Tag: groundwater

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , , , ,

Op-Ed: Still time to settle county well ordinance dispute

Don McEnhill & Sean Bothwell, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It’s time to urge the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to act with responsibility and foresight by resolving the ongoing dispute over the county’s well permitting ordinance. The stakes couldn’t be higher for the future of our environment, economy and way of life.

The people of Sonoma County rely on our elected officials to create policy that is not only transparent and fact-based but also ensures the long-term health of our precious resources, including our salmon populations.

Our organizations, Russian Riverkeeper and California Coastkeeper Alliance, are in court challenging an amended well ordinance passed in 2023. We’re suing because we believe the ordinance violates the Public Trust Doctrine and the California Environmental Quality Act.

The Sonoma County Superior Court agreed and ruled that the county must revise the ordinance to reflect the facts on the ground. Instead of taking the time to protect our resources and comply with state law, the county has decided to continue to waste taxpayer money fighting a legal battle. It’s time for the county to come to the table and work toward a solution that genuinely benefits everyone.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/sonoma-county-supervisors-well-drilling-lawsuit/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , , , ,

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors moves to appeal ruling that county’s well ordinance violated environmental law

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will appeal a superior court judge’s ruling that the county violated state environmental law when revising a controversial ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

The board’s decision is the latest evolution of the county’s yearslong legal battle with environmental advocates, which has thrown the county’s ability to issue groundwater well permits into limbo.

The county is currently issuing permits for nonemergency wells under a temporary court order pausing a separate court-ordered moratorium on well permitting.

The window for issuing permits will remain in place until the court decides whether to allow the county to continue permitting during the appeals process.

Last fall, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo ordered the county to halt nonemergency well permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law. The order was in addition to his determination that the county did not properly follow the state’s environmental review process.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-groundwater-drilling-wells/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories WaterTags , ,

Court order extends temporary window for Sonoma County to issue well permits

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County has an extra few weeks to issue permits for nonemergency wells under a recent court order.

A judge ordered the county stop issuing nonemergency permits in December after ruling that the county had failed to follow state environmental requirements.

A second judge lifted the order temporarily, allowing permit applications through the end of February. He has now extended that window to March 27.

Well permitting is critical in county rural areas, which depend on groundwater for agriculture, residential use and new development.

Under the temporary reprieve, the county has issued 69 well permits, since Feb. 6, and there are an additional 24 in process, Tennis Wick, the director of the county permitting department confirmed Tuesday.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-well-permits-groundwater-court-case/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories WaterTags , ,

Judge grants Sonoma County temporary window to issue well permits

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County government has a two-week window to issue permits for non-emergency wells under a temporary stay granted by a Sonoma County Superior Court judge.

The county’s permitting department announced in a Friday press release that it resumed issuing permits in light of the reprieve. The department so far has issued 12 permits and have another 43 in process, said Tennis Wick, director of Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning and permitting department.

“If they’ve already submitted their application they can anticipate issuance of the well permit soon,” Wick said of applicants. “We will responsibly process new applications as we receive them.”

The temporary stay, which expires near the end of February, is the latest development in a yearslong legal fight centered on a county ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

The county had to stop issuing permits for non-emergency wells last December after a judge determined the county violated state environmental law in its attempt to draft the controversial ordinance. The court ordered the county to halt non-emergency well-permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-wells-groundwater-lawsuit/?ref=home-A1toptextstories

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Habitats, Water, WildlifeTags , , , ,

Sonoma County must suspend non-emergency well drilling under court order

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It is the latest development in a lengthy legal fight between the county and environmental groups who contend heavy groundwater pumping is doing harm to streams and aquatic wildlife. The county, those groups say, must conduct deeper study of those impacts and craft stronger regulations to safeguard natural resources that belong to the public.

Sonoma County has once again suspended permitting for non-emergency well drilling, this time under the order of a Sonoma County judge.

The order follows an August ruling in which Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo determined the county violated state environmental law in its attempt to draft a controversial ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

In light of that finding, the county must halt non-emergency well-permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law, the court ordered.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-well-drilling-russian-river-court-order/?

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , , , , ,

Court orders Sonoma County to ensure groundwater pumping doesn’t harm streams and fish

Ian James, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Every year in Sonoma County, steelhead trout and coho salmon return to spawn in creeks along the Russian River that are fed by groundwater.

Environmental advocates have long urged the county to adopt measures that would prevent groundwater pumping and well drilling from drying up these streams and damaging vital fish habitat.

Now, a Sonoma County Superior Court judge has sided with environmental groups, ruling that the county violated state law and failed to meet its obligations to protect so-called public trust resources when officials adopted rules for wells under an amended local ordinance.

“We have long known that excessive well pumping can harm our public trust resources, such as salmon and steelhead,” says Don McEnhill, executive director of the nonprofit group Russian Riverkeeper. “We’re seeing major degradation in habitat.”

Read more at https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-09-02/court-ruling-could-limit-sonoma-groundwater-pumping

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , , , , , , ,

Judge strikes down Sonoma County rules governing wells, groundwater use, siding with environmental groups

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The court decision is the latest turn in a yearslong legal fight between Sonoma County and environmental groups who contend the county is not doing enough to study and regulate heavy groundwater pumping and its impact on streams and aquatic wildlife.

Sonoma County violated state environmental law in its latest attempt to draft a controversial ordinance governing wells and groundwater use across a wide swath of the region, a Sonoma County judge has ruled.

Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo’s ruling throws the county’s 16-month-old rules into limbo and raises questions about how permitting for new wells may be affected for rural residents and farmers across more than 300 square miles, or nearly a fifth of the county.

The county has not outlined the immediate implications for those permit applications. A county spokesman said the ruling was still be reviewed.

The court decision is the latest turn in a yearslong legal fight between the county and environmental groups who contend heavy groundwater pumping is doing harm to streams and aquatic wildlife. The county, those groups say, must conduct deeper study of those impacts and craft stronger regulations to safeguard natural resources that belong to the public.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/wells-sonoma-county-groundwater-environment-russian-river/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories WaterTags , , , ,

Op-Ed: Busting the myth of limitless groundwater

Sean Bothwell & Don McEnhill, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Facing another drought year and the reality that inadequate groundwater management is leading to a race to the bottom, on Oct. 4, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors took a critical step toward sustainable water management by placing a temporary pause on issuance of new well permits.

The supervisors deserve credit for recognizing that groundwater is not limitless, and that the health of communities, rivers and local economies depend on sustainable and equitable management. Over the next six months, while the pause is in place, the county will develop science-based rules to govern groundwater well permits to ensure impacts of pumping on neighboring streams and downstream users are accounted for and addressed.

All Sonoma County residents have a stake in improving groundwater management. This is the county’s chance to change course and ensure we are better prepared for a warmer future.

During the current drought, California is facing the long-term limits of our water resources. States, including California, are discussing how to reduce Colorado River water use to a sustainable level, and vast regions of Central and Northern California face severely overtapped groundwater supplies.

California law has long maintained a fictional distinction between regulated diversions from rivers and lakes, and unregulated groundwater pumping. The problem is that nature does not make this distinction. In much of California, groundwater pumping simply sucks water out of rivers from below, through their gravel beds. In some places, excessive groundwater pumping literally causes rivers to run dry.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/close-to-home-busting-the-myth-of-limitless-groundwater/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories WaterTags , , , , , ,

California Coastkeeper Alliance lawsuit challenges the County of Sonoma to protect public trust resources

California Coastkeeper Alliance

Today, California Coastkeeper Alliance filed a lawsuit in Superior Court to compel the County of Sonoma to consider and mitigate impacts to public trust resources caused by groundwater extraction in the Russian River watershed. As the Russian River watershed faces a drought emergency, California Coastkeeper Alliance is working to hold Sonoma County accountable to protect public trust resources and prevent over pumping of its waterways. Everyone will need to do their part to ensure the Russian River maintains sufficient flows through this drought, and that includes restricting groundwater pumping as surface water pumping rights are curtailed.

“Over-pumping groundwater has had and continues to cause significant, harmful effects on the flow of the Russian River and its tributaries,” says Sean Bothwell, Executive Director of California Coastkeeper Alliance. “The current drought only makes this problem worse and restricting surface diversions alone merely drives more groundwater pumping. Groundwater connected to surface waters must also be managed, so we can endure the current drought crisis and be more resilient for future drought extremes. Responsibly regulating groundwater use protects other water users, as well as fish and wildlife”

The Russian River, its tributaries, and the aquatic life that depends on their flows, such as endangered Coho salmon, are protected by the public trust doctrine under the California state constitution. Large, self-sustaining populations of Coho salmon once occupied rivers and streams within the Russian River watershed, but insufficient streamflow has negatively affected the recovery of local salmon populations.
Continue reading “California Coastkeeper Alliance lawsuit challenges the County of Sonoma to protect public trust resources”

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Sustainable Living, WaterTags , , , , , ,

Sonoma County unveils first-ever proposed well water fees under pioneering California groundwater law

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

In a dramatic shift from California’s history of allowing landowners to freely pump and consume water from their own wells, Sonoma County’s rural residents and many others will soon begin paying for the water drawn from beneath their feet.

In the sprawling 81,284-acre Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin, the proposed regulatory fee for a rural resident is $18 to $25 a year, much lower than the rates in the more sparsely populated Petaluma and Sonoma valleys.

In the 44,846-acre Sonoma Valley basin, the fee would be $48 to $80 a year, and in the 46,661-acre Petaluma Valley basin, it would be $115 to $200 a year.

The residential fees are based on an assumption that rural residents typically pump a half-acre foot of well water a year. Most homes do not have water meters and none will be installed under the fee program.

Large groundwater water users — including ranches, cities, water districts and businesses — would pay fees based on the volume of water drawn from their wells.

Fees in the Santa Rosa basin would be $35 to $50 per acre foot, in Sonoma Valley $95 to $160 per acre foot and in Petaluma Valley $230 to $400 per acre foot.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-unveils-first-ever-proposed-well-water-fees-under-pioneering/