July 30, 2010

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Our goal is to provide you with breaking coverage of environmental related diary news. We provide the latest information about the Waste Discharge Requirements from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.  We endeavor to assist you with your environmental concerns and any challenges along the way. All previous publications of the Weekly Update can be found in the newsletters section on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Water board proposes including groundwater in irrigated lands program

For seven years, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has regulated discharges from irrigated agriculture to rivers and streams. Today, the water board released a program proposal and draft Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) that would expand regulated irrigated agricultural discharges to include both surface waters and ground waters from over 7 million acres of land. Under the proposal, agricultural water quality coalitions would continue in the lead role to work on local solutions with growers to protect rivers and streams and, for the first time, to protect ground water basins used for drinking water. Under the proposal, if a grower were to fail to protect water quality as part of a coalition, the water board would issue an individual permit to that grower. The water board is providing a 60-day comment period on the proposed program, draft PEIR, and economic analysis.

Additional information, including the documents available for review and the dates and locations of upcoming public workshops, can be found at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralvalley/water_issues/irrigated_lands/long_term_program_development/.

Schwarzenegger vetoes farm overtime bill

A bill that would have granted California’s farm workers overtime after eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week has been vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Agricultural work is different from other industries: it is seasonal, subject to the unpredictability of Mother Nature, and requires the harvesting of perishable goods,” Mr. Schwarzenegger says in his veto message Wednesday evening. Under current California law, overtime clicks in at ten hours a day of work. Federal law exempts agricultural workers employed from overtime pay altogether, the governor notes. “In order to remain competitive against other states that do not have such wage requirements, businesses will simply avoid paying overtime,” the governor predicts. “Instead of working 10-hour days, multiple crews will be hired to work shorter shifts, resulting in lower take home pay for all workers.” <more> July 28, 2010 Central Valley Business Times  

Valley-L.A. water deal may be in works

Drawn together by water losses due to drought and endangered species protections, two fierce competitors for California's water are trying to cut a rare deal. If it works, west Valley farmers soon will send water to Southern California cities for use this summer and fall. In return, the farmers next summer would get some water usually reserved for 19 million people in Metropolitan Water District. The extra farm water this summer comes from Westlands Water District, where growers planned for less production this year in anticipation of cutbacks. Thanks to a wet year, growers got more water than they expected -- more than they can use. <more> July 27, 2010 Fresno Bee  

Water board sets Aug. 3-4 meetings on dairy digester EIR

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has released a draft Program EIR for a waste discharge regulatory program for dairy manure digester and co-digester facilities. The 45-day public review and comment period for the draft EIR is from July 8, 2010 until August 23, 2010.  During the review period the Central Valley Water Board will hold two public meetings to receive comments on the draft EIR. The first public meeting will be held on Aug. 3 from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Central Valley Water Board's Fresno Office, 1685 E Street, Fresno. The second meeting will be held on Aug. 4 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Central Valley Water Board's Rancho Cordova office, located at 11020 Sun Center Drive, Rancho Cordova. The draft Program EIR can be downloaded from the Central Valley Water Board website    July 11, 2010 CVRWQCB Notice

Gross Margin-Dairy Insurance workshops Aug. 11-13

Livestock Gross Margin-Dairy Insurance is a program new to California that allows producers to manage price risk on both feed and milk prices. It is flexible and relatively low-cost. Workshops targeted towards producers, dairy and feed supply co-ops, insurance providers, lenders, and agricultural agencies have been scheduled to explain the program. The California Center for Cooperative Development is conducting three single-day educational workshops taught by Dr. Brian W. Gould of the University of Wisconsin.

The workshop registration deadline is August 6 and fees for each are $20. A wireless-enabled laptop is required and can be rented for $25 upon registration (each laptop will be shared by two people). Scholarships are available upon request. The workshops will include lunch and a hands-on session explaining how to optimize LGM-D contracts. Attendees may register online at www.cccd.coop/events/LGMDairy , or contact CCCD at (530) 297-1032 or email to info@cccd.coop  for inquiries about the sessions.

All worships will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the following locations:

* Petaluma – Wed, Aug 11 at Community Center, Conf Room 2, 320 N McDowell Blvd

* Modesto – Thu, Aug 12, County Ag Center, Harvest Hall, 3800 Cornucopia Way

* Tulare – Fri, Aug 13, Ag Center conference dining room, 4450 S. Laspina Street

 

Satellites save water on farms with targeted irrigation time, place

It may be an old principle in a new mode, but NASA's satellites are primed to help farmers apply irrigation water at the right time and place. This eye-in-the-sky technology is being coordinated by engineers and scientists at three well-known California sites: the Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and the Marshall Space Flight Center near Huntsville, Ala. After completion of NASA's comprehensive test program this year, farmers should be able to take advantage of satellite-produced information on their laptops or even their cell phones and apply it to crop co-efficients and evapo-transpiration rates specific to their crops. <more> July 26, 2010 Visalia Times Delta   

AUGUST 2010

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