San Benito County farmers will have an additional bill to pay
this holiday season, and even though they aren’t looking forward to
it, many believe it will benefit the county in the long run.
Central Coast farmers with irrigated crops will be getting their
first water quality monitoring bill from the Central Coast Water
Quality Preservation’s Cooperative Monitoring Program next
month.
Hollister – San Benito County farmers will have an additional bill to pay this holiday season, and even though they aren’t looking forward to it, many believe it will benefit the county in the long run.
Central Coast farmers with irrigated crops will be getting their first water quality monitoring bill from the Central Coast Water Quality Preservation’s Cooperative Monitoring Program next month.
“We’re not looking forward to it, but it’s the reality of how we have to do business,” San Benito County Farm Bureau President Paul Hain said Tuesday. “In the long run (water monitoring) helps everybody by ensuring that farming practices are not polluting the environment.”
Last year CCWQP created the Cooperative Monitoring Program to provide Central Coast farmers with water monitoring services, which are required by the regional water board.
The CCWQP was formed by a group of farmers in the wake of an order passed by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region Three) in July of 2004 that requires all farmers with irrigated crops to take educational courses on water and irrigation issues, create a formal plan for waste water and monitor the quality of their water.
Last year the CCRWQCB paid the water monitoring costs with money from the settlement of two lawsuits. This year farmers will have to pay for the monitoring services out of pocket, CCWQP Executive Director Kirk Schmidt said.
The Cooperative Monitoring Program was established in order to pool resources and help keep the cost of such monitoring services reasonable, Schmidt said.
About 60 to 70 percent of San Benito County farmers with irrigated crops participate in the Cooperative Monitoring Program, Hain said. In addition to administrative fees, area farmers will have to shell out $1 per irrigated acre for monitoring services, according to the CCWQP proposed pricing structure.
“We have one of the better programs in the state,” Hain said. “The monitoring program is cost effective.”
Although the program may be cost effective, some local farmers are not excited about having to pay for the water monitoring services. San Benito County farmer Joe Tonascia, who has already completed his waste water plan and educational course work, believes the RWQCB’s regulations are unnecessary.
“I really cannot figure out where the benefit will be,” he said. “Our agriculture here is so expensive that you cannot afford to misuse resources.”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
br******@fr***********.com
