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Information Sheet IS-30 Reissued Waste Discharge Requirements General Order R5-2013-0122 Existing Milk Cow Dairies cause receiving waters to exceed applicable groundwater objectives and confirm compliance with the requirements of this order. The Dairy Order contains significant requirements for dairies that are designed to be protective of surface and groundwater quality while also being practicable and economically feasible. These include implementation of nutrient management plans prepared by certified specialists (including testing and measurement of manure, irrigation water, soil and plant tissue to track nutrient flow), and implementation of waste management plans prepared by professional engineers. The Dairy Order practices and design and maintenance standards include measures that apply to all areas of the dairy farm, including the crop production areas, existing manure retention ponds and animal housing areas, including all barns and corrals. These practices (with the exception of certain pond standards that apply only to new or reconstructed ponds) are already in place, were developed over time with expert input from dairy professionals, the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Californias and are expected to reduce impacts to water quality from the operation of dairy facilities. However, the Regional Board recognizes that monitoring the effectiveness of these practices is needed to verify that they protect water quality adequately and under a variety of conditions. Accordingly, the Dairy Order in conjunction with the MRP requires additional groundwater monitoring that must be conducted on an individual dairy basis or through Representative Monitoring Programs (RMPs). All dairies subject to the Dairy Order must either conduct their own groundwater monitoring or actively participate in a RMP. Currently, most dairies subject to the Dairy Order (more than 98 percent) are members of an RMP. Individual Groundwater Monitoring:The individual groundwater monitoring program requires the Discharger to submit a Monitoring Well Installation and Sampling Plan (MWISP) which details the installation of a sufficient monitoring well network to characterize groundwater flow direction and gradient beneath the site; natural background (unaffected by the Discharger or others) groundwater quality upgradient of the facility; and groundwater quality downgradient of the production area, retention ponds, and the land application areas. Under the individual groundwater monitoring program, the Discharger is required to submit to the Executive officer an annual assessment of the groundwater monitoring data which includes analytical lab reports for data collected during the past year and a tabulated summary of all analytical data collected to date. The annual assessment requires an evaluation of the groundwater monitoring program's adequacy to assess compliance with the Order, including whether the data provided are representative of conditions upgradient and downgradient of the wastewater management area, production area, and land application area of the dairy facility. If the monitoring parameters used to evaluate groundwater quality are found to be insufficient to identify whether site activities are impacting groundwater quality, the Discharger must employ all reasonable chemical analyses to differentiate the source of the particular constituent. This 6 See"Managing Dairy Manure in the Central Valley of California,"published by the University of California Committee of Experts on Dairy Manure Management, 2005.