Conditional Agricultural Discharge Waiver from Irrigated Lands -
Rice Specific Rationale
The Rice Pesticides Program monitors specific rice pesticides (carbofuran, malathion, methyl-parathion, molinate and thiobencarb) to fulfill Basin Plan requirements north of Sacramento. Participation in the Rice Pesticides Program is not optional. In 2003, the California Rice Commission took over full program management from the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Altering the Basin Plan to modify the Rice Pesticides Program is equivalent to a regulation change and not a feasible option. The CVRWQCB and the California Rice Commission worked collaboratively on an alternative recommendation that expands components of the Rice Pesticides Program into a conditional agricultural discharge waiver from irrigated lands, specific to rice. The process allows the rice growers to comply with both the Basin Plan and the agricultural discharge waiver without modifying the current Rice Pesticides Program.
