**GROWER PARTICIPATION ENCOURAGED**
State Water Board Workshop Scheduled on their Proposed Revisions to the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP)
On October 10th, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) issued their second staff-proposed draft order for the Eastern San Joaquin River Watershed Agricultural Order (ESJ Order). Many elements the second draft of the ESJ Order petition will be precedential statewide and affect every commercial agricultural operation in the State.
In the revised draft order, the State Water Board made changes in the Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Plan Summary Report that attempt to address the privacy concerns expressed by coalitions, agricultural organizations, and growers during the initial draft comment period in 2016. However, the State Water Board is proposing several other changes to the ILRP as well as maintaining a requirement that all growers conduct nitrate sampling on their domestic wells even if their domestic wells are not used for irrigation purposes. The growers well sample results would be required to be conducted by a certified laboratory and published into a statewide public database.
In response to Coalition and agricultural groups concern that the State Water Board was moving forward with adopting the second draft order without a proper opportunity to understand and comment on the proposed changes, the State Water Board is holding a public workshop on Monday, November 27th in Clovis. We strongly encourage growers to attend the workshop and express your concerns with the draft order.
Monday, November 27, 2017, 10:00 am
Clovis Veterans Memorial Building, Liberty Hall
808 4th Street
Clovis, CA 93612
The State Water Board will then hold a Board Workshop on Wednesday, December 6th in Sacramento and is currently scheduled to adopt the final regulation at a hearing on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in Sacramento. For additional information on the State Water Board’s Workshop, please contact the Coalition office at (559) 365-7958 or by email at info@kingsriverwqc.org.
