  California Farming Issues:
Antelope Valley:
Water - tops the list
of important issues affecting Antelope Valley agriculture, the cities and building
industry. Los Angeles county Waterworks District No. 40 in their complaint for Declaratory
and Adjudication of Water Rights filed in Superior Court states that "the district is
informed and believes and on that basis alleges that farming in the Antelope Valley
constitutes waste and is an unreasonable use of water and is injurious to the public and
thereby unlawful". Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 40 believes they have
prescriptive rights to the groundwater and believe their rights are superior to any
overlying rights of farmers.
How do we in agriculture remind the
general public that the fresh, healthy and safe food supply they have grown accustomed to
in California and locally needs to remain protected and high on everyone's priority list?
Reclaimed Water - use
and protection of this basin's ground water is an issue we have been working on for
several years. Working in conjunction with Supervisor Michael Antonovich's office, rural
town councils, BIA, local chambers, Board of Trade and the late Senator Pete Knight's
Water Group we strived and succeeded in bringing a higher level of waste water treatment
to the Antelope Valley. As the growth of both cities and county areas continues to climb,
so does the amount of waste water produced by this growth. This is an issue not many
homeowners give a second thought to - other than the water that runs off their lawns down
the street, what happens to the remainder of their household waste water?
Burn Regulations -
have recently been revised in a collaborative effort with Los Angeles County Fire
Department, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and the Los Angeles County
Farm Bureau in an effort to allow both agricultural burns and homeowners the ability to
continue to burn their tumbleweeds. Working towards mutual goals with involved agencies
continues to be the best plan for success.
Environmental Protection
- The protection of the environment is a top priority for the farming and ranching
community. This is the land, water and air their families depend on to raise their crops
and families. Being excellent neighbors with our urban neighbors is also a primary goal of
the agricultural community. But for us to continue the wonderful life we have come to
enjoy here in the Antelope Valley, both parties must learn and grow with each other.
Los Angeles County Sanitation
District - Palmdale Groundwater Issues - The contamination of
groundwater due to 50 years of the Sanitation District flowing non-disinfected wastewater
out onto the desert has resulted in a huge nitrate plume located under the Palmdale
Regional Airport property. It has been determined by the Lahanton Regional Water Quality
Control Board has issued a clean-up and abatement ruling that the Sanitation District is
responsible for the clean and can no longer flow this water onto the porous soil of the
desert. The newest legal letter from the Sanitation District attorneys state "local
ground water quality degradation has occurred, which appears to be associated with treated
wastewater land spreading disposal policies". But that is not enough - now after
several years they are working very diligently to include irrigated agriculture operations
to take a portion of their responsibility. Although Lahanton Regional Water Quality
Control Board has a slide showing that is agriculture increased on the airport property,
nitrate levels in the monitoring wells decreased.
State of California:
For current legislative issues covering
California:
National:
For current legislative issues covering the Nation:
|
