Following what participants called a collaborative effort between government regulators and dairy farmers, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously approved a new program last week for how dairy farmers deal with waste discharges from their livestock. The board approved a three-tier permitting program to address water quality from the region's approximately 150 dairies and 50,000 cows. Those dairies are located mainly in western Humboldt and Sonoma counties, and also in Siskiyou, Del Norte, Mendocino and Marin counties. Adoption of the rules comes after months of discussion and input from stakeholders that began in early 2010 through meetings with agency representatives and interested parties. In developing the regulations, regional water board staff inspected a number of the region's dairies, a process that Humboldt County dairy farmer David Renner said allowed regulators "to get a handle on what the operations are like." <more> Jan. 24, 2012 Ag Alert