California dairy industry fights ‘unachievable’ methane mandate

California dairy farmers are battling proposed state regulations on methane emissions they say are fundamentally flawed and unachievable and will set them up for failure.  They say the state Air Resources Control Board has lost sight of reality in its Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy to reduce total methane emissions 40 percent by 2030 — including a 75 percent reduction in dairy manure emissions.  While the board’s draft strategy, which also includes reducing black carbon (soot) and fluorinated gases, is not regulation, the reductions have made their way into legislation. SB 1383, awaiting a vote in the state Assembly, calls for a 40 percent reduction in methane, a 40 percent reduction in hydrofluorocarbon gases and a 50 percent reduction in black carbon by 2030.  The majority of the methane reductions in ARB’s strategy are aimed at dairy manure and dairy and livestock emissions but also address landfills, the oil and gas sectors and wastewater.  Rob Vandenheuvel, manager of the Milk Producers Council, said the Legislature is proposing “pie-in-the-sky” goals that target the dairy industry with no viable strategy to reduce methane and no financial assistance.