Section 25209.10 Of Article 9.7. Integrated On-farm Drainage Management From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.5. >> Article 9.7.
25209.10
. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The long-term economic and environmental sustainability of
agriculture is critical to the future of the state, and it is in the
interest of the state to enact policies that enhance that
sustainability.
(b) High levels of salt and selenium are present in many soils in
the state as a result of both natural occurrences and irrigation
practices that concentrate their presence in soils.
(c) The buildup of salt and selenium in agricultural soil is an
unsustainable practice that degrades soil, harms an irreplaceable
natural resource, reduces crop yields and farm income, and poses
threats to wildlife.
(d) Salt and selenium buildup can degrade groundwater, especially
in areas with perched groundwater aquifers.
(e) Off-farm drainage of irrigation water with high levels of salt
and selenium degrades rivers and waterways, particularly the San
Joaquin River and its tributaries. This environmental damage presents
a clear and imminent danger that warrants immediate action to
prevent or mitigate harm to public health and the environment.
(f) Discharge of agricultural drainage water to manmade drains and
ponds has resulted in environmental damage, including damage to
wildlife. Proposals to discharge agricultural drainage to natural
water bodies, including the San Francisco Bay, are extremely
expensive and pose threats to the environmental quality of those
water bodies.
(g) Water supplies for agricultural irrigation have been reduced
significantly in recent years, necessitating increased efforts to use
water more efficiently.
(h) Although salt can be collected and managed as a commercial
farm commodity, California currently imports salt from other
countries.
(i) Integrated on-farm drainage management is a sustainable system
of managing salt-laden farm drainage water. Integrated on-farm
drainage management is designed to eliminate the need for off-farm
drainage of irrigation water, prevent the on-farm movement of
irrigation and drainage water to groundwater, restore and enhance the
productive value of degraded farmland by removing salt and selenium
from the soil, conserve water by reducing the demand for irrigation
water, and create the potential to convert salt from a waste product
and pollutant to a commercial farm commodity.
(j) Although integrated on-farm drainage management facilities are
designed and operated expressly to prevent threats to groundwater
and wildlife, these facilities currently may be classified as surface
impoundments pursuant to the Toxic Pits Act of 1984, which
discourages farmers from using them as an environmentally preferable
means of managing agricultural drainage water.
(k) It is the policy of the state to conserve water and to
minimize the environmental impacts of agricultural drainage. It is
therefore in the interest of the state to encourage the voluntary
implementation of sustainable farming and irrigation practices,
including, but not limited to, integrated on-farm drainage
management, as a means of improving environmental protection,
conserving water, restoring degraded soils, and enhancing the
economic productivity of farms.