Tuesday, February 9, 2021
On January 20, 2021, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) adopted a new statewide general Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) order for winery process waste discharge facilities (New Winery Order). This action will affect thousands of wineries and wine processing facilities throughout the state. Though the State Water Board adopted the New Winery Order to streamline and improve permitting consistency while also strengthening environmental protection, wine industry groups have expressed concerns over its burdensome compliance costs.
Regulatory Background
Each of California’s nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) regulate waste discharges to land by issuing WDR permits to discharging facilities that could affect the quality of waters of the state (including groundwater). They issue two types of waste discharge requirements: permits that are tailored to specific dischargers (individual WDRs) or permits