Oregon Department of Environmental

Quality Water Quality Division

811 SW 6th Avenue

Portland, OR 97204

I am Douglas Krahmer a blueberry farmer in St Paul Oregon. I farm over 500 acres of berries in Marion, Linn, and Columbia counties and have been farming for 35 years. I am very concerned about the proposed Human Health Toxic Pollutants rules and how this increase of regulation will affect my operation and all other farmers and ranchers in Oregon.

We currently have 22 full time employees and an additional 250 seasonal employee’s that will be impacted because of over intrusive government regulations.

The fish consumption rate (175 grams per day or approximately 23 8-ounce fish meals per month) used to determine human health criteria is not an appropriate rate. The survey techniques to generate this estimate involved a very small sample of the population in Oregon and the amounts reported by those surveyed were based on anecdotal estimates. Because of this anecdotal information the Water Quality Standard is being set 10 times higher than any other state which puts us at a competitive disadvantage with blueberry growers around the nation. This proposed standard based on an early 1990’s survey and is completely unacceptable until scientific information can justify a water quality standard.

Load allocation is not identified in ORS 568.900-933 or ORS 561. These statutes do indicate that the Agricultural Water Quality Management Program is responsible for the prevention and control of water pollution from agricultural activities and soil erosion. The statute also indicates that the EQC can petition the department if the plans and rules are not adequate to achieve compliance with applicable state and federal water quality standards. For these reasons, Oregon farmers and ranchers feel strongly that the program that the Agricultural Water Quality Program that is being administered by ODA continue to be condition based and not be held to a numerical standard. The Clean Water Act refers to non point sources as doing everything “reasonable and practicable” and the Oregon SB 1010 statue’s from 1993 add that the “Agricultural Water Quality Management Program is responsible for the prevention and control of water pollution from agricultural activities and soil erosion”. Any attempt by DEQ to use a “TMDL ready” program would result in implementing these numerical standards and are not allowed in current Oregon statue.

The Agricultural Water Quality Management Program implemented by ODA is a very effective program. Agricultural representatives, environmental interests and others have been involved in the implementation of this condition based program from its inception. We have seen tremendous landowner acceptance and effort to address water quality issues because of this program and efforts of the SWCDs. Where it has been needed, the program's enforcement authority has been effectively used to resolve issues. This program presently is effective in addressing source of toxics that may enter waters of the state via sediment. The program addresses sediment transport to water through education and outreach provided by the program in cooperation with SWCDs and through regulation implemented by ODA.

On my farms we have planted and established riparian buffers and planted grass on all of our roadways and aisles to filter water for fertilizer runoff and pesticide movement.

Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is doing their job in implementing, regulating and enforcing the Agriculture Non-Point Source Water Quality Management Plans (SB1010) as the current legislation was designed for them to do. I recognize and also support DEQ’s current role to serve as a regulatory back-up to ODA if and when needed. Yet, the new rules would give DEQ more authority over the agricultural water quality program and lessen ODA’s responsibility and authorities. To threaten ODA's handling of Agriculture’s water quality concerns because of DEQ's lack of monitoring information is wrong. The existing rules recognize ODA's statutory authority to regulate and enforce the Agricultural Non-Point Source Water Quality Program and these rules need to remain unchanged.

I want to continue to do every thing reasonable and practicable to control pollution runoff from my farms, but need a fair playing field to compete with blueberry farmers in other states. These over reaching rules have the potential to make farming blueberries in Oregon unsustainable.

I also support all of Oregon Farm Bureau’s Comments on these rules and believe if Agricultural Water Quality Plans are allowed to continue as they are that we will continue to see improvements in water quality from ag lands.

Doug Krahmer

19664 Arbor Grove RD NE

St Paul OR 97113