SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA
ITEM2
SUBJECT
AMENDING California
Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana REGION, CEASE AND
DESIST ORDER NO. 99-65 FOR CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS
DISCUSSION
On
October 7, 1999, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa
Ana Region (Regional Board), held a public hearing to consider adoption
of an amendment to Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65.The
amendment to Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65 was not adopted at the meeting,
as only four Regional Board members were able to vote.The
Regional Board again has a quorum, but does not have five members who are
able to vote on this issue.In a
memorandum dated October 13, 1999, the Regional Board requested the SWRCB
to take this matter up on its own motion, as authorized by Water Code section
13320.The Regional Board has stated
that the amendment to the cease and desist order is a critical component
of the Regional Board’s Dairy Regulatory Program.
On
August 20, 1999, the Regional Board adopted Order No. 99-11, NPDES No.
CAG018001, General Waste Discharge Requirements for Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations (CAFOs) Within the Santa Ana Region.On
August 20, 1999, the Regional Board also adopted Cease and Desist Order
No. 99-65 requiring operators enrolled under Order No. 99-11 to comply
with certain provisions in accordance with various time schedules.Order
No.99-11 required CAFOs to develop
and fully implement an Engineered Waste Management Plan (EMWP).Order
No. 99-65 included an Attachment “A”, listing several CAFOs that were required
to comply forthwith with the requirement to develop and implement an EWMP.Attachment
“A” included CAFOs that had previously been requested to develop and implement
an EWMP, and should have already done so.Since
the remaining CAFOs had not yet been requested to develop and implement
an EWMP, Order No. 99-65 required those CAFOs that were not included in
Attachment “A” to develop and implement an EWMP in accordance with a time
schedule to be adopted by the Regional Board at a later date.The
proposed order includes a time schedule for the development and implementation
of EWMPs for those CAFOs not included in Attachment “A”.
A
time schedule for complying with the requirement for developing and implementing
EWMPs, rather than requiring compliance immediately, is appropriate because
of the limited number of experienced consultants currently available in
the Santa Ana Region to prepare EWMPs and the current limited amount of
resources available for Regional Board staff to review those plans.Therefore,
this order proposes to phase in the requirement for the development and
implementation of the plans over a three-year period.The
time schedule is divided into three phases, with the first group required
to develop and implement an EWMP in 2000, the second group in 2001, and
the third group in 2002.This schedule
is also consistent with US EPA’s National Guidelines for CAFOs, which include
a goal for all CAFOs to have Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs),
which are similar to EWMPs, completed by January 2003.
Each
CAFO will be placed in one of the three phases (groups) based on the CAFO’s
geographical location.The last phase
(third group) would consist of CAFOs that are generally located in the
area of the Agricultural Preserve in the Chino Basin that has been experiencing
the most severe flooding problems from the large amount of storm water
runoff that originates from the highly developed areas to the north.This
area is bounded on the west by Euclid Avenue, on the north by Riverside
Drive, on the east by the Cucamonga Creek Channel, and on the south by
Merrill Avenue.The San Bernardino
County Flood Control District is currently constructing improvements that
are expected to alleviate some of the flooding experienced by many of the
CAFOs in this area.Placing CAFOs
that are in this area in the last phase of the time schedule would allow
these CAFOs to benefit from some of the improvements being made by the
District, prior to these CAFOs constructing any additional waste containment
facilities that may be necessary.
The
second phase would consist of CAFOs that are located in the Chino Basin,
east of the Cucamonga Creek Channel.The
southern portion of this area is currently experiencing intense urban encroachment.Several
CAFOs in the southern portion of this area have already sold their land
to developers, and will be leaving within the next three years.Those
CAFOs that will be leaving within the next three years would be eligible
to petition the Board to extend the compliance date for up to 12 months,
as noted in the draft order, and would not have to prepare an EWMP if they
cease operations by the end of the extended compliance date.The
first phase would consist of all CAFOs located in the San Jacinto Basin
(Lake Elsinore drainage area) and all CAFOs that are located in the Chino
Basin, west of the Cucamonga Creek Channel and south of Merrill Avenue.This
area of the Chino Basin includes CAFOs in the Agricultural Preserve that
are located closest to the Santa Ana River and the Prado Flood Control
Basin.
This
proposed order also updates Attachment “A” to more accurately reflect the
CAFOs that have previously been requested to develop and implement an EWMP,
and must comply with the requirement for an EWMP forthwith.
POLICY
ISSUE
Should
the SWRCB adopt the order in response to the Regional Board’s
inability
to do so?
FISCAL
IMPACT
None.Activities
covered under budgeted resources.
REGIONAL
BOARD IMPACT
Santa
Ana Regional Board.
STAFF Recommendation
Staff
recommends that the SWRCB adopt the proposed order.
Note:Santa
Ana Regional Board Order 99-65 available in Word.
January
11, 2000 DRAFT
AMENDING California
Regional Water Quality Control Board,
Santa Ana REGION, CEASE AND DESIST ORDER NO. 99-65
FOR CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS
The
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) finds that:
1.On
October 7, 1999, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa
Ana Region (Regional Board), held a public hearing to consider adoption
of an amendment to Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65.The
Regional Board did not adopt the amendment due to the lack of a sufficient
number of Board Members eligible to vote on the item.
2.The
Regional Board now has a quorum, but does not have five members who are
eligible to vote on this issue.Therefore,
the Regional Board cannot presently reconsider adoption of the amendment.As
a result, in a memorandum dated October 13, 1999, the Regional Board requested
that the SWRCB take the matter up on its own motion, as authorized by Water
Code section 13320.
3.The
amendment is a critical component of the Regional Board’s Dairy Regulatory
Program.Therefore, it is appropriate
for the SWRCB to adopt an order amending Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65,
as requested by the Regional Board.The
Regional Board will be able to rescind, amend, or modify this order, as
necessary.
4.On
August 20, 1999, the Regional Board adopted Order
No. 99-11, NPDES No. CAG018001, General Waste Discharge Requirements
for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) Within The Santa Ana
Region.
5.On
August 20, 1999, the Regional Board also adopted Cease and Desist Order
No. 99-65 requiring operators enrolled under Order No. 99-11 to comply
with certain provisions in accordance with various time schedules.
6.Discharge
Specification A.2. of Order No.99-11
specifies:
2.The
discharger shall develop and fully implement an Engineered Waste Management
Plan (EMWP) acceptable to the Executive Officer. The EMWP shall be developed
by a registered professional engineer, or other qualified individual, in
accordance with the guidelines specified in Attachment “B” of this order.The
Executive Officer is hereby authorized to make necessary revisions to the
guidelines for the preparation of an EWMP outlined in Attachment “B”.
7.Item
1 of Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65 states:
1.Compliance
with Discharge Specification A.2. shall be achieved as follows:
a)The
following dischargers shall achieve compliance with Discharge Specification
A.2. forthwith: (See Attachment “A” for a list of these dischargers.)
i)Dischargers who have developed and implemented an acceptable Engineered Waste Management Plan (EWMP),
ii)Dischargers who were required to develop and implement an acceptable EWMP pursuant to Provision D.3. of Order No. 94-7, or
iii)Dischargers who were required by law to submit a report of waste discharge and who were informed by the Executive Officer that the report of waste discharge was to include an acceptable EWMP.
b)Those
dischargers not included in item 1.a., above, shall develop and implement
an acceptable EWMP and achieve compliance with Discharge Specification
A.2. in accordance with a time schedule to be adopted by the Board at a
later date.
5.It
is appropriate to require those dischargers who have already developed
and implemented EWMPs, who were required to develop and implement EWMPs
pursuant to Order
No. 94-7, and/or who were
required by law to submit a report of waste discharge and who were informed
by the Regional Board’s Executive Officer that the report of waste discharge
was to include an acceptable EWMP, to comply with Discharge Specification
A.2. forthwith.
6.It
is appropriate to revise the list of dischargers identified in Attachment
“A” to Cease and Desist Order No.99-65 to more accurately reflect those
dischargers specified in Finding 5, above.
7.It
is appropriate to provide time schedules for the development and implementation
of EWMPs for those dischargers currently enrolled to discharge waste under
Order No. 99-11 and not identified in the revised Attachment “A”.
8.Due
to the limited number of experienced consultants available to prepare EWMPs
and the limited amount of resources available for Regional Board staff
to review those plans, it is appropriate to phase the requirement for the
development and implementation of the plans over a three-year period.
9.The
SWRCB has notified interested parties of its intent to adopt this amendment
to the cease and desist order.
10.The
SWRCB, at a public hearing held on January 20, 2000, received evidence
and considered all relevant information pertaining to this amendment to
the cease and desist order.
11.This
enforcement action is being taken for the protection of the environment
and, as such, is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act (Public Resources Code, Section 21000 et seq.) in accordance
with Section 15321, Article 19, Division 3, Title 14, California Code of
Regulations.
IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED
that Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65 is amended as follows:
1. Attachment
“A” to Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65 is replaced with the revised Attachment
“A”, included with this order.
2.Section
“b.” of Item 1 is replaced with the following:
i)b.All
dischargers listed in Attachments “B”, “C”, and “D” shall develop and implement
an acceptable EWMP and achieve compliance with Discharge Specification
A.2 in accordance with the time schedules specified in those attachments.[1],[2]
3.All
other provisions of Cease and Desist Order No. 99-65 remain unchanged.
CERTIFICATION
The
undersigned, Administrative Assistant to the SWRCB, does hereby certify
that the
foregoing
is a full, true, and correct copy of an order duly and regularly adopted
at a
meeting
of the State Water Resources Control Board held on January 20, 2000.
AYE:
NO:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Maureen
Marché
Administrative
Assistant to the Board