OTHER RESOURCES
Steve Shaffer, Director
1220 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
ph: (916) 657-4956
fax: (916) 657-5017
QUICK LINKS
History and Background
In the late 1990s, the dairy industry was plagued by negative media exposure. Issues such as Mad Cow Disease, pharmaceutical residues, E. Coli, etc. threaten to erode public confidence of the safety and wholesomeness of the milk supply. Concerned with this trend, a stakeholder group was formed with the goal of developing a dairy quality assurance program for California dairies. Three components were identified for the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP): environmental stewardship, food safety, and animal care and welfare.
The CDQAP is governed by a steering committee and has the overall mission to “… to encourage science-based dairying practices which promote the health of the consumer, the environment and dairy livestock.”
In 1998, increasing media attention on environmental difficulties faced by the industry coupled with high profile environmental enforcement activity prompted the CDQAP steering committee to place highest priority on the development of the environmental stewardship component of the CDQAP. In October 1998, a partnership was formed between federal and state agencies (including those with regulatory authority over the dairy industry), the dairy industry and University of California to develop a process within the CDQAP to assist dairy producers in meeting all state, federal, and local regulations pertaining to manure and nutrient management. A year later, the USEPA Region IX signed into the partnership and provided a grant of $443,740 to implement the environmental stewardship component. To date there are 17 signatories, including 1 public interest environmental organization.
Three of the guiding principals of the CDQAP are: 1) knowledge is empowerment; 2) participation by producers is voluntary; and 3) decisions are reached by consensus of the partners. The University of California developed a three-part environmental stewardship short-course. Funding from the USEPA Grant has been used to conduct courses throughout the state. To date, 1,187 producers have completed the short-course. The educational components arm the producer with information regarding his legal environmental obligations and tools necessary to assess the relative risk of his facility to water quality degradation and the planning process by which to minimize the risks.
The second step of the environmental stewardship program is certification. The educational and the certification components go hand in hand. With a greater understanding of his/her environmental obligations and armed with the assessment tools, the producer either on his own through trained consultants (UCCE staff, industry consultants, or independent consultants) evaluates his/her facility's risks to water quality through a matrix risk assessment worksheet and analyzes the adequacy of containment for wastewater and storm water. The operator then prepares storm water pollution prevention and emergency contingency plans. Additionally, he/she addresses deficiencies identified in their review of their facility.
Having completed these preliminary steps, the producer can then seek to have his/her facility evaluated by a third party evaluator. The evaluator uses a comprehensive checklist covering all the applicable federal, state, and local regulations. The checklist as other tools is part of the education process and provides the producer with greater insight into the environmental obligations. Producers should not fear the evaluation process as it has no regulatory significance and all records are left with the producer.
The Role of CDFA
CDFA has been part of the CDQAP since its inception. CDFA has provided technical assistance in all three-component areas of the CDQAP. CDFA assisted in the development of the checklist. Most importantly, CDFA, with funding from the USEPA Grant, provides personnel for the third party evaluations. CDFA dairy inspectors were trained to conduct the third party evaluations by CDFA staff and University of California extension specialists.
CDFA has also participated in the CDQAP partnership and contributes to the on-going efforts, including responses to regulatory developments. CDFA staff has tracked regulatory developments and commented on the proposed regulations.
Challenges and Opportunities
The environmental stewardship component of the CDQAP has been a success from the standpoint of participation of producers in the educational component. It has also been a success from the standpoint of bringing a diverse group of players to cooperatively address the environmental challenges facing the industry. Among the issues tackled by the partnership are backflow prevention and disposal of tainted milk. The partnership and the certification process have provided the means for regulatory flexibility. Recently the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board provided waivers from waste discharge requirements to facilities that have been certified under the CDQAP or those that commit to certification.
The recently revised federal regulations will require major revisions to the evaluation checklist, in particular the nutrient management component. Implementing these revisions will be a major challenge to the program, as it will require major changes in dairy operations. Developing air quality regulations could potentially be incorporated into the CDQAP.
Despite its successes, the biggest challenge facing the CDQAP is participation by producers. To date, only 121 facilities have been certified in the CDQAP. This a far cry from the goal of 1,000 established by the USEPA Grant. The CDQAP is developing measures to improve participation and demonstrate to the regulatory agencies that voluntary approaches can succeed if given the opportunity.
Contact Information
Eddie Hard, Water Quality Specialist
1220 N Street, Room 444
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-0873
(916) 657-5017 FAX
ehard@cdfa.ca.gov
Rolf Frankenbach, REHS Air Quality Specialist
1220 N Street, Room 444
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-9446
(916) 657-5017 FAX
rfrankenbach@cdfa.ca.gov
Back to AES Home