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Information Sheet IS-14 Reissued Waste Discharge Requirements General Order R5-2013-0122 Existing Milk Cow Dairies nuisance is defined as anything that is, (1) injurious to health, indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property; (2) affects an entire community or considerable number of persons; and (3) occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes. (Wat. Code, § 13050(m).) To constitute a nuisance, all three factors must be met. The Board ensures that this component of the State Anti-Degradation Policy is met by requiring a discharger to comply with water quality objectives designed to protect all designated beneficial uses, thereby protecting those who rely on the quality of groundwater and surface waters. The State Anti-Degradation Policy as Applied to the Dairy General Order Steps 1-5 (Applied): Although background water quality varies significantly in those areas covered by the Dairy General Order, most receiving waters are considered high-quality waters for one or more constituents of concern, and wastes from dairy facilities will degrade these waters. As the court concluded, "it is certain that the water quality of [at least some of] the existing groundwater is better than the water quality objective, making the groundwater high quality water for antidegradation purposes. Water can be considered high quality for purposes of the antidegradation policy if it is determined to be so for any one constituent, because the determination is made on a constituent by constituent basis." (AGUA at 1271.) Furthermore, evidence in the Administrative Record indicates that wastes discharged from the regulated dairies will degrade this high-quality water, thereby triggering the State Anti-Degradation Policy. Step 6 (Applied): Given that the State Anti-Degradation Policy applies, the Board must ensure that the Dairy General Order requires regulated dairies to implement BPTC measures to minimize the amount of degradation that will occur. Generally speaking, the waste management practices employed by dairies can be broken down into three distinct areas: production areas (including milk barns, feed storage areas, and corral areas), wastewater ponds, and land application areas. The following is a discussion of what the Board considers to be BPTC for each of these three components of the regulated dairy operations. Best Practicable Treatment or Control Measures for the Production Area The Dairy General Order considers the term "Production Area" to include milk barns, wash/sprinkler pens, feed and non-liquid manure storage areas, and corrals (i.e., animal confinement areas). For these areas, the most effective way to reduce or eliminate water quality impacts is to restrict the infiltration of waste in these areas. Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations (Title 3), sections 645 et seq., set specifications for milk dairy buildings, including: • § 646.1 (Corrals, Ramps, and Surroundings). This section requires that dirt or unpaved corrals be graded to promote drainage and that cow washing areas shall be paved (concrete or equivalent) and sloped to a drain. Water troughs, permanent feed racks, and mangers shall have paved access, and water troughs shall have a drain to carry water away from the corrals;