Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/489844
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER APRIL 15, 2015 21 usually come from washing tanks, barrels, crush pads, and floors at the winery," according to Ecology's website. Additionally, Desforges said that wastewater discharge from wineries may have a high five-day biochemical oxygen demand that is 5 to 50 times the concen- tration of domestic wastewater. It also may have high total suspended solids. She pointed to problems from unlined lagoons and failed drain fields from septic systems that weren't designed for winery waste. "Throughout the state, there have only been a few septic failures, and there was a problem several years ago with some Woodinville wineries," said Andersen. "But in general, most wineries are good stewards when it comes to waste water and are not problematic." Who will be covered? The permit will apply to new or existing wineries that discharge win- ery process wastewater to land or to a non-delegated wastewater treatment plant in Washington. It will not apply to vineyards, satellite tasting rooms, winer- ies that discharge only to a double-lined evaporation lagoon with leak detection, or wineries that discharge to a delegated wastewater treatment plant. A non-del- egated wastewater facility must rely on Ecology to manage industrial wastewa- ter, whereas a delegated facility has been approved, by Ecology, to manage its wastewater. One of the biggest concerns of the wine industry is who will and will not be covered by the permit. Desforges stated that impact to small wineries is a major consideration in development of the permit. Andersen believes that small and medium size wineries will be the most burdened by the new permit process. Identifying winery thresholds and criteria for exemption of wineries whose produc- tion is not impactful will be a key part of the draft permit. Not all wineries are convinced of the need for the discharge regulations. Some have said they are unaware of any groundwater or surface water contami- nation problems and question what they see as regulatory overreach. Wineries in the state are located in diverse areas with diverse soil types, vary- ing amounts of annual precipitation, and varying depths to groundwater. Size and operations of wineries vary from those that do it all—from crush to barrel stor- age to bottling to operating wine tasting rooms—to those that only bottle wine. "Clearly, a one-size-fits-all approach will not work with the diverse set of play- ers that exist," Andersen said in a letter to Ecology on behalf of Winerywise. "The diversity of wineries requires a broad array of possible solutions." The stakeholder's group has stressed to Ecology that the rulemaking process should be driven towards facilitating successful implementation of the new permit. She adds that the wine industry would welcome grant money for out- reach and education to help bring winer- ies into compliance, but there has been no mention yet from any state agency for compliance assistance. Andersen is hopeful Ecology will develop something that is workable for industry. "I think we have a pretty good shot at making something work for both sides," she said. "We, as an industry, want to be on board." She added that Winerywise is interested in hearing from more small and medium size wineries. Those interested in joining the wastewater discussion can contact Andersen by email at: Joy.Andersen@snoqualmie.com. • What is Winerywise? W inerywise is an online, inter- active guide of business and winery management practices devel- oped by the W a s h i n g t o n Wine Industry Foundation. It's a three- step series of checklists, self eval- uation and assessment forms, and action plans that gives wineries tools to evaluate their business and process practices, compare their practices to industry standards of sustainability, and plan and implement sustainable management strategies. T o p i c s i n c l u d e : E n e r g y efficiency, water management, waste management, winery safety, staffing, safety, material handling, environmentally preferred purchasing, community outreach, site development, education, and research. To learn more, visit winerywise.org.