The small city of Lemoore recently joined the legal fight against the powerful state Water Resources Control Board over groundwater sanctions issued against Kings County farmers by the state last year.
The Lemoore City Council on May 22 subbmited an “amicus brief,” or friend of the court motion, in support of an injunction that has, so far, held those groundwater sanctions at bay.
The injunction was ordered by a Kings County Superior Court judge as part of a lawsuit filed against the Water Board by the Kings County Farm Bureau. The state appealed the injunction, which is now under review by the 5th District Court of Appeal.
A state spokesman wrote in an email to SJV Water that the Water Board disagrees with Lemoore’s brief and would file a response by this Friday.
“The SWRCB should not be rewarded for its bureaucratic ‘mission creep.’”
Lemoore amicus brief in Kings County Farm Bureau v. State Water Resources Control Board
Because of that injunction, local farmers have avoided having to meter and register their wells at $300 each, report extractions and pay $20 per acre foot pumped to the state. The sanctions were issued after the Water Board placed the region on probationary status in April 2024 for not having an adequate groundwater plan.
“We’re tied at the hip with the ag community,” Lemoore Councilman Frank Gornick told SJV Water. “Now’s the time for us to really support them.”
Gornick, who also serves on the board of the South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, brought the issue to the Lemoore City Council, as well as to the Hanford and Corcoran city councils. Neither of those cities responded to Gornick’s “call to action,” Lemoore City Manager Marissa Trejo said during Lemoore’s June 3 council meeting.
Still, having Lemoore’s support is “hugely meaningful,” Dusty Ference, Farm Bureau executive director, wrote in a text message. “It demonstrates that our concerns about local control and fair groundwater management resonate beyond the farm.”
In its amicus brief, Lemoore calls the Water Board’s sanctions “arbitrary and capricious” and questions whether the fees are legal under Proposition 218, which requires government entities to hold an election before implementing or increasing fees, including land assessment or pumping fees in special districts, such as groundwater agencies.
The brief also questions whether the Water Board has inappropriately expanded its powers under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act by imposing the various fees.
“The SWRCB should not be rewarded for its bureaucratic ‘mission creep,’” the brief states.
The small city of Lemoore recently joined the legal fight against the powerful state Water Resources Control Board over groundwater sanctions issued against Kings County farmers by the state last year.
