Farm regions deserve a voice on protecting aquifers ByDannyMerkley
AB 2201 would also authorize a GSA to adopt anordinanceestablishingaprocess for issuing apermit inbasins that areNOT critically overdrafted. The bill would also authorizeGSAs to impose fees for ground- water well permits. The measure threatens one of the key elementsagreedupon inthedevelopment of SGMA: “locally driven.” Right now, lo- calGSAs simplydonot have the staff or re- sources to accomplish what this measure pushes on them. The governor’s drought executiveorder is a step to address necessary communi- cation between local permitting agencies and local GSAs, which are charged with bringinggroundwaterbasins intobalance. No doubt, fixes related to the executive order will need to be identified over time. Meanwhile, the steps called for inAB2201 are premature andmisguided. They rep- resent a top-downmanagement approach that is heavy-handed and unnecessary. I am a fourth-generation Sacramento Valley farmer, andIhavenever seenamore resilient, adaptivegroupofmenandwom- en than the family farmers and ranchers who have built California’s critical—and essential—agricultural economy. These may be difficult times and may evenseemimpossible. But, as longaspeo- ple in California and beyond need to be fed, I believewewill get through this. Just as our farmers and ranchers never shrink from their responsibilities to put food on America’s tables, the California Farm Bureau is actively fighting for you. Weareworkingonsolutions tokeepwater flowing toproduce themosthealthful food and farm products in the world, and we won’t relent in our efforts. (Danny Merkley is director of water re- sources for theCaliforniaFarmBureau. He may be reached at dmerkley@cfbf.com.)
California’s farmers and ranchers are under enormous stress entering a third year of unrelent- ing drought. Familyfarmsand ranches have seen their access to sur- face water severely curtailed. There isn’t enough water for irrigation.Water rights holders are denied diversions whilestateofficials insteadworktoincrease unimpaired river flows. Danny Merkley We are in the slow implementation of theWater Storage Improvement Program authorizedby2014’sProposition1, thevot- er-approved initiative that has yet todeliv- er thepromised infrastructure toboost our water supply. Meanwhile, state policies and regula- tions are noweffectively closing our water checking accounts—by denying use of surface water—and restricting access to our water savings accounts—by imposing burdens on the pumping of groundwater. Adding to the stress, Gov. Gavin Newsomissuedadrought executiveorder onMarch28. It requires local groundwater well-permitting agencies to consult with their Groundwater Sustainability Agency before issuing permits in high- or medi- um-priority groundwater basins. According to conversations I have had withDepartment ofWater Resources staff and a two-page fact sheet by DWR, local agencies retain their permitting author- ity. However, the order requires them to receivewrittenverification fromtheirGSA that anynewwell is consistent withanad- optedGroundwater Sustainability Plan. Those plans, or GSPs, are in effect once
A California Department of Water Resources geologist measures ground- water levels on farm- land in Yolo County. Proposed legislation could undermine local participation in aquifer management.
adopted by the regional Groundwater Sustainability Agency and submitted to water resources officials. Then the plans must beadjusted toanydeficiencies iden- tified by theDWR. However, extensive studies andanalysis unduly delaying the permitting process are unnecessary. Before a well permit is issuedbya localwell-permittingagency, it must determine that anewwell is unlikely to interfere with existing wells nearby or cause ground subsidence that would ad- versely impact nearby infrastructure. In most cases, thisdoesn’t trigger aCalifornia Environmental Quality Act review. Beyondagriculture, thegovernor’sexec- utive order calls on local urbanwater sup- pliers to conserve water across all sectors. Itdirects theStateWaterResourcesControl Board toconsider abanonwateringdeco- rative grass at businesses and institutions and to ensure that vulnerable communi- ties have drinking water. The order also streamlines groundwater recharge per- mittingwhenwe have heavy rain events. DWR officials are available to help lo- cal agencies navigate the well-permitting requirements in the order. For more in-
formation or questions, contact DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office at: SGMPS@water.ca.gov. The governor’s drought executive order, which may be viewed at gov. ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ March-2022-Drought-EO.pdf, is active only while an emergency declaration is in effect. A drought emergency decla- ration was extended for the fourth time on March 28. Meanwhile, more threats may loom for agriculture from groundwater manage- ment legislationnowunder consideration. The California FarmBureau strongly op- poses the recently introduced Assembly Bill 2201 by Assembly member Steve Bennett, D-Ventura. The bill would prohibit a groundwater well without a valid permit issued by a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. It would require GSAs to develop permit processes by June 30, 2023 and prohib- it issuing permits for new or expanded groundwater wells in probationary ba- sins, unless the State Water Board deter- mines that all or part of the basin is ade- quately managed.
VOL. 49, NO. 16
April 27, 2022
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