California drafts groundwater rules

  • Associated Press
  • Friday, August 29, 2014 4:29pm
  • Business

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is on the verge of regulating its groundwater supply for the first time, as the worst drought in a generation pushed state leaders to overhaul the state’s longstanding “pump-as-you-please” policy.

The state Assembly on Friday voted 44-27 to send the bill, AB1739, to Gov. Jerry Brown, whose administration has been involved in shaping the legislation. Two companion bills were sent to the Senate and were expected to win approval later in the day.

The legislative package by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, and Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, would require some local governments to develop groundwater-management plans and allows the state to intervene if necessary. The issue is critical as the state deals with its third year of drought, which has forced farmers to fallow fields and led to widespread unemployment in the Central Valley.

Groundwater accounts for 60 percent of the state’s water use during drought years, yet it is not as regulated and closely managed as water from reservoirs, rivers and streams. The pumping has been so great in recent years that wells are running dry and the land is falling as water-drained soil is compressed. That in turn has led to billions of dollars in damage to roads, aqueducts, canals and pipelines, supporters say.

“The state cannot manage water in California until we manage groundwater,” said Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. “You cannot have reliability with no plan to manage groundwater.”

But agricultural interests that are increasingly dependent on tapping wells have opposed the legislation. Republican lawmakers and Central Valley Democrats said the package was being rushed and called for more time to debate the issues.

“The proposed law changes 150 years of established water law and creates another layer of bureaucracy and costs,” said Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber. “We should work until we find a consensus and regional bipartisan support.”

Supporters say that while the bill would be the first statewide mandate for groundwater regulations, the rules would be drawn locally rather than by disconnected bureaucrats.

The bill targets areas where groundwater basins are in danger of being over-drafted, or drawn from more quickly than water is replenished. It gives local land planners two years to create a groundwater sustainability agency, which in turn has up to five years to develop a plan for managing wells and pumping. Those plans can include installing meters and charging fees to curb excessive use.

The state Department of Water Resources would step in and develop plans for communities that don’t abide by these rules.

Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, called the proposed changes “too much” and “too fast,” noting parts of his Central Valley district that have had no water allocated to them, resulting in farm workers losing their jobs. He and other opponents say hastily drawn rules could aggravate problems by limiting access to an essential water source.

Before the floor vote, Dickinson objected to the idea that legislators rushed to develop the groundwater-management overhaul.

“This has been a subject of discussion for literally decades,” he said, noting the state’s latest drought has been seen as a window of opportunity for reform. “If not now, then when?”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.