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Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program - Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel

In 2021, the Central Coast Regional Water Board adopted R3-2021-0040, General Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges from Irrigated Lands (2021 Central Coast Ag Order). The new Central Coast Ag Order went beyond the precedential requirements set forth in Order WQ 2018-0002, In the Matter of Review of Waste Discharge Requirements General Order No. R5-2012-0116 for Growers Within the Eastern San Joaquin River Watershed that are Members of the Third-Party Group (Eastern San Joaquin Water Quality Order), setting regulatory limits on nitrogen discharge, limits on nitrogen application, and allowing growers to factor in discounts to nitrogen applied (A) and additions to nitrogen removed (R). Following petitions seeking State Water Board review the 2021 Central Coast Ag Order, the State Water Board adopted Order WQ 2023-0081, In the Matter of Review of General Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges from Irrigated Lands Order No. R3-2021-0040 (Central Coast Ag Water Quality Order). The State Water Board remanded a number of provisions to the Central Coast Regional Board to bring them into compliance with the statewide precedential requirements of the Eastern San Joaquin Water Quality Order, including the 2021 Central Coast Ag Order's enforceable nitrogen discharge and fertilizer application limits, discounts to A, and additions to R.

In both the Eastern San Joaquin Water Quality Order and in the Central Coast Ag Water Quality Order, the State Water Board committed to consider convening a second Agricultural Expert Panel. Although the data analysis noted some limitations, convening a second Agricultural Expert Panel was critical for program development. Staff proposed to move forward with convening the second expert panel to get recommendations as early as feasible while there is still room for flexibility.


Announcements  Meetings  Documents & Resources 

Announcements

December 12, 2025:

December 11, 2025:

  • The State Water Board Staff made another update to the Agenda (English | Spanish) for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel working group meetings on Friday, December 5 and Friday, December 12.
  • The INMP Data Visualization Power BI tool is now available. This tool displays Irrigation and Nutrient Management Plan (INMP) Summary Report data. The tool has been added to the “Documents & Resources” section of this webpage.

December 4, 2025: The State Water Board Staff made another update to the Agenda (English | Spanish) for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel working group meetings on Friday, December 5 and Friday, December 12.

December 4, 2025: The Panel will vote on a draft revised Charter (English | Spanish) during the Working Group Session on Friday, December 5 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

December 3, 2025: The State Water Board will hold the second public listening session for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) on Wednesday, December 17th, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, to gather input from the public and all interested parties that will be shared with the Panel members for their consideration of the Panel charge questions. For more information, including meeting location, and how to participate, please refer to the Notice (English | Spanish) and the Agenda (English | Spanish).

November 17, 2025: The State Water Board will hold working group meetings for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) on Friday, December 5 and Friday, December 12 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM to facilitate Panel deliberations on issues relevant to the Panel charge questions. For more information, including meeting location, and how to participate, please refer to the Notice (English | Spanish) and the revised Agenda (English | Spanish) .

October 29, 2025:

  • The State Water Board will hold the second plenary meeting of the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel on Friday, October 31 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. This meeting is to develop initial recommendations in response to the Panel charge questions. For more information, including meeting location, and how to participate, please refer to the Notice (English | Spanish) and the Revised Agenda (English | Spanish)
  • The State Water Board will hold working group meetings for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) on Friday, November 14 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM and Wednesday November 19 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM to facilitate Panel deliberations on issues relevant to the Panel charge questions. For more information, including meeting location, and how to participate, please refer to the Notice (English | Spanish) and the Agenda (English | Spanish).

September 17, 2025: The agenda (English | Spanish) for the first public listening session on October 1, 2025, is now available.

September 8, 2025: The State Water Board will hold a public listening session for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) on Wednesday, October 1 from 2:00PM to 6:00PM to gather input from the public and all interested parties that will be shared with the Panel members for their consideration of the Panel charge questions. For more information, including meeting location, and how to participate, please refer to the Notice (English | Spanish). If you have any question, please contact DWQ-ILRP@waterboards.ca.gov.

August 28, 2025: The State Water Board held a 2-day kickoff meeting for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel on August 8 and 14. Recordings and presentations from these meetings are available on this page under the Meetings section. During the August 8 session, panelists approved of the Charter and elected Dr. Daniel Geissler as Chair.

The expert panelists are:

  • Ngodoo Atume
  • Dr. Michael Cahn
  • Dr. Ruth Dahlquist-Willard
  • Dr. Daniel Geisseler (Chair)
  • Dr. Thomas Harter
  • Dr. Ali Montazar
  • Richard Smith
  • Dr. Hannah Waterhouse

November 8, 2024: The analysis of available INMP data was updated to include a description of reported zero A values and updated Figures 15 through 17 to reflect corrected data.

October 24, 2024: The finalized questions for the second Agricultural Expert Panel (Spanish) and a general response to comments received on the draft questions are now available.

May 13, 2024: Staff issued a public notice with draft questions, a request for areas of expertise, and a call for materials for the proposed expert panel to consider.

Meetings

All Panel meetings are held in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act and consist of Plenary Panel Meetings, Public Listening Sessions, and Panel Working Group Meetings. Each Meeting includes information sharing and public comment opportunities, although the intent of the meetings, apart from Public Listening Sessions, are to prioritize facilitation of Panel discussion. All meetings were recorded for the general public and any Panel members unable to attend.

Plenary Panel Meetings

The Panel will host three plenary meetings to establish Panel procedure, present critical information for the Panel charge questions and discuss initial Panel draft recommendations and final recommendations.

Kickoff Meeting - August 8 & 14, 2025

  Day 1 - August 8, 2025

  Day 2 - August 14, 2025

Second Meeting - October 31, 2025

Third Meeting - Date TBD

  • Notice (Coming soon)
  • Agenda (Coming soon)
  • Meeting Recording (Coming soon)

Public Listening Sessions

Two Public listening sessions will be held to solicit feedback on issues related to the Panel charge questions from all interested parties.

First Session - October 1, 2025

Second Session - December 17, 2025

Panel Working Group Meetings

Multiple Panel working group meetings will be held at the discretion of the Panel. Working group meetings are to provide discussion sessions that focus on specific topical issues relevant to the development of Panel recommendations.

October 13, 2025

October 22, 2025

November 14, 2025

November 19, 2025

December 5, 2025

December 12, 2025

January 7, 2026

  • Notice (Coming soon)
  • Agenda (Coming soon)
  • Meeting Recording (Coming Soon)

Documents & Resources

  • Table of Documents

    Comprehensive list of documents provided to the Panel. Materials include, but are not limited to, background regulatory information, program data, Regional Board data analyses, information requested by the public, and working group meeting documents. Materials without a listed public access link can be accessed via the Panel FTP site below. The document log and the FTP will be updated frequently with new materials.

    If you have any questions, please email DWQ-ILRP@Waterboards.ca.gov.

  • Final Charter, August 8, 2025 (English | Spanish)
  • Analysis of Available INMP Data - State Water Board, November 8, 2024
  • Questions for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (English | Spanish)
  • INMP Data Visualization Tool: The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) staff has developed a Data Visualization Power BI tool using available Irrigation and Nutrient Management Plan (INMP) Summary Report data. This tool is designed for the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) to evaluate and compare statewide reported nitrogen data for growers enrolled in the ILRP. It was developed to assist the Panel in addressing the Panel Charge Questions
  • The 2025 ILRP and Nitrate Risk Map v2 - Overview is now available. State Water Resources Control Board developed this map to support the Second Agricultural Expert Panel in evaluating the spatial relationship between agricultural land use and potential groundwater contamination risk from nitrate. This map includes publicly available data from 2025 Aquifer Risk Map (ARM), DWRs 2023 Provision Crop data, and Ground Water Ambient Monitoring Assessment (GAMA) water quality nitrate data. Additionally, this map also includes newly developed layer of ILRP enrollee Township-Range areas. The Township-Range identifiers for areas enrolled in ILRP was derived from submitted Irrigation and Nutrient Management Plans (INMPs), with the latest available data from the 2023 crop year.