Amador
Resource Conservation District
Working
to help people protect, conserve and restore natural resources through
education, information and technical assistance programs
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Amador
Resource Conservation District
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South Sacramento-Amador Water Quality Alliance
The South Sacramento-Amador Water Quality Alliance (Alliance) is a voluntary group program created by the Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) in Amador and south Sacramento counties. The RCDs believe that the Alliance will save members thousands of dollars in cost of compliance with the new CVRWCB requirements. The Alliance works in partnership with the Sacramento Valley Water Quality Coalition (Coalition). The Coalition compiles data from water quality monitoring and files reports with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) for the whole Sacramento Valley. The Alliance is responsible, in our local area, for maintaining a membership list, collecting fees to cover costs, making recommendations to the Coalition on monitoring and reporting, and assisting landowners in taking corrective action if necessary. Our local area includes all of Amador County and the Cosumnes River watershed in Sacramento County. To see a map of the local areas covered by the Coalition click here Map. The RCDs have appointed an Irrigators Advisory Committee in each county which will make recommendations to the RCD Boards on budget, staffing, and all other matters concerning the Alliance. While the RCDs will have the final authority for making decisions for the Alliance (since the RCDs have the legal and fiscal responsibility) it is expected that the RCD Boards will depend heavily upon recommendations from the Advisory Committees. Meetings in Amador and Sacramento County To see when your next Advisory Committee meeting will be held, click on Amador County or Sacramento County. Print a membership application..
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board History of the Conditional Waivers of Waste Discharge
Requirements Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) regulate discharges of waste primarily through issuance of Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The California Water Code (CWC) provides that anyone discharging or proposing to discharge waste that could affect water quality must file a report of waste discharge (ROWD). This includes irrigation return flows and storm water runoff from agricultural lands. After receipt of a ROWD, the RWQCB has a statutory obligation to prescribe WDRs or an NPDES Permit Order. NPDES permits are issued for point source and municipal storm water discharges, but irrigation return flows and storm water discharges from irrigated lands are currently exempted from the NPDES permit program. The requirement for WDRs may be waived by a RWQCB for a specific discharge or type of discharge where such a waiver is not against the public interest. On 26 March 1982, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) adopted Resolution No. 82-036 “Waiving Waste Discharge Requirements For Specific Types Of Discharge.” The resolution listed 23 categories of waste discharges, including irrigation return flows and storm water runoff from agricultural lands, and the conditions required to comply with the waiver. This waiver had conditions, but due to insufficient resources, verification that dischargers were complying with conditions was not conducted, and thus the 1982 waiver was largely a passive program. In 1999, Senate Bill 390 was adopted and changed the section
of the CWC authorizing waivers of WDRs. As a result of the changes, all
waivers in place on January 1, 2000 would sunset January 1 2003 if the
Regional Board had not readopted them. This change in the law meant that
the 1982 waiver, which included irrigation return flows and storm water
runoff from agricultural lands in the Central Valley, would sunset. Additionally,
waivers could no longer exceed five years in duration. In addition to these steps, the CVRWQCB held a workshop
in December 2001 to discuss monitoring of agricultural drainage, and staff
was directed to work with agricultural representatives on voluntary monitoring
to be conducted by the agricultural community. Several proposals were
discussed over the months that followed, but a monitoring plan was not
finalized and no voluntary water quality monitoring by the agricultural
community was ever initiated. On 5 December 2002, the CVRWQCB adopted a Resolution No. R5-2002-0201 and the associated conditional waiver of WDRs for discharges from irrigated lands. The conditional waiver was slated to terminate in two years. Public comment on the December conditional waiver was significant and came from a broad spectrum of interests. Additionally, CVRWQCB members had questions on certain aspects of the newly adopted waiver. At the December meeting, the CVRWQCB directed staff to consider comments and questions, and synthesize this input into key issues, to analyze these issues, and provide options and recommendations that could address them. Modifications to the waiver were proposed in April 2003, and based upon further public comment and CVRWQCB direction, further modifications were proposed in June 2003. On July 10, 2003 Resolution R5-2002-0201 was rescinded and on July 11, 2003, Resolution No. R5-2003-0105 was adopted by the Regional Board. Resolution R5-2003-0105 adopted two Conditional Waivers that were intended to remedy perceived procedural concerns and to clarify conditions contained in the December 2002 waiver. Under Resolution No. R5-2003-0105, one Conditional Waiver is for Coalition Groups or other entities which form on behalf of individual Dischargers to comply with the CWC and the Regional Board Plans and Policies. The second Conditional Waiver is for individual Dischargers. Resolution No. R5-2003-0105 is a first or interim step in an evolving irrigated lands program. There are many issues that the Regional Board will continue to work with interested parties to address while the foundation for the 10-year program is being developed. Further, there are a number of issues that will require more data and analysis before they can be addressed. The 2-year interim Waivers are focused on building capacity of local groups, engaging with individual Dischargers, and starting data collection, all of which will be part of the foundation for the longer term program. For additional information, please visit Programs – Agricultural Discharges, March and October newsletters. |
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