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

will be made during the summer. If suspension occurs, PURS will resume for the 2012
growing season.
Washington State has a Surface Water Monitoring Program that looks at pesticide
concentrations in some salmonid bearing streams and rivers. The program was initiated
in 2003 and now monitors four areas. Three of these were chosen due to high overlap
with agriculture: the Skagit-Samish watershed, the Lower Yakima Watershed, and the
Wenatchee and Entiat watersheds. The final area, in the Cedar-Sammamish watershed, is
an urban location, intended to look at runoff in a non-agriculture setting. It was chosen
due to detection of pesticides coincident with pre-spawning mortality in Coho salmon.
The Surface Water Monitoring program is relatively new and will continue to add
watersheds and testing for additional pesticides over time.
Washington State also has a voluntary program that assists growers in addressing water
rights issues within a watershed. Several watersheds have elected to participate, forming
Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plans (CIDMPs). The CIDMP is a
collaborative process between government and landowners and growers; the parties
determine how they will ensure growers get the necessary volume of water while also
guarding water quality. This structure allows for greater flexibility in implementing
mitigation measures to comply with both the CWA and the ESA.
Oregon has also implemented a voluntary program. The Pesticide Stewardship
Partnerships (PSP) program began in 1999 through the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality. Like the CIDMP program, the goal is to involve growers and
other stakeholders in water quality management at a local level. Effectiveness
monitoring is used to provide feedback on the success of mitigation measures. As of
2006, there were six pilot PSPs planned or in place. Early results from the first PSPs in
the Columbia Gorge Hood River and in Mill Creek demonstrate reductions in
chlorpyrifos and diazinon levels and detection frequencies. DEQ’s pilot programs
suggest that PSPs can help reduce contamination of surface waters.
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