Water: Nitrogen Pollution Reduction Act.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how fertilizer producers and users will be directly impacted beyond their involvement in the task force.

Water: Nitrogen Pollution Reduction Act

This act requires state and regional water boards to update regulations, set discharge requirements, and create reporting methods for nitrogen waste from commercial irrigated agricultural areas.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the State Water Resources Control Board to require regional boards to update the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program to reduce nitrogen waste discharges from commercial irrigated agricultural areas.
• Asks regional water quality control boards to adopt revised orders with discharge requirements by January 1, 2028, aimed at reducing nitrogen waste discharges.
• Requires the state board to publish a list of standardized crop names and categories, along with a statewide methodology for calculating and reporting nitrogen balances on croplands, by July 1, 2027.
• Requires the State Water Resources Control Board to convene a Safer Fertilizer Task Force upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature to establish best available technology standards for nitrogen-based fertilizers.
• Requires the state board to submit a report on progress in reducing nitrogen waste discharges by January 1, 2031.

Who It Names or Affects

• State and regional water quality control boards
• Commercial irrigated agricultural areas

Terms To Know

Nitrogen waste discharges

The release of nitrogen into the environment from farms, which can harm water quality.

Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program

A program that sets rules for managing water used in farming to protect water quality.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill requires funding from the Legislature before it can fully take effect.
• It does not specify what happens if farms do not follow the new requirements.
• The effectiveness of the standards set by the Safer Fertilizer Task Force is uncertain.

Official Summary Text

AB 2447, as amended, Bauer-Kahan.
Water Supply Protection
Water: Nitrogen Pollution Reduction
Act.
Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Under the act, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state.
This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to require the regional boards to update the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program in order to reduce nitrogen waste discharges from commercial
irrigated agricultural areas, as provided. The bill would require the regional boards to adopt revised orders with waste discharge requirements on or before January 1, 2028, that are sufficient to meet certain reductions in nitrogen waste discharges. The bill would require the state board to, on or before July 1, 2027, publish both a list of standardized crop names and categories, and a statewide methodology for calculating, and field-level reporting of, nitrogen balances for croplands, including nitrogen fertilizer applications and nitrogen discharges, that account for available soil nitrogen, to be used by the regional boards and incorporated into the revised orders. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2031, and in coordination with the regional boards, to submit a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature on progress achieved in implementing these requirements, including data on the extent of progress made toward reducing nitrogen waste discharges, as
provided.
Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources within the Natural Resources Agency and vests it with various powers and duties related to water.
The bill would, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature, require the state board to convene a Safer Fertilizer Task Force in coordination with the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish best available technology standards for nitrogen-based fertilizers. The bill would require the task force to include persons representing organizations focused on climate-resilient or sustainable agriculture, water quality protection, public health, and biodiversity, as well as persons representing academic institutions, agricultural producers, the fertilizer industry, and appropriate state or local agencies. The bill would require the
task force to consult with the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board’s Technical Advisory Subcommittee in developing those best available technology standards.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF