Statewide Winery WDR explained

California’s State Water Resources Control Board adopted a statewide permit for wineries in early 2021. This new permit, generally called the “Winery Order”, requires many California wineries to apply and follow requirements to protect groundwater quality. 

WHO IT DOES NOT APPLY TO

The Winery Order does not apply if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

·       Both winery solids and winery process water are shipped offsite (For example, solids may go to an offsite composter and liquids may go to a municipal sewer system).

or

·       You discharge under 10,000 gallons annually of wastewater to land.

or

·       You discharge more than 15 million gallons annually of wastewater to land, instead requiring you to obtain an individual Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) permit from your Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board).

  You do not need to apply for coverage under the Winery Order until a Regional Board contacts your winery in writing, if you meet one of the following criteria:

·       You currently have a WDR order issued by the regional board.

or

·       You have a permit from Napa County’s Winery Waste Discharge Program.

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WHO IT APPLIES TO

The Winery Order applies to you now if you meet both of the following criteria:

 ·       You discharge between 10,000 and 15 million gallons of process water, annually.

and

·       You are operating without a WDR from the Regional Board.

 The deadline to apply for coverage under the Winery Order was January 20, 2024. This includes wineries with only a permit to operate their septic systems from a county other than Napa.

 The Winery Order is a complex permit with numerous requirements.  Many wineries are utilizing the expertise of a consultant to help them comply with the Winery Order.  However, it is important to understand the requirements to ensure that wineries are obtaining cost effective advice from their consultants.

 Winery Order requirements are tied to the amount of process water a winery discharges to land, annually.  This could allow a winery to capture a portion of its process water and haul it to a regional waste treatment facility that accepts winery process water, reducing the amount of water discharged to land and thereby bringing wineries into a lower tier with lower compliance costs.

Total Winery Process Water Volume (gal/yr)

Exempt <10,000

Tier 1 10,000-30,000

Tier 2 30,001-300,000

Tier 3 300,001-1,000,000

Tier 4 1,000,001 – 15,000,000

Other Requirements

The Winery Order includes requirements for winery ponds, areas where solids or process water is applied to land, subsurface disposal system requirements, groundwater monitoring requirements (only for Tier 4 wineries), and extensive monitoring requirements.  Specific requirements are detailed in the Winery Order and available on the State Water Resources Control Board’s website: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/waste_discharge_requirements/winery_order.html

Compliance Checklist 

When requested to apply for the Winery Order, wineries will need to develop a technical report explaining the specifics of their water treatment systems. The Regional Board will review the technical report and provide the winery with a Notice of Applicability, at which point a winery will need to follow the requirements of the Winery Order and begin monitoring and reporting.  Thanks to the Wine Institute for developing resources to assist wineries with Winery Order compliance.  These documents are available on Wine Institute’s website:  https://wineinstitute.org/our-work/compliance/compliance-tool-for-ca-water-order/