Court order forces Sonoma County to suspend non-emergency well drilling
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. The county received the directive Wednesday afternoon and “immediately stopped” issuing permits for non-emergency wells, said Tennis Wick, director of Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning and permitting department. But the county has not yet begun the environmental review process because it plans to appeal the decision, Wick said.
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