CORRECTION - Central Valley Water Board Proposes Continuation of Food Processing Waiver

This is a correction to the previously sent Latest News article highlighting the Regional Water Board’s proposal for a Small Food Processor and Other Ag Processing waiver of Waste Discharge.  The agenda item going before the board next week (2/21) is a continuation of the existing waiver that has been in place for the past couple of years.  Various food processing operations, including some tree nut processing facilities that utilize water, have elected to register under the existing waiver condition. The Association opened discussion with the Regional Board to address the issues with the proposed waiver, which include:

  • No temporary water storage in discharge pond after December 31st of each year
  • Water Discharge Tiers for applicable facilities that would subject most operations into the highest tier, and thus, the highest reporting and monitoring requirements
  • Fee Structure associated with the highest Tier of dischargers

Through discussions, the Regional Board noted that while this is a continuation of their existing waiver program, staff has begun to look at drafting a General Order of Waste Discharge specific to tree nut processing operations. Staff highlighted that they would like to work with WTNA, and the industry, to help craft a workable plan. They anticipate bringing the new order before the board next year. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Chris McGlothlin with WTNA at (559) 455-9272. Stay tuned for more updates.

Central Valley Water Board Proposes Continuation of Food Processing Waiver – Nut Processing Highlighted

Earlier this month, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) notified stakeholders of the February Board Meeting.  The agenda includes an item specific to Nut Processors, a reauthorization of the existing waiver order for “other food processing facilities”, which would include walnut hullers.  In the past, the Regional Board incorporated other tree nut commodities that utilize water such as almond blanching and pistachio hullers into their existing WDR permit program, requiring these facilities to pay exorbitant permit fees on an annual basis, while also requiring water sampling and monitoring protocols.  In the last 10 years alone, the fees associated with the WDR program have increased well beyond 160%, surpassing many other required environmental compliance fees levied on the same businesses.  Over the past 5 years, the Association has pushed the State Water Board to identify the rationale behind the rising permit fee costs, with little to no justification. 

This proposed waiver program breaks down newly targeted facilities into 3 tiers: Tier 1 of 10,000 gallons or less, Tier 2 of 10,000 – 100,000 gallons discharged, and Tier 3 dischargers of 100,000 gallons up to 1,000,000.  Each type of facility would have to report annual discharges, identify the fields in which the facility discharges the water to irrigate, and the Tier 3 dischargers of 100,000 or more gallons would have to pay a fee associated with the lowest Threat & Complexity level identified within the Regional Board’s purview, a whopping $3,945.  While the Regional Board has long incorporated a waiver program for these facilities, they now have more teeth to go after dischargers through various other regulatory requirements, such as the Salt Control Program as well as the Nitrate Control Program where facilities must register with their local water coalitions and supply testing and resource management plans to demonstrate that they are not contributing to existing groundwater impacts.  The agenda item will be heard on February 21st. 

REMINDER: Important Survey for All Agricultural Operations

As you are aware the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is moving full speed ahead on their “zero emissions” goals for California, including replacing all combustion vehicles and equipment by replacing them with electric or hydrogen vehicles or equipment.  This includes all trucks and forklifts.  The Association is convinced the infrastructure to meet such demand simply isn’t there.  Up until a meeting last year hosted by the Association last year in Modesto, CARB and the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were convinced there would be no problem meeting the demand.  But after that meeting, CARB, CEC and the CPUC admitted they did not know how much demand would be from agriculture, nor did they know when it would be needed or where.  At that same meeting the utilities, PG&E and SCE, also admitted they did not know, and they were already having “system-wide constraints”.  In response, CARB and the CEC have contracted Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to work with agriculture to conduct a comprehensive survey of agricultural operations (farms, packing houses, cotton gins, nut hullers and processors, etc.) to see how much electricity demand would be needed to comply with these new regulations, when it would be need by, and to the zip code level where it would be needed.   

The survey is anonymous and only to zip code level.  Your company or farm name and address is never entered or revealed.  We are working with several agricultural organizations on this survey to demonstrate what the true demand and need would be to meet these regulations.  Without this data, CARB will move forward on all regulations as planned.  Should you have any questions, please contact our office.  We encourage you to participate.  Here is the survey: https://bit.ly/4k1U5YD

Association Hosts Important Kickoff Meeting on 9 ug/m3 PM2.5 Plan

Untitled 60

The Association hosted a meeting with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and the agricultural industry for a kickoff meeting on issues dealing with the development of the new Moderate State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the new Federal EPA 9 ug/m3 standard.  Attending the meeting were the Western Tree Nut Association, California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association, California Farm Bureau  Federation, Fresno County Farm Bureau, Nisei Farmers League, Western United Dairymen and the California Fresh Fruit Association.  The meeting focused on the emissions inventory development and modeling that will be necessary to demonstrate attainment for the new plan and how that information will be used to develop control measures to reduce PM2.5 emissions.  In the meeting CARB identified the following agricultural sources being considered for review:

  • Soil NOx and Ammonia from application of nitrogen to managed lands
  • Farming Operations, Dairy Cattle Waste and Dust Emissions
  • Silage NOx from dairy cattle operations
  • Dust from harvesting, tilling and land preparation (emphasis on nut harvesting)
  • Fugitive dust from unpaved farm roads
  • Agricultural equipment including tractors and harvesters
  • Agricultural burning (now banned)
  • Fugitive windblown dust
  • Ag irrigation pump engines
  • VOC emissions from citrus packing house (?)

These topics and other will be discussed over the next several months as CARB and the SJVAPCD work to put their PM2.5 SIP together.  All the research and modeling will have to be done in the next two years, as these plans will be due to Federal EPA in the 4th quarter of 2027. CARB has identified seven areas in the state that will be non-attainment for the 9 ug/m3 PM2.5 standard including the San Joaquin Valley, Feather River AQMD (Yuba and Sutter Counties), the South Coast AQMD, Bay Area AQMD, San Diego County, Imperial County, Mendocino County, and the Portola area of Plumas County. 

Urgent Notice: Roof Rat Bait Station Field Day – February 19th

Have you experienced roof rat damage in the past year in your orchards? If so, please make plans to attend the CDFA Rat Bait Staton Field Day to be held from 9:00 to 11:30 at the crossroads of Manning Avenue and Washoe Avenue in Mendota, California. See attached flyer for details.

Rat Bait Station Field Day Flyer

  1. Free Labor Law Update Webinar
  2. Upcoming Train-the-Trainer Workshops & Webinars!
  3. CORRECTION: 2025 Regional Training Workshops
  4. Free Labor Law Update Webinar

Subcategories

Uncategorised

Welcome to WAPA

Governor Signs Ag Overtime Bill

Ignoring the pleas of real farmworkers and the agricultural industry, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed AB 1066, the ag overtime legislation. This means that California will have the most stringent trigger of any state in the country for overtime for farmworkers, with 45 states having no overtime protection at all. The Governor signed this bill, supposedly to bring “equality to all workers”, yet taxi cab drivers, commercial fishermen, car salesmen, student nurses, computer programmers, and carnival workers all work without any overtime provisions whatsoever. The Governor signed this ag overtime bill in the same year that minimum wage legislation was also passed that will take California to the highest minimum wage as well as legislation forcing California to adopt additional greenhouse gas regulations for businesses in California. California is the only state in the country subject to such regulations. Today’s signing occurred despite numerous requests by the agricultural industry to meet with the Governor to discuss our concerns. The message is clear. California simply doesn’t care. These provisions will be phased in over the next few years ending with the overtime provisions to be triggered at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

In the Beginning As folks transitioned out of cotton and into tree nuts, the industry recognized the need to have active and effective representation at the local, state and national levels. Having enjoyed such effective representation over the years from the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, these folks yearned for the same representation in the tree nut processing industry. Issues such as air quality, food safety, labor, taxes, employee safety, and environmental concerns are at the forefront, and there is a significant need for an aggressive and dynamic Association to lead the industry into the next decade and beyond. In recognition of this, the Western Agricultural Processors Association was created in 2009. The Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) shares staff and office space with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations taking advantage of a unique and opportunistic situation. WAPA is a voluntary dues organization with four shared staff and one dedicated staff person. Regulatory, legislative and legal issues fall under the purview of this new organization for the tree nut processing industry, which includes almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. From air quality permits to conditional use permits, from regulatory hearings on greenhouse gases to federal legislation on food safety, and from OSHA violations to assisting members on hazardous materials business plans, no issue is too small or too large for WAPA. WAPA has assembled one of the best and most capable staffs in the industry, and the results are already starting to show Membership The Western Agricultural Processors Association represents facilities involved in the processing of almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.Membership in the Association is classified as Regular memberships are limited to almond hullers or processors, pecan and pistachio processors, and walnut dehydrators and processors. Associate memberships are limited to any individual or business entity which is not engaged in agricultural processing, but which provides products or services directly related to the agricultural processing industry. WAPA Associate members include, but are not limited to, commodity brokers, accounting firms, and insurance brokers. Organization The Western Agricultural Processors Association is governed by a Board of Directors, elected by its membership.The Board consists of up to 15 members from throughout the state, and throughout the industry.The Board meets on a quarterly basis and conducts an Annual Meeting in the spring of each year.WAPA, in conjunction with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, conducts a special training school for its members focused on safety.In combination with the school, the Association holds a Labor Management Seminar for all of the managers. Consulting Services In researching and considering the concept of forming a new organization, the Boards of Directors for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations instructed staff to perform some of the work on a consulting basis first. The point was to determine the workload from consulting and to determine if there was sufficient interest. In November of 2007, the Association began conducting services under consulting contracts for such services as air quality permits and safety plans.The effort has been so successful that demand has progressed outside the tree nut industry into other agricultural processing facilities, including vegetable dehydration facilities, tomato processing facilities, and wheat mills, as well as cotton gins in Arizona.It was determined by the new Board of Directors of WAPA, that WAPA would maintain the consulting services to provide offsetting income to help with the expenses of getting the new organization up and running.Today, WAPA provides for a long list of satisfied clients in the agricultural processing industry, by providing critical services such as air quality, safety, food safety, and environmental issues (Hazardous Materials Business Plan, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans, etc.).