July 2004
Water Quality Coalitions Sign-ups
If you have not already, the time is now for all farmers and ranchers
who own or operate irrigated lands, wetlands, and local districts
who discharge tailwater to sign up with one of the Sacramento Valley
Water Quality Coalition Groups, thereby assuring compliance with
the new Conditional Waiver required by the Central Valley Regional
Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQB). The Coalition Groups will
be collecting fees from those participating in order to pay for
the monitoring and reporting requirements pursuant to the Conditional
Waiver. If you are not currently participating in one of the Coalition
Groups delineated below, you will be required to either (1) file
for an Individual Discharger Conditional Waiver, or (2) File a Report
of Wast Discharge. It has been estimated that individual monitoring
will cost between $5,000 and $15,000.
Rice acreage in the counties of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama, Sutter,
Glenn, Butte, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties will be covered
by the Rice Waiver being managed by the California Rice Commission.
This acreage is automatically signed up with the Commission and
no fees or sign-up is required. All other crops or dischargers must
sign up with one of the Coalition Groups. Farmers in Colusa County
have two options: (1) Signing up with the Colusa Basin Subwatershed,
fees will consist of a $25 administrative fee, and a 50 cents per
acre charge; or (2) Signing up with Yolo County Subwatershed, fees
will consist of a $1.50 per acre charge. Please sign up with the
appropriate group to assure compliance and to avoid more expensive
regulatory actions by the RWQCB.
- Sacramento-Amador Subwatershed: Amador County:
Mike Boitano, Ag Comm. (209) 223-6481; Sloughhouse RCD: Tina Hunt,
RCD. (916) 714-1104 (Ext. 119).
- Butte-Yuba-Sutter Subwatershed: Butte County:
Richard Price, Ag Comm. (530) 538-7381; Yuba County: Dennis Pooler,
Ag Comm. (530) 749-5400; Sutter County: Mark Quisenberry, Ag Comm.
(530) 822-7500.
- Colusa Basin Subwatershed: Colusa Basin (Glenn
and Colusa Counties): Anjanette Martin, Colusa Basin Drain (530)
934-9311; Bill Duckworth, Glenn County Ag Department (530) 934-6501;
Harry Krug, Colusa County Ag Department (530) 458-0580.
- El Dorado Subwatershed: El Dorado County: Steve
Burton, Dep. Ag. Comm. (530) 621-5520.
- Lake-Napa Subwatershed: Lake County: Chuck
March, Lake County Farm Bureau (808) 263-0911; Napa County: Jennifer
Kopp, Napa County Farm Bureau (707) 224-5403.
- Placer North Sacramento Subwatershed: Placer
County: Sandy Schwartzler, Placer County Farm Bureau (916) 663-2929.
- Pit River Subwatershed: Pit River Watershed:
Craig Macarthur, (530) 941-9357; Pit River Watershed Alliance:
James Richert, Watershed Coordinator (530) 336-7007.
- Upper Feather Subwatershed: Sierra Valley:
Allan Abrams, (530) 994-3173; Plumas County: Jerry Spurlock (530)
284-6594; Plumas/Sierra: Karl Bishop, Ag Comm. (530) 283-6365.
- Shasta-Tehama Subwatershed: Shasta/Tehama Counties:
Vieva Swearingen, Cottonwood Creek (530) 347-6637.
- Solano-Yolo Subwatershed: Solano County: John
Currey, Dixon RCD (707) 678-1655; Yolo County: Denise Sagara,
Yolo County Farm Bureau (530) 662-6316.
- Return to the Losing the Family Farm index
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