The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (SF Water Board) is renewing and expanding the Grazing Waiver Program, which currently covers 88,000 acres of grazing lands in the Tomales Bay, Sonoma Creek, and Napa River watersheds. The update expands coverage to include additional grazing operations in Point Reyes National Seashore (Seashore) and the Petaluma River Watershed, ultimately covering 145,000 acres. Despite the word “waiver,” this program does not waive environmental regulations for ranchers—instead, it is a regulatory program meant to apply consistent management standards to protect water quality on a watershed scale while making it simpler for grazing operations to comply with limiting their pollution. Compliance requirements will remain largely the same.

EAC submitted comments on the proposed Grazing Waiver earlier on March 25th, where we pushed for improvements in monitoring and transparency.

While the public comment period is now closed, you can still make your voice heard by attending the public hearing on May 14, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (Approximate)

In-Person: Elihu M. Harris Building, First Floor Auditorium, 1515 Clay St, Oakland
Remote: check waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/board_info/remote_meeting/index.html

Example Talking Points Include:

I generally support the updated Grazing Waiver program as proposed. Thank you for incorporating the additional areas in the Point Reyes National Seashore. Expanding the scope ensures more consistent protection of our region’s watersheds.
I encourage the SF Water Board to strengthen the transparency, accountability, and enforcement requirements of the Grazing Waiver.
Point Reyes National Seashore is home to many ecologically significant areas that require protection. We appreciate that the updated Grazing Waiver supports these vital ecosystems, ensuring responsible land management.
I generally support the updated Grazing Waiver as it aligns with the California Coastal Commission’s Conditional Concurrence, the General Management Plan for Point Reyes National Seashore, and the Seahore’s Water Quality Strategy. This waiver ensures consistency across agency decisions, reinforcing protections for coastal waters through effective monitoring and best management practices. A coordinated approach among regulatory agencies is essential to safeguard water quality while allowing for responsible land stewardship in this ecologically significant region.
This waiver helps safeguard water quality by requiring management practices to control sediment, nutrients, and pathogens from grazing operations. Close monitoring should ensure these management practices are followed.
Strong monitoring is essential for grazing operations to comply with this Waiver. I support more transparent monitoring methods, such as making the rancher’s Annual Certification and any monitoring results publicly accessible online.

Stay Informed

The full text of the proposed waiver, including all attachments, can be found here under “Agriculture.”
Responses to public comments and any proposed changes will be posted here one week before the hearing.

Learn More

The Grazing Waiver is a regulatory program designed to balance sustainable ranching with water quality protection in the North San Francisco Bay region, including the Seashore.

This program is implemented by the SF Water Board and provides a streamlined approach for ranching operations to comply with environmental regulations. By requiring management practices (or MPs) to minimize erosion, reduce runoff, and protect local waterways, the waiver safeguards bodies of water in the North Bay, including Tomales Bay and the Seashore here in West Marin.

What is a Grazing Waiver?

A Grazing Waiver is a set of rules that allow livestock operations, like cattle ranches, to continue grazing while limiting pollution in nearby rivers, streams, and wetlands. The waiver sets basic environmental protections that grazing operations must follow to reduce water pollution from manure, soil erosion, and runoff. The goal is to ensure that livestock operations don’t harm water quality while making compliance easier.

This covers any landowner or operator with a grazing operation covering 100 or more acres OR is identified by the SF Water Board as a potential water quality risk.

Where does the Grazing Waiver Apply?

This waiver specifically applies to North San Francisco Bay Region grazing lands, including Napa River, Sonoma Creek, Petaluma River, Tomales Bay, and Point Reyes National Seashore.

Why was the Entire Point Reyes National Seashore not Included in Past Grazing Waivers, and why is it Being Added now?

The SF Water Board is now including all grazing lands in the Seashore in this Grazing Waiver. The prior Grazing Waiver only covered ranches on the Seashore that were part of the Tomales Bay Watershed, while the updated Grazing Waiver will include Pacific-side ranches as well.

The Seashore’s Pacific-side ranches were historically excluded from previous grazing waivers because earlier policies focused only on watersheds with Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) pollution limits, such as Tomales Bay, Lagunitas Creek, and the Napa/Sonoma river systems. Since portions of the Seashore drain directly to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific-side ranches were not originally covered under those waivers, which was a gap. However, recent water quality studies have shown that runoff from these ranches can still contribute to coastal pollution and may threaten coastal ecosystems, leading to their inclusion in this waiver for more consistent oversight and regulation. Grazing operations within the Seashore are adjacent to a state marine reserve and Areas of Special Biological Significance. These precious and vulnerable areas require stringent protection against potential pollution from runoff.

The SF Water Board regulates all waters within its region, including those that drain into the ocean. Under the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the SF Water Board has jurisdiction over any activity that could impact water quality, even if it affects coastal waters instead of inland waterways.

EAC’s Related Role in Water Quality Sampling

Since 2020, EAC has worked collaboratively with the Seashore and the County of Marin, sampling Drakes Estero and Drakes Beach to ensure recreational water quality samples are being collected to create a long-term dataset, so we can advocate to ensure healthy and clean watersheds. Some sampling dates have shown exceedances at these locations.

Why is this Important?

The Grazing Waiver is crucial because it helps ensure that ranching operations comply with environmental laws like the Clean Water Act. Waiver programs like this one allow for coordinated compliance without the need for individual permits. This waiver provides a manageable regulatory approach that sets clear, consistent standards for multiple grazing operations.

How can Landowners and Ranch Operators Comply?

Ranchers and landowners can comply with the Grazing Waiver by adopting management practices (MPs) that help reduce pollution and protect waterways. Examples include:

Keeping livestock out of sensitive riparian areas.
Implementing erosion control measures on roads and pastures.
Managing manure and runoff to prevent contamination.
Maintaining sufficient vegetation cover to reduce sediment flow.
Conducting regular inspections and submitting required reports.

Next Steps

We will be participating at the SF Water Board hearing and continuing to track this Grazing Waiver update. Let us know if you are interested in attending the hearing on May 14th.