Proposed vineyard wastewater regulations provoked a major hue and cry among Sonoma and Mendocino growers when government officials introduced them in 2022.  On Dec. 4, 2024, state water board officials announced a new plan they hoped would better address growers who farm 65,000 acres of planted vineyards–more than 10 percent of the 550,000 acres planted in the state (see meeting slides here).  But the proposed revisions were still found wanting, locals said. County leaders pointed out the water board itself still has not defined standards for Russian River sediment and said vineyards are not the ones to blame for water issues. The fault lies instead with rural roads and the federal and Sonoma County authorities who oversee Lake Mendocino, they said.