Legislation that would require a "warning" label on food that was grown with recycled "wastewater" from oil and gas field activities was introduced this week in the Legislature during the Special Session on Health Care. AB x2 14 (Gatto) was introduced following an activists report where they sampled the water from oil and gas operations prior to treatment by the water district.

The measure requires two distinct warning labels, one on packaged food containing any plant irrigated with this water and a second at retail establishments that sell raw ag products from plants irrigated with this water. Additionally, the bill mandates that the farmer must inform the retailer or processor if they know that plant was irrigated with this wastewater, as defined.

The legislation raises a host of issues the ag and food manufacturing industry is addressing. The first is that there is no claim or requirement that the food or raw ag product contains any contaminants. A warning label is required solely because it was irrigated with reclaimed water, not that the food or water contains any constituents that make the products unsafe. Second, is the quality of the water. Currently the water that is a byproduct of oil extraction is filtered, treated and cleaned to a standard that meets all state regulations and requirements mandated by the Regional Water Quality Board. Under current law, if the water does not meet the standards, the water district cannot distribute it for irrigation. Third, the legislation places liability on the farmers. Farmers accept water from the district which may have a broad number of water sources including groundwater, surface water and reclaimed water. The ambiguous wording may require far more notice on crops that may never be irrigated from this specific reclaimed water source. Finally, the legislation establishes a dangerous precedent. Agriculture uses reclaimed water from a host of sources and state policy has been encouraging using clean treated reclaimed water. Unfortunately, this legislation does not address the safety of the water when applied, only its source.

The association has taken a lead in addressing the issue on behalf of both the farmers and processors. Agriculture and food processors take the safety of the food they produce very seriously, and warning labels should only be required where there is a legitimate food safety issue. The association advocates have been meeting with Assembly Member Gatto's office and working with a coalition of water districts and farm organizations to encourage that state policy look at the safety of the food and agriculture product not require warnings on unsubstantiated claims. Additionally, we continue to work with news outlets to ensure accurate reporting that California Grown products are the safest in the world.

On August 19th there was a meeting of the California Water Commission where they received a report on the Department of Water Resources "Critically Over Drafted Groundwater Basins." The vast majority of the San Joaquin Valley overlies basins that have been identified to meet this criteria.   According to DWR, the basins on the draft list show obvious and significant negative impacts from chronic groundwater pumping. Those impacts include seawater intrusion, land subsidence, groundwater depletion, and chronic drop in groundwater levels. This update will be the first public release of the draft critically over drafted basins list. If local agencies disagree with the list, basin managers have the option to provide compelling data and information to DWR for reconsideration of the draft determination.

Here is a link to the meeting agenda where a summary and maps can be found. Additionally, included is a second link to a map of the basins identified so far.

Two key bills intended to reform and expedite the groundwater adjudication process face hurdles in the opposite houses of the legislature this week. AB 1390 (Alejo) which is sponsored by agriculture and water districts addresses procedural hurdles in the common law adjudicatory process will be heard Monday, August 24th in the Senate Appropriations Committee. This bill focuses solely on the judicial procedures unique to groundwater adjudications. SB 226 (Pavley) will be heard on Wednesday, August 26th in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill was introduced as a "spot bill" and was recently amended to include provisions that blend groundwater adjudications of water rights with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of last session. It is opposed by most agriculture and business entities.

The differences in the measures include:

Negotiations are ongoing with both authors and the Brown Administration. At this point, agriculture strongly supports AB 1390 because it addresses procedures without impinging on water rights and is actively opposing SB 226 because it may negatively impact landowners ability to exercise groundwater rights.