Water Board Approved Lily Bulb Order—Regulation for Cultivation Forthcoming (2027)

After 43 years of continuous pesticide pollution of the Smith River estuary, the California State Water Board voted to adopt the Waste Discharge Requirements for Lily Bulb Cultivation in the Smith River Plain (the Lily Bulb Order) and certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for the cultivation permit.

via North Coast Regional Water Board

For context, over the past several decades, 90% of the world's Easter lily bulbs have been grown in the land surrounding the mouth of the wild and scenic Smith River. Unfortunately, in order for the bulbs not to get eaten by nematodes and to keep away the various fungi that come with growing plants in a seasonal wetland, the three different families that own lily bulb businesses have polluted the plain with 300,000 pounds of pesticides every year. This has left the estuary, which should be teaming with life, a devastated habitat. In the Smith River estuary are listed species like tidewater goby, Chinook and coho salmon, and eulachon smelt that are being harmed by the pesticide pollution.

This final order will implement regulations on the growers so that there will be limits as to the amount of pesticides that can be detected in the creeks throughout the lands that are being used to grow the lily bulbs and regular testing of surrounding creeks. The final permit is an improvement on not having any permit at all.

We hope that the implementation of this order next spring will bring a cleaner and healthier Smith River, and much-needed relief to the community who deserve an environment with clean air and water.

Remaining Concerns in the Final Waste Discharge Requirements & Final Environmental Impact Report

Buffer Strips

The streamside area setbacks are insufficient in size to prevent copper from leaching into the estuary and nearby connected streams. Studies show that 80-foot setbacks did not adequately filter dissolved copper during storm events, but the Lily Bulb Order only allows a default of 50-foot setbacks on perennial streams, 25-foot setbacks on ephemeral streams, and 10-foot setbacks on channels that connect to surface waters. There’s no evidence that these will be sufficient to avoid discharge into these waters, which is why the order should require a minimum 100-foot setback, and more if those prove to be insufficient. Due to the risk that copper poses to salmon's olfactory senses (sense of smell), precautions should be taken when applying copper to a field that drains directly into salmon habitat.

10-Year Delayed Trigger for Grower Compliance

The multi-step iterative model still exists, which results in delays up to ten years before enforcement is available to compel compliance. We know that pesticides are having lethal impacts on listed species, tribal foodways, and community members. We don’t need to wait another decade to trigger compliance.

Zero Dry Season Sampling Required

The order does not require any sampling during the dry season even though sampling during this time of year is important in order to understand groundwater transport of pesticides, as well as any transport of pesticides due to drift and irrigation runoff. Additionally, the dry season is when many pesticides are sprayed onto the lilies, thus, it is important to know whether impacts are occurring during the summer.