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 two upcoming public workshops. 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. The workshops are set for Wednesday, May 4, 9 a.m., at the Cal/EPA building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, and Tuesday, May 17, 9 a.m., at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Central Region, at 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave., Fresno.
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.
