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CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD CENTRAL VALLEY REGION ORDER NO. R5-2006-0054 INDIVIDUAL DISCHARGER CONDITIONAL WAIVER OF WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCHARGES FROM IRRIGATED LANDS The California Regional. Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Central Valley Water Board) finds that: The Central Valley Region has more than seven million acres of cropland under irrigation and thousands of individuals and operations generating wastewater that falls into the category of "discharges of waste from irrigated lands," as defined in Attachment A of Order No. R5-2006-0054 (hereafter "Order" or "Conditional Waiver"). 2. The Central Valley Region has thousands of miles of surface waters that are, or may be, affected by discharges of waste from irrigated lands. These discharges may adversely affect the quality of the "waters of the State," as defined in Attachment A of this Order. 3. Irrigated lands are lands where water is applied to produce crops including, but not limited to, land planted to row, vineyard, pasture, field and tree crops, commercial nurseries, nursery stock production, managed wetlands, rice production, and greenhouse operations with permeable floors that do not currently discharge under waste discharge requirements (WDRs), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or other NPDES permits. 4. Regional water quality data from the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program, the Stormwater Monitoring Program, NPDES Receiving Water Monitoring Reports, and other monitoring programs identify waters of the State with impaired water quality that appears attributable to or influenced by agriculture in areas of irrigated lands. 5. Some water bodies within the Central Valley Region have been listed as unpaired pursuant to Clean Water Act Section 303(d). The 303(d) list of impaired water bodies identifies agriculture as a potential source of constituents that impair beneficial uses of some waters within the Central Valley Region and threaten the quality of waters of the State. LEGAL AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS 6. California Water Code (Water Code) Section 13260(a) requires that any person discharging waste or proposing to discharge waste within any region that could affect the quality of the waters of the State, other than into a community sewer system, shall file with the appropriate Regional Board a report of waste discharge (RWD) containing such information and data as may be required by the Central Valley Water Board, unless the Central Valley Water Board waives such requirement.