Environmental Information for the
California Almond Industry

Almond Industry Headline Environmental News July 15, 2006

   Air Quality

  • Ozone town halls set for San Joaquin Valley - - The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is hosting six town halls July 26-28 to discuss reaching new federal health-based standards for ozone. Town Hall Meeting schedule is: July 26 1 to 4 pm, Bakersfield, Air District offices, 7 to 10 pm, Delano, Cesar Chavez High School; July 27 1 to 4 pm, Fresno, Air District offices, 7 to 10 pm, Huron, Huron Middle School; July 28 9 am to 12 noon, Modesto, Air District offices, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, Stockton, San Joaquin COG offices. An informational flier and a discussion paper with background information are available at: http://www.valleyair.org/Town_Hall/Town_Hall_Meetings.htm July 13, 2006 SJVAPCD Press Release  
     

  • Ag contributes to air cleanup - - A two-pronged effort by state regulators to reduce smog from agricultural sources should make the San Joaquin Valley a healthier place to live. With the help of growers and manufacturers, the effort should significantly reduce one of the top sources of smog-forming compounds in the San Joaquin Valley one of the smoggiest air basins in the nation. The state Department of Pesticide Regulation is targeting fumigants -- gases injected into the ground to kill pests -- and volatile organic compounds in chemicals used on the soil or on plants to kill pests and weeds. <more> June 22, 2006 Bakersfield Californian editorial
     

  • Air monitoring results start for rural Parlier - - A state pesticide air sampling program focusing on Parlier is expected to announce Friday that the first three months of the program, from January through March, found no airborne levels that are of any human health concern. The monitoring program was triggered by grassroots efforts and complaints that the state Department of Pesticide Regulation should do more to protect public health, notably among farm workers and residents who live in areas that may be vulnerable to pesticide drift. DPR issued a brief note today stating that pesticide levels were within those considered safe. <more> June 2, 2006 Capital Press

Water Quality

  • Irrigation Waiver Program Enforcement Letters Sent to Hundreds - - More than 350 owners of irrigated lands in the Central Valley received registered letters from the Water Board in April asking how they intend to comply with the Irrigated Lands Program. Known as a “California Water Code 13267 Letter,” the communications ask landowners to file a “Technical Report” within 30 days so the water board can determine if the landowner is a discharger under the Water Code, according to the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship’s spring newsletter. The letters were mailed to landowners in nine counties in the Central Valley including Kern, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Merced, Colusa, Yolo, Solano and Glenn counties. Sources for the landowner names included county tax assessor records and coalition non-responder or membership lists. The entire newsletter can be downloaded by clicking here.  June 28, 2006 CURES
     

  • Watershed Coalition newsletter published - - The  Spring 2006 Issue of Watershed Coalition News (WCN), a publication developed by the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) with a grant from the Almond Board of California, is now available. The goal of the project is to link growers to the watershed coalitions throughout the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. WCN is published quarterly and made available as a PDF file (combined version) or a 4 page, 2-color hard copy newsletter (either North or South Valley). PDF versions are available at http://www.curesworks.org/newsletter.asp. June 27,2006. 
     

  • Water board cracks down on farmers - - Water-quality enforcers acted Thursday to ensure the state will be able to identify farmers who discharge water into Central Valley streams, saying a network of voluntary coalitions were not adequately reporting membership or pollution data. “We do not know which farmer is and is not in the program," said the board's Assistant Executive Director Ken Landau. "It is a major drain on staff time, and it severely hampers our enforcement efforts." Consequently, on Thursday, the water board set a Dec. 31 deadline for enrollment in coalitions, and these groups, in turn, will have to identify members annually. Farm groups decried the water board's decision, saying that it will alienate those growers who have made a good-faith effort to comply with the program and make it even more difficult to bring polluters to task. <more> June 23, 2006 Sacramento Bee
     

  • Water runoff program gains five more years - - Water officials extended a controversial farm water monitoring program Thursday after pleas from Valley residents who say their water's too dirty to drink. In doing so, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board acknowledged the program may be headed back to court. Some experts believe farm runoff is the Central Valley's biggest source of water pollution, as waters seeped in pesticides, animal feces and sediment drain into waterways, the Delta and underground basins. A 2001 state law made farmers subject to the Clean Water Act. But the board's so-called waiver program lets farmers avoid strict wastewater discharge requirements and monitor their own runoff by joining special coalitions. After a slow start, the board extended the program for five years Thursday over the objection of environmentalists who say the waiver program isn't doing any good. <more> June 22, 2006 Stockton Record

Crop Protection

  • State agency may curtail use of pyrethroids after discovering runoff is killing aquatic life. - - Alarmed that popular insecticides that end up in urban streams are killing tiny aquatic creatures, California's pesticide agency is conducting a review that is likely to lead to restrictions on many products used on lawns and gardens. The chemicals, pyrethroids, are man-made versions of natural compounds in chrysanthemum flowers. Their use has skyrocketed in the past few years as U.S. consumers and exterminators search for less-toxic alternatives for dangerous insecticides already banned. But last fall, a UC Berkeley scientist reported that pyrethroids are polluting streams in Northern California suburbs, wiping out crustaceans and insects vital to ecosystems.  Mary-Ann Warmerdam, director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, said Thursday that notices will be sent next month to manufacturers of about 600 pyrethroid products informing them that the state is reevaluating their use. That kicks off a process that will probably culminate in new regulations, and perhaps bans of some products in California. <more> July 14, 2006 LA Times
     

  • Atrazine declared “safe” following 12 year EPA study - - A 12-year review of nearly 1,000 studies has determined the popular herbicide atrazine is safe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there is a “reasonable certainty that no harm will result” to infants, children or other consumers from possible exposure to atrazine. Atrazine is one of the more commonly used protection products. It not only saved farmers up to $37 an acre in broadleaf weed control costs and yield losses in corn last year, it is the herbicide of choice for farmers who practice environmentally-friendly no-till planting. <more> June 30, 2006 Brownfield Ag News
     

  • EPA targets Guthion for phase-out - - Fruit and nut growers are among those slated to lose a highly effective pesticide – azinphos-methyl – in a proposed phase-out of the chemical. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal also includes longer restricted entry intervals for workers when phosmet is used. Growers will also be hit with additional restrictions during the phase-out period, which for almonds ends in 2007 and for other crops in 2010. While azinphos-methyl, which Bayer markets as Guthion, has not been shown to pose a dietary risk to consumers, it does pose potential risks to farmworkers, pesticide applicators, water quality and aquatic ecosystems, says EPA <more> June 16, 2006 Capital Press
     

  • EPA Proposes Phaseout of Pesticide Azinphos-Methyl and Longer Restricted  Entry Intervals for Phosmet - - To increase protection for farm workers and the environment, EPA is proposing to phase out the remaining uses of azinphos-methyl (AZM).  Use on almonds, Brussels sprouts, pistachios, walnuts, and nursery stock will be phased out by 2007, and use on apples, blueberries, cherries, parsley, and pears by 2010.  During the phaseout, EPA is proposing additional restrictions, including reduced annual application rates, additional worker monitoring, and larger buffer zones to help minimize risks.  The Agency expects growers of these crops to successfully adopt and transition to the available safer alternatives.  All other uses of this pesticide have been voluntarily cancelled by the manufacturer.  <more> June 9, 2006 EPA Press Release
     

General Industry News

  • 1.05 billion-pound almond crop forecast. Good weather, greater acreage combine to put projection near record - - About a dozen almond handlers gathered in a Modesto conference room Thursday and waited for the federal government to spill a secret. They were there to hear an updated projection on California's 2006 almond crop, a number kept under wraps until the stroke of noon so no one would get an unfair advantage in the market. The estimate — 1.05 billion pounds, close to the record 1.09 billion in 2002 — was not a surprise, given the good weather since late spring. A little suspense hung in the air nonetheless, because fluctuations in the almond supply can affect prices and the willingness of candy-makers and other customers to keep buying the nuts. Thus, the handlers had their cell phones to their ears, ready to pass on the projection to distant colleagues as soon as a federal official revealed it at the Almond Board of California headquarters. Afterward, they said the projection was about what they expected. "This might cause (prices) to firm up a bit," said Conrad de la Torre, general manager of The Almond Co., a Chowchilla processor. "At least we know where we are headed." <more> July 7, 2006 Modesto Bee

     

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