A state regulatory agency says it’s sending a message to farmers by issuing a large fine to a Modoc County landowner. A penalty of nearly $20,000 has been levied against Renee Larranaga for allowing wastewater to run off of his 60 acres of irrigated crops in the Pit River Watershed. The fine is for not having the proper permit for such a discharge. In 2014 the Central Valley Water Board established waste discharge standards and at the same time they set up a system to allow farmers to join a semi-private group called the Sacramento Valley Water Quality Coalition. Paying members don’t need to buy permits because the coalition holds a permit that covers all of its members, and the do all the monitoring and reporting required. State officials want all farmers to join the coalition, and they warn that otherwise individual permits and monitoring are still required, making it much more expensive.