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Written by: Guest Commentary
David Saint-Amand
David Saint-Amand is the Indian Wells Valley Water District’s board president.
Re: How California’s sustainability efforts are being stalled by wealthy groundwater users
Legislators, business associations, municipal water agencies, and many supporters of California’s agriculture sector are alarmed by Assembly Bill 1413’s attempt to covertly amend the state’s water regulations. The proposal’s risks to due process, transparency, scientific accountability, and groundwater rights have raised severe concerns for the Indian Wells Valley Water District in eastern Kern County.
The bill would drastically change the function of groundwater sustainability plans in California and restrict court review, possibly making them a legally obligatory assessment of water rights. Officials like myself are concerned that AB 1413 will prevent courts from examining the science underlying these plans and any potential mistakes, while the Indian Wells water district is going through an adjudication procedure to preserve property rights.
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How deep-pocketed groundwater users are stalling California s sustainability plans
One of the few methods for independently assessing the completion of a sustainability plan is still adjudication. At least five of California’s 94 priority groundwater basins are presently pending adjudication, according to a report prepared for the state Senate’s Committee on Natural Resources and Water. This suggests that AB 1413 solves a local problem rather than a statewide one. Numerous others have previously finished the procedure.
AB 1413, as written, creates a risky precedent. To preserve due process, maintain judicial oversight, and guarantee equitable groundwater management, lawmakers must at the very least revise it.
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