Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News

   Air Quality

  • Air-Way Farms Looks at Harvest Innovations to Reduce Dust. GM Fred Olmstead believes in addressing air quality and other environmental issues “head-on.” - - When Fred Olmstead watches harvested almonds as they transfer from the shuttle cart to the elevator, he is not just looking at the volume of the crop. He’s looking at the volume of dust. Olmstead, general manager of Air-Way Farms Inc., has become fixated on dirt and dust and his voice rises with excitement when he discusses his goal of reducing the amount of air emissions that result from Air-Way Farms’ almond harvesting and other farming operations. <more> July 20, 2005 Almond Board of California newsletter

     

  • ‘Healthy' try for bigger air board. Senator wants to add environmental experts - -  In the battle against smog and asthma, Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, is looking to expand the valley board that is in charge of clean-air policies and chasing after polluters. The proposed bureaucratic shuffle pits public health and environmental advocates against farm and business groups. The board now has 11 members. Critics say they are mostly rural-minded county supervisors and small-town city council members. Machado wants to add more environmentally aggressive members — a public health doctor, and experts in air pollution, urban planning and environmental justice — whom the governor and legislative leaders would appoint. <more> June 30, 2005 Modesto Bee

Crop Protection

  • EPA Seeks Comments on Pesticide Review Process- - To ensure that pesticide registrations continue to meet current health and safety standards, EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed approach to review each existing pesticide registration every 15 years. This new registration review program, mandated by the Food Quality Protection Act, will begin in 2006 and make sure that, as the ability to assess risk evolves and as policies and practices change, "older" pesticides will still meet the statutory standard of no unreasonable adverse effects. <more> July 20, 2005 EPA Press Release
     

  • Warmerdam confirmed as director of state Department of Pesticide Regulation - - Mary-Ann Warmerdam, appointed in September 2004 as director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, was confirmed last week by the State Senate. DPR has 358 employees with an annual budget of $56.6 million. Warmerdam’s salary  is $123,255.
     

  • Parlier Pesticide Monitoring Group Meets July 21 - - The Parlier Local Advisory Group (LAG) will meet from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the University of California (UC) Agricultural Center, Parlier.  The public is invited. The LAG will make recommendations on pesticides to be monitored, monitoring sites and frequency, and other elements of the project. The Parlier LAG was formed to advise the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) on the air monitoring project DPR is conducting in Parlier. Although the LAG is not a decision-making group, its views influence the course of the project.  A copy of the agenda is available at www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/envjust/pilot_proj/lag/par_lag.htm.
     

  • Nations Agree to Cuts in Methyl Bromide - - A group of 189 developed nations, including the United States, have agreed to cut use of a pesticide that depletes the ozone layer. The group originally had agreed to phase out use of the pesticide, methyl bromide, by January. The pesticide has been used for decades to sterilize soil and help grow crops such as tomatoes and strawberries, but it also damages the Earth's protective ozone layer. <more> July 5, 2005 Associated Press

Water Quality

  • Water board starts waiver enforcement- - In its first major enforcement action related to Conditional waivers for Irrigated Lands, the Central Valley regional water Quality Control Board is sending certified letters to growers it suspects are not complying with the requirements of the waiver program. <more> July 15, 2005 Summer 2005 issue of Watershed Coalition News
     

  • State Board adopts waiver fees - - The State Water Resources Control Board has approved a new fee for farmers of irrigated lands in California. The plan includes a three-tier, acreage-based fee schedule with collections expected to begin as soon as September 2005. State officials expect to collect a total of $1.9 million annually. <more> July 15, 2005 Summer 2005 issue of Watershed Coalition News
     

Endangered Species

  • Habitat expense far from shrimpy. Economy is out $1 billion if species preclude homes, federal agency estimates - - That's one costly crustacean. In a new report, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates a near $1 billion hit over the next 20 years — mostly from lost opportunities to build houses in the Central Valley — to protect the fairy shrimp and several plant species in the valley and Sierra Nevada foothills. <more> June 30, 2005 Modesto Bee

General Industry News

  • CAL/EPA announces Environmental Justice Small Grants - - Cal/EPA has established the EJ Small Grants Program to assist eligible community-based, grassroots, non-profit entities, and federally recognized tribal governments to address environmental justice issues. <more> July 20, 2005 CAL/EPA press release
     

  • UC Agriculture and Natural Resources strives for sustainability - - The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) has formally adopted a strategic direction for its programs aimed at sustainability. "Sustainability means we take action today to ensure that California's agricultural and natural resource systems will be in as good or better condition for subsequent generations -- we don't use up, contaminate or destroy," said Rick Standiford, the UC associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources. "Sustainability looks to the future." <more> July 20, 2005 UC Press Release

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