NRCS Helps Farmers Comply With New Air Standards

Sierra foothills in the San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Valley farmers required to have a plan to control dust in their farm operation are receiving much needed help from NRCS. Through agriculture air quality workshops held in Bakersfield, Wasco, Coalinga, Fresno, and Hanford, recently, NRCS and other organizations helped more than 1,200 farmers create conservation management practice plans (CMPs).

To streamline the process, NRCS reviewed the plans at the workshops and air district personnel were on hand to file them. Growers also received assistance from NRCS in selecting the best practices for their operation. Accepted practices include a variety of dust control measures such as oiling unpaved roads, chipping annual orchard prunings rather than burning them, replacing old diesel engines used for irrigation pumping with newer ones that emit less pollution, and reducing the number of tillage operations that are used to raise a crop. Growers who submit their CMP plan to the NRCS for verification of completeness receive a 50 percent discount on the air district application fee – a savings of $60 to $275 depending on the size of the operation.

The San Joaquin Valley has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be in serious non-attainment for PM-10 (particulate matter smaller than ten microns in size) emissions under the Federal Clean Air Act. The ranking means the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District must show a five percent per year reduction in PM-10 emissions until attainment is reached. As a result, the air district has adopted rules governing on-farm emissions. All agriculture producers with 100 contiguous acres or more of land are required to implement and file a conservation management practices plan for each crop they farm. Dust control practices must be in place by the end of the week and a conservation plan must be filed with the air district by December 31, 2004.

Your contacts are John Beyer, NRCS California Air Quality Coordinator, at 559-252-2191 ext. 110, or john.beyer@ca.usda.gov; Johnnie Siliznoff, NRCS air quality specialist, at 559-252-2191 ext. 121; and Ted Strauss, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Air Quality Inspector at 559-230-5950.