Weekly Update June 26, 2009

June 26, 2009

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). We realize you look to us as a reliable source of information on the Waste Discharge Requirements from the Regional Water Board. We strive to provide your dairy with quality service, while at the same time saving you money as you face the challenges in complying with the WDRs. Previous editions of can be found at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Air district decision reinstates Rule 4570

As anticipated, the governing board of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District this week voted to re-adopt Rule 4570 that regulates VOC emissions from dairies and other confined animal facilities. The action comes after a court ruled that the district did not sufficiently address the public health impact of the rule, and the district needed to set aside the rule until a health effects study was accomplished. The district has now completed an extremely comprehensive and exhaustive health report, allowing the rule to be re-adopted. The air district had requested that dairy families continue to comply with the rule while it was in suspension. WUD is proud to note that members responded positively, continuing to help make the San Joaquin Valley a better place to live.

Air quality board to consider fee on emissions

Many California businesses could soon face the nation's first state fee for emitting greenhouse gases, under a proposal state air quality regulators discussed this week. The fee - about 12 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide - is not designed to penalize emissions. Instead, it would pay for creating and enforcing the state's global warming regulations, the result of California's landmark 2006 law to fight climate change. If approved by the California Air Resources Board, the fee would not apply to every California business or industry. Oil refineries, cement factories and electric utilities would bear most of the cost, with a typical refinery paying an estimated $1.3 million per year. <June 25, 2009 SF Chronicle

Cow manure can help fight global warming

Energy experts met in Sacramento for the first biomethane summit. The idea is to harness methane gas from cattle waste. It's something many California dairy farmers want to learn more about. California's happy cows are already a source for meat and milk. But we may soon be turning to them for transportation fuel too. Top experts in biomethane met in Sacramento for the first ever national summit on the topic, talking about taking cow waste, harnessing the methane it emits and turning it into natural gas to power vehicles. I t could be the future for California's ailing dairy farms which have seen milk prices and profits drop lately. About a dozen are already trying it here, with far more interested, but they can't afford the equipment. "Costs are extraordinary. To place a

methane digester on a dairy, our average cost is about $1.2 million per installation," said Western United Dairymen CEO Michael Marsh. <more> June 25, 2009 KGO-TV

The U.S. House of Representatives passed Friday a climate change bill that contains agricultural provisions that are the result of intense negotiations between House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.

· The USDA will be the regulatory body for establishing how farming operations could create off-sets under a cap-and-trade scenario.

· Livestock operations with manure digesters already in place will be allowed to participate in the offset program regardless of when they installed their digester, or how it was funded. Any reductions in greenhouse gases from digesters would be considered additional reductions under the legislation;

· A wide variety of offsets will be considered offsets, including reduced tillage practices, nitrogen efficiencies and changes in livestock diets that reduce methane.

Paul Martin, Western United Dairymen’s director of environmental services, praised the efforts of Congressman Dennis Cardoza and California Farm Bureau’s Cynthia Cory in helping reach the agreement. “They worked tirelessly on behalf of California agriculture to make sure that agriculture’s needs were met and Chairman Peterson responded to those requests,” said Martin. He pointed out that there is still a long road ahead as the Senate will take up the measure if and when it passes the House. “WUD will continue to represent the interests of its members as this legislation works its way through Congress.”

To receive more information on WUES, please contact your WUES Environmental Technician or WUES Office:

1^st of the month	Photograph Free Board in Ponds
Each month	Visual inspection (production and waste storage areas; ponds)
Process wastewater application	Visual inspections, volume, date, field & lab analysis
Solid manure application	Volume/density OR weight/moisture, and lab analysis 2 x per year
Manure Exports	Measure volume/density OR weight/moisture
Harvest	Yield, lab analysis
Irrigation event	Volume, source and date
Tail water discharge	Date, time, volume, duration, location, source, destination, field measurements & lab analysis if within 60 days of a manure application