Fair association outlines stormwater fixes after CAFO designation; awaits two rain‑event lab results

Association staff told the committee that work to address stormwater concerns at the fairgrounds is underway and tied to a previous classification issue that briefly treated the site as a CAFO. Staff said they have submitted a water-compliance plan to the regional board and are awaiting lab results from two qualified rain events before the regional board will remove heightened oversight.

Project elements reported to the board included covered wash racks in the Amador animal facility to route wash water to the sewer rather than storm drains, installation of Triton carbon filters at five drainage inlet locations (the cost of the installed carbon filter program was described as approximately $50,000), and engineering work on downstream bioswales or a large biofilter. Staff said they had budgeted roughly $500,000 for contingency downstream filters or bio-retention infrastructure if lab results require additional treatment capacity.

Staff explained that if horse counts and days on-site ever exceed regulatory CAFO thresholds (more than 500 horses for more than 45 days), the association may need more extensive holding infrastructure; the current plan aims to comply for up to that threshold. Staff said public test locations and methods are in the submitted plan and that the association will share test results with the county and interested stakeholders.

Board members asked for confirmation of the five sample-collection sites and requested public documentation; staff said collection points are in the plan submitted to the state regional water board.

Next step: staff will report back after the second qualified rain event with lab results and a recommended path for downstream measures if required.