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bioac-workplan.qmd
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# Workplan
This Workplan for the SWAMP Statewide [Bioaccumulation Monitoring Program](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/bioaccumulation_monitoring.html) describes strategic projects and actions the Program intends to implement to advance SWAMP's four thematic priorities and vision.
All of the Program's priority projects and associated actions are categorized under SWAMP's four strategic themes: Program Management, Monitoring, Data Quality & Management, Communication & Engagement. For more information on each of these themes, see [SWAMP Priorities (2025-2030)](https://cawaterboarddatacenter.github.io/swamp-strategy/prioriites.html).
Key: **\*** = highest-priority actions for the current strategic planning period (2025 - 2030), also linked below for ease of reference:
- [Project 9: Continue Realignment Implementation](https://cawaterboarddatacenter.github.io/swamp-strategy/bioac-workplan.html#project-9-continue-realignment-implementation)
- TBD
- TBD
## Program Management & Coordination
The Program will continue all essential activities to support management and coordination of all operational activities within the Program (e.g. annual strategic planning and implementation, contract and budget tracking and updates, etc.). In addition, the program has committed to implementing the below strategic projects to further advance Program and SWAMP mission and vision:
### Project 1: Modernize and Streamline Program and STEW Webpages
**Action 1.1: STEW Webpages** - Work with the Water Quality Monitoring Council Director and the Division of Information Technology (DIT) to finalize the implementation of modernized STEW webpages. Although webpage mock-ups were completed and submitted in 2022, they have not yet been implemented. The focus of this action will be to update mock-ups, as needed, and support the Council Director and DIT to finalize and fully transition to the new webpages.
**Action 1.2:** **Program Webpages** - Work with the SWAMP Lead and DIT to finalize the implementation of modernized Program webpages. Although webpage mock-ups were completed and submitted in 2023, they have not yet been implemented. The focus of this action will be to update mock-ups, as needed, and support SWAMP and DIT to finalize and fully transition to the new webpages.
### Project 2: Increase coordination with partners
**Action 2.1:** **Water Boards Partners** - Continue outreach to and development of consistent coordination with key State Water Board programs in the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) (e.g. Integrated Report). While lines of communication exist, more regular communication and collaboration on topics related to the Program would be beneficial for all parties, particularly as it related to projects that increase transparency of how Program data are used in DWQ programs, support the implementation of Tribal Beneficial Uses (TBUs), and advance equity overall.
**Action 2.2:** **Other Bioaccumulation Monitoring and Related Programs** - Continue outreach to and development of consistent coordination with other bioaccumulation monitoring programs to more efficiently and effectively use collective resources to accomplish motioning objectives. Other related programs include, but are not lim
- [U.S. EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys](https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys)
- [Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (Bay RMP)](https://www.sfei.org/programs/sf-bay-regional-monitoring-program)
- [Southern California Bight Regional Monitoring Program (Bight RMP)](https://www.sccwrp.org/about/research-areas/regional-monitoring/southern-california-bight-regional-monitoring-program/)
- [The Delta Regional Monitoring Program (Delta RMP)](https://deltarmp.org/)
- [Biomonitoring California](https://biomonitoring.ca.gov/)
**Action 2.3: California Native American Tribes** - Continue outreach to and development of consistent coordination with California Native American Tribes (Tribes) that have an interest in bioaccumulation monitoring. Specifically, continue to communicate, build relationships, and explore capacity building opportunities with Tribes that participated in the [Bioaccumulation Monitoring Program Training Series](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/bioaccumulation_monitoring/training.html).
### Project 3: Support Implementation of AB 762
In 2019 the California legislature passed and the governor signed into law [Assembly Bill No. 762](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB762) (AB 762), which authorized the Water Board to provide grant funding to County health officials for posting health advisories when the Water Boards and OEHHA determine that consuming certain fish or shellfish presents a significant health risk.
The ultimate goal of the below activities is to contribute to the coordination, communication, and implementation of the grant funding process and priorities to satisfy the mandates of AB 762 and to improve risk communication to communities most at risk of consuming contaminated fish and shellfish.
**Action 3.1:** **Improve coordination with the Division of Financial Assistance (DFA)** - Continue working with DFA management and staff to improve coordination and communication of grant opportunities and reporting.
**Action 3.2:** **Improve coordination with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) -** Continue working with OEHHA management and staff to improve coordination, communication, and tracking of locations in need of a new or updated advisory signs.
### Project 4: Develop Next Cycle of Long-term Plans
**Action 4.1:** **Program QAPP (2026-2028 \| 2029-2031)** - Review and update the [Program QAPP](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/docs/2023/bioaccumulation-monitoring-program-qapp-2023-25.pdf) (2023-2025) to describe all monitoring and analysis components of the Program from 2026 - 2028. Repeat process to develop QAPP for 2029-2031 monitoring and analysis.
**Action 4.2:** **Long-term Monitoring Plan (2030-2034)** - Begin soliciting and synthesizing feedback to inform the Program's next long-term monitoring plan. A recommended timeline is provided below:
- *Jul 2028 - Feb 2029: Feedback solicitation* - feedback should be solicited from the Water Boards (e.g., Regions, Integrated Report), Tribes, other California Agencies (e.g. OEHHA, CDFW, CDPH), US EPA, other bioaccumulation monitoring and related programs (e.g. Bay RMP, Bight RMP, Delta RMP), and provide opportunities for others not listed above to provide feedback (e.g. survey, STEW Meeting Open Forums, etc.).
- *Mar - Apr 2029: Feedback synthesis & discussion* - All feedback should be synthesized and presented to the STEW, and the STEW should be given at least one opportunity to discuss synthesized information, and provide additional recommendations and feedback, as appropriate. The synthesis and STEW recommendations should be presented to SWAMP Management, who will review, consider, and decide the Programs final long-term priorities.
- *May - Nov 2029: The Long-term Monitoring Plan Development -* The Program and contractors will develop a long-term monitoring plan that reflects and responds to the feedback that was received during the Long-term Monitoring Priorities Assessment Process and SWAMP Priorities at that time. It is recommended a draft be shared in or before Jul 2029, and the final version is published in or before Nov 2029.
## Monitoring & Assessment
The Program and contractors, with guidance from the STEW, will continue all essential activities to support the monitoring and assessment of status, trends, and impacts of contaminants in fish and shellfish on beneficial uses in California waterbodies, according to the priorities identified in the Program's Long-term Monitoring Plan (2025-2029). \[ INSERT LINK WHEN AVAILABLE \]
In addition, the program has committed to implementing the below strategic projects to further advance Program and SWAMP mission and vision:
### Project 5: Explore feasibility of consistent and robust PFAS monitoring
**Action 5.1**: **PFAS Archives Project** - Continue implementation of a plan to analyze a suite of archive tissue samples for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The objective of the PFAS Archive Project is to begin to fill PFAS data gaps throughout the state to support the development of fish consumption thresholds and OEHHA advisory tissue levels (ATLs) for PFAS. State and Regional Water Boards Budgets will enabled analysis of close to 200 samples in 2024. Prioritize the analysis of additional archives when budget permits as well as the development of a data report that summarizes and interprets the results of PFAS Archive data.
**Action 5.2:** **PFAS Monitoring Feasibility** - Once PFAS archive results and interpretation are synthesized, review and discuss the need for and feasibility of including consistent and robust PFAS monitoring into regular statewide monitoring plans.
### Project 6: Explore the feasibility of developing and implementing a statewide consumption survey
The 2024 Long-term Monitoring Priorities Assessment Process confirmed and quantified the need for a consistent, robust, and statewide consumption survey (or surveys). Of the nine Regional Water Boards and one State Board Division (DWQ) that provided feedback during the process, 90% of respondents (9/10) identified the need to have information on consumption patterns to better inform their work.
A number of Regions also discussed efforts they have underway to develop or implement local or regional consumption surveys. The ultimate goal of the below activities is to learn from and build on existing consumption survey efforts, and make a plan to coordinate and leverage resources to implement a robust, statewide fish consumption survey (or surveys) to understand consumption locations, fishing intensity, target species, methods, and concerns of consumers at water bodies throughout the state.
**Action 6.1:** **Synthesize lessons from recent consumption survey efforts** - A number of consumption surveys have been conducted at California water bodies (see the [California Fish Consumption Study Inventory](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TPkoFCux16vSa3kSm0oZaySCPXni7kjm/view?usp=sharing). More recently (2022-2024):
- The San Francisco Regional Water Board (Region 2) has been working with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in the region to develop a San Francisco Bay consumption survey questionnaire
- The Los Angeles Regional Water Board (Region 4) has been conducting a subsistence fishing survey for a select number of freshwater bodies in the Region
One the Region 2 and Region 4 efforts have been completed, review methods and results in the context of more historical surveys, discuss with Regional Board SWAMP Coordinators (and/or survey leads) and synthesize methods, costs, lessons, and anything else that might be helpful.
**Action 6.2:** **Identify resources and partners needed for robust and comprehensive implementation of a** **statewide consumption survey** - Present synthesis results (Action 5.1) to SWAMP Management, the STEW, and others as appropriate (e.g. DWQ, OEHHA, CDFW) to explore the feasibility of developing and implementing a statewide fish consumption survey, and to identify resources and partners needed for comprehensive implementation.
## Data Quality & Management
The Program will continue all essential activities to support the generation and management of quality, statewide bioaccumulation monitoring data. In addition, the program has committed to implementing the below strategic projects to further advance Program and SWAMP mission and vision:
### Project 7: Continue to Streamline Sample Analysis & QAQC Processes
The ultimate goal of the below activities is to reduce the amount of time it takes for raw and synthesized data to be available in the [California Environmental Data Exchange Network](http://ceden.org/) (CEDEN) or the [California Open Data Portal](https://data.ca.gov/) after samples are collected in the field. At the time of writing of this Workplan, the Bioaccumulation Monitoring Program has yet to make data collected in 2021 available in CEDEN - a 3+ year delay. Ideally, data would be available in CEDEN and the California Open Data Portal within 1 year after it is collected in the field.
**Action 7.1:** **Continue to** **Streamline Sample Analysis & Reporting** - Continue to work with SWAMP IQ, SWAMP Management, and field and laboratory contractors to continue to streamline and expedite the sample analysis and reporting process.
**Action 7.2:** **CEDEN 2.0** - Support SWAMP IQ in the review and testing of how CEDEN 2.0 reviews and displays tissue data, when requested.
### Project 8: Add Data Summaries to the California Open Data Portal
**Action 8.1:** **Add Data Summaries to the California Open Data Portal** - Work with Contractors to make data or interpretive report data summaries available on the California Open Data Portal. More specifically, for this action, the Program commits to:
- uploading accessible reports (i.e. PDF) as well as summarized tables (i.e. .xlsx, .csv) to the California Open Data Portal
- associating those uploads with the raw data (e.g. [tissue results](https://data.ca.gov/dataset/surface-water-aquatic-organism-tissue-sample-results))
- developing and using a consistent upload naming convention so it is easy to search for content uploaded by the Program
- developing and using consistent tags to make it easy to filter search results and reduce the time it takes for the user to find what they are looking for. Example tags include, but are not limited to: “bioaccumulation”, “surface water”, “tissue”, and “fish”, “shellfish” or “bivalves”
## Communication & Engagement
The Program will continue all essential activities to support existing communication and engagement efforts. In addition, the program has committed to implementing the below strategic projects to further advance Program and SWAMP mission and vision:
### Project 9: Continue Realignment Implementation \*
Using the [Program Realignment Plan](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/docs/bioaccumulation_monitoring/bioaccumulation_program_realignment_20201211.pdf) (Dec 2020), [Realignment Plan Update](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/bioaccumulation_monitoring/docs/bioaccumulation-program-realignment-20221208.pdf) (Dec 2022), and [Realignment Tribal Engagement Plan](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/bioaccumulation_monitoring/docs/bioaccumulationprogram-realignment-tribalengagementplan-2022.pdf) (Mar 2022) as guides, the Realignment process will continue to focus on incorporating community perspectives and needs into Program efforts; with the aim of improving the Program’s monitoring and communication efforts and ensuring the resulting data and information are useful and used by the Water Boards, OEHHA, the public, subsistence-dependent communities, and tribes.
**Action 9.1:** **Complete San Francisco Region Realignment** **(2024 - 2026)** - Work with Region 2 Realignment partners and contractors to implement the three-year Realignment process in the Region.
**Action 9.2:** **Prepare of future Realignment Cycles (2025-2026 \| 2028-2029)** - Engage with Water Boards coordinators and Tribes in Regions who have not undergone the Realignment Process to continue to build relationships and discuss the interest and readiness of the tribes, communities, and Regions to participate in future Realignment cycles.
**Action 9.3:** **Begin the next Realignment Cycle (2027-2029, Region TBD)** - Work with Regional Realignment partners and contractors to implement the three-year Realignment process in the Region.
### Project 10: Continue Development Data Visualization and Risk Communication Tools
**Action 10.1:** **SWAMP Data Dashboard** - Support the development, review, and testing of the Bioaccumulation Monitoring Program components of the SWAMP Data Dashboard to ensure it elegantly and effectively visualizes, summarizes, and contextualizes all data collected by the Program.
**Action 10.2:** **Cultural Consumption Application** - Work with contractors, OEHHA, and Tribes to develop an interactive and user-friendly application that includes and contextualizes monitoring data, thresholds, and advisories associated with fish consumption and human health. The goal of the application will be to make it easier for tribal and subsistence consumers to understand the risk associated with consuming fish and shellfish and to make informed decisions on how to consume fish and shellfish safely and according to their cultural practices.