Join a Management Zone for Nitrate Compliance

What is a Management Zone?

The Nitrate Control Program defines a Management Zone as, “A discrete and generally hydrologically contiguous area for which permitted discharger(s) participating in the Management Zone collectively work to meet the goals of the nitrate control program and for which regulatory compliance is evaluated based on the permittees collective impact.”¹

A Management Zone is a:

• Defined area for nitrate compliance that is locally led and Central Valley Water Board approved.
• Contractual agreement among permittees.
• Cooperative effort among permittees, local government, and communities, and enforced through discharge permit provisions.
• Collective implementation plan developed by permittees for safe drinking water.
• Permittee cooperative to control nitrates.

Over the long-term, forming a Management Zone will help achieve nitrate balance and restore groundwater, where feasible.

What is the Authority of a Management Zone?

A Management Zone is a regulatory alternative, or alternative compliance pathway, for the Central Valley Water Board to permit discharges of nitrate to waters of the state. The Central Valley Water Board ensures implementation of commitments made by dischargers through waste discharge requirements (WDRs).

What are the benefits of joining a Management Zone?

Joining a Management Zone offers several key benefits for permittees choosing to work together to achieve nitrate compliance:

1. Work collectively to ensure safe drinking water supplies to affected areas within the Management Zone.
2. Avoid “going it alone” under demanding individual permit (Pathway A)
3. Share resources, knowledge, and costs of nitrate management by working with others.
4. Manage nitrate problems locally with more flexibility than under past regulations.
5. Apply local knowledge to implement nitrate reduction actions by adapting management to local conditions.
6. Support a vision that manages nitrate for a viable local economy and community over the long-term.

Who should Join a Management Zone?

• Permitted dischargers that cannot comply with current nitrate limitations to protect groundwater.
• Permitted dischargers that value collaborating for prioritizing nitrate control strategies and costs.
• Local city and county governments representing communities with drinking water needs due to nitrate.
• Local water agencies and other agencies managing groundwater such as Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) regions and Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs).

I would like to join or help form a Management Zone, what should I do?

It is up to permitted dischargers in the Priority 1 Basins to come together and form Management Zones. First, you can check in with the people already working on, or beginning to work on, forming Management Zones in your area to learn how you can participate. As of early 2021 there are five active Management Zones, Valley Water Collaborative, Chowchilla Subbasin, Kings Water Alliance, Kaweah Water Foundation, and Tule Basin.

The formation of a Management Zone involves connecting with other permitted dischargers, local city and county governments representing communities with drinking water needs due to nitrates, local water agencies and other agencies managing groundwater such as Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) regions and Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), as well as organizations working with disadvantaged communities.

There are two Management Zone formations that were completed as pilot projects. The lessons learned and the information developed is available to others forming Management Zones.

What has to be submitted to the Regional Board to form a Management Zone?

The following proposals and plans must be developed and submitted to the Central Valley Water Board:

1. Preliminary Management Zone Proposal and Early Action Plan are due to the Central Valley Water Board within 270 days of receiving a Notice to Comply.

2. The Early Action Plan implementation must begin within 60 days of submittal.

3. The Final Management Zone Proposal is due 180 days after public comment and Central Valley Water Board Review of the Preliminary Management Zone Proposal.

4. Management Zone Implementation Plan is due 180 days after public comment and Central Valley Water Board Review of the Final Management Zone Proposal.

The Final Management Zone Implementation Plan must be approved by the Central Valley Water Board after public comment and public hearing.

What is an Early Action Plan (EAP)?

For the purposes of the Nitrate Control Program, an EAP is defined as “a plan that identifies specific activities, and a schedule for implementing those activities, that will be undertaken to ensure immediate access to safe drinking water for those who are dependent on groundwater from wells that exceed the Primary MCL for nitrate.”² Such plans are required if public water supply or domestic wells in the area of contribution for an individual discharger, or the area of contribution for the whole of a Management Zone exceed the water quality objective for nitrate.

EAP must include the following, unless otherwise approved by the Central Valley Water Board’s Executive Officer:

1. A process to identify affected residents and the outreach utilized to ensure that impacted groundwater users are informed of and given the opportunity to participate in the development of proposed solutions;

2. A process for coordinating with others that are not dischargers to address drinking water issues, which must include consideration of coordinating with affected communities, domestic well users and their representatives, the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water, Local Planning Departments, Local County Health Officials, Sustainable Groundwater Management Agencies and others as appropriate;

3. Specific actions and a schedule of implementation (as short as practicable) to address the immediate drinking water needs of those initially identified within the Management Zone (Pathway B) or for an individual permittee (Pathway A) the area of contribution for an individual permittee that are drinking groundwater that exceeds nitrate standards and that do not otherwise have interim replacement water that meets drinking water standards; and

4. A funding mechanism for implementing the EAP, which may include seeking funding from Management Zone participants, and/or local, state and federal funds that are available for such purposes.

5. For participants in a Management Zone (Pathway B), the EAP is submitted to the Central Valley Water Board with the submittal of a Preliminary Management Zone Proposal. Implementation of the EAP shall begin as soon as is reasonably feasible, but no later than 60 days after submittal, unless the Central Valley Water Board deems the EAP to be incomplete.

6. For individual permittees (Pathway A), the EAP is submitted to the Central Valley Water Board 60 days from 270 days after receiving a Notice to Comply.

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^₂ See Definitions and Terminology Specific to the Salt and Nitrate Control Program, Basin Plan Amendments.

What is the Guidance for Engaging Communities During Development?