OnSite Wastewater Treatment Systems
Most on-site wastewater systems, especially septic tanks, are regulated by local agencies (e.g., counties), and these agencies are best able to provide permitting information.
Find the State Water Resources Control Board Water Quality Control Policy for Siting, Design, Operation and Maintenance of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS Policy) here: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/owts/
For now, information may be obtained by contacting Margaret Monahan by email at: margaret.monahan@waterboards.ca.gov or by phone at: (510) 622-2377.
Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water
The statewide Winery General Order (WGO) was adopted on January 20, 2021. The fee structure is under development and is targeted to bring to the State Water Board for adoption in the summer of 2021. No enrollments in the WGO will happen before the fee structure is adopted. The WGO is intended to streamline and improve permitting consistency for winery process water discharges to land, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board (Region 2) intends to regulate all applicable wineries under the WGO going forward. We are currently working on our implementation plan, and we anticipate that the enrollment process will span several years.
The Order and more information is available on the State Water Board’s Winery Order website: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/waste_discharge_requirements/winery_order.html.
We will update this webpage with additional information as it is developed. For now, we recommend that wineries review the WGO online to understand and plan for the upcoming requirements. The WGO requires that existing wineries without Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) enroll within three years of the adoption date (i.e., by January 20, 2024) and come into compliance within five years. We also recommend subscribing to the related State Board and Region 2 email distribution lists (links below).
Wineries in Napa County
For wineries in Napa County, we have been in communication with Napa County Environmental Health Division throughout the WGO development, and we anticipate that the County will apply for the Local Agency Oversight program. Wineries in Napa County will still be required to enroll in the WGO, and the Local Agency Oversight program will oversee implementation. We will update or replace the Memorandum of Understanding with the County to clearly lay out the roles and responsibilities of each agency.
Contact Info
If you have questions about the WGO, contact the State Water Board winery team at DWQ-Winery@waterboards.ca.gov If you are a new winery ready to apply for permit coverage, or have a question specific to the San Francisco Bay Region, email us at RB2-Winery@waterboards.ca.gov
To sign up for the State Water Board’s email list, access the Email List Subscription Form, select the ‘Water Quality’ section, then select the box for ‘Statewide General WDRs for Wineries’, and provide the required information.
The Region 2 General Waste Discharge Requirements for Wineries email list is accessible at https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/resources/email_subscriptions/reg2_subscribe.shtml under the General section.
