On January 30, 2026 the North Coast Water Board released Draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Commercial Lily Bulb Operations in the Smith River Plain (Draft Lily Bulb Order) An accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) that analyzed impacts from the proposed regulation was also released. Both documents are available for review with a 45-day written public comment period from January 30, 2026- March 16, 2026.
To read the Draft Lily Bulb Order and Draft EIR, visit the North Coast Lily Bulb webpage at: https://www.waterboards.
Instructions for commenting on the Draft Order and Draft EIR and obtaining electronic and physical copies can be found in the Notice of Availability at this link: Notice of Availability.
A public workshop will be held on February 18, 2026 in Del Norte County (Elk Valley Rancheria Sam Lopez Community Room, 2332 Howland Hill Road, Crescent City, CA 95531) and via Zoom starting at 4pm. Information about the public workshop and Zoom link are available at this link: February 18 Workshop.
The purpose of the Lily Bulb Order is to achieve water quality objectives and protect and restore beneficial uses such as cold freshwater habitat in the Smith River Plain. Lily bulb operations have the potential to discharge pollutants to surface water and groundwater from stormwater runoff, the application of pesticides and fertilizer, erosion of sediment, and removal and suppression of riparian vegetation. The proposed Lily Bulb Order would require Enrollees to plan and implement a suite of site-specific actions and management practices to control discharges from lily bulb operations. The Draft EIR analyzes environmental impacts from implementation of the proposed Lily Blub Order. The Draft EIR identified potentially significant environmental impacts to agricultural resources with no feasible mitigation due to implementation of Streamside Area setbacks.
The North Coast Water Board is planning to consider certification of a Final EIR and adoption of a proposed Lily Bulb Order in August 2026