Weekly Update
May 9,
2008
Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Our goal is to provide you with the latest information about the WDR’s from the Water Board and how our organization can help you with your environmental challenges. All previous publications of the Weekly Update can be found in the News section on our website.
The people
that are here to help YOU!!
Each
week we are featuring one of our Environmental Technicians to give you an
opportunity to “meet” them and have a better understanding of how they can
assist you. This article will have frequently asked questions and advice
from our Environmental Technicians to aid you in complying with the WDRs.
Last week we heard from Dan Roos, who discussed Farm Nitrogen Balance
Ratio. This week we are featuring Lea Pereira.
Lea
My
area is Fresno South all the way to
Q:
Do I need to sample my crops that did not receive any manure or lagoon
water this year?
Yes,
you need to sample all crops from ground that you own OR control (leased or
rented ground included) where manure is or may be applied.
It may be to your benefit to include land that you may want to put manure
or lagoon water on sometime in the future, even if it is currently in another
crop that does not receive manure.
Q:
What if the ground is in another type of crop like trees or vines?
There
are three options for land controlled by a dairy.
First, land can be listed as land receiving manure.
This option should be used for land currently receiving manure as well as
land that may receive manure at a future date.
Second, land within five (5) miles of the dairy but not receiving manure
must be listed under the order.
This land would not require sampling, but if manure were to ever be applied to
this land the Nutrient Management Plan would need to be updated and the Regional
Board would have to be notified before manure is applied.
The third option is for land more than five (5) miles from the dairy.
If this land will not receive manure it may be covered either under the
irrigated lands regulatory program or included in the WDR.
However, if not included in the WDR, and if you want to spread manure on
this ground in the future you have to notify the water board and it may trigger
CEQA review (California Environmental Quality Act).
The CEQA review could include preparing an environmental impact report
that the dairy would have to pay for. So if you own or control some ground, most
dairies are choosing to include it under the General Order now as land that you
can put dairy manure on, even if you are not doing so this year.
However, the crops off of this ground should be sampled.
Yes, you may have some additional sampling costs now; however it could
save you a lot of headaches in the future.
Q:
I have my hay, but I don’t know which part of the stack came from which
field, what do I do?
Most
of the time it seems someone else is in charge of picking up & stacking the
bales. The confusion tends to
happen when there are a couple of small fields that are managed and harvested
together, yet they are still two (2) different fields.
At this time it is better to have one combined sample than none at all;
however we really need to work towards a representative sample for each field,
because that is how the manure and water application rates are recorded.
CALENDAR OF
MONTHLY MONITORING ACTIVITIES
MAY
|
1st
of the month |
Photograph Free
Board in Ponds |
|
Each week |
Visual inspection
(production and waste storage areas; ponds) |
|
Process
wastewater application |
Visual
inspections, volume, date, field & laboratory analysis, general minerals
|
|
First manure
application |
Volume/density OR
weight/moisture, general minerals, other lab analysis |
|
Other manure
application |
Volume/density OR
weight/moisture |
|
Manure Exports |
Measure
volume/density OR weight/moisture (require lab analysis) |
|
Harvest |
Yield, lab
analysis |
|
Additional
nitrogen application |
Lab analysis of
plant tissue for total nitrogen |
|
Irrigation event |
Volume, source,
date, EC and total nitrogen (for each source)
|
|
Manure/process
water discharge |
Date, time,
volume, duration, location, source, destination, field measurements &
lab analysis; report to RB5 within 24 hrs |
|
Tail water
discharge |
Date, time,
volume, duration, location, source, destination, field measurements &
lab analysis |
To receive more information
on WUES, please contact your WUES Environmental Technician or WUES Office: