Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin to Incorporate Total Maximum Daily Loads for Copper for Newport Bay, Orange County,CA
Summary
SCH Number
2026060893
Lead Agency
California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region 8
(RWQCB)
Document Title
Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin to Incorporate Total Maximum Daily Loads for Copper for Newport Bay, Orange County,CA
Document Type
NDE - Notice of Decision
Received
Posted
6/18/2026
Document Description
On December 2, 2022, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted Resolution No. R8-2022-0012 to incorporate Copper Total Maximum Daily Loads (Copper TMDLs) for Newport Bay, Orange County, California into the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (the Basin Plan Amendment). The State Water Resources Control Board approved the Basin Plan Amendment under Resolution No. 2025-0023 on August 5, 2025. On April 28, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law approved the Regulatory Provisions for the Newport Bay Copper TMDLs.
The Basin Plan Amendment incorporates TMDLs for copper in Newport Bay, and an implementation plan to restore water quality into Chapter 6 of the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (the Basin Plan).
TMDLs are a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act. Upper Newport Bay and Lower Newport Bay are assigned TMDLs in this Basin Plan amendment.
The parties responsible for implementing the Copper TMDLs include the City of Newport Beach, County of Orange, marina owners/operators, underwater hull cleaners, and private and commercial boat owners/operators. The Santa Ana Water Board expects that the primary trustees in Newport Bay granted sovereign tidelands and submerged tidelands in trust – the City of Newport Beach and County of Orange – will take the lead on developing and implementing plans to reduce copper in the bay.
An implementation schedule with interim compliance milestones and dates has been developed for these Copper TMDLs. This schedule allows time to implement and adaptively manage the tasks to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness. In particular, this compliance schedule is applicable to the reduction of copper discharges from copper antifouling paints on boats. If copper discharges from sources other than boats exceed their allocations, a plan would be required to reduce those discharges.
Contact Information
Name
Emily Ferrill
Agency Name
Santa Ana Regional Water Boards
Job Title
Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Newport Beach
Counties
Orange
Regions
Countywide
Waterways
Newport Bay
Other Location Info
Orange County, California
Notice of Determination
Approving Agency
Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board
Approving Agency Role
Lead Agency
Approved On
County Clerk
Orange
Final Environmental Document Available at
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/santaana/water_issues/programs/tmdl/
Determinations
(1) The project will have a significant impact on the environment
N/A
(2a) An Environmental Impact Report was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
No
(2b) A Mitigated or a Negative Declaration was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
No
(2c) An other document type was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
Yes (Substitute Environmental Document (SED))
(3) Mitigated measures were made a condition of the approval of the project
N/A
(4) A mitigation reporting or monitoring plan was adopted for this project
N/A
(5) A Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted for this project
N/A
(6) Findings were made pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
N/A
Attachments
Final Document(s) [Approved_Certified draft environmental documents]
Notice of Determination
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