California’s North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has released a draft order to control pesticide pollution from Easter lily farms in Del Norte County. Environmental groups have raised concerns for decades about the potentially harmful effect of agricultural chemicals on wildlife and residents.
The proposed order would set contamination thresholds, require farmers to regularly test water sources and require buffer areas around crops.
Greg King with the Siskiyou Land Conservancy said the proposal is the farthest the state has come to reining in Easter lily farm pollution, but he doesn’t think it’s good enough.
“It's basically a permit to pollute,” King said.
King said contamination limits should be set at zero to protect native fish species like coho salmon.
“Three Easter lily farming families use some of the highest percentages of pesticides, pounds per acre, in the whole state,” King said.
The small community on the Smith River Plain is the world’s largest grower of the Easter lilies.
Grower Rob Miller said farmers have worked with the state successfully over the years to reduce pollution. At a water quality control board meeting on Feb. 18, he asked regulators for tolerance, saying Easter lily cultivation is “totally different than any other type of farming in the state of California.” He added pesticide and nitrate levels in wells remain below toxic levels.
Scientists have previously found chemicals at amounts harmful for wildlife in nearby waterways, and residents have blamed pesticide exposure for causing illnesses.
Miller said growers would likely struggle to afford the water monitoring requirements outlined in the draft.
Public comments are open through March 30th.
