Reduction of Nitrates in Groundwater – Agricultural Expert Panel Report

Recommendations to the State Water Resources Control Board pertaining to the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program

The Agricultural Expert Panel (Panel) was convened to address thirteen questions posed by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). The questions were primarily technical in nature, and are abbreviated below.

1. How can risk to or vulnerability of groundwater best be determined in the context of a regulatory program such as the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP)?
2. Evaluate and develop recommendations for the current approaches taken to assessing risk to or vulnerability of groundwater.
3. How can risk to or vulnerability of surface water best be determined in the context of a regulatory program such as the ILRP?
4. Evaluate and develop recommendations for the current approaches taken to assessing risk to or vulnerability of surface water.
5. What management practices are expected to be implemented and under what circumstances for the control of nitrogen?
6. What management practices are recommended for consideration by growers when they are selecting practices to put in place for the control of nitrogen?
7. Evaluate and make recommendations regarding the usage of various nitrogen management and accounting practices.
8. Evaluate and make recommendations regarding the most effective methods for ensuring growers have the knowledge required for effectively implementing recommended management practices.
9. What measurements can be used to verify that the implementations of management practices for nitrogen are as effective as possible?
10. Evaluate and make recommendations regarding the usage of various verification measurements of nitrogen control.
11. Evaluate the relative merits, and make recommendations regarding the usage of, surface water measurement systems derived from either receiving water or a discharge monitoring approach to identify problem discharges.
12. Evaluate and make recommendations on how best to integrate the results of the Nitrogen Tracking and Reporting System Task Force with any above recommendation regarding management practices and verification measures.
13. Evaluate and make recommendations on the reporting requirements to report budgeting and recording of nitrogen application on a management block basis versus reporting aggregated numbers on a nitrate loading risk unit level.