Kings County growers celebrate “monumental victory” in water battle with state

In a scathing ruling, a Superior Court judge sharply rebuked state water officials for going too far and invoking “subsurface regulations” when they penalized Kings County water managers for failing to protect over-pumped groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley.

Kings County Superior Court Judge Kathy Ciuffini issued a temporary restraining order last week barring the state Water Resources Control Board from charging farmers and disclosing how much water they pump from the county's heavily overtaxed aquifers. The order could last until a trial for which no date has yet been set.

“The actions of this state agency were clearly not transparent, known only to the (water board), and there was no review, analysis, or opportunity to challenge its conduct,” Ciuffini wrote in her decision, adding that the agency failed to demonstrate how a preliminary injunction from the court “would cause concrete, identifiable harm to the public.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Kings County Farm Bureau and other farmers, challenges the state's decision to place the severely depleted basin on “probation,” which carries fees and monitoring requirements.

Judge declares regulation “illegal”

The judge agreed with the producers' claim that the board relied on “unlawful” and “subterranean” regulations in approving the basin. The state water board “had over 10 years to issue regulations for government intervention, but failed to do so. As for these unlawful regulations, the plaintiffs will succeed in their case,” she wrote.

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Located in the San Joaquin Valley, the groundwater basin supplies numerous dairies, ranches and farms – including those controlled by agricultural giant JG Boswell Company and Bay Area developer John Vidovich – as well as disadvantaged communities.

Edward Ortiz, a spokesman for the water board, said the agency was “exploring further legal action” and noted that the state must protect its oversight of “critically overloaded basins.”

“All Californians benefit from sustainable groundwater management. Groundwater makes up a significant portion of the state's water supply and serves as an important buffer against the effects of drought and climate change,” Ortiz said. He said the law is clear and the committee has the authority needed to protect groundwater.

The decision provides significant relief to producers in the basin, who had been required by the state to install meters on their wells and pay fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot of groundwater they produce.

10th Anniversary of the SGMA

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of the state's landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to prevent wells from drying up, subsidence and other consequences of excessive groundwater extraction.

“The actions of this state agency were obviously not transparent and known only to the (water board). There was no review, no analysis, and no opportunity to challenge their conduct.”

KATHY CIUFFINI, Judge of the Superior Court of Kings County

The law requires local groundwater agencies to develop a plan to curb groundwater depletion in the state's most overused basins by 2040. But state officials said Kings County officials failed to submit changes to their plan by the April deadline, despite multiple warnings that the plan had serious flaws and would “have significant impacts on people who rely on domestic wells for drinking, bathing, food preparation and cleaning.”

A staff analysis found that hundreds of groundwater wells could dry up, groundwater contamination could increase, and roads, canals and more would be damaged as the land continues to sink as a result of over-extraction.

In an unprecedented decision, the water board placed Kings County groundwater managers on probation, imposing new fees and requirements to monitor pumping operations, a first step toward controlling the basin.

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The Kings County Farm Bureau and local farmers filed suit, calling the decision unlawful. They said the agency was slow to inform landowners of the new requirements and that the board's deadlines for installing meters on their wells came during peak irrigation season.

This preliminary injunction strengthens and expands a preliminary injunction issued in July.

“Uncontrolled groundwater extraction causes all kinds of harm, and stopping that harm is the reason (the law) was passed.”

DAVE OWEN, University of California, San Francisco School of Law

Farm Bureau Director: a “monumental victory”

Dusty Ference, executive director of the Department of Agriculture, called the decision a “monumental victory” that “underscores the validity of our claims.”

Karrigan Börk, a law professor and interim director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, said the injunction is “probably just a small brake” on implementation of the state's groundwater law.

Legal experts pointed out that the 33-page decision clearly favors growers.

“There is a striking contrast between the court's detailed and sympathetic reiteration of the facts alleged by the plaintiffs and its superficial rejection of (the state water agency's) factual allegations,” said Dave Owen, a professor at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco.

“These arguments were not crazy. Uncontrolled groundwater extraction causes all kinds of damage, and the law was passed to stop that damage,” Owen said.

The injunction comes as state water officials consider a suspended sentence for another basin in the San Joaquin Valley tomorrow.

But Karrigan Börk, a law professor and interim director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, said the injunction will “probably only be a small brake” on implementation of the state's groundwater law.

“Ultimately, this lawsuit only postpones the inevitable,” he said. “There is no argument that the sub-basin is not critically overstressed, and that must eventually end.”

About the author

Rachel Becker is a journalist covering California's complex water issues and water policy for CalMatters. She has covered drought, water shortages, groundwater depletion, water quality, and the world's largest dam demolition.

About CalMatters

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