Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay

Focus areas covered by the RMP are primarily addressed by the six workgroups: Emerging Contaminants (ECWG); Exposure and Effects (EEWG); Sources, Pathways and Loadings (SPLWG); PCBs; Selenium; and Dioxin. Workgroups consist of scientists who are currently studying the Bay, invited scientists who are nationally recognized experts in their field, and federal and state regulators. Each workgroup meets one to three times a year to address issues concerning the planning and implementation of RMP Special Studies and relevant elements of Status and Trends monitoring.

RMP "strategy teams" provide a forum for focus on specific interests to the program. The strategy teams are composed of stakeholder groups, which meet as needed to develop long-term RMP study plans for addressing high priority topics. To date, the RMP has developed strategies pertaining to mercury, PCBs, dioxins, small tributary loads, forecasting, and sport fish. The RMP also participates in the San Francisco Bay Nutrient Science and Management Strategy, which is developing the science needed for informed decisions about managing nutrient loads and maintaining beneficial uses within the Bay.

Activities of the workgroups, and technical content of the program as a whole, are overseen by the Technical Review Committee. The Steering Committee determines the overall budget, allocates program funds, tracks progress, and provides direction to the Program from a manager's perspective.

Key Resources

• Bay RMP Committee Resources (Google Site)
• Bay RMP Charter
• 2017 RMP Detailed Workplan and Budget
• 2016 RMP Detailed Workplan and Budget
• 2016 Multi-Year Plan

Events and Meeting Materials

Bay RMP Steering Committee Meeting (Jul 19, 2017)

Bay RMP Steering Committee Meeting (Apr 26, 2017)

Bay RMP Technical Review Committee Meeting (Mar 9, 2017)

Bay RMP Steering Committee Meeting (Jan 17, 2017)

Bay RMP Technical Review Committee Meeting (Dec 8, 2016)

Bay RMP Multi Year Planning Workshop and Steering Committee Meeting (Nov 1, 2016)

Bay RMP Technical Review Committee Meeting (Sep 21, 2016)

Bay RMP Steering Committee Meeting (Jul 19, 2016)

More Events

The Status and Trends (S&T) monitoring program is composed primarily of five program elements:

1. long-term water, sediment, and bivalve monitoring
2. episodic toxicity monitoring
3. sport fish monitoring
4. the USGS hydrographic and sediment transport studies
   1. Factors Controlling Suspended Sediment in San Francisco Bay
   2. USGS Monthly Water Quality Data
5. triennial bird egg monitoring (cormorant and tern)

Status & Trends Monitoring Projects

Events and Meeting Materials

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

RMP Steering Committee Meeting (Apr 21, 2015)

In 1997, the RMP underwent a 5-year program review which helped to develop a revised set of RMP objectives including a new objective: “Describe general sources and loading of contamination to the Estuary” (Bernstein and O’Connor, 1997). The goal was to create a functional connection between the RMP and efforts to identify, eliminate, and prevent sources of pollution that influence the Bay. Guided by the new objective, the Sources, Pathways, and Loading Workgroup (SPLWG) was formed in early 1999 to produce recommendations for collection, interpretation, and synthesis of data on general sources and loading of trace contaminants to the Estuary. The first SPLWG recommendations were described in the first “Technical Report of the Sources Pathways and Loadings Workgroup” (Davis et al., 1999). Since that time the SPLWG has continued to provide management context and technical review on a series of desktop and field studies that largely followed the recommendations of Davis et al. (1999). The SPLWG ensures that the projects and products are relevant and help to answer ever developing management questions in the context of TMDLs and attainment of water quality standards.

In addition to it's other work, the SPLWG also oversees the Small Tributaries Loading Strategy (STLS) project. The STLS focuses on loadings from small tributaries (the rivers, creeks, and storm drains that enter the Bay downstream of Chipps Island), in coordination with the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater (MRP).

The scientific advisory panel consists of internationally known experts in this field including:

• Dr. Barbara Mahler, US Geological Survey
• Dr. Roger Bannerman, USGS, Wisconsin DNR
• Dr. Michael Stenstrom, University of California – Los Angeles
• Dr. Kelly Moran, TDC Environmental, LLC

Lead Scientist: Lester McKee

For further information, please contact Lester McKee at: ph 510-746-7363 or lester@sfei.org.

Events and Meeting Materials

Bay RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loadings Workgroup Meeting (May 11, 2016)

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loading Workgroup Meeting (May 29, 2014)

RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loading Workgroup Meeting (Oct 23, 2013)

RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loading Workgroup Meeting (Oct 24, 2012)

RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loadings Workgroup Meeting (Oct 25, 2011)

RMP Sources, Pathways, and Loadings Workgroup Meeting (May 12, 2011)

Atospheric Deposition Strategy Planning Meeting (Jun 3, 2010)

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The Bay RMP fills critical science needs to assist managers in their goals of reducing harmful emerging contaminants in the Bay. Emerging contaminants are not currently regulated, yet may pose significant ecological or human health risks.

A global leader in this field, the Bay RMP has developed an emerging contaminants strategy that guides decisions on monitoring and management. Early identification of problem pollutants and quick action to prevent their spread is an optimal and cost-effective strategy for protecting water quality. This is especially true in an ecosystem like the Bay, which can act as a long-term trap for persistent contaminants, with recovery taking decades or centuries when contamination is extensive.

Diligent surveillance has identified four emerging contaminants of moderate concern for the Bay:

• PFOS, a stain and water repellent
• Fipronil, an insecticide
• Nonylphenols and nonylphenol ethoxylates, detergent ingredients
• PBDEs, flame retardants

Many more have been monitored in the Bay and found to be of low concern, while a multitude of emerging contaminants fall into a final category of possible concern, where knowledge of occurrence or toxicity is insufficient. See the 2013 Pulse of the Bay and other Bay RMP resources on emerging contaminants for more information.

The scientific advisory panel for the Bay RMP Emerging Contaminant Workgroup (ECWG) consists of internationally respected experts:

• Dr. Bill Arnold, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Lee Ferguson, Duke University
• Dr. Phil Gschwend, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Dr. Kelly Moran, TDC Environmental, LLC
• Dr. Derek Muir, Environment Canada
• Dr. Heather Stapleton, Duke University

Events and Meeting Materials

OIMA Brown Bag Seminar: Microplastic Contamination in San Francisco Bay (Jul 28, 2016)

RMP Microplastic Monitoring and Science Strategy Workshop (Jun 29, 2016)

Invited Talk: Metabolomics-Guided Tracking of the Chemical and Biological Journeys of Organic Nutrients and Contaminants (Jun 23, 2016)

Bay RMP Emerging Contaminants Workgroup Meeting (Apr 15, 2016)

Science-Policy Briefing: Ocean and Freshwater Plastic Pollution: Impacts and Opportunities (Jan 7, 2016)

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

RMP Emerging Contaminants Meeting (Apr 15, 2014)

Emerging Contaminants Workgroup Meeting (Apr 5, 2013)

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PCBs are a pollutant of high concern in San Francisco Bay. The PCB strategy ensures that the RMP is providing the information most urgently needed by managers to find remedies to the Bay’s PCB problem. The upcoming management decisions include the next iteration (2019-2020) of the PCB TMDL and identifying the best options for management actions to reduce PCB impairment. Because the PCB strategy integrates across workgroup areas, special studies designed to address the PCB strategy are reviewed by the most relevant workgroup, such as the EEWG or the CFWG. Studies under the PCB Strategy began in 2010. A PCB synthesis in 2014 will set the stage for a multi-year study plan.

The scientific advisory panel for the Bay RMP PCBs Workgroup consists of:

Dr. Frank Gobas, Simon Fraser University

Lead Scientist: Jay Davis

For more information, please contact Jay Davis at: 510-746-7368 or jay@sfei.org.

Events and Meeting Materials

Bay RMP PCB Workgroup Meeting (May 6, 2016)

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

The first Selenium Strategy Team meeting will be held at SFEI on Tuesday, April 22 from 10 am to 2 pm.

The scientific advisory panel for the Bay RMP Selenium Workgroup consists of:

• Dr. Harry Ohlendorf, CH2M Hill

Lead Scientist: Jennifer Sun

For more information, please contact Jennifer Sun at: ph 510-746-7393 or Jennifers@sfei.org.

Events and Meeting Materials

Bay RMP Selenium Workgroup Meeting (May 4, 2016)

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

At the request of the Regional Board, the RMP expanded the biological effects portion of the Status and Trends program, which at the time only monitored for aquatic and sediment toxicity. The Exposure and Effects Workgroup (EEWG) was formed with members from SFEI, USGS, AMS, the Regional Board, and other interested stakeholders. One of the purposes of the workgroup was to develop a biological effects pilot study (the Exposure and Effects Pilot Study (EEPS)) that would help address beneficial use management questions developed by the Regional Board. By building on the recommendations of other effects workgroups, reviewing existing literature related to work in the Estuary, and soliciting recommendations from the local scientific community (through a survey) the workgroup designed a five-year plan for addressing biological effects in the Bay.

The RMP’s EEPS evaluated a balanced suite of contaminant exposure and effects indicators that respond to general and specific contamination at the biochemical, cellular, individual, population, and community level. It evaluated contaminant effects and exposure in different media (on the bay floor, in the water column, and in wetlands/estuary margins), and at different spatial scales (site-specific, regionally, and estuary-wide). These initial overarching principles incorporate recommendations of the EEWG.

At the end of the five year pilot study the workgroup was incorporated into the RMP as a permanent workgroup. The EEWG continues to address the biological effects portion of the Status and Trends program and Pilot and Special Studies.

The scientific advisory panel consists of internationally known experts in this field including:

• Dr. Michael Fry, Fish and Wildlife Service - Hawaii
• Dr. Harry Ohlendorf, CH2M Hill
• Dr. Dan Schlenk, University of California – Riverside
• Dr. Steve Weisberg, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

Lead Scientists: Meg Sedlak and Jay Davis

For further information, please contact Jay Davis at: ph 510-746-7368 or jay@sfei.org.

Events and Meeting Materials

Invited Talk: Metabolomics-Guided Tracking of the Chemical and Biological Journeys of Organic Nutrients and Contaminants (Jun 23, 2016)

Bay RMP Exposure and Effects Workgroup Meeting (May 16, 2016)

RMP Annual Meeting 2015 (Sep 18, 2015)

Exposure and Effects Workgroup Meeting (May 16, 2013)

Workshop on Causes of Sediment Toxicity in California Marine Waters (Nov 16, 2012)

RMP Emerging Contaminants and Exposure and Effects Workgroups combined meeting (May 15, 2012)

RMP Exposure and Effects Workgroup Meeting (Oct 18, 2011)

Benthic Workgroup Meeting (Oct 20, 2010)

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San Francisco Bay was placed on the State of California’s 303(d) list of impaired waterways in 1998 as a result of elevated concentrations of dioxins and furans (commonly referred to as only ‘dioxin’) in fish. RMP studies of contaminants in Bay sport fish conducted every three years since 1994 have found that dioxin concentrations have remained relatively unchanged over this time period and in some species, continue to exceed screening values for human consumption. Our understanding of dioxin in the Bay is extremely limited however and improving this is a necessary first step in the process to reduce concentrations in Bay fish and resultant health risks to fish-eating humans and wildlife. The dioxin strategy ensures that the RMP is providing information that is of highest value and most urgently needed by managers for development of a dioxin TMDL. The upcoming management decisions include reissuing permit requirements for dioxins, reviewing 303(d) listings, and establishing a TMDL development plan (2013-2014). Dioxin Strategy studies began in 2008, with a multi-year plan extending through 2012. Because the dioxin strategy integrates across workgroup areas, special studies designed to address the dioxin strategy are reviewed by the most relevant workgroup, such as the EEWG or the CFWG. Synthesis activities are planned for 2013 and 2014 after the data from the earlier studies are available.