Decision could accelerate new regulations on runoff
Record Staff Writer
May 26, 2013 12:00 AM
A judge's decision could speed new rules regulating polluted runoff from farms, rules that growers say will be costly and burdensome.
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley last week sided with state water quality officials, finding the environmental reports they prepared supporting the new rules were adequate.
Frawley also ruled that temporary rules already in place fail to protect water quality. But he said they can remain until the permanent regulations are written.
His decision is the latest legal twist in what's known as the "ag waiver."
Under the federal Clean Water Act, farmers are not required to get permits to cover the polluted irrigation water that drains off their fields into rivers and streams.
However, they're now required to join coalitions and pay a per-acre fee to help fund water quality testing and educational outreach.
The permanent rules could add burdens, such as more frequent reporting and a requirement that farmers monitor groundwater quality.
The ag waiver has been attacked from multiple fronts, with farmers saying it is burdensome, and environmentalists saying it doesn't go far enough. To read more
