This is just one post in the Agriculture Category

Central Valley water board may modify waiver program

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 9, 2008 at 6:39 am

From the California Farm Bureau Federation:

Modifications to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board’s program for farms that discharge water from their operations to surface streams will be considered April 24-25 in Rancho Cordova. On the agenda is a proposal to change the way a grower can join a watershed coalition by redefining the conditions for participation in a coalition and asking the state Water Resources Control Board to add fees for those who join late.

When the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program was renewed in 2006, the deadline to join a coalition was set for Dec. 31, 2006. The deadline resulted in a 30 percent increase in grower participation in watershed coalitions.

“Although many have called this an agricultural waiver program, in fact, it’s far from a waiver,” said Danny Merkley, California Farm Bureau Federation director of water resources. “Because of the conditions for compliance it is instead a tightly controlled regulatory program with exacting conditions. Our farmers have come forward to support the program and California’s clean water efforts while continuing their commitment to being good stewards of the land and remaining profitable.”

The coalitions provide water monitoring services to farmers and the board that helps characterize water quality. Today there are about 28,000 Central Valley farmers representing about 5.2 million acres participating in the program. It’s estimated, however, that there are still about 12,000 farmers who may or may not need to participate.

“That’s a concern for us because we don’t know whether they should be in the program or not,” said Joe Karkoski, chief of the board’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. “If they have irrigated lands and there’s a storm or if irrigation water runs off a field, then they need to be in our program.”

To read the rest of this story from the California Farm Bureau Federation, click here.

April 9, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Water Quality