Porter-Cologne Act Glossary: Key Terms & Definitions for Developers and Consultants

Porter-Cologne Act Key Terms & Definitions

Basin Plan: A water quality control plan developed by a Regional Water Quality Control Board for a specific watershed or geographic region in California, as required by the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13240).

Beneficial Uses: The various ways in which water can be used to benefit people and the environment, such as for drinking, recreation, agricultural supply, and habitat for fish and wildlife. The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act requires the protection of these beneficial uses (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(f)).

California Water Code: The primary body of law governing water quality and water resources management in California, which includes the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Division 7).

Cease and Desist Order (CDO): An enforcement action that can be issued by the State Water Resources Control Board or a Regional Water Quality Control Board to require a discharger to stop a violation or threatened violation of waste discharge requirements or other water quality regulations (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13301).

Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO): An enforcement action that can be issued by the State Water Resources Control Board or a Regional Water Quality Control Board to require a discharger to clean up waste or abate the effects of a waste discharge (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13304).

Discharge: The release of waste or pollutants into the environment, including water, land, and air (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(d)).

Discharger: Any person or entity that discharges waste or pollutants into the environment, including individuals, businesses, and public agencies (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(c)).

Effluent Limitations: Restrictions on the quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of pollutants that can be discharged into a water body, as established in waste discharge requirements or NPDES permits (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13263).

Groundwater: Water that occurs beneath the surface of the earth within the zone below the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with water, but does not include water that flows in known and definite channels (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(e)).

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit: A permit issued under the federal Clean Water Act that regulates point source discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States. In California, the State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards have been delegated the authority to issue NPDES permits (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13370).

Nonpoint Source Pollution: Pollution that comes from diffuse sources, such as runoff from urban areas, agriculture, or forestry, rather than from a specific point source like a pipe or outfall (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13369).

Point Source: Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, such as a pipe, ditch, channel, or conduit, from which pollutants are or may be discharged (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13373).

Pollutant: Any substance introduced into the environment that adversely affects the usefulness of a resource or the health of humans, animals, or ecosystems (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(l)).

Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act: The primary law governing water quality in California, which establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards as the principal state agencies responsible for protecting water quality and regulating discharges of waste into waters of the state (California Water Code, Division 7).

Regional Water Quality Control Board: One of nine regional boards established by the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to regulate water quality within a specific region of California (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13200).

State Water Resources Control Board: The state agency established by the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to oversee water rights and water quality regulation in California, and to coordinate the activities of the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13100).

Surface Water: Water that is on the Earth's surface, such as in a stream, river, lake, or reservoir (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(e)).

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL): The maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards, which is established by the State Water Resources Control Board or Regional Water Quality Control Boards for impaired water bodies (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13191.3).

Waste: Sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(d)).

Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs): A permit issued by the State Water Resources Control Board or a Regional Water Quality Control Board that regulates the discharge of waste into waters of the state (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13263).

Water Quality Objectives: The limits or levels of water quality constituents or characteristics that are established for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of water or the prevention of nuisance within a specific area (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(h)).

Waters of the State: Any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13050(e)).

Watershed: The land area that drains into a particular watercourse or body of water (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13752).

Wetlands: Lands that are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water, and that have hydric soils and support hydrophytic vegetation (California Water Code, Division 7, Section 13577).