Much of EPA's mandated role affecting the Bay is given under 
the authority of the Clean Water Act of 1972. The Agency is 
required to respond, case-by-case, to programs outlined in the 
Act. The following five programs represent the majority of 
EPA's activity on the Bay: 
1) Under specific sections of the Clean Water Act, the EPA 
is centrally involved in water quality management plan¬ 
ning. These activities are at the core of the basic 
intent of the Act, which is to enhance water quality 
and protect the public health and welfare. Section 106 
allocates funds to the state for water pollution con¬ 
trol programs. Section 208 provided areawide water 
quality management planning, and now Section 205(j) 
allocates funds for specific studies and specific 
problems for state water quality planning. These 
programs provide important information used in setting 
water quality standards, suggesting needed legislation, 
and developing basin plans. 
2) Under Section 303, EPA requires that the state, through 
the State Water Resources Control Board, develop water 
quality standards to protect the beneficial uses of Bay 
waters. The state and regional boards, with public 
participation, determine those designated beneficial 
uses to be attained and maintained. Those uses rele¬ 
vant to the Bay are: municipal and industrial water 
supplies, habitat for aquatic life, agriculture, and 
waterways for shipping and recreation. The state has 
set salinity standards for the delta and delegated the 
setting of all other standards to the Regional Board. 
Given that toxic pollution appears to contribute to the 
declining health of the Bay, new numeric criteria need 
to be established to augment the existing narrative 
standards. 
Under Section 301, effluent guidelines are established 
for all industrial and municipal dischargers based on 
Best Practicable Technology and are subject to the 
standards just described. 
3) Under Section 402, and subject to EPA approval, the 
state issues National Pollution Discharge Elimination 
System (NPDES) permits to all dischargers through the 
Regional Water Quality Control Board. These permits 
are the legal basis for requiring dischargers to con¬ 
trol the pollutant levels in their effluent. They 
specify allowable levels and quality of the waste 
discharge through setting specific effluent guidelines 
and receiving water standards. Dischargers are moni¬ 
tored to determine whether they are meeting their per¬ 
mit conditions and to ensure that expected water qual¬ 
ity improvements are achieved. EPA's role here has 
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