On 27 November 2013, CSPA joined with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, PCFFA, Otter Project, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water and an elderly woman on a fixed income who cannot drink water from her tap because it is contaminated with agricultural waste and filed a lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento Superior Court. The lawsuit challenges the Board’s approval of the Central Coast Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements for discharges from irrigated agriculture. The waiver is non-protective of surface and groundwater and fails to comply with state law.
“Irrigated agriculture is by far the largest but least regulated source of pollution to our waterways and healthy waters and fisheries depend upon agriculture being required to comply with reasonable pollution control requirements long applicable to virtually every other segment of society,” said CSPA Executive Director Bill Jennings. “Unfortunately, the waterboards have grievously failed to require agriculture to control its pollution.”