Items Tagged with 'groundwater'

A new water trading and accounting platform aimed at easily matching those who need water with those who have it would also give Groundwater Sustainability Agencies near real-time data for maintaining accurate water accounting and that, in turn, would help them comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Fewer acres of California farmland are dedicated to growing stone fruit compared to 10 years ago when growers of freestone peaches and nectarines voted to end the California Tree Fruit Agreement. But apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes (which USDA distinguishes from plums in its data) and sweet cherries continue to perform well.

The ag industry is paying more attention to a group of highly persistent chemicals known as PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been found in drinking water and groundwater throughout the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released final guidance listing factors to consider when deciding whether to require a permit for discharges from a point source that travel through groundwater before reaching a “water of the U.S.”

In an important decision for agriculture, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Clean Water Act permits may be required when pollutants make their way through groundwater into a lake, river or other navigable water.

The Trump administration's proposed changes to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) “decreases protection for our nation’s waters and does not support the objective of restoring and maintaining ‘the chemical, physical and biological integrity’ of these waters,” EPA’s Science Advisory Board said.

Members of the Supreme Court expressed concern Wednesday about pollution that reaches navigable waters by traveling through groundwater, but the justices also worried that residential septic tanks could get swept into the regulatory solutions.