The North Coast Regional Water Board is developing further requirements to curb pesticide pollution in the water supply from the growth of Easter lily bulbs in the Smith River Plain.
The water board released an for this proposal earlier this month. In it, the study outlines a number of management practices that could be implemented, including buffers between farmland and riparian areas, basins to collect runoff, irrigation and nutrient management practices and increased monitoring of surface and groundwater.
On Tuesday, the North Coast Regional Water Board gave a presentation to Del Norte county supervisors on these proposed regulations. Engineering Geologist Brenna Sullivan with the water board said they started a surface water monitoring program in the Smith River region in 2002.
鈥淚n 2010 we detected some pesticides in tributaries that exceeded a particular limit, and that really launched the inquiry into potential water quality issues in the Smith River plain,鈥� Sullivan said.
She added that their testing showed some levels of pesticides in some areas exceeded EPA benchmarks for freshwater aquatic life. She noted that these are not benchmarks for humans, and that the levels of copper they detected were not a human health risk.
A number of residents came to the meeting to dispute that, including Candace Vargas, who moved to Smith River three years ago.
鈥淧rior to living in Smith River, I was a very healthy person other than being diabetic,鈥� Vargas said. 鈥淚've come to have a skin condition, and it's really weird when the doctor says, 鈥楢 lot of people in your area have it, there's nothing we can do about it, it's in the water.鈥欌��
Vargas鈥� story was echoed by a number of other residents that came to the Tuesday meeting, claiming skin conditions, nausea, respiratory problems and cancer that they say is exacerbated by the heavy pesticide use on these farms.
from the Siskiyou Land Conservancy found increased health concerns after moving to Smith River.
Chvski Jones-Scott, an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation 鈥� based in Smith River 鈥� said the proposal doesn鈥檛 go far enough to prevent toxic pesticides from leaching into the water supply.
鈥淭he only solution to these pesticides is no more pesticides period,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here's no regulation, there's no buffer, there's no second plan to save us, our health. I mean, this is real life. I can't even live in my own homelands with my son, because we're poisoned.鈥�
The proposed regulations from the water board don鈥檛 currently include a ban on pesticide use. A number of other residents were frustrated by the drawn-out process for regulating these farmers. Some, like Greg King from the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, said the state was , and that the county should step in to protect its residents.
The water board has said that the pesticides found in the water is a health risk for aquatic species, including salmon populations.
Becky Crockett also spoke at the meeting, claiming to represent the three lily bulb growers left in the Smith River plains. She said the growers have already voluntarily taken steps to reduce runoff, including establishing buffer zones.
鈥淲e have three growers, less than 200 acres. Does that warrant this big effort,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd in 2026 the question that's going to be out there is, are there any growers?鈥�
Some Del Norte county supervisors were alarmed by the comments from residents. Supervisor Valerie Starkey said this has brought forward information she wasn鈥檛 aware of before.
鈥淲hat I would like is for our agriculture department to bring forth some information in the near future, so that we can make sure that the residents out there are 鈥� in the interim 鈥� safe,鈥� she said.
Sullivan with the water board said after this ends in November, they will begin drafting a full environmental impact report, looking at how these regulations could impact the environment. That report isn鈥檛 expected to be finished until early 2026, and adoption of any final orders wouldn鈥檛 happen until the fall of that year.
