Areas of Special Biological Significance: California’s Marine State Water Quality Protection Areas

Designated March 21, 1974 (Resolution No. 74-28), April 18, 1974 (Resolution No. 74-32) and June 19, 1975 (Resolution No. 75-61)

This printing of the publication, “Areas of Special Biological Significance, California’s Marine State Water Quality Protection Areas,” replaces and supercedes the January 2003 edition.

Changes were made to certain maps, primarily due to the availability of better Geographic Information System (GIS) data. Some of the offshore boundaries of the Areas of Special Biological Significance were adjusted to conform to the State’s three nautical mile (nm) limit.  Maps that were improved or modified are identified as being revised as of June 2003; maps that were not changed are still labeled as being created in January 2003.

Assembly Bill 2800, approved by the Governor on September 8, 2000, added sections to the Public Resources Code (PRC) that are relevant to Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). Section 36700 (f) of the PRC defines a state water quality protection area (SWQPA) as “a nonterrestrial marine or estuarine area designated to protect marine species or biological communities from an undesirable alteration in natural water quality, including, but not limited to, areas of special biological significance that have been designated by the State Water Resources Control Board through its water quality control planning process.”

Section 36710 (f) of the Public Resources Code states: “In a state water quality protection area point source waste and thermal discharges shall be prohibited or limited by special conditions. Nonpoint source pollution shall be controlled to the extent practicable.”

The change of the term Area of Special Biological Significance to State Water Quality Protection Area occurred on January 1, 2003 as required under Section 36750 of the PRC.  The Areas of Special Biological Significance were originally given numerical designations based on the State Water Resources Control Board resolutions in which they were established. These numerical designations are not related to their geographic positions along the coast. Previous editions of this publication (up to and including the 1999 edition) have provided maps of the ASBS in numerical rather than geographic order. For the current edition, maps of Areas of Special Biological Significance/State Water Quality Protection Areas are provided in geographic order from north to south.