groundwater

Trade tensions thawed slightly last week after China decided to exclude U.S. soybeans and pork from additional tariffs.

A public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on March 12 at the Sunnyside Community Center, 1521 S. First St.

After spending years studying the problem with the help of landowners, dairy ranchers and farmers no single source has been found for the nitrates.

Oregon’s dairy farm, Lost Valley Farm was cited for endangering drinking and underground water. They have 60 days to clean up their manure management system.

Some landowners near Moses Lake will be paying $618,000 in fines for illegally pumping more than 500 million gallons from the declining Odessa aquifer.

OLYMPIA  (AP) — Washington environmental regulators have released new permit rules aimed at reducing the amount of manure that gets into rivers and lakes as well as groundwater from animal feedlots. The Capital Press reports that the rules will change the regulatory landscape for the state's 230 dairies with more than 200 cows, as well as other concentrated animal feeding operations...

YAKIMA (AP) — An environmental group based on the Yakama Indian Reservation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Indian Health Service for failing to respond to records requests about groundwater nitrate pollution. Friends of Toppenish Creek requested records from the Indian Health Service last May, but says it met with delays and vague answers that violate the Freedom of Information Act... Rea

Long-term trends in California agriculture reflect shifting production, according to USDA, which may have implications for water use during droughts. Annually harvested crops such as cotton, corn, and wheat are on a downward trend and have seen a 31-percent reduction in planted acreage in California since 2012...