Community groups urge clear application limits and public data on crop acreage and nitrogen use
Summary
Public commenters urged the panel to identify regional final application limits, to phase provisional limits down to protect drinking-water users, and to publish surface-area data and more granular producer-level information to assess policy effectiveness.
During the public-comment period, community representatives and advocates urged stronger, time-bound limits on nitrogen application and greater transparency in data reporting.
Elías Rodríguez, representing communities affected by nitrate contamination, requested the panel identify clear application limits and publish surface-area data (with anonymized groupings if needed) so future evaluations can measure policy effectiveness. He cited Central Coast data showing large areas receiving high application rates and rising groundwater nitrate concentrations in some subareas as a rationale for application limits.
Kyle Rivers of the Community Water Center recommended the panel identify regionally tailored final load or application values and develop a methodology to set provisional limits that would be periodically reduced until final targets are achieved. He emphasized that some producers already meet lower thresholds in parts of the Central Valley and urged the panel to ensure equity by using provisional limits as milestones toward final compliance.
Ariana McGray (Los Angeles) clarified regional differences in runoff and infrastructure, noting Los Angeles County sites often cannot site lined ponds (many sites are under power lines with constrained land use) and that surface-runoff conditions differ between Los Angeles and other counties. She offered to provide documentation to staff.
Panel members thanked the commenters and staff noted they will consider these points in drafting the public-report materials and in determining what aggregated or de-identified surface-area data can be published.
