Stoel Rives is a proud annual sponsor of the Washington Wine Industry Foundation (and full disclosure: I am a board member) – a nonprofit, charitable organization that was founded almost twenty years ago with a goal to strengthen the future of the Washington wine industry through growth, education, and sustainability.
Since 2002, the foundation has
Beginning in mid-2019, many Washington wineries will need a permit from the state Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) to discharge wastewater. Ecology issued the state’s first five-year Winery General Permit (the “permit”) on May 17, 2018, but delayed its effective date until July 1, 2019. The new permit will regulate discharges of process wastewater from wineries to land, groundwater, and wastewater treatment plants. No surface water discharges will be allowed under the permit. Ecology has not determined how much a permit will cost, but the new rules in the permit will add financial burden to businesses and may hinder the growth of small wineries.
Ecology decided to develop the general permit due to the rapid increase of wine production in Washington. However, according to Ecology’s Fact Sheet, wineries have not been a “major source” of pollution in Washington. Although Ecology stated in one of the agency’s Responses to Public Comments that “it was unable to find documented evidence of a Washington winery polluting groundwater,” it maintained that “a lack of evidence does not mean groundwater is not being impacted.”
The new permit will apply to wineries that discharge at least 53,505 gallons of wastewater or produce at least 7,500 cases (17,835 gallons) of wine or juice per calendar year. More specifically, wineries that meet the above threshold numbers will need the permit if they discharge wastewater according to one or more of the following methods: (1) to a wastewater treatment plant that is not listed; (2) as irrigation to managed vegetation; (3) to a lagoon or other liquid storage structure; (4) as road dust abatement; (5) to a subsurface infiltration system; or (6) to an infiltration basin.
Continue Reading Ecology Rolls Out Washington’s First Winery General Permit to Regulate Discharges of Wastewater
This post was written by Adam Belzberg, Ryan Jones and Tim O’Connell for the Stoel Rives World of Employment blog.
In yet another blow to agricultural employers, grab your stopwatches. In Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Co., the Washington Supreme Court has just held that agricultural employers are required to compensate piece-rate workers on
Attention Washington state retailers: the Washington State Liquor Control Board is kicking off a youth access compliance check program this month. Here’s a guidance the WSLCB recently issued about the program.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) Enforcement and Education Division’s youth access compliance check program will be beginning in May 2015. The purpose
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) has accepted for formal review a petition to create another American Viticultural Area in Idaho. The proposed new Willow Creek Idaho AVA would be subdivided from Idaho’s existing Snake River Valley AVA. The petition was prepared by Martha Cunningham of 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards.
Stoel Rives attorneys Susan Johnson and Jim Shore will be part of the faculty for a one-day Law Seminars International conference on June 11 regarding Washington’s Initiative 502 that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Susan will serve as co-chair of the conference, while Jim will present on I502 implications for employer policies and procedures.
The Pink Boots Society was recently granted tax-exempt status by the IRS, and is on its way to awarding its first scholarship. Congratulations! Please join PBS February 15th at Saraveza to celebrate.
Following up on our posts on Washington Initiative 502, my colleague Claire Mitchell had the chance to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding the initiative and its implementation for businesses. In the brief interview, Claire explained the rulemaking by the Washington State Liquor Control Board currently underway and offered thoughts on what Washington’s marijuana industry may look like.
WSLCB adopted a new rule that will allow spirits retail licensees to deliver spirits to customers that place orders in person, through the mail or over the phone, fax or internet. This rule mirrors the beer and wine delivery privileges currently held by grocery store and beer/wine speciality shop licensees. The rule will go into effect December 8, 2012
The Washington Supreme Court has upheld I-1183. Here is a link to the opinion, the concurrence and the dissent.
We will follow up with additional analysis, but for now, you can plan your first trip to the grocery store to purchase liquor as early as tomorrow.
by Hunter Ferguson
Yesterday, the Washington State Supreme Court heard oral argument in Washington Association for Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention v. State, concerning the constitutionality of I-1183. WASAVP contends that I-1183 violates Article II, § 19 of the Washington Constitution in two ways: (1) the initiative violates the “single-subject rule,” by including a