By Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
The state Water Resources Control Board reversed course on a proposed fee change for groundwater extraction in the San Joaquin Valley after receiving a volley of negative letters, saying changes are “premature.”
The update came during an online Water Rights Fees meeting July 31. Fees target pumpers in overdrafted subbasins placed on probation by the Water Board for lacking adequate groundwater plans.
State fees – $300 per well, per year plus $20-per-acre-foot pumped – are intended to repay the state an estimated $5.5 million a year that it says it costs to oversee six groundwater basins in the San Joaquin Valley where plans have been deemed inadequate.
Water Board staff had suggested creating a graduated fee structure based on farm size, giving small growers a break at $5-per-acre-foot pumped and charging large growers $40 per acre foot pumped.
Out of 4,000 pumpers in the Tule subbasin, more than 3,500 would pay $5 per acre foot while 34 would pay the $40 fee, according to state statistics. Both the Tule and Tulare Lake subbasins have been placed on probation by the Water Board.
The fee change was anticipated to generate $6.6 million in revenue.
Instead, the proposal generated a slew of 18 negative letters, nearly all from the Tule subbasin in southern Tulare County.
Letter writers felt the proposed fee change unfairly targeted the Tule subbasin, was an unconstitutional overreach and would incentivize large land holders to restructure their organizations in order to drop into a lower fee tier.
“Each subbasin should pay their own way,” states a letter from six Tule stakeholders, including Frank Junio, Jim Morehead, Vincent Sola, Bill De Groot, Mike Faria and Geoff Vanden Heuvel.
“Tule subbasin growers alone should not shoulder the expense of this,” the men wrote.
A letter from Freestyle Orchards, LLC of Fresno states the proposed fee structure would disproportionately impact larger growers who are investing in water conservation technologies and practices to comply with mandates under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
“Adding a tiered free structure risks undermining these efforts by diverting limited financial resources away from on-farm improvements,” states the letter, signed by Sara Pernu.
The lone letter in favor of the fee structure was signed by five non-governmental agencies, including Community Alliance with Farm Farms and Community Water Center.
“Tiered charges such as those used by utility companies for electric and gas charges can incentivize conservation,” the letter reads. “This is an important precedent to set as SGMA implementation continues and the state seeks ways to equitably and sustainably manage our groundwater resources for all beneficial uses and users.”
In the end, however, Water Board staff opted to keep the existing fee structure. Though Natalie Stork, director of the Office of Sustainable Groundwater Management, said the state will continue to evaluate alternative fee structures.
“There is significant uncertainty since we have not collected probationary reporting fees before,” she said.
