EPA Calls Out California’s Environmental Failure on Protecting Water

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom raising several issues with the state’s failure to protect Californians from degraded water, outlining deficiencies that have led to significant public health concerns in California and the steps the state must take to address them.

“California needs to fulfill its obligation to protect its water bodies and, more importantly, public health, and it should take this letter as notice that EPA is going to insist that it meets its environmental obligations,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “If California does not step up to its delegated responsibilities, then EPA will be forced to take action.”

For years, California has pushed policies that have resulted in a homelessness crisis that now threatens human health and the environment, with potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters. California has been responsible for implementing the water discharge permitting program under the Clean Water Act since 1973; however, the state’s recent lack of urgency addressing serious issues in San Francisco resulting from lack of proper oversight and enforcement is concerning. This, among other issues identified in the administrator’s letter, is a failure to properly implement federal programs and has resulted in the subsequent need for more direct EPA oversight to ensure human health and environmental protection.

Administrator Wheeler also raised concerns about the state’s years long approval of the discharges of over 1 billion gallons per year of combined sewage and stormwater into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Despite California having abundant financial resources – which includes a significant tax base and EPA providing over $1 billion in federal grants and a $699 million loan through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act – San Francisco has not come into compliance with federal clean water standards and must still invest billions of additional dollars to modernize its sewer system.

California has 30 days to provide a written response to EPA outlining in detail how it intends to address the concerns and deficiencies identified in the letter.

To read the full letter, click here.

David Dudley is New Marketing Director/Category Management

David Dudley is the new marketing director of category management for the California Table Grape Commission. Dudley’s responsibilities include expanding the retail demand for California table grapes in the U.S. and Canada through enhanced category management.

“We are very excited to welcome David to the team,” said Kathleen Nave, president of the commission. “David’s nearly 10 years of experience in produce management and his experience in the retail sector will be key to the development of future retail programs.”

Dudley joins the commission after more than five years at Save Mart, most recently as a senior produce category manager. Dudley also worked for Markon Cooperative as a product manager. According to Nave, Dudley will primarily focus on developing a strategic marketing plan to drive California table grape sales. Dudley will be part of a four-member retail team and will manage numerous retail accounts.

Dudley is a California native, born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor of science degree in agribusiness with a concentration in marketing.

3rd Rice Short Course is at the Hamilton Road Field and Rice Experiment Station in Biggs

This year will mark the third rice-specific weed course at the Hamilton Road Field and the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, CA on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019.

The day will begin with an interactive field tour of the research plots (Hamilton Road Field) where attendees can get up close to the weeds and rice (bring your boots!) The course will include a hands-on weed identification session on emerging and mature weeds. In the afternoon, speakers will address several pertinent topics in CA rice, including algae, weedy rice, regulatory update, best management for grasses, and how to construct a weed management program.

The course is a collaborative effort between UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE), UC Davis, and the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF.) “This course provides a strong foundation for weed management in California rice, as well as a chance for discussion of ideas for dealing with resistance and emerging weed species” said Whitney Brim-DeForest, UCCE Rice Farm Advisor. The event is a great opportunity for pest control advisers, growers, industry, extension, and interested students to gain a deeper understanding of topics that affect rice weed management.

Enrollment is limited, so register early. The cost is $80 if received by 8/15/2019, $90 if received by 8/30/2019, and $100 if received after 8/30/2019 (if there is space.) The cost for students with a valid student ID is $50/$60/$70. For more details or to register, visit http://wric.ucdavis.edu and click on RICE WEED COURSE.

If you have questions, contact Whitney Brim-DeForest [wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu or (530) 822-7515.]

Farmers: Learn What Needs to Be Done When SGMA is Implemented in 2020

Don Wright with waterwrights.net along with the Tulare County Farm Bureau and the WET Center at Fresno State will present the second SGMA Survival Tool Kit. Thursday, May 30^th from 3:00-6:00 pm at the Exeter Memorial Building 324 N. Kaweah Ave, Exeter, CA 93221.

There is no charge and Gar Tootelian will be providing BBQ beef sandwiches, the American Pistachio Growers Association will provide pistachios,  Don Wright’s 81-year old mother baked 300 homemade cookies and the Tulare Farm Bureau is bringing bottled water.

Don Wright with WaterWrights.net

“This is not a GSA meeting or a DWR or State or Regional Board meeting; there will be some DWR folks to help with the interpretation of the law but not to tell us what to do,” said Wright. “And of course GSAs will be a topic but the message about them will be – they are our neighbors doing some heavy lifting. They are not the enemy and are in need of our support and input.”

This meeting is about what farmers can do to prepare for SGMA before it’s implemented next year. Are wells and irrigation systems operating optimally? Is monitoring and record keeping up to speed? Do they have their legal and real estate ducks in a row? There are experts speaking on these subjects but we will be encouraging growers to speak as well.

Red Wine Varieties Accounted For Largest Share

News Release

The 2018 crush totaled 4,506,583 tons, up 6.2 percent from the 2017 crush of 4,241,945 tons. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 2,447,930 tons, up 8.8 percent from 2017. The 2018 white wine variety crush totaled 1,833,755 tons, up 3.8 percent from 2017. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 82,508, down 12.5 percent from 2017, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 142,391, up 8.0 percent from 2017.

The 2018 average price of all varieties was $831.63, up 6.8 percent from 2017. Average prices for the 2018 crop by type were as follows: red wine grapes, $1,019.03, up 5.5 percent from 2017; white wine grapes, $634.84, up 8.0 percent from 2017; raisin grapes, $299.48, up 18.4 percent; and table grapes, $192.01, up 7.6 percent.

Leading Grape Varieties and Districts

In 2018, Chardonnay continued to account for the largest percentage of the total crush volume with 15.8 percent. Cabernet Sauvignon accounted for the second leading percentage of crush with 15.1 percent. Thompson Seedless, the leading raisin grape variety crushed for 2018, was only 1.5 percent of the total crush.

District 13, (Madera, Fresno, Alpine, Mono, Inyo Counties; and Kings and Tulare Counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192)), had the largest share of the state’s crush, at 1,370,068 tons. The average price per ton in District 13 was $318.38.

Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) received the highest average price of $5,571.44 per ton, up 6.6 percent from 2017. District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) received the second highest return of $2,817.92, up 0.3 percent from 2017. The 2018 Chardonnay price of $970.76 was up 5.1 percent from 2017, and the Cabernet Sauvignon price of $1,683.25 was up 8.3 percent from 2017. The 2018 average price for Zinfandel was $600.21, up 1.5 percent from 2017, while the Pinot Noir average price was down 0.9 percent from 2017 at $1,674.62 per ton.

The entire Grape Crush Report is available online in both PDF and spreadsheet format at www.nass.usda.gov/ca.