The Maddy Report recently held a discussion on their weekly radio and television program entitled “Adapting to Climate Change: Implications for the Valley.”  Guests Carol D’Elia, Executive Director of California’s Little Hoover Commission, discussed climate change with Maddy Institute Executive Director Mark Keppler, and California Fresh Fruit Association President Barry Bedwell.  On the radio portion, commentary was provided by Roger Isom, President of the California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association and President & CEO of the Western Agricultural Processors Association, and Fresno Bee Environmental Reporter Mark Grossi.  To hear the report on the internet, please visit http://www.maddyinstitute.com/adapting-to-climate-change-implications-for-the-valley/.

The risks of chemical exposure are real and often a component of every workday.  The Hazard Communication Standard is OSHA’s #2 most frequently cited standard. Any employer whose employees handle, or are exposed to hazardous chemicals, must have a written hazard communication (HazCom) plan and provide training.

The Western Agricultural Processors Association is pleased to announce the HazCom & GHS workshops!  The workshop will cover what you need to know and how to comply with the requirement as an ‘End User’ of handling chemicals in the workplace (i.e. in house labeling requirements, proper secondary containers, and safety data sheets, etc.)

Session Topics:

• Required elements of a HazCom plan
• Responsibilities of employers and workers
• Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)
• Workplace labeling – What are the options?
• Training requirements

Who Should Attend: 
Owners and Managers
HR and Safety Personnel
Superintendents and Supervisors
Maintenance/Shop Personnel
Employees handling chemicals

2015 HazCom-GHS Workshops Flyer

Effective today, May 1st, the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Regulations go into effect!  Now that the temperature is heating up, you are required to take steps to prevent heat illness.

• –  Water must be “fresh, pure, suitably cool” and located as close as practicable to where employees are working
• –  Shade must be present at 80 degrees F
• –  Shade must accommodate 100% of employees working on the site
• –  When temperature hits 95 degrees F, the employee must be provided a minimum 10 minute cool-down period every two hours
• –  Employees taking a “preventative cool-down rest break” must be monitored for symptoms of heat illness
• –  New training requirements covering employers’ responsibilities, employees’ rights and appropriate first aid and emergency responses

The Association has updated Appendix R of the Safety Manual for its members to comply with the new regulations.

On Friday, April 17^th, the Regional Board held a board meeting in the Fresno office.  The most concerning item on the agenda was enforcement of Waste Discharge Requirements.  Three operations were cited to appear before the regional board; one dairy and two commercial farming operations.

The first farming operation (Farm A) called before the Regional Board farmed a little over 300 acres in Madera County.  According to the report, the operation is required to comply with Water Code section 13264 which requires that irrigation users report their waste discharges to the Regional Board.  The second farming operation (Farm B) that was cited on the docket was a commercial agriculture operation that was separated into multiple parcels across Stanislaus, Merced, and Madera counties. The accumulated acreage for the operation across the several counties totaled over 900 acres

The process that can ultimately lead to a meeting before the Regional Board begins with a Notice of Intent, which notifies operations of their lack of compliance.  The notices are sent via certified mail, so when a notice is signed for, the time to respond begins. Once that deadline passes, the Regional Board then moves along with a Notice of Violation (NOV) which is another notice requiring compliance, and notifying the owner that serious fines are to be levied. The fines are listed as $1,000 per day for non-compliance.  Both farms were notified in 2013 of their noncompliance.

The owner of Farm B failed to report his discharged acreage to the coalition which kept the time on the fine running. In all, the owner was out of compliance for 204 days resulting in a penalty of over $200,000 dollars.   The Regional Board issued an Administrative Civil Liability Complaint with a reduced amount for $31,460 dollars. Farm A was cited for non-compliance for not enrolling in a watershed coalition or reporting to the Regional Board and assessed a fine of $51,480 dollars.

As stated above, both farms were notified 2 years ago and encouraged to report discharges to the Regional Board or enroll in a watershed coalition.  The timeline for unpunished enrollment has long passed, and penalties like these will become more common.  If you have not enrolled in a coalition, or reported your discharge to the Regional Board, we encourage you to do so.  If you have received a notice of intent or violation, we encourage you to respond to the Regional Board with your plan of action.  The fines that are being imposed are very high, and we fear that the longer an operation waits, the levied fines will be much heavier.

At a special meeting of the California Water Commission (Commission) in Fresno this week, President/CEO Roger Isom testified that the outcome of this effort must produce “real water.”  The Commission held the “Water Storage Investment Program” meetings to provide an opportunity for stakeholders and the public to learn about the Commission’s Water Storage Investment Program.  In November 2014, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, affirming the need for a safe and reliable supply of water to support the state’s economy, environment, and quality of life.  The bond includes $2.7 billion for public benefits of water storage projects that improve the operation of the state water system, are cost effective, and provide measurable benefits to the Delta ecosystem or its tributaries.  The Commission, through the Water Storage Investment Program, will fund the public benefits of eligible water storage projects. The public meeting provided details on which projects are eligible for funding, the timeline for the program, and how to provide feedback on the program.  Several participants, ranging from farmers and farmworkers to irrigation districts and county supervisors and elected officials, made comments generally supporting the construction of Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley and Temperance Flat Dam near Fresno.  Association President/CEO Isom urged for a comprehensive solution that includes the storage component to work towards solving all of our water problems.

Following Governor Jerry Brown’s announcement of mandatory water restrictions on Thursday, April 1 the agriculture industry has been scrutinized and called into question for the levels of water used for the California agricultural industry. In a recent Washington Post article, the agriculture industry is branded for being responsible for upwards of 80 percent of California’s water use. This staggering and inflated statistic has been the source of questions regarding agriculture water efficiency and use. However, the California Department of Water Resources released a report detailing that when factoring in environmental needs of California, the agriculture industry does not use 80 percent but rather uses 40.9 percent of water allocation. The leading source in receiving water for California is the environment with 50.2 percent of California water allocation totaling nearly 40-million acre-feet. This allotment of water is used in wetland management as well as to meet Delta, stream and river flows.  Executive Director of the California Water Alliance, Aubrey Bettencourt said, “In an effort to demonize hardworking farmers and portray the environment as neglected, activists are waging a propaganda campaign that perpetuates the grossly misleading and disingenuous claim that farmers are hoarding 80 percent of the state’s water supply. That is simply not true.”

After a lengthy registration process cotton growers in California have another tool to help combat whitlefly.   Bayer CropScience has received the registration for its new insecticide Sivanto from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR)). Sivanto, which was developed to control devastating sucking pests on fruits and vegetables as well as most broadacre crops, will be available for the 2015 growing season.  Sivanto is a novel systemic insecticide for the control of major sucking pests such as aphids, whiteflies, hoppers, psyllids, and other key insects, and acts effectively on all mobile stages including larvae and adults. It can be used on pome fruits, citrus, vegetables: cucurbit, fruiting, leafy & brassica; winegrapes, melons, alfalfa and cotton. Sivanto is based on the active ingredient flupyradifurone which belongs to the new chemical class of butenolides.  It is also important to note that when applied at proposed label rates, Sivanto presents no effects on honey bee colony development.   Finally, another tool in our battle against whitefly.  Remember, NO STICKY COTTON!

It is now official.  CalOSHA’s proposed changes to the Heat Illness Prevention Standard will become effective as of May 1.  The major changes include the following:

•  – Water must be “fresh, pure, suitably cool” and located as close as practicable to where employees are working
•  – Shade must be present at 80 degrees F
•  – Shade must accommodate all employees working on the site
•  – Employee must be provided a minimum 10 minute cool-down period every two hours when temperatures hit 95 degrees F
•  – Employees taking a “preventative cool-down rest break” must be monitored for symptoms of heat illness
•  – New training requirements covering employers’ responsibilities, employees’ rights and appropriate first aid and emergency responses

The Association is currently updating all of our member’s and our client’s Heat Illness Prevention Plans.  We will also be conducting trainings in the next few weeks to make sure our members have been trained on the new requirements.