BILL NUMBER:  SB 1834
  VETOED	DATE: 09/25/2000




SEP 25 2000

To Members of the California Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 1834 without my signature.

This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to adopt guidelines, by January 1, 2003, that describe the
process by which the SWRCB and the Regional Water Quality Control
Boards (RWQCB) would implement state and federal antidegradation
requirements for point and nonpoint source pollution.

Pursuant to federal regulations that require the states to adopt
implementation procedures for antidegradation, California has already
developed adequate guidance on this subject.  In response to a 1968
directive from the U. S. Department of the Interior, the SWRCB
adopted Resolution No. 68-16, the state antidegradation policy, which
covers both surface waters and groundwater and protects potential as
well as actual uses.  Resolution 68-16 is incorporated as a water
quality objective for all st ate waters in all of the basin plans for
the nine RWQCBs and is addressed in SWRCB legal memoranda, providing
a detailed description of the state's antidegradation policy.

While I believe SB 1834 is redundant and unnecessary, I am asking the
SWRCB to review the application of the antidegradation policy and to
ensure that staff receive adequate training on this subject.

Sincerely,





GRAY DAVIS