Groundbreaking New Rules To Regulate Waste In Water

Valley dairies would be forced to watch quality.

E.J. Schultz
Fresno Bee
05/04/2007

Regulators on Thursday approved groundbreaking new rules aimed at controlling manure-laden waste at Central Valley dairies.

For the first time ever, nearly 1,600 dairies will have to get waste-water permits, submit reports on soil and pond conditions and, eventually, install wells to monitor ground-water pollution.

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously approved the regulations, but not before interest groups on both sides of the debate expressed serious concerns.

Agriculture leaders said the regulations were too costly and could put some small dairies out of business. Environmentalists said the rules have loopholes and do not go far enough to protect low-income communities from contaminated drinking water.

"This is not a perfect permit," said board member Christopher L. Cabaldon. But "it is good enough to start getting out in the dairies and making sure that we're actually not hurting the water quality of California. We've got to get something in place today."

California law has for decades called for the state's regional water boards to enforce water quality standards and regulate waste-water discharges for various industries.

But the Valley agriculture industry, until recently, has been operating under a waiver program that calls for little oversight.

The dairy program approved Thursday is the culmination of years of debate and analysis.

Environmentalists allege that waste water from dairies pollutes ground water that many Valley communities rely on for drinking water. Laced with dangerous substances -- including nitrates, pathogens and pharmaceuticals -- the waste water can seep from corrals, ponds and fields into the ground water below, the groups say.

Of particular concern are nitrates, which can come from dairy waste. Nitrates have been linked with cancer, pregnancy risks and a blood disorder called methemoglobinemia, or "blue-baby syndrome." Health experts have said they have not received reports of blue-baby syndrome in the area. Water taken from 88 Tulare County dairies in recent years showed that at least one nitrate-polluted well was found at 63% of the dairies, according to the Central Valley water board.

But industry officials say there is no proof that dairies are solely to blame because pollutants could be coming from cities, septic tanks, other farming operations or other industries or could occur naturally.

The Department of Food and Agriculture, in written testimony, said it is unfair to require all dairies to install monitoring wells when contamination could be coming from other sources.

Under the new regulations, ground-water monitoring will be phased in at the anticipated rate of 100 to 200 dairies per year, starting with dairies suspected of having high nitrate levels.

Environmentalists said the board is taking it too slowly and that the monitoring will not produce any useful data for at least 16 to 20 years. They also complained that the permits do not require existing dairies to put protective liners between lagoons and the ground below. Only new or expanding dairies have to take such precautions. In some cases, a hard clay surface can suffice, as long as it doesn't allow significant seepage.

"We believe this permit as it stands today is a license to pollute," said Ingrid Brostrom, of the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.

Residents from Cutler, Orosi and other South Valley towns pleaded with the board for stronger rules, bringing with them what they said were polluted bottles of water from home.

Activists also argued that the enforcement mechanisms are weak. The board has seven to eight staff members overseeing dairies. The board is asking the Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger to approve five more positions for the upcoming year.

Dairy operators said the industry already takes environmental precautions. Also, they said ground-water monitoring is of questionable scientific value because it can be hard to pin pollutants to the original source. Adding more regulations could put some dairies -- especially smaller ones -- in a financial bind, said Michael Boccadoro, who leads a coalition of dairies called the Community Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship.

To comply with the new rules, it will cost a 1,000-cow dairy as much as $56,000 initially and as much as $36,000 annually, board staff members said.

"Even if done right, some dairies will go out of business," Boccadoro said.

The rules affect dairies in operation on Oct. 17, 2005. A separate, and likely similar, program is in development for newer dairies.

More information

Dairy water rules

New dairy rules approved apply to all dairies operating on Oct. 17, 2005. The rules will be phased in over several years. The rules:

Prohibit the release of waste water from dairies to surface water.

State that discharge of waste shall not further degrade ground water.

Require dairies to submit a waste management plan and a salt-reduction plan.

Require that all dairies monitor ground-water quality eventually. Requirement will be phased in by an estimated 100 to 200 dairies a year.

Require dairies to report fertilizer practices, and may limit the amount of nitrogen used.

Source: Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or (916)326-5541.