Updated wastewater rules for fruit-packing industry coming soon

Proposed new state regulations aren’t expected to result in significant changes in the way Yakima Valley fruit packers dispose of wastewater.

Packing plants can use large volumes of water to clean fruit before it is packaged. Regulations that govern that wastewater expired in 2014, but the plants have been operating under an extension.

Since 2013, the state Department of Ecology and fruit industry officials have been in talks about the updating the regulations.

There was some delay due to disagreement over additional restrictions proposed by Ecology, said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

Industry officials felt the proposed changes required costly upgrades by packers for little to no environmental gain, DeVaney said.

Ultimately, both parties agreed to not include the majority of those changes in the update.

“We’re pretty happy with the end result,” DeVaney said.

One primary change was made: Packers will be allowed to use difenoconazole, a new fungicide being introduced to the U.S. market. Like other fungicides, the product would be used by packers to prevent rot and other post-harvest diseases before fruit is stored.

But packing houses will be required to collect wastewater containing difenoconazole in a lined evaporative lagoon. This would allow the state to collect data about the fungicide without costly changes to packing houses’ current wastewater practices, said Ecology spokeswoman Joye Redfield-Wilder.

Ecology is now accepting public comments until June 17 on a draft version of the permit, which it hopes to issue and implement by September.

The agency will offer a workshop for local packers on requirements under updated permit from 9 a.m. to noon May 18 at the Ecology Central Regional Office, 1250 Alder St., Union Gap. After the workshop, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., the agency will hold a session on how to submit data online. Packers can also make comments on the draft permit.

A public hearing to collect additional comments on the permit will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. June 9 at the Ecology Central Regional Office.

For more information or to submit a comment, contact Cynthia Huwe at 509-457-7105 or by email at cynthia.huwe@ecy.wa.gov.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Updated wastewater rules for fruit-packing industry coming soon."