Proposals to fundamentally change grower requirements, such as reporting nitrogen applications on acreage in the East San Joaquin Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, will be discussed at an upcoming public workshop. While the current proposal is for the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, the changes will affect every grower who irrigates in the Central Valley. Due to a larger-than-expected turnout, the location for this workshop in Fresno has been changed to the Fresno Convention Center, 848 M Street, Exhibit Hall III. The date and time, Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 9:00 a.m., has not changed.
Also changed is the deadline for written public comments, which has been extended in order to allow parties additional time to complete written comments following the May 17 workshop in Fresno. The new deadline for submission of written public comments is Wednesday, June 1, 2016, at 12:00 noon.
The first in this series of workshops was held May 4 in Sacramento. A video and PowerPoint presentation from that workshop can be viewed at the State Water Resources Control Board website.
The public sessions are being put on by the State Water Resources Control Board regarding its proposal for East San Joaquin Agricultural Waste Discharge Requirements. The State Water Board is accepting written public comment through May 18, 2016. Details on the written comment period and the scheduled public workshops are available here.
Among the changes proposed is that, in addition to nitrogen data, applied-water data must be submitted. Currently, only nitrogen data is submitted to the Irrigated Lands Coalition, and is compiled to reflect townships and not individual fields to provide anonymity. In addition, the proposal would remove high-versus-low vulnerability areas for nitrate. Additional testing of surface water for pesticides is also included.
