3^rd Annual Central Valley Chemical Safety Day – Turlock, Stanislaus County

“Safety Hero’s – We Do It Because People Matter”

Registration, Sponsorship and Applications for Exhibiting are now open.

Event Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014

Location: Stanislaus County Fairgrounds

900 N. Broadway, Turlock, CA

Download brochure to register for this valuable FREE TRAINING by visiting www.cvcsd.org

For additional information, please call (831) 297-2554.

There is a bit of good news coming out of CDFA recently, as they will start their second round of financial assistance to install water distribution systems that help reduce greenhouse gases and conserve water. The program titled State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) was authorized by emergency drought legislation. Agriculture operations looking at energy and water conservation projects (pump improvements, equipment to facilitate water saving measures and other quantifiable water distribution and greenhouse gas reduction management practices) could be provided with up to $150,000.

CDFA will begin accepting applications on September 29, 2014. Details regarding eligibility information and program requirements can be accessed at www.cdfa.ca.go/go/SWEEP . To expedite the application process, CDFA is partnering with the State Water Resources Control Board, which hosts an online application using the Financial Assistance Application Submittal Tool (FAAST). All applicants must register for a FAAST account at https://faast.waterboards.ca.gov. The deadline to submit electronically to FAAST is Friday, November 10, 2014 at 5;00 PM (PST).

To help with program requirements and for more information about the program, CDFA will hold three application workshops to help with the application process. The workshop is free but individuals are encouraged to RSVP to grants@cdfa.ca.gov with their contact information, number of seats required and workshop location.

Workshop Locations:

Fresno – October 6, 2014
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Fresno County Ag Commissioner Office
1730 S. Maple Avenue
West Wing Conference Room #1
Fresno, CA 93702

San Luis Obispo – October 8, 2014
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
San Luis Obispo County Ag Commissioner Office
Auditorium
2156 Sierra Way,
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Sacramento – October 13, 2014
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
California Department of Food and Agriculture
Auditorium
1220 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Webinar – October 16, 2014
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST)
Webinar Information will be provided upon registration

Food facilities required to register with FDA must renew their food facility registrations this year during the period beginning on October 1, 2014 and ending on December 31, 2014.  The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), enacted on January 4, 2011, amended the food facility registration requirements of section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).  The registration requirements apply to domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States.  FSMA amended section 415 of the FD&C Act to provide that food facilities required to register with FDA must renew their registrations with FDA every other year, during the period beginning on October 1 and ending on December 31 of each even-numbered year.  To renew, please click on the following link: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FoodFacilityRegistration/default.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

CalOSHA held a hearing yesterday in San Diego on the proposed revisions to their proposed revisions to the Heat Illness Standard.  The proposed changes include requiring water to be within 400 feet, shade within 700 feet that covers 100% of all employees, and mandatory 10 minute breaks every two hours when the temperature hits 95 degrees.  CCGGA President/CEO testified on the issue stating that the distance requirements were not only impractical but not justified.  Isom asked the board to consider the basis for the changes, stating that CalOSHA staff had not provided any justification for the changes.  Isom also testified on the confusion and burdensome paperwork that would be required to track both breaks for heat illness and breaks already mandated under current labor law.  Comments were given throughout the day, and the CalOSHA Standards Board will vote on the proposed revisions later this year.

A press release sent out by the United States Small Business Administration on September 18^th may hold some good news for small businesses affected by the drought. Small, nonfarm businesses are now eligible to apply for low interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans are made available when the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agriculture disaster, which occurred on September 17^th, 2014 when Secretary Tom Vilsack declared the drought a disaster. The program, known as The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)   will cover 57 California counties and neighboring counties in Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. The loans have been created to help offset the harsh economic impact of the current drought that began January 1, 2014. The EIDL eligibility will be limited to small, nonfarm businesses, small agriculture cooperatives, private nonprofit organizations (any size), and small businesses engaged in aquaculture. These entities may qualify for up to $2 million to help offset operating expenses and financial commitments which could have been made if the drought wasn’t present. It is important to note that eligibility for the loans is based on financial impact and not any actual property damage.

The EIDL loans have an interest rate of 4% for businesses and 2.625% for private, nonprofit organizations, a maximum term of 30 years and will be made available for qualified entities that do not have the financial ability to offset the impact of the drought without hardship.  Deadline to apply for these loans is May 18, 2015.

Applicants may register online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure WEB site at https://disasterload.sba.gov/ela.  Additional information can be obtained through the SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955 or emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

U.S. EPA has proposed designating 14 areas in six states as out of compliance with the 2012 pollution standard for airborne fine particulates (PM2.5).  In 2012, EPA tightened the particulate limit from 15 micrograms per cubic meter to 12 micrograms per cubic meter, based on information about health effects.  The list of 14 areas out of compliance with the standard is based on monitoring data from 2011 to 2013.  The nonattainment areas are in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, California and Idaho. For California, the following counties are listed as not meeting the standard: Plumas, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and Imperial Counties.  EPA is accepting public comment on the list until the end of the month. States with nonattainment areas have 120 days to work with the agency and provide more information before EPA makes a final decision.  Under the Clean Air Act, states with areas not meeting the federal standard must come up with plans to reduce pollution from sources of fine particulate matter, primarily combustions sources including trucks and tractors.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing changes to four rules proposed in 2013 to implement the FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA): Produce Safety, Preventive Controls for Human Food, Preventive Controls for Animal Food, and Foreign Supplier Verification Programs.

FDA is proposing new ways to make the original proposals more flexible, practical and targeted. The changes are based on the input received from thousands of comments submitted on the proposed rules.

The changes include:

• Produce Safety: More flexible criteria for determining the safety of agricultural water for certain uses and a tiered approach to water testing.

• Produce Safety: A commitment to conduct extensive research on the safe use of raw manure in growing areas and complete a risk assessment. Pending those actions, FDA is deferring its decision on an appropriate time interval between the application of raw manure and the harvesting of a crop and removing the nine-month interval originally proposed. FDA also proposes eliminating the 45-day minimum application interval for composted manure that meets proposed microbial standards and application requirements.

• Preventive Controls for Human and Animal Foods: Requirements that human and animal food facilities, when appropriate, test products and the food facility’s environment, as well as implement certain supplier controls.

• Foreign Supplier Verification Program: A more comprehensive analysis of potential risks associated with foods and foreign suppliers, and more flexibility for importers in determining appropriate supplier verification measures based on their evaluation of those risks.

The FDA will accept comments on the revised provisions for 75 days after publication in the Federal Register, while continuing to review comments already received on the original proposed rules. No additional comments will be accepted on the original proposals. FDA will consider both sets of comments—on the original proposed rules and on the revisions—before issuing final rules in 2015.

The agency is planning to hold a public meeting on the revised proposals on Thursday, November 13, 2014 in College Park, Md.  Details will be forthcoming.

Cotton Incorporated has announced the formation of a Cotton Research and Promotion Program Hall of Fame, which will annually recognize U.S. cotton industry leaders that have made significant contributions to the Program or to the cotton industry in general. The five inaugural honorees: J. Dukes Wooters (New York); Morgan Nelson (New Mexico); Marshall Grant (North Carolina); Fred Starrh (California); and Lambert Wilkes (Texas) will be recognized for their achievements at the combined Cotton Board/Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida this December.

The Cotton Research and Promotion Program was established in 1966 to expand the demand for upland cotton and to increase profitability for both cotton growers and importers of cotton products.

“As the Research and Promotion Program approaches its fiftieth year, we felt the time was right to acknowledge the contributions of those who have helped shape the modern cotton industry,” says Berrye Worsham, President and CEO of Cotton Incorporated.

• J. Dukes Wooters, the first President of Cotton Incorporated, is recognized for his innovative marketing of cotton to consumers, including the development of the now iconic Seal of Cotton trademark.
• Morgan Nelson, known as “Mr. Cotton” in his home state of New Mexico, was among the first directors of the Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors. He is honored for his strong leadership and lengthy tenure in this role, in which he was instrumental in generating and maintaining grower support and helping to shape the direction of Cotton Incorporated.
• Marshall Grant, a staunch advocate of boll weevil eradication, is recognized for his foresight and tenacity in convincing local and national leaders to address one of the greatest threats ever to face the U.S. cotton industry. Heralded as one of the most successful USDA projects, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program also contributed to a reduction in pesticide applications and the implementation of Integrated Pest Management among U.S. cotton growers.
• Professor Lambert Wilkes (deceased), along with his team at Texas A&M, is responsible for the engineering of the cotton module builder, which dramatically increased the efficiency of cotton collection and storage. In 2000, the state of Texas acknowledged the module builder as one of the four most significant economic achievements of the 1970s, alongside the opening of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Southwest Airlines.
• Fred Starrh provided many years of leadership to the industry, first as Chairman of Cotton Incorporated and later as President and Chairman of Cotton Council International. He is honored for his strong leadership and for shepherding Cotton Incorporated through a transition of partnership with Cotton Council International to promote U.S. upland cotton around the world. He also served as the President of the California Cotton Growers Association (formerly Western Cotton Growers Association) from 1986 to 1990.

The 2014 honorees of the Cotton Research and Promotion Program Hall of Fame were chosen from nominations made by Certified Producer and Importer Organizations and voted upon by the Chairman’s Committee of the Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors. A huge congratulations from the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations to Fred Starrh, and to all of the inaugural recipients on a very special honor!

The California State Legislature has now adjourned the 2013-2014 Legislative Session.  Some key bills were dealt with in the final week of Session and now sit on the Governor’s desk awaiting his action. The Governor has until September 30, 2014 to sign or veto legislation presented to him.

AB 1522 (Gonzalez):  Employment:  Paid Sick Days

Summary:  Enacts the Healthy Workplace, Healthy Families Act of 2014. The Act entitles an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, and works in California for thirty or more days a year, to paid sick days accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every thirty hours worked.

Outcome: Passed out of the Assembly 52-25; Passed out of the 22-8.

AB 1739 (Dickinson):  Groundwater Management

Summary:  This bill is part of a groundwater management package that also includes SB 1168 (Pavley) and SB 1319 (Pavley). The bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources (Department) or a groundwater sustainability agency (as defined in SB 1168) to provide technical assistance to entities that extract or use groundwater to promote water conservation and protect groundwater resources. Groundwater sustainability agencies would be required to submit a groundwater sustainability plan to the Department for review. The bill authorizes the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) to designate a basin as a probationary basin, and would authorize the Board in consultation with the Department to develop an interim plan for a probationary basin if a local agency has not remedied a deficiency.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Assembly 47-28; Passed out of the Senate 26-11.

AB 1897 (Hernandez):  Labor Contracting:  Client Liability

Summary:  Would require a client employer to share with a labor contractor all civil legal responsibility and civil liability for all workers supplied by that labor contractor for the payment of wages and the failure to obtain valid workers’ compensation coverage.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Assembly 47-24; Passed out of the Senate 22-12.

AB 2416 (Stone):  Liens:  Laborers and Employees

Summary:  Enacts the California Wage Theft Recovery Act which would authorize employees to request the Labor Commissioner record, on his or her behalf, a wage lien upon real and personal property of an employer for unpaid wages and other compensation owed to the employee.

Outcome:  Held in the Senate 13-15.

SB 25 (Steinberg):  Agricultural Labor Relations:  Dispute Resolution

Summary:  Provides that an action to enforce the order of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board may be filed within sixty days whether or not the other party is seeking judicial review of the order.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Senate 22-12; Passed out of the Assembly 42-25.

SB 605 (Lara and Pavley):  Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

Summary:  Would require the State Air Resources Board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Senate 23-12; Passed out of the Assembly 53-24.

SB 1168 (Pavley):  Groundwater Management

Summary:  This is one of two senate bills that complete the groundwater management package. SB 1168 would create a state policy that groundwater resources be locally managed for long-term reliability and multiple economic, social and environmental benefits. The bill would require groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority by the Department of Water Resources and designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan by January 31, 2020. It would require all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan by January 31, 2022. The bill authorizes a local agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency which would have specific authority including, but not limited to, the ability to require registration of a groundwater extraction facility, to require that groundwater extraction facility be measured with a water-measuring device, and to regulate groundwater extraction.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Senate 25-10; Passed out of the Assembly 47-27.

SB 1319 (Pavley):  Groundwater

Summary:  Would authorize the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) to designate certain high- and medium-priority basins as a probationary basin if, after January 21, 2025, prescribed criteria are met, including that the state board determines that the basin is in a condition where groundwater extractions result in significant depletions of interconnected surface waters. AB 1739 would authorize the Board in consultation with the Department of Water Resources, to develop an interim plan for a probationary basin if it determines that a local agency has not remedied a deficiency. This bill would prohibit the Board from establishing an interim plan before January 1, 2025.

Outcome:  Passed out of the Senate 24-10; Passed out of the Assembly 48-26.

The Associations have opposed these bills and have sent, or are in the process of sending, veto requests to the Governor.