Southern California Bight Monitoring Program
Inventory of ocean monitoring in the Southern California Bight
ABSTRACT http://www.sccwrp.org/pubs/annrpt/99-00/abst18_ar22.htm
Monitoring of the ocean environment in southern California has been conducted by a diverse array of public and private organizations with different motivations, working on a variety of spatial and temporal scales. To create a basis from which to integrate information from these diverse programs, we conducted an inventory of ocean monitoring activities in the Southern California Bight to address the following questions: (1) How many dollars are being expended annually on marine monitoring programs? (2) Which organizations are conducting the most monitoring effort? and (3) How are resources allocated among the different types of monitoring programs? This inventory focused on existing programs, or those expected to be in existence, for at least 10 years and that were active at any time between 1994 and 1997. For each program identified for inclusion in this study, information was collected on the number of sites, sampling intensity, parameters measured, and methods used. Levels of effort were translated into cost estimates based upon a market survey of local consulting firms. One hundred and fourteen marine monitoring programs, conducted by 65 organizations and costing $31 million annually, were identified. Most of the effort (81 programs, 65% of samples, 70% of costs) was expended by ocean dischargers as part of their compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements. Federal programs (11 programs, 25% of samples, 10% of total expenditures) expended more than state or local government programs. More than one-quarter of monitoring expenditures were conducted to measure concentrations and mass of effluent inputs to the ocean. The largest effort expended on receiving water monitoring was for measuring bacteria, followed by sediments, fish/shellfish, water quality, and intertidal habitats.
Field and Laboratory Services for Bight 03 Regional Monitoring
Awarded to: CRG Marine Laboratories, Aquatic Bioassay & Consulting Laboratories, Ventura Research Group, MEC Analytical Systems, AMEC Earth & Environmental http://www.sccwrp.org/rfp/rfp.htm
===================================
Re: Laboratory Intercalibration http://www.sccwrp.org/whatsnew/stormwater_lab_intercal.html
Date: October 17, 2002
Aa unique intercalibration study with the members of the Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC). The SMC is comprised of the 11 lead regulatory and regulated agencies for municipal stormwater NPDES permits throughout southern California. The SMC is interested in increasing comparability among their monitoring programs in order to make regional assessments of stormwater quality. Similarly, members of the SMC will be coordinating their efforts with the Regional Monitoring Project for the Southern California Bight, commonly referred to as "Bight '03". Therefore, the SMC will be utilizing the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) to lead the intercalibration study by coordinating round-robin testing for a variety of analytes including suspended solids, nutrients, trace metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and organophosphorous pesticides. The ultimate goal of the study will be to develop performance-based quality assurance and quality control criteria for ongoing stormwater testing throughout the region. Laboratories that wish to analyze stormwater samples on behalf of SMC member agencies in the future, or participate in Bight '03, will need to verify that they can meet the performance-based criteria developed as part of this intercalibration study.
The study will necessitate your cooperation in three main areas. First, we will request your assistance in refining the study workplan. Second, we will request your lab to analyze the round-robin samples distributed to each facility. This may require at least two or more iterations, depending on the success of each laboratory. Third, we will request your assistance in developing the performance-based objectives that will be described in our laboratory manual for stormwater testing. We have enclosed a project Scope of Work for your reference on the details of this study. We expect to begin this study by December 2002 and complete it within 12 months.
Please contact Ken Schiff at 714.372.9202 by November 15th so we can add your name to the list of participating laboratories.

San Diego Bay Advisory Committee for Ecological Assessment.
BILL NUMBER: SB 68
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alpert
(Coauthor: Senator Ducheny)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Kehoe)
JANUARY 17, 2003
This bill would establish the San Diego Bay Advisory Committee for Ecological Assessment. The bill would require the committee to prepare a report relating to the water quality and regulation of the San Diego Bay. The bill would require the committee to submit the report on or before December 31, 2005, to the Legislature, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, the state board, and the California Coastal Commission.

Tijuana River Reserve, California http://nerrs.noaa.gov/TijuanaRiver/
Location: The reserve is located near Imperial Beach, in San Diego County, on the Mexican border.Total Acreage: 2,500 Lead State Agency: California Department of Parks and Recreation
The Tijuana River Reserve is located in a highly urbanized environment. The reserve encompasses beach, dune, mudflat, saltmarsh, riparian, coastal sage and upland habitats surrounded by the growing cities of Tijuana, Imperial Beach and San Diego. Three quarters of the reserve’s watershed is in Mexico and the management, education and research issues involve an international perspective. Critical issues confronted by the reserve include habitat restoration, endangered species management, management of the wastewater from Mexico, sediment management, and the integration of recreation and habitat conservation and restoration.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Copied from meeting minutes posted at: http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/sbrp/rfa/atsdr.html

SBRP staff have sought to maintain productive relations with ATSDR. Dr. Robert Spengler, Associate Administrator for Science, has served as the primary liaison with ATSDR. Dr. Chris DeRosa has served on different SBRP committees and has graciously agreed to serve as a member of the EAG. Collaborative efforts have resulted in the joint publication of a special issue of the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health that highlights the Superfund-related research being conducted by USEPA, ATSDR, and SBRP. The SBRP has also been involved in the NIEHS - ASTDR collaborative efforts to promote an integrated research agenda and the most effective use of research results in the field. On February 12, 2002, Drs. Olden and Falk convened a meeting of both agencies' senior scientists and managers to identify a few areas for the two agencies to focus particular efforts of coordination. The two agencies followed up on the SBRP - ATSDR specific collaboration efforts in a meeting in early January 2003. At this meeting SBRP staff met with Dr. Henry Falk, Assistant Administrator ATSDR, and many ATSDR Division Directors. Details of the meeting are specified in the meeting report presented below:

ATSDR Meeting Report

The NIEHS SBRP staff met with senior ATSDR management on January 7th to discuss how the SBRP program presently supports the ATSDR mission, how it may be able to do more in the future, and what research needs are most critical to ATSDR.

Bill Suk, Beth Anderson, Claudia Thompson, and Larry Reed from SBRP and Jayne Michaud from USEPA Superfund met with Henry Falk and Peter McCumiskey, ATSDR Division Directors and other senior managers (including Juan Reyes, Chris DeRosa, Libby Howze, and David Williamson).

The major observations made by Dr. Falk were:

Since both ATSDR and NIEHS report sequentially to the same VA-HUD appropriation committee, it is important to continue to emphasize the dialogue and collaboration between the two agencies.
ATSDR needs to be using the NIEHS science in discharging its mission.
ATSDR is a service agency, basically, but it is a difficult task since the science is so imperfect. Therefore, sound science can only support their efforts.
The response to the WTC disaster has shown that both agencies must be positioned to integrate their disaster response capabilities to be prepared for any future major disasters.
Informatics is an area of continued interest; opportunities for coordination should be pursued.
NIEHS' toxicogenomics program has important implications to ATSDR's health assessments and continued dialogue between the two agencies is important.
CDC's emphasis is presently on assessing potential biological agents, but they are also working from a master list of 501 possible chemicals of concern for a terrorist action. Many of those chemicals have incomplete toxicity data. This is of potential interest to ATSDR and NIEHS, and efforts need to be coordinated.

The larger meeting with ATSDR division directors was chaired by Peter McCumiskey. Some of the major observations included:

Both Agencies recognize the need to demonstrate not only the collaboration being undertaken, but also the real world benefits of that collaboration.
Community outreach is a very good area to focus on collaboration.
In the area of children's health, the ATSDR Pediatric Environmental Health Services Units (PEHSUs) and NIEHS' Children's Health Centers have been collaborating very well. This demonstrates an area where non-Superfund NIEHS resources are being leveraged to further help the USEPA Superfund field program.
Informatics was cited as a field still early in the developmental stages. A joint committee was looking to ensure that there was coordination between the agencies, especially in the development of new databases.
NIEHS' microarray data may be a very appropriate early application of a coordinated informatics approach.
SBRP noted that NIH has a GPRA goal of an integrated database system by 2012, so we should make sure our collaboration is integrated with those broader efforts.
The Gene SNP's data base may be another good pilot informatics collaboration effort.
The importance of the human genome research results need to be translated to the general public and to the field of risk assessment.
The SBRP GIS research programs at University of California - San Diego and Boston University could serve as useful tools in the development of the informatics collaboration between the agencies. ATSDR would like to learn more about the University of California - San Diego GIS effort.
Coordinated research efforts that the two agencies have initiated (e.g., thyroid hormone research, portable analytical devices, and biomarkers) are continuing.
The importance of developing real time field analytical equipment was emphasized. Communities want such real time data if new technologies are going to be used to remediate a site. Such research also has counter-terrorism applications. Local communities are very interested in monitoring technologies that they can use (e.g., radon testing kits).

WATER MONITORING OUTREACH PROGRAM
http://www-biology.ucsd.edu/labs/schroeder/watermonitor.html
In the fall of 2001 the Schroeder laboratory at UCSD begun a collaboration with the San Diego Baykeeper organization ( www.sdbaykeeper.org ) to assist the grassroots organization in monitoring water quality at sites throughout San Diego county. The San Diego Baykeeper was established to enforce the provisions of the federal Clean Water Act of 1972. The organization measures levels of bacteria and toxic metal contamination, and when contamination is found reports these to governmental organizations (such as the EPA and the cities of San Diego and Encinitas) responsible for the pollution. As some areas of the San Diego Bay are polluted, the work of the San Diego Baykeeper is instrumental in preserving the water quality in San Diego. A graduate student, David Lee, and a high school student, Josephine Aguilar, of the Schroeder lab have joined Baykeeper in collecting water samples from Paleta and Chollas Creeks, both designated toxic hot spots by the State Water Quality Board, and process these samples along with others collected from around the county. The water samples are being measured on the ICP-AES machine in Jeff Harper’s laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute, and further analyzed in the Schroeder laboratory to determine the levels of dissolved metals such as arsenic and lead. The data we are generating has been presented by Baykeeper to the City of San Diego.

Excerpts from: Regionalization of the State Water Resources Control Board Strategic Plan (Regionalization Plan), document dated October 6, 2003.
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/strategicplan/plan_web.pdf

WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

Adequate and accurate monitoring and assessment is the cornerstone to
preserving, enhancing, and restoring water quality. The information gathered
from these monitoring activities is critical for: determining the effects of point
and nonpoint source pollution; protection of drinking water supplies; conducting
federal Clean Water Act assessments; determining trends in water and habitat
quality; and developing water quality standards and then determining if they are
strategic projects.

The 1999 Compliance Assurance and Enforcement Initiative established the goal
of achieving measurable and continuing increases in compliance rates and
identified a wide variety of challenges and proposed solutions. Improved data
management is the cornerstone for improved compliance assurance and
enforcement. Regulators, policy makers, and the public need better access to
being met. A number of recent legislative actions have identified the need for
improved water quality monitoring in California. The 1999-00 Budget Act
required us to provide a plan for comprehensive surface water and groundwater
monitoring. In November 2000, in response to Assembly Bill (AB) 982 (1999
legislative session), the State Board submitted to the Legislature a comprehensive
plan for the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) and
Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA). The State and
Regional Boards are now implementing these programs to the extent funding is
available. (p. 10)

Our last goal focuses on our ability to measure results. It is critical that we have
the appropriate systems in place allowing us to assess and report on our progress
toward improving and restoring California’s water resources. At this time, we do
not have enough monitoring resources to effectively evaluate the state’s water
quality. We will work with stakeholders to identify and implement additional
monitoring resources. We will use measures to determine the effectiveness of our
program activities and make modifications to improve that effectiveness. We will
also work closely with stakeholders to develop and implement the most effective
measurement and reporting tools so that we may communicate a consistent
message regarding California’s water quality. Included in this effort is our
participation in the Cal/EPA EPIC Project which is developing environmental

GOAL #6: WATER QUALITY IS COMPREHENSIVELY MEASURED TO EVALUATE
PROTECTION AND RESTORATION EFFORTS
"How will we accomplish our goal?"
We will achieve this goal by pursuing the following measurable objectives:
*Increase the amount of useable quantitative data and information
regarding water quality
*Translate quantitative data into useful information regarding the status of
water quality
*Coordinate the collection and reporting of water quality information among
programs, agencies and stakeholders

"What actions will we take to achieve our objectives?"
* Develop the systems and processes to measure and demonstrate quantitative
improvements in and maintenance of water quality
* Improve intra-agency, inter-agency and stakeholder coordination of
programs and data sharing
* Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project: Coordinate surface water
monitoring efforts so that they are comprehensive, non-duplicative, and
appropriately funded. Create an ambient monitoring program that
addresses all hydrologic units of the state using: consistent and objective
monitoring, sampling, and analytical methods; consistent data quality
assurance protocols; and centralized data management. Document
ambient water quality conditions in potentially clean and polluted areas.
The scale for these assessments ranges from site-specific to statewide.
Identify specific water quality problems preventing the State and Regional
Boards and the public from realizing the beneficial uses of water in targeted
watersheds.
* Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Project: Facilitate
coordination, communication, and data sharing among various
groundwater programs and agencies. Compile groundwater information
and data widely so that it can be used by multiple programs and agencies,
and is accessible to all stakeholders. Assess groundwater susceptibility.
* System for Water Information Management (SWIM 2) Project: Provide
automated tools and standardized business processes to improve the State
and Regional Boards’ ability to enhance and preserve the quality of the
state’s waters. This will be done by building a comprehensive, integrated,
appropriately accessible system with consistent, reliable data. The system
will expand existing system capabilities to include licensing and monitoring
programs. It will automate manual processes, allowing electronic
submissions of reports and importing of relevant data. It will make data
Internet-accessible. The system will provide tools for integrated watershed
assessment and management. The system will also include the
functionality currently included in the Geographic Environmental
Information Management System – GEIMS (also known as GeoTracker).

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Environmental Justice Project: Develop and implement a plan to integrate
Environmental Justice activities into all State and Regional Board program
areas.

CROSS-BORDER PROJECT
A group of Border Initiative staff in support of Cal/EPA that focus on
restoring and protecting the California/Mexico

ERDC TN-DOER-C19, December 2000
http://www.wes.army.mil/el/dots/doer/pdf/doerc19.pdf

Biomarker-Based Analysis for Contaminants in Sediments/Soil: Review of Cell-Based
Assays and cDNA Arrays

PURPOSE: This technical note reviews the existing technology for cell-based biomarker assays andcDNAarrays and explores their potential as rapid, sensitive, and low-cost tools for sediment/soil toxicity screening.

The P450RGS assay illustrates the potential savings and benefits offered by cell-based assays. Although gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) is the definitive method for identifying and determining the precise amount of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds present in an environmental sample, the method is expensive (~$1,200 -$2,000 per sample). P450RGS is far less expensive at about $200 per sample, and its use can result in major cost savings when used to screen multiple
sediment cores to determine which samples should be confirmed by GC-MS.

EPA's Field Analytic Technologies Encyclopedia (FATE) web site.
http://fate.clu-in.org/

This online encyclopedia is intended to provide information about technologies that can be used in the field to characterize contaminated media, monitor the progress of remedial efforts, and in some cases, for confirmation sampling and analysis for site close out.

Technological advances over the past decade have created a whole new set of tools to improve site cleanup and long-term monitoring. Computerization, microfabrication, and biotechnology permit the development of analytical equipment that has capabilities that blur the distinction between "screening methods" and "definitive methods." In the next decade, technological advances are likely to alter that landscape even more dramatically.

The various technologies presented on this web site are grouped into the following categories:

• Analytics
• Direct-Push Technologies
• Explosives
• Geophysics
• Sampling
• Sampling Design

Freshwater and Marine Toxicity Tests
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/ecotox/pdf/marinetox.pdf

Document provide an overview of the various standardized aquatic toxicity test protocols available for hazard assessment. Environmental managers responsible for assessing the ecological integrity of aquatic resources in California rely on a number of assessment tools including chemical analysis of water, sediment, and tissue; biological assessments; and toxicity tests. Toxicity tests are an important component for assessing the impact of chemicals on aquatic ecosystems because they indicate toxic effects of complex chemical mixtures. In aquatic toxicity tests, groups of selected organisms are exposed to test materials (water or sediment samples) under defined conditions to determine potential adverse effects. A number of standardized toxicity test protocols have been developed for determining toxicity of chemicals to aquatic species. Detailed guidance manuals for marine and freshwater toxicity tests are available from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and other entities such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). These protocols provide guidance on application of toxicity tests for
assessing toxicity of single chemicals, complex effluents, and ambient samples of water or sediment.

working draft