fees Archives - SJV Water

Madera Judge asks for more information in lawsuit over fees for groundwater projects

June 21, 2024

• by Hannah Frances Johansson, Freelance for SJV Water

Round one of a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers against Madera County over land assessment fees left both sides standing — for now. On June 18, Madera County Superior Court Judge Brian Enos inched forward on the county’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the California United Water Coalition. He granted the…

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Kern pistachio farmer ordered to pay $30 million in back fees to high desert groundwater agency

June 18, 2024

• by Lois Henry

An Orange County court on Friday approved an injunction mandating that Mojave Pistachios LLC pay $30 million in back fees owed to the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority for pumping groundwater without an allocation in Kern County’s eastern desert. That $30 million is the accumulation of a $2,130-per-acre-foot fee for non-allocated pumping that was established…

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Madera farmers and groundwater agency in limbo waiting for court decision on fees

June 10, 2024

• by Hannah Frances Johansson, freelance for SJV Water

Clarification: The farmers’ lawsuit alleges the county conducted a Proposition 218 election improperly. The original version of this article was unclear on the lawsuit’s main complaint. The end of a two-year legal fight over who should pay, and how much, to replenish the groundwater beneath Madera County could be in sight. A motion to…

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Kings County farmers suffer sticker shock over proposed fees even as state takeover looms

March 27, 2024

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Kings County growers are organizing to stop a set of groundwater and land fees they say will wipe out small farmers, even as the drumbeat of a looming state takeover grows louder. Managers of the Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), which covers the northern tip of Kings County, have been holding a flurry of…

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State Water Board reduces pumping fees by half but some say it’s still too high

March 19, 2024

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Members of the state Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, March 19, to reduce pumping fees for groundwater users in subbasins that come under state control, known as “probationary status.” The controversial fee was lowered from $40 per-acre-foot of pumped water to $20 per acre foot. The board will hold its first probationary…

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Court pauses groundwater fees in Madera County; throws regional plans into question

December 9, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Farmers in Madera County successfully blocked a key groundwater fee that could upend plans to bring that region’s aquifer into balance per a state mandate. A Madera County Superior Court judge issued a temporary injunction on the county’s fee of $246 per farm unit acre on Dec. 7. That fee was the underpinning for a…

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Madera farmers may be facing a steep bill under county efforts to stem the groundwater overdraft

March 5, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Madera County farmers who’ve never had to pay for water, could be facing an expensive new future under a new fee plan being drafted by the county’s groundwater sustainability agency. The new fees could add up to more than $23,000 per 100 acres, tacked on to the cost of doing business for some growers. The…

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Madera Judge asks for more information in lawsuit over fees for groundwater projects

Kern pistachio farmer ordered to pay $30 million in back fees to high desert groundwater agency

Madera farmers and groundwater agency in limbo waiting for court decision on fees

Kings County farmers suffer sticker shock over proposed fees even as state takeover looms

State Water Board reduces pumping fees by half but some say it’s still too high

Court pauses groundwater fees in Madera County; throws regional plans into question

Madera farmers may be facing a steep bill under county efforts to stem the groundwater overdraft

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