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INFORMATION SHEET DEGROOT AND SONS, A&J FOODS, INC. , AND CHIRON CORPORATION SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY DeGroot and Sons own farmland in the City of Lathrop along Airport Way east of Sharpe Army Depot. On a portion of the land are two facilities leased by A&J Foods, Inc. , and Chiron Corporation (Chiron) . A&J Foods produces cheese products and generates up to 22,000 gallons per day of wastewater that consists primarily of cheese whey. Chiron grows DNA-altered yeast for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing. This process produces approximately 8600 gpd of reject water from a freshwater reverse osmosis unit and 2500 gallons per week of fermented broth containing 2-5% yeast cells that have been killed with a hypochlorite solution. The DeGroots own and operate the wastewater treatment and disposal facilities that handle the wastewaters generated by A&J Foods and Chiron. These facilities consist of a 3,000,000 gallons pond and flood irrigation fields. Wastewaters are mixed with irrigation water and applied to the cropland. Application rates, field capacities, crop requirements, and concentrations of organic and inorganic compounds in the wastewater are unknown at this time. Surface water runoff is to the South San Joaquin Irrigation Ditch with ultimate discharge to the San Joaquin River. Questionable wastewater management practices have been detected at this facility that have caused nuisance conditions. Numerous complaints from neighbors of objectionable odors emanating from the treatment and disposal facilities have been received by the Regional Board office and the San Joaquin Environmental Health Department. The DeGroots have installed an aerator in the pond and are investigating methods of removing the organic load in the wastewater. In addition, wastewater is infrequently discharged to an irrigation ditch on the north side of the DeGroot property and then channeled back to a depression area designed to contain runoff from a cattle enclosure, and allowed to evaporate. This practice is allowed only during times of maintenance on the main_ disposal system. These requirements contain a time schedule for the DeGroots to develop and implement an adequate wastewater management plan that has been approved by the Executive Officer. The key elements to the development of this plan will be to sample and analyze the properties of the wastewater, calculate the amount of storage capacity necessary, determine the appropriate field application rates, and to provide sufficient means to minimize the generation of objectionable odors. Wastewater is required to be contained to the treatment and disposal areas. AMM