Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/480754
April 2015 WINES&VINES 19 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS K ennewick, Wash.—All but the smallest wineries in Washington state will re- quire a permit to discharge process wastewater in a little more than a year, according to Washington De- partment of Ecology (DOE) staff speaking to vintners gathered for the annual Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers meeting in Kennewick this February. DOE representatives Bill Moore and Chelsea Desforges addressed winemakers Feb. 10, the first after- noon of the annual meeting. An advisory committee of stakeholders drawn from industry and municipalities convened last year, but DOE staff are taking pains to understand current prac- tice and how best to shape a per- mit that eases the transition to a more regulated environment. Some existing systems could even be deemed compliant, and ac- cepted as-is, with the provisions of the new permit. "We're trying to find out, where are the issues?" Moore said. "My goal isn't to put people out of compli- ance, my goal is to protect water quality. If you're doing that, you're in." Right now in Washington state, 13 wineries have discharge per- mits—representing just a fraction of the approximately 6,500 dis- charge permits held by other state organizations. The permits cost wineries between $350 and $6,000. The new permit, tailored spe- cifically to the circumstances of wineries, should address the vari- ation, according to Desforges. "We wanted to ensure consis- tency across the state," she said. "We'll have one blanket guideline." A consistent guideline is also important for winer- ies, which engage in a variety of manage- ment and discharge practices for what the DOE estimates is 120 million gallons of process wastewater they produce each year—water that is often more acidic and requires more oxy- gen to break down t h a n t h e a v e r a g e bucket of household wastewa- ter—"all of which poses a poten- tial risk to the environment," Desforges noted. Highly acidic wastewater can also damage municipal wastewa- ter infrastructure, boosting main- tenance and repair costs. And if the wastewater contains too much organic content that's slow to break down, blockages can occur that further test infrastructure. California and Oregon both re- quire wineries to manage waste- water and its discharge, and New York and Michigan are both mov- ing toward permit regimes. Ontario and British Columbia also are grap- pling with the load wineries and other processors place on munici- pal sewage treatment systems. "The first things we're consid- ering are what is and isn't work- ing for neighboring states," Desforges said. The Department of Ecology plans to present a preliminary draft of the permit to industry for comment by July, with the official draft mandated by law ready in November. A 45-day comment period will follow presentation of the formal draft. —Peter Mitham Washington State Drafting Wastewater Permit Bill Moore (right) and Chelsea Desforges (left) of the Washington Department of Ecology speak with Stuart Childs of Kennedy Jenks Consultants. 15 $1,885 6