BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2174
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2174
AUTHOR: Alejo
AMENDED: June 14, 2012
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: July 2, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rebecca
Newhouse
SUBJECT : FERTILIZER
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Requires that every person who manufactures or distributes
fertilizing materials obtain a license from the Department
of Food and Agriculture (Food and Agricultural Code
�14591).
2) Authorizes the Department of Food and Agriculture to impose
a fee on a licensee who sells and distributes bulk
fertilizers of up to one mill ($0.001) per dollar of sales
of fertilizing materials for the purpose of funding
research and education regarding the use and handling of
fertilizing materials, including, but not limited to, any
environmental effects (�14611).
This bill specifies that research and education projects
regarding the use and handling of fertilizing materials
eligible to receive funding include, but are not limited to,
programs from the University of California Extension, the
California resource conservation districts, and other
postsecondary California institutions or qualified entities,
in the following areas:
1) Technical education for users of fertilizer materials in
the development and implementation of nutrient management
projects that result in more agronomically sound uses of
fertilizer materials and minimize the environmental impacts
of fertilizer use, including, but not limited to, nitrates
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in groundwater and greenhouse gas emissions.
2) Research to improve nutrient management practices resulting
in more agronomically sound uses of fertilizer materials
and to minimize the environmental impacts of fertilizer
use, including, but not limited to, nitrates in groundwater
and greenhouse gas emissions.
3) Education to increase awareness of more agronomically sound
use of fertilizer products to reduce the environmental
impacts resulting from the overuse or inefficient use of
fertilizing materials.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, AB 2174 provides
access to an existing underutilized funding source that can
lead to more efficient application of fertilizers,
resulting in cost savings to farmers who would use less
fertilizer and less contamination of the state's
watersheds. The California Department of Food and
Agriculture's Fertilizer Research and Education Program
(FREP) provides funding for research and education
regarding the use and handling of fertilizing material
through a mill fee on the sale of fertilizer. The author
states that AB 2174 clarifies that the fund can be used to
provide technical assistance to farmers on the appropriate
use of fertilizing material.
The author further notes that provisions of AB 2174 were
highlighted in the University of California, Davis study on
the groundwater nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake
Basin and Salinas Valley as a way to reduce groundwater
nitrate contamination caused by the regional agriculture
industry and their use of fertilizers.
2) Background .
a) FREP . The Fertilizer Research and Education Program
(FREP) was established by the California Department of
Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in 1990 in response to a
collaborative report from a CDFA Nitrate Working Group
that recommended the creation of a research and
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demonstration project on nitrate control through
irrigation, fertilizer and manure management. FREP is
funded from a mill assessment on fertilizer sales,
currently at mill ($0.0005), which equates to
approximately one million dollars annually. According to
the CDFA, a total of $12 million has been awarded for
160 technical, research and education projects related
to improved nutrient management. The CDFA notes the
funding focus has shifted in recent years from nitrate
management for groundwater degradation minimization to
agronomic efficiency in the management of nutrients.
A subcommittee of the CFDA Fertilizer Inspection
Advisory Board, comprised of technical and scientific
experts in fertilizing materials, agronomy, plant
physiology, principles of experimental research,
production agriculture, and environmental issues related
to fertilizing materials, reviews proposals and
recommends grants ranging from $50,000 - $150,000.
According to the CFDA FREP Fact Sheet, 15% of FREP funds
have been spent on education projects since inception.
b) UC Davis study . According to the 2012 study by UC
Davis, commissioned by the State Water Resources Control
Board, and required by SB X2 1 (Perata) in 2008, nitrate
contamination is widespread and increasing. The study
finds that nitrate problems will likely worsen for
several decades and that most of the nitrate in drinking
water resulted from application to cropland decades ago.
In areas of the Salinas Valley and Tulare Basin, one
third of tested domestic and irrigation wells exceeded
the maximum concentration limit, or MCL, for nitrate.
High levels of nitrate can decrease the blood capacity
for oxygen in infants and high nitrate concentrations
have also been linked to improper thyroid function,
reproductive complications and carcinogenic outcomes.
The study identified several promising actions to
improve groundwater quality in the long term. One of
the proposals includes reducing nitrate loading through
comprehensive education and technical programs developed
and delivered by the CFDA, in cooperation with the
University of California and other associations, to help
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farmers improve efficiency in nitrogen use. The study
suggests that the programs could be funded through a
groundwater nitrate-focused element in FREP.
SOURCE : Community Water Center
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Clean Water Action
SUPPORT : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
(Sponsor)
California Association of Nurseries and Garden
Centers
California Chamber of Commerce
California Climate and Agricultural Network
California Farm Bureau Federation
California FarmLink
California Grain and Feed Association
California Grape and Tree Fruit League
California Pear Growers Association
California Rice Industry Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California Seed Association
Clean Water Action
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Community Water Center
Dixon Ridge Farms
The Ecological Farming Association
Full Belly Farm
Hedgerow Farms
Lundberg Family Farms
Swanton Berry Farm
Western Growers Association
Wm. Bolthouse Farms, Inc.
OPPOSITION : None on file