Wine business tackles climate, erosion policies

(NBBJ) - A number of new regulations related to dirt, air, water and energy are facing the North Coast wine business.

In Napa County, vintners and growers trade groups are concerned about a coalescing county climate action plan (countyofnapa.org/CAP) that includes specific numerical targets for greenhouse gas reduction.

The county Board of Supervisors sent the draft plan back for a rework in December after agricultural groups protested a number of elements, especially carbon offsets growers would have to buy because of certain viticultural operations. The board said it wanted offsetting measures to be done locally instead of completed elsewhere via a fee.

The revised draft plan came to the county Planning Commission in early May. But a recently released list of best management practices for ag companies hadn’t been reviewed in time for the meeting, so the matter was postponed.

One potentially problematic aspect of those BMPs is the inclusion of numerical targets for a number of elements, according to an official from a major ag trade group in the valley.

“The problem is a lot of local measures we do can’t be quantified because the science isn’t there,” she said, speaking anonymously because her organization hasn’t taken an official stance on the plan.