin portion of the state, of which 44% were for domestic or municipal dischargers and 56% were for industrial facilities (which category includes discharges from mUJ;1icipal potable water treatment plants). 4-18 "