State Water Resources Control Board hears public comment on revised Central Valley dairy order; written comments due July 30

State Water Resources Control Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel convened a hybrid workshop July 8 to take public comment on a revised draft water quality order that would remand the Central Valley Regional Water Board's 2013 general waste discharge requirements for dairies.

Stacy Gillespie, counsel to the board, summarized a 125-page revised draft released June 15 and told the board the order focuses on enforcing a groundwater nitrogen discharge limit tied to California's 10 milligrams-per-liter nitrate drinking-water standard. The revised framework lays out nine components the regional board must address, including a whole-farm nitrogen accounting system, enforceable numeric land-application rates developed from a peer-reviewed groundwater loading limit, pond-assessment measures, and requirements for alternative drinking-water supplies for impacted residents. Gillespie said the board would not take formal action at the workshop and reminded participants written comments must address changes made since the 2024 draft; the comment period closes July 30 and a proposed final order is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15, 2026.

Staff emphasized three mandatory components for the revised WDRs: a nitrogen discharge limit, whole-farm accounting, and alternative drinking-water supplies. The order narrows its geographic scope to dairies in the Central Valley and adopts a phased approach: (1) within one year state guidance and orders improving monitoring and reporting; (2) within three to four years interim revised WDRs with progressively protective interim land-application requirements and time schedules; and (3) within seven to eight years final revised WDRs that incorporate the State Board's peer-reviewed groundwater loading limit and final numeric land-application rates.

Industry panelists, representing Dairy Cares, the Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program and dairy operators, said the revised draft reflects some valuable changes but warned the order remains overly prescriptive and administratively burdensome. Theresa Dunham, speaking for Dairy Cares, and JP Cadavia of the Central Valley Dairy RMP urged streamlining of multiple 13267 directives and closer alignment with CV Salts implementation efforts. Farmer Justin Gillette described on-farm investments and said costly retrofits (he estimated up to $2,000,000 for some pond reconstructions) and a mandatory seepage-testing program would be impossible for many smaller operations without substantial financing.

Environmental-justice and community groups, including the Community Water Center, Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability and Environmental Law Foundation, urged the board to shorten implementation timelines and strengthen protections. Community representatives presented spatial analyses indicating domestic wells within two miles of concentrated animal feeding operations test above the nitrate maximum contaminant level at far higher rates than more distant wells. Community advocates pressed for expanded monitoring, vadose-zone sampling, targeted interventions for hot spots, and assurances that alternative drinking-water requirements cover both interim and long-term solutions.

Patrick Palupa, executive officer for the Central Valley Regional Water Board, told the State Board the region shares the order's objectives but flagged capacity and practicality concerns. He said staff had previously tried pond-focused compliance efforts and found enforcement and technical demonstrations to be resource-intensive and legally contested. Palupa's office estimated roughly 3,400 retention ponds in the region and said several hundred may be near groundwater; he urged the State Board to align requirements with existing CV Salts processes and to avoid duplicative or infeasible deadlines.

Board members pressed both panels and staff to provide concrete streamlining recommendations. Several members emphasized that data management is critical: industry representatives said they are building a Data Management System for reporting and suggested a March 31, 2027 readiness target. Multiple speakers urged prioritizing the largest sources of nitrate loading (land application areas) while targeting pond work where hydrologic connectivity creates immediate risk to groundwater.

The workshop closed with the chair thanking participants and restating that the board will consider written comments through July 30. The board will evaluate possible clarifications and streamlining suggestions before circulating any revised text and is tentatively scheduled to consider a proposed final order for adoption on Sept. 15, 2026.

At this workshop the board took no votes; it held a public hearing and solicited written comments.