Information may vary from county to county. For example, Santa Clara County information can be found in Section 10.f.iii & xv:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Pages/order-health-officer-031620.aspx

“Essential Business”: iii.) Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing and xv.) Businesses that supply other essential businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate

"Essential Travel": Any travel related to essential activities, essential gov. functions, essential businesses, or minimum basic operations

Alameda County: http://www.acgov.org/documents/Final-Order-to-Shelter-In-Place.pdf
Contra Costa County: https://cchealth.org/emergencies/shelter-in-place.php
Marin County: https://www.marincounty.org/main/county-press-releases/press-releases/2020/hhs-covid-shelterinplace-031620
San Francisco County: https://sfmayor.org/article/san-francisco-issues-new-public-health-order-requiring-residents-stay-home-except-essential
San Mateo: https://www.smcgov.org/shelter-place-faqs
Santa Clara County: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Pages/order-health-officer-031620.aspx

There are two separate grant opportunities available in which to apply: the Healthy Soils Program (HSP) Incentives Program ($100,000) and the HSP Demonstration Projects ($250,000). These grants provide financial assistance for implementation of compost and mulch to agricultural fields, compost outreach and education, and measuring the benefits of these practices. It is a three-year program with the first two years covered by the grant, and the third year funded through applicant match funds.

Visit https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/ to find out if your organization qualifies for this grant. There is also a CDFA webinar on March 24 at 8:00 a.m. on strategies for improving soil health that you can register for here. 

Applications close on Thursday, April 23, 2020.

Contact Dan Noble, (619) 992-8389, DanWylderNoble@gmail.com for assistance in your application!

By ACP Member Jorge Montezuma is a Project Engineer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and Districts‑owned and operated Tulare Lake Compost.

California’s Tradition for International Compost Awareness Week!

Engaging with legislators and their staff at their Capitol offices is no walk in the park but it is so worth it. Catch an early flight to Sacramento, head into the briefing room, meet dressed up passionate composters, grab coffee, memorize talking points, head upstairs to scheduled meetings, and avoid bumping into people in suits flying down the aisles with coffee in hand.

I joined 15 others as part of the Association of Compost Producers Legislative Day. Together, we met with 44 legislators (37% of the State Assembly!) and held a lunch with CalRecycle regulators to discuss funding, drafting of new rules, and legislation.  As I navigated the hallways filled with color‑coordinated constituent groups figuring out where to lobby next, amidst tours of schoolchildren attentively listening to stories, and Star Wars Stormtroopers patrolling the floors for recognition (“May the Fourth (May Fourth) Be With You”), I made it to six meetings alongside my colleagues.

Let’s just say that I’m glad this was my second year doing this because these meetings can be intimidating—but they don’t have to be. The meetings are usually 15 minutes: the staffers have multiple meetings scheduled throughout the day on every topic you can imagine; there are other meetings happening in the office; and sometimes they just take notes and don’t ask any questions.

We also handed them a package, which they are required to scan and store in their records, giving our material a second chance to be read. It’s their job to listen to their constituents and it’s our job to show them what the boots in the ground look like. So, go prepared and you’ll be fine. We even had the chance to get a picture on the Senate Floor, which, from what I hear, is a privilege! 

It is crucial we let our elected representatives know we exist, that we make a difference, that they are welcome to come visit, and that the work continues at all levels even after mandates and regulations are enacted. Democracy requires participation, if we don’t show up, somebody else will, so I hope you can make the time this year or next year to go talk to them about this growing and dynamic industry and about your specific ideas and concerns.

Jorge Montezuma is a Project Engineer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and Districts‑owned and operated Tulare Lake Compost. He is also the Agroecology Committee Chair for the Association of Compost Producers (USCC CA Chapter).

ACP's 4^th annual  Legislators Day event is coming up May 1, 2019.  We have stepped it up this year to include a tent on the capitol lawn (visibility) a breakfast presentation (Networking) AND even more advocacy and orientation.

To kick things off we have a 1/2 hour call scheduled for March 28th at 11:00am.  We will go over Leg Day activities, how to schedule your calls and how to make this day be a success for YOU and your business.

Legislative Day is a day of advocacy for the professional compost industry.  It is an excellent opportunity to meet with YOUR legislators to talk about important issues impacting our industry and provide valuable insight into our industry.  Your outreach will be the first step in building ongoing relationships with legislators and their staff and will go a long way towards bolstering ACP’s advocacy efforts.

Janaki Jagannath, who interned with ACP in Summer of 2018, researching and producing our "Environmental Justice in Composting - a Toolkit for California Composters"  under the supervision of ACP's Agroecology-Healthy Soil Workgroup, will be giving a brown bag lunch presentation titled "COMMUNITIES, COMPOST, AND CARBON: Social Equity in Organics Management," sponsored by CalRecycle on March 20, 2019.    

If you haven't heard Janaki's intelligence, compassion and eloquence on this topic, you're in for a treat and bit of enlightenment.  Also, check out ACP's "ACP Environmental Justice Toolkit," for which she's the principal author (attached to this email, too).

CalRecycle’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Program is hosting its second lunchtime Brown Bag.  In this session, Janaki Jagannath will discuss the link between social equity and compost production in the most impacted regions of the state, including pathways to community engagement and soil-carbon sequestration in the era of climate change.  Janaki will also speak about her work with the Association of Compost Producers and EJ in Composting, a Toolkit for California Composters, which is a manual she developed to assist compost facility operators as they implement the state’s organic waste reduction targets as outlined in SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016).  

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Coastal Hearing Room, 1001 I Street

The brown bag will be webcast at https://video.calepa.ca.gov

Everyone is welcome to bring their lunch. 

 

Janaki Jagannath is a law student at UC Davis School of Law. Previously she directed the Community Alliance for Agroecology, a coalition of rural community-based organizations in the San Joaquin Valley who work to advance agricultural and environmental policy towards justice for communities that support California’s food system.  She worked at California Rural Legal Assistance in Fresno enforcing EJ and worker protections, including access to clean drinking water for unincorporated farmworker communities.  Janaki has assisted in curriculum development for the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems degree at UC Davis and has farmed in diversified and orchard crops across the state. She also conducted trainings at the Refugee Entrepreneurial Agriculture Project in San Diego County with refugee women farmers. Janaki holds a B.S. in Agricultural Development from UC Davis and a crop producers’ certification in Ecological Horticulture.

See you there, or join her and CalRecycle via the Web.

Dear ACP Supporting  Members who attended our Annual Planning Meeting this week.  Dan will be sharing the first rough draft of a "comment letter" with recommendations to CalRecycle (Due on Monday).Thanks you So much to a number of you that already submitted comments to me prior to today!!  Your input was extremely helpful

Dan

Save the date for this year’s Legislative Day, May 1, 2019 … a day filled with networking, meetings with your state legislators, lively industry related topic discussions and much, much more!  Don't believe us, hear it from your fellow member Tom Shearer, consultant in soils and compost: Why You Need to Personally Attend to Represent Your Industry?  Your legislators work for you!  Tell your elected representative what you think about a certain issue or bill, and to try to get him or her to act on that issue.  Let them know the issues and legislation by bill number you wish to discuss.  Make sure they know that you are a constituent.  While larger institutions use lobbyist most of us do not have that ability, so we need to be the faces and voices that resonate with the legislators.  This is your once annual opportunity to speak about your business and industry don’t let it pass you by. For the past 3 years, ACP’s Legislative Day has remained the preeminent legislative event for California Composters.  Legislative Day gives compost producers, equipment manufacturers, Government agencies, landscapers, engineers, scientists and researchers the opportunity to meet and discuss compost issues, regulations and policy directly with their state legislators and staff.  Attending Legislative Day is not only a great investment in your business, it also provides you with an opportunity to hear from California's most dynamic political leaders, regulators and the members of ACP and your state association leadership. Importantly, you get to know your legislators, and their staff, and they learn from you, why compost is so important to their constituency! After a rewarding day of business, join your fellow members at a fabulous Capitol Reception. We look forward to collaborating with you at this year's Legislative Day!

Compost: Regenerating and Protecting California’s Fire Damaged Lands- ACP Lobbyist, Kathy Lynch, and Exec. Dir. Dan Noble, circulated a "ACP Ltr to Legislature_Regenerating CA Fire Damaged Lands_8-26-18" 2 page overview of how compost can and should be used to regenerate California's fire damaged lands.  It was sent to the Governor's office and all the California Legislators.  See a copy of this open letter to California governors on ACP's website.  ACP will be developing a number of these compost use documents to address important issues that impact our State's environment. Contact Dan Noble for additional information

ACP’s mission to “work and invest together to increase compost markets...”, is extended this year by directly getting to know our member’s legislators: relationship development with legislators, inform about Compost Benefits to the local community, and compost industry issues and initiatives. Working Group: Julia W., Zachary K., Dan N., Kathy L., and Jeff Z. This will ONLY happen on odd years after this year, alternating with a new ACP Compost Conference in May or June of each even numbered years, staring in 2020.

So this May, develop face-to-face, and name recognition with some regulators and your legislators and their staffs.  Introduce your compost business to them!  What you can talk about can include (we provide support material and coaching for you!):

• Get to know each other: Policy Makers and industry participants 

• Compost in your District: Who you work with, what you do, why compost is important (see Compost Benefits list)

• Funding: Cap & Trade funding (greenhouse gas reduction funds, GGRF), and our approach on using those dollars to build compost manufacturing capacity along with private sector 

• Legislation in process: What bills we are supporting this year, and why? (Review ACP Bill Priority List)

• Regulatory issues: What legislation is being turned into regulations, what is our position, how is that going. AB 901, AB 876, SB 1383

• State Agency Relationships: What are the industry's relationships with various state agencies, and what initiatives we are pursing with them now?  

Hope to see YOU there!

ACP held its annual Board of Director elections in December of this year. Three qualified nominations were received and the Board unanimously voted to expand the Board to six to allow the seating of all three candidates. The Board has been looking for an opportunity to expand and was excited at this opportunity. 

Please join us in welcoming Chris Seney of Republic Services to the ACP Board of Directors. Chris is the Director of Organics at Republic Services, Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering and a Master of Business Administration and he’s Professional Engineer in California, Arizona and Nevada. He’s an active participant in California organics and brings experience and energy to the association. The Board will select officers in January 2019.

2019 Board of Directors:  

●       Jeff Ziegenbein - President - Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority

●       Kathy Kellogg Johnson - Vice President -  Kellogg Garden Products

●       Bob Engel - Secretary/Treasurer - Engel & Gray, Inc. Regional Compost Facility

●       Craig Kolodge - Filtrex - Director - Filtrexx International

●       Tom Shearer - Director - Soil and Compost Consulting

●    Chris Seney - Director - Republic Services

●       Dan Noble - Executive Director