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Carbaryl, Carbofuran, and Methomyl - National Marine Fisheries ...

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water resources is h<strong>and</strong>led by California Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional<br />

Water Boards. Each Regional Board makes water quality decisions for its region<br />

including setting st<strong>and</strong><strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> determining waste discharge requirements. The Central<br />

Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) addresses issues in the<br />

Sacramento <strong>and</strong> San Joaquin River Basins. These river basins are characterized by crop<br />

l<strong>and</strong>, specifically orchards, which historically rely heavily on organophosphates for pest<br />

control.<br />

In 2003, the CVRWQCB adopted the Irrigated L<strong>and</strong>s Waiver Program (ILWP).<br />

Participation was required for all growers with irrigated l<strong>and</strong>s that discharge waste which<br />

may degrade water quality. However, the ILWP allowed growers to select one of three<br />

methods for regulatory coverage (Markle, Kalman et al. 2005). These options included:<br />

1) join a Coalition Group approved by the CVRWQCB, 2) file for an Individual<br />

Discharger Conditional Waiver, <strong>and</strong> 3) comply with zero discharge regulation (Markle,<br />

Kalman et al. 2005). Many growers opted to join a Coalition as the other options were<br />

more costly. Coalition Groups were charged with completing two reports – a Watershed<br />

Evaluation Report <strong>and</strong> a Monitoring <strong>and</strong> Reporting Plan. The Watershed Evaluation<br />

Report had to include information on crop patterns <strong>and</strong> pesticide/nutrient use, as well as<br />

mitigation measures that would prevent orchard run-off from impairing water quality.<br />

Similar programs are in development in other agricultural areas of California.<br />

As a part of the Waiver program, the Central Valley Coalitions undertook monitoring of<br />

“agriculture dominated waterways”. Some of the monitored waterways are small<br />

agricultural streams <strong>and</strong> sloughs that carry farm drainage to larger waterways. The<br />

coalition was also required to develop a management plan to address exceedance of State<br />

water quality st<strong>and</strong>ards. Currently, the Coalitions monitor toxcity to test organisms,<br />

stream parameters (e.g., flow, temperature, etc.), nutrient levels, <strong>and</strong> pesticides used in<br />

the region, including diazinon <strong>and</strong> chlorpyrifos. Sampling diazinon exceedances within<br />

the Sacramento <strong>and</strong> Feather Rivers resulted in the development of a TMDL. The<br />

Coalitions were charged with developing <strong>and</strong> implementing management <strong>and</strong> monitoring<br />

plans to address the TMDL <strong>and</strong> reduce diazinon run-off.<br />

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