Chaotic week closes as farmers face midnight deadline to report pumping

Farmers in Tulare and Kings counties who pump more than 20 acre feet a year must register their wells and file pumping reports by midnight today, May 1,  or face late penalties. 

After some confusion, exacerbated by an email sent April 30 by Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) that the deadline would be extended one week and late fees waived, the deadline and fees are not budging, according to a Water Board press release. 

“Fee waivers are not available for anyone who fails to file their report on time,” the release states.

The deadline to register through the state’s online platform was established by the Water Resources Control Board for Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins — both placed on probation in 2024 for lacking an adequate groundwater management plan under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). 

Tulare Lake covers most of Kings County, while Tule covers the southern portion of Tulare County’s flatlands. Subsidence, land sinking, was a major reason both regions were placed under state enforcement, which requires farmers meter their wells, register them at $300 each and pay the state $20 per acre foot pumped. 

Those probationary sanctions will be in place for a year while state Water Board staff work with local agencies to try and develop an adequate groundwater plan. If a plan can’t be formulated, the state could implement its own pumping restrictions.

“It’s a completely unprecedented, chaotic mess.”

– Travis Millwee, resources manager for Lower Tule River Irrigation District and Pixley Irrigation District GSAs, on dysfunction experienced on the state’s groundwater reporting portal.

The Water Board press release also states that while staff has focused on helping pumpers file accurate reports, landowners filing after May 1 could face enforcement actions and penalties. Landowners can expect additional charges of 25% of all annual fees for each 30-day period that is not reported. 

The Water Board may also investigate non-reporters, calculate their usage and charge for the cost of the investigation. 

Invoices will be sent after June 1 for Tule landowners. Kings County growers are waiting for the outcome of a hearing June 3. The Kings County Farm Bureau is seeking a preliminary injunction that could prevent the Water Board from collecting back pumping fees. 

Confusion and frustration

Confusion and frustration has surrounded the state’s online reporting program for several weeks, with the site – called GEARS. Farmers reported it has been difficult to register through, migrate pumping data from GSA databases and simply crashed.

Landowners have turned out by the hundreds for seven in-person and online workshops over the past two weeks to get help from Water board staff. 

Kings County grower Tony Azevedo, who farms in Mid-Kings River and South Fork Kings GSAs, hired a consultant to track GSA policies and help register his wells. 

“It’s a lot to keep track of,” he said. “I want to farm and I cannot be tied up in meetings. But for the average Joe who is not familiar with everything that’s happening, it will be cumbersome.” 

After some initial problems, Azevedo said his consultant successfully registered wells and uploaded pumping information. 

Tule subbasin farmer Matt Konda said his chief financial officer tackled the GEARS platform and after some hiccups, was able to complete the task. 

Konda said the $20 per acre-foot pumping fees are yet another fee that will cut into the profitability of his farm. 

“I believe that the idiom ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’ is applicable as it relates to this and numerous other fees and taxes we as California family farmers face on an ongoing basis,” he wrote in an email. 

Up to $12 million in pumping fees will be collected in the Tule subbasin alone. 

“We have been inundated with calls from landowners asking for help,” said Travis Millwee, water resources manager for Lower Tule River Irrigation District and Pixley Irrigation District GSAs. “It is not sustainable and it has gotten out of hand.”

His staff could get through just five landowners in a day due to complications on the platform, Millwee said. Some staff members worked late into the night to help landowners meet the deadline. Last-minute calls for help have put a significant strain on the GSAs’ ability to complete regular tasks, he said. 

“It’s a completely unprecedented, chaotic mess,” Millwee said. 

A notice sent to growers Thursday reminded them it is their “ultimate responsibility to ensure they are complying with the State’s reporting requirements.” 

“This is between you and the state,” Millwee told growers April 28. 

Porterville Irrigation District GSA manager Michael Knight reported a similar scenario. 

“I have been slammed with assisting folks, trying to put their information together,” he wrote in an email. We have been experiencing all the same issues as other folks; nothing has been a smooth process.”