Key Points
- Growers must already report nitrogen management data and farm evaluations under the ILRP, with most growers reporting to a Coalition that works with the state.
- New rules will be voted on by the State Water Board Jan. 23, 2018, and will likely require three report types: nitrogen management, irrigation management, and the farm evaluation.
- A new statistic of nitrogen used divided by almond yield will be monitored by coalitions.
- Starting in 2019, each farm will be required to monitor its drinking water wells if not already required to do so by law.
- New rules may be delayed by years if they are appealed or go to court. Rules will first be implemented in the East San Joaquin Valley area and will spread to other jurisdictions.
- Growers can comment on the proposal before Dec. 22 (see end of article for details).
The Basics
Almond growers, who are already required to report on nitrogen use, will soon face new, more detailed requirements measuring their nitrogen use against neighbors, pending a State Water Board vote on January 23.
As is the case with current reporting rules, most growers will work with a regional coalition to comply. If the proposed rules pass, it will mean new policy for the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program after years of debate.
Here’s a quick rundown of the likely outcome for growers. Thanks go to Parry Klassen, executive director of the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, who presented on the topic at the Almond Conference and spoke with Ceres Imaging by phone this week.
Who will the new rules affect?
The Board started considering these changes in response to petitions about the standards in the East San Joaquin Valley, but the rules are deemed “precedential” by the Board, meaning they’ll eventually affect all growers, as regional boards will be instructed to modify coalition orders.
When will changes take affect?
“The requirements we have in the East San Joaquin are going to stay the same for another year at least,” Klassen told growers at the Almond Conference.
If the order gets adopted by the Board in its current form, irrigation and nitrogen reports will need to be submitted next spring, with reports on the 2018 season submitted by March 2019, Klassen said.
Growers should stay tuned, though, because Klassen’s coalition is arguing the adoption date should be postponed.
Court challenges could delay changes regardless of the outcome of the vote on January 23.
How have the proposed rules changed, and what’s likely to change in the final rule?
- Initially, the plan was for all growers to report on nitrogen use directly to the State Water Board, on a website run by them, said Klassen. Now, grower reports will be filed with anonymous identifier numbers that won’t show growers identities to the Board unless they initiate an investigation.
- Growers in high vulnerability areas will need to report on yield and a breakdown of the types of nitrogen used. It’s not clear yet whether low vulnerability area growers will need to file these reports.
- Growers will likely need to submit three reports under the new rules, a farm evaluation, nitrogen management plan, and irrigation management plan, according to the Board.
- Originally the Board wanted growers to report how much nitrogen was applied, and how much was removed, in the form of shells and hulls, compared with the applied amount, Klassen told growers at the conference. Coalitions said that would be impossible to establish, so the new rule instead will require growers to report nitrogen applied, and yield in pounds. That formula of applied nitrogen over yield, A/Y, is at the heart of the new rule.
- “We’re certainly trying to get as much flexibility as we can, but the days of fertilizer nitrogen reporting are here and what we’ve got to figure out is the next step, which is what is the right number,” Klassen said this week. “How much nitrogen does it take to grow a crop and not have any excess nitrogen left over?”
- As seen below in a slide from Klassen’s talk, coalitions will take the numbers reported by growers to make a bell curve of almond grower nitrogen use and resulting yield. Growers will be compared to their peers. Outliers who are far from the normal range of applied nitrogen versus yield, will hear from the coalition. Coalition outreach will begin a conversation meant to improve their results.
- The outliers will most likely be identified based on a three-year running average, not one season of data, Klassen said.
How can growers speak out about the rules?
- The comment period for the proposal was extended to noon on Friday, December 22, 2017.
- Emails can be sent to commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov; the subject line should say “Comments to A-2239(a)-(c).”
- For more information, you can speak with Board staff at (916) 341-5600.
How can growers find out more and keep up with changes?
Klassen's advice is to stay in touch with your water quality coalition.
Contact information for coalitions around the state can be found at the ILRP website.