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June 23, 2006
California moves to strengthen water pollution rules
In the Central Valley in California, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board attempted to strengthen rules regulating water pollution Thursday, by requiring farmers in the Valley to come together in coalition groups to report what they grew, what pesticides or fertilizers they used and their plans to test nearby canals and creeks that eventually dump into the Central Valley's rivers. A voluntary program in 2003 had failed.
Environmentalists have long criticized the waiver program, saying it's too lax on agribusiness. But this new ruling is at least a step in the right direction, said Laurel Firestone with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.
California is the first state in the country to attempt to regulate farmers as wastewater dischargers, but the federal government may soon be following suit.
The Environmental Protection Agency just proposed new rules that would require farmers to apply for a water discharge permit similar to other businesses and cities and present a plan to monitor runoff contamination.
This proposal came in response to a lawsuit brought by New York-based environmental group, Waterkeeper Alliance, that led a court to rule that existing rules weren't adequately protecting the nation's waters from the manure produced by large farms, as reported by the Assocated Press, and published by The Mercury News.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at June 23, 2006 06:50 PM
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