The new statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for winery process water (Winery Order) adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board have spread concern across the wine industry. The Winery Order is applicable to wineries which discharge winery waste to land for disposal or reuse. Examples include process water systems which reuse treated process water for irrigation or discharge to a subsurface disposal system. Wineries that are not covered by existing WDRs or waivers will be required to apply for coverage under the new Winery Order by January 2024. Wineries with existing WDRs will be required to apply for coverage when their existing WDR expires or if required by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Although the State Water Board intended to streamline and improve the permitting process, stakeholders across the industry expressed concern about the cost and complexity of complying with the new Winery Order.
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The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) approved the much-debated General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) on January 20, 2021. Although the official version of the approved Winery Order has not been released, an uncertified copy has been posted on the SWRCB website. Based on that document, most of the elements of the draft Winery Order remain unchanged from the most-recent draft issued for public comment.
The SWRCB estimates that over 2,000 wineries will be subject to the Winery Order, a significant increase in the number of wineries that must comply with wastewater discharge conditions and obligations. Winery process water contains a number of constituents that could potentially impact groundwater, with the primary constituents of concern being nitrogen, biochemical oxygen demand (“BOD”), and salinity. Storm water discharge from wineries will continue to be sub
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At its January 20, 2021 Board meeting, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB” or “Board”) adopted its final General Waste Discharge Requirements (“WDRs”) for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) and associated Resolution for the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Mitigated Negative Declaration.
As a brief background, on July 3, 2020 the SWRCB released a draft Winery Order to the public for comment (see: July 15, 2020 blogpost on proposed General Order and July 20, 2020 blogpost on noticed stakeholder meetings). The July 3, 2020 draft incorporated feedback from stakeholders regarding administrative draft documents circulated in 2019. On November 12, 2020 we posted an Update to our prior blog article regarding the SWRCB’s issuance of a revised notice rescheduling the date of its November 17, 2020 Board meeting to December 15, 2020. Since that time, on December 2, 2020, Board