September 11, 2009

Weekly Update is a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES), designed to bring you valuable information and helpful tips for compliance with the Waste Discharge Requirements of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Each week you will find features on compliance issues, regulatory changes or common questions, as well as workshop notices. If you have missed any of our past issues, they can be found on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Dairy manure management open house in Loleta Sept. 17

A dairy manure management open house will be held Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Jim Renner Dairy in Loleta. Nutrient management planning, waste storage methods and energy efficient lighting will be discussed. The event is sponsored by the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The event will run from10 a.m. to noon. More information is available from the Humboldt County RCD at (707) 44-9708, extension 117. Sept. 9, 2009 RCD Notice

Dairy energy management workshop Sept. 15 in Tulare

PG&E and SCE will host a Dairy Energy Management workshop on Sept. 15 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Edison Ag TAC, 4175 S. Laspina St. Tulare. Dairy owners, managers, and dairy industry vendors will learn about the latest energy management options for dairy operations including energy efficient and emerging technologies, water and air quality issues; and self generation, including various dairy bio-gas options.  Utility rebates, program options, and financial resources will also be discussed. Reservations can be made by calling (559) 625-7126 or 800) 772-4822 or by registering online at www.sce.com/agtac  or www.pge.com/energyclasses  

Sept. 14 deadline for new MILC fiscal year

Important dates are coming up for producers participating in the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. Oct. 1, 2009 marks the start of a new MILC payment period. Producers are urged to visit their local FSA office prior to Sept. 14, 2009, to request a change in their payment start date if they wish to begin receiving their 2010 MILC payments in October. The same is true for each successive month. A change may be requested up to the 14th of the month preceding the month payments are requested. If no change is requested, producers will begin receiving payments in the same month as requested for the 2009 program year.

Current projections for MILC payments suggest that October may be the highest payment level for the 2010 fiscal year.  Many producers are likely currently signed up for payments to begin in February or March as selected for the 2009 fiscal year.  To avoid missing a potential October payment, changes to the start date must be made.

Producers are reminded that any change to their dairy operation must be submitted to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on form CCC-580M, MILC Modification. Changes not only include the start month request, but changes such as movement of  a dairy facility, changes in the business type, addition or deletion of partners, and any other changes that may affect how the IRS would look at the structure of the dairy operation.

Producers are also reminded that a new 2010 Average Adjusted Gross Income Statement, form CCC-926, must be submitted for each individual, entity and payment members before any payments may be issued. Further information is located online at www.fsa.usda.gov or by contacting a local FSA office.

          New Ag Chairwoman May Not Change Senate Dynamic on Climate Bill Push

The leadership shift on the Agriculture Committee may not significantly alter how the Senate deals with farm concerns in the climate bill, even though the new chairwoman is an outspoken critic of cap-and-trade legislation, senators and lobbyists said yesterday. Senate Democrats yesterday placed Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) as the new head of the Agriculture Committee, the result of a leadership shuffle following last month's death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). The agriculture panel is one of more than half a dozen committees in the Senate that could weigh in on global warming legislation this fall. Lincoln brings a markedly different voice on climate and farmland conservation than the previous chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Harkin stepped down from the farm committee's top spot yesterday to take over Kennedy's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.Harkin, an enthusiastic supporter of programs that pay farmers for environmental conservation, said he would support cap-and-trade legislation, so long as it includes incentives for coal-based electric utilities and for farmers who want to participate in carbon offsets and conservation programs. <more> Sept. 10, 2009 NY Times

Push for renewable energy lauded, but divisions over details remain

Hoping to add "green" jobs to a beleaguered state economy, California lawmakers are poised to take up new rules dramatically increasing the amount of renewable power used in the state over the next 10 years. But while that broad, if ambitious, target-33 percent by the end of 2020-has attracted widespread support from utilities, regulators and lawmakers, deep divisions remain over how best to achieve it and how much it might cost.And time is running out to forge an agreement on the issue-deemed so high a priority by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that he actually threatened to veto other bills on his desk if a deal on renewable energy can't be reached. A vote on the final package is expected Friday night- the last day of the legislative session and the deadline for a host of other high-profile issues yet to be resolved, primarily water reform and cuts to the state's prisons budget. Among the lingering conflicts, after months of debate, is how much of the new renewable energy should be produced within California and whether that restriction could wind up costing billions of dollars for new power plants and transmission lines-while also driving up utility rates. <more> Sept. 10, 2009 Mercury News

CALENDAR OF MONTHLY MONITORING ACTIVITIES

SEPTEMBER

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