Central Valley Water Board sending certified letters to dairies, cattle operations in nitrate ‘Priority 1’ areas

On or about May 29, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Regional Board”) is expected to mail certified letters to about 650 dairies and more than 200 calf and heifer ranches and beef feedlots, letting those operations know they must comply with an important new regulation dealing with nitrates in groundwater. 

This article’s purpose is to help owners and operators of dairies and other confined cattle operations understand what these “Notice to Comply” letters mean, what steps owners need to take, and by when. A few key facts to start with:

• The letters are not just being sent to dairies and cattle facilities, but to many other water quality permit holders in so-called “Priority One” areas of the Central Valley.
• These letters are not being sent to all dairies and cattle facilities at this time. Operations in so-called “Priority Two” areas can expect a similar letter next year or perhaps later. Cattle ranches and dairies in “non-priority” areas may not receive a Notice to Comply in the foreseeable future. See map here: https://www.cvsalinity.org/nitrate-control-program 
• The letter is not bad news. The letter, taken with the new regulations, offers an alternative that is more flexible, and less expensive, for complying with the strict regulations Central Valley dairies and other cattle operations are already under.

What dairies and cattle operations need to know and do
The letter’s title: “Notice to Comply – Nitrate Control Program,” may be a little startling. The words “failure to respond may result in enforcement action” can be daunting. But here is what dairies and other cattle operations receiving the letter need to know:

• Your operation is in one of six “Priority One” areas,
• You do not need to respond to the Regional Board immediately, but you do have to respond by early next year,
• You have up to 330 days to choose one of two future compliance pathways and notify the Regional Board about that choice, and
• Even though you have some months to get back to the Regional Board, there are some important things should consider doing, now – like participating in formation of local Management Zones.

Which pathway should you choose?
Pathway A is essentially the current compliance program that has been in place since 2007. It requires dairies and cattle operations to show they are not causing or contributing to impacts in first-encountered groundwater above the state’s Maximum Contaminant Level of 10 parts per million (ppm) nitrate as nitrogen. It is all but impossible for most permit holders, including dairies and cattle operations, to comply with this regulation, and as a result, permit holders are constantly subject to liability and enforcement. The Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program (CVDRMP) advises its members against choosing to remain on Pathway A for a variety of reasons, including years of monitoring data that shows virtually no dairy can meet this standard, the likelihood that operations choosing Pathway A will need to conduct an expensive and extensive facility specific analysis showing the facilities impact on groundwater, could be forced to install monitoring wells, would likely need to propose an expensive alternative compliance project, and the likelihood that much tougher penalties will result from not meeting the standard in the future. 

Pathway B allows dairies and other cattle operations (and other water quality permit holders) to remain in compliance even if first-encountered groundwater is above 10 ppm. But the permittees (farmers, dairies, other animal operations, food processors, city-owned waste treatment plants and others) must first form local Nitrate Management Zones. Participants in Management Zones get significantly more time – up to 35 years – to meet the 10-ppm nitrate standard. In return, Management Zones members must work together to provide safe drinking water for residents whose drinking water supply has been impacted by nitrate contamination. This Pathway B option is considered, by far, to be the more viable option for dairies and other confined cattle operations. 

How do I join a Management Zone or learn more?
Management Zones are just beginning to form, so there is no way to join them just yet. That will change soon. Over the next 270 days, local Management Zones will form, then make decisions about who needs interim supplies of drinking water, how to provide it, who pays how much, and how additional members can join the effort. These are particularly important decisions, and they will be made locally. Make sure your voice is heard in these processes before final decisions are made. 

You can learn more about who is forming Management Zones, and where, at cvsalts.info. A list of contacts for each management zone is provided, as well as a place to sign up for updates. In addition, you can sign up at cvdrmp.org to receive news and notices about management zones.  Also watch for public notices, especially in local farming and agricultural publications, such as your Farm Bureau newsletter or your trade association newsletter.
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Meanwhile, CVDRMP is exploring whether it can facilitate participation of its members in management zones as part of a group effort, to minimize costs and confusion for individual dairy and cattle ranch operators. We will keep our members apprised of these efforts.