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Supervisor Sweeney recommending the Board authorize the Chair to sign a letter to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board commenting on the monitoring of ground water in the proposed Long Term Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program; and authorize the Environmental Management Department to work with the El Dorado County Agricultural Water Quality Management Corporation and the El Dorado County Water Agency in the development of a compliance work plan.
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Background:
The Central Valley Water Board’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) was initiated in 2003 with the adoption of the Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge requirements for discharges from irrigated lands within the Central Valley Region (Conditional Waiver). In 2006, the Conditional Waiver was extended to June 2011, while a Program Environmental Impact Report was developed and an environmental analysis completed for the alternatives to the ILRP.
In 2009, a Coalition Specific Order allowed coalitions within the Sacramento Valley watersheds to submit proposals to develop a management practices -based Pilot Program that would eliminate surface water monitoring for two years. The agricultural producers in the County of El Dorado have created a coalition known as the El Dorado County Agricultural Water Quality Management Corporation (AWQMC) to comply with the current Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR’s). The El Dorado County AWQMC has coordinated a management practices plan to protect State waters.
On July 28, 2010, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQB) released a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for a waste discharge regulatory program relating to irrigated lands within the Central Valley Region. The program regulates discharges of waste to ground and surface waters of the State from irrigated agricultural operations, managed wetlands, and nursery operations. The program will impact the Central Valley Water R...
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