The state Water Resources Control Board exceeded its authority, operated under a web of “underground regulations” and made unlawful demands of Kings County water managers, according to a preliminary injunction that is a near total repudiation of state actions in its attempt to reign in excessive groundwater pumping. … Probation would have meant farmers pumping 500 acre feet or more a year would have had to meter and register their wells at $300 each, report extractions and pay $20 per acre foot pumped. That is on top of what farmers already pay their water districts and groundwater sustainability agencies. If deficiencies noted in the region’s groundwater plan couldn’t be fixed to the Water Board’s satisfaction within a year, the state would establish its own pumping limits. … Those requirements are now all paused under the injunction until the trial is concluded. The next hearing is set for Jan. 10, 2025.

Related articles:

• SJV Sun: Kings Co. farmers win preliminary injunction against state over groundwater restrictions
• Kings County Farm Bureau/Water Wrights: Judge issues preliminary injunction against the SWRCB 
• Inside Climate News: The key to fix California’s inadequate water storage? Put water underground, scientists say
• Western Water Rewind: Making Groundwater Sustainability a Reality in California