CDQA - Key Contacts

Central Valley Water Regulations

NEW INFORMATION: Backflow Prevention & 2007 Annual Report (Due July 1, 2008)

GOT HELP?

Central valley dairy producers are facing some of the toughest new environmental water regulation ever. Don’t panic, the CDQAP will be offering training workshops and other assistance every step of the way.

Below is a brief summary of what will be required of producers over the coming months and years, with links to resources and more information.

On June 29, 2007 the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board 5, or RB-5) sent certified mail to California’s central valley producers containing the new water quality regulations required of all existing central valley dairies.

The new water regulations (called Waste Discharge Requirements or WDRs) were adopted on May 3, 2007 and apply to all existing dairy facilities within RB-5’s boundaries (regardless of size, age or ownership).

The new regulations total 128 pages and are quite comprehensive. Rather than requiring dairies to implement the entire WDR in a single year, however, RB-5 is allowing producers to implement the permit in stages with “deliverables” (mostly reports) to be submitted to the regional board over the 5-year life of the permit.

Backflow Prevention
Under the General Order Waste Discharge Requirements approved in 2007, dairy owners/operators are required to identify any backflow problems on their facility and submit a proposed remediation plan and schedule by July 1, 2008. Under the regulations, a “trained professional” must certify that the facility has no backflow issues. A “trained professional” is defined within the General Order as “a person certified by the American Backflow Prevention Association, an inspector for a state or local government agency who has experience and/or training in backflow prevention, or a consultant with such experience and/or training.” The University of California Cooperative Extension Service and the CDQAP hosted training workshops on backflow prevention for professionals, see lists below for professionals who attended one of the training workshops.

GO Requirements for Backflow Prevention (pdf)
NRCS Definition of Air Gap Backflow Prevention (pdf)
Summary of Backflow Prevention on Dairies (pdf)
Double Chemigation Valve Operation & Maintenance Plan Recordkeeping (Word, pdf)
Determination of Air Gap Size (Word, pdf)
Backflow Prevention Training Participant List
- Alpha by City (pdf)
- Alpha by County (pdf)

2007 Annual Report (Due July 1, 2008)
Central Valley dairy producers are required to submit their first annual report covering the reporting period of May 3, 2007 – December 31, 2007 as part of the July 1st submittals. Due to the shortened reporting period, recent December 2007 submittals and staged implementation of the General Order, this first year report is a streamlined form. It is available on the same website used to access the Preliminary Dairy Facility Assessment that was completed last fall to access, click here. The Annual Report form is featured in a tab at the top of the page. It is an Excel-based form that will save any entered data on the computer used during its completion.

Annual Report Form and Attachments – 14 pages (pdf)
Tips for Completing 2007 Annual Report Form (pdf)
July 1st WDR Reporting Submittal Checklist (pdf)