Some of the powers of these boards include imminent domain, accessing fees from all water users, making capital improvements (you will pay) and requiring metering. This will set water standards for generations to come. Well owners are not being represented in Napa, Lake and Sonoma counties.
This is something we should be on top of, which are the groundwater sustainability plans required by the state. Some counties are trying shortcuts (submitting Alt GSPs), here are the ones from our areas ((ONLY NAPA AND LAKE SUBMITTED THEM)), with the links to their plans and a link to the comments that have already been submitted. The counties that submit Alternate Groundwater Sustainability Plans (Alt GSPs) are arguing that they either 1)already manage groundwater sustainably or 2) their current groundwater management plans (adopted some earlier time years ago) meet all the requirements of the 2015 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. If their Alt GSP gets approved by state Department of Water Resources, they do not have to form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) which are made up of stakeholders with an interest in groundwater management. GSAs are charged with developing the Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP), which aren’t due until 2022. It’s important to review the Alt GSP carefully to ensure that the county isn’t just trying to prevent having to manage groundwater sustainably.
Comments are due by end of day Saturday, April 1, 2017 (and can be submitted via these links):
NAPA COUNTY
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/print/11 (the plan)
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/comments/11 (the comments opposed to the plan)
LAKE COUNTY:
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/print/5 ( the plan for Scotts Valley basin)
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/comments/5 (the comments opposed to the plan)
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/print/9 (the plan for Big Valley basin)
- http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/alternative/comments/9 (the comments opposed to the plan)