Why is mercury a wastewater issue?
A. Under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, states are required to develop a list of water bodies with water quality impairments. The water bodies on the list do not meet water quality standards. San Francisco Bay is listed with 12 toxic pollutants including mercury. Because of mercury impairment, fish consumption advisories have been issued for San Francisco Bay. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region (Regional Board) issues the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES Permit) for wastewater treatment plants. The NPDES Permit requires compliance with wastewater discharge limitations for pollutants, including mercury. The San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), which was recently approved by the EPA and Regional Board, requires the Plant to develop and implement an aggressive source control and pollution prevention program to comply with new mercury limits and to maximize the Plant’s control over mercury
