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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

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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/?

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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/

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Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approves temporary halt in new wells

Emma Murphy, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Supervisor James Gore, whose north county district includes some of the county’s most prolific wine grape growing areas, voted against the moratorium.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has imposed a six-month halt in all new wells countywide, a far-reaching move likely to impact residential and commercial property owners seeking to tap groundwater amid a historic drought.

The immediate drilling moratorium, which offers only a narrow exemption for emergency water needs, is meant to give the county more time to draw up a new set of well regulations aimed to safeguard surface and subsurface flows in the county’s major watersheds.

A 2021 lawsuit by the environmental group California Coastkeeper Alliance spurred the work toward new regulations, and the Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote on the new rules Tuesday.

Instead, after hours of deliberation over a proposed well ordinance that would have established new requirements reflecting updated state policy for well permit applicants, the board voted 4-1 to impose a moratorium, seeking to buy time for additional work.

Supervisors cited concerns including the potential impact the ordinance would have on agricultural users, and potential legal ramifications connected to California’s environmental quality laws. The new regulations could affect any wells countywide that come under a new application or are up for renewal.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-board-of-supervises-approves-temporary-halt-in-new-wells/