By Don A. Wright
The State Water Resources Control Board, State Board, held a hearing concerning placing the Kern Subbasin under probation for not having an adequate Groundwater Sustainability Plan, GSP under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, SGMA. The hearing was held Thursday, February 20, 2025 at the California EPA building in Sacramento and online. It was scheduled to commence at 9:00am. It was a long meeting and the original report was correspondingly long. Fear not we’ve broken it down into three parts. This is part two of three parts. Part one ended with a presentation on subsidence and a lunch break. This section begins with more testimony before the Board.
Yet More Panel The Next Panel
The Non-Governmental Organization NGO, Clean Water Action spoke next. It was all online. It started with Mac Glackin (They/Them) turning it over to Angela Islas Central California Environmental Justice Network who spoke in Spanish. Glackin spoke again and thanked the State Board for allowing the online presentation because so many of the people they represent were too afraid to come and speak in person. I looked around the room and didn’t see anyone that scared me. Someone named, perhaps Alanso, only one name showed up on the screen and then it was gone. Alanso spoke for three people, I don’t know if there was a language problem. They were listed as Lost Hills, Buttonwillow and Shafter residents. I won’t list their names since they were too scared to speak in person. I don’t want whoever they are scared of to track them down.
It was the same story from all three. All the agricultural and oil industries think about is money and they are greedy. These people of the Valley are tired of so many of their relatives dying of cancer because of the lack of clean water due to the billionaire farmers contaminating the ground. Many of the farmworkers are illegal and don’t have the resources to pay for water. Please think about all of humankind. What’s going to happen if the community is poisoned and the farmers use up all the water and the workers are dead. What is going to happen then? Answer me. God made the world for everyone not just the rich. Also, the oil and ag industries should use the contaminated water and let the residents use the clean water. Some of you have mansions in San Diego and have nice, filtered water. That’s good and glad you worked and got it. Now think of us and see what we go through.
There was a slide titled “Equitable Stakeholder Engagement -Those most affected by the decisions made here today have been the least looked for and listened to.” Someone named perhaps Jesus, said the engagement by some of the GSAs for community access wasn’t equitable.
Perhaps it was Angela and she can speak English but whoever was talking next didn’t think the outreach was at all effective. She said she applauded the agencies that made online meetings available. Amen sister. She also wanted more foreign language translation at meetings. She is concerned about well mitigation funding for small water systems and domestic well owners.
Jesus continued, the small water systems have to accept whatever plan is given them and they can’t hold out against the big districts. He said he appreciated Semitropic Water Storage District’s help with Lost Hills but only to a point. He said the water needs of Lost Hills haven’t been met.
Mac wrapped it up saying the undesirable results are plain when six GSAs think additional supplies will be enough to achieve SGMA. She or they/them said the GSAs haven’t been clear on how they solicited and considered community concerns. Mac said Kern Subbasins GSAs haven’t earned the trust of the community. She did say she’s encouraged by some of the work done but there is much more the GSAs must do. She’s worried about heavy metals, nitrates, overdraft concentrating contaminants and surface level contamination are not getting enough monitoring.
Mac said the needs of the drinking water supply is the most important priority. The Kern Subbasin should be placed on probation to ensure that will be dealt with.
State Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel thanked the presenters for participating. He asked Kern Subbasin leader Derek Yurosek to speak in response. He also said online presentations are standard due to travel distance and other concerns.
Yurosek said he’s disappointed to hear any part of the community has been missed and he invites them to contact them and they will respond immediately. Esquivel said he’d like to see more information perhaps. Yurosek said the GSAs have been holding public meetings and the turnout was low and that was frustrating. He asked the presenters to please help. Also there were in addition to the public meetings and workshops – online translations. There is a stakeholder committee and all are welcome.
More Public Comment
Angela asked to speak again then asked us to please wait in Spanish. So, we waited. Finally, she read comments. Eloise had written that she agrees with her peers. Someone else from Buttonwillow said time’s up. A group from Shafter wrote they were against what was happening at the hearing. It was difficult to understand Angela so I’ll stop here.
In person Bob Gore from the Gualco Group spoke. He said he is all for connecting GSAs to the CV Salts program. He spoke on behalf of Shafter Wasco ID. He supports continuance as the option today. He also praised State Board staff Natalie Stork. I thought applause was going to erupt.
Alex Biering from the California Farm Bureau Federation spoke next requesting a continuance as probation today could derail some significant projects that could help achieve sustainable progress. She said the positive momentum would be in jeopardy if immediate probation is the outcome.
Todd Snider, farmer, Kern Farm Bureau director and crop insurance salesman formally requested the State Board not place the Kern Subbasin on probation. He said Kern County is one of the top ag producing counties in the United States. A probation would trigger meters and fees that will harm the GSAs’ efforts. He believed the State Board should continue working with the GSAs, to do otherwise will adversely affect farmers and ranchers.
Tien Tran, Community Water Center said the CWC doesn’t work in the Kern Subbasin but it did submit a comment letter outlining the concerns with Kern’s outreach. She did receive a response and said she wasn’t sure if that response addressed the concerns. She urged
probation, adding there may be progress on paper but not on the ground and a six month delay won’t help matters. D’Adamo asked Tran about further community engagement and if CWC would work with Kern to reach management zones. Tran said they can share but don’t work in Kern.
Dan Bartel and Trent Taylor, both of Rosedale Rio Bravo WD passed to save time. Which was promptly lost when the next online speaker’s connection froze. Loreta Johnson walked up to the mic in the room and said she is a UC Davis law student working with small farmers legal clinic. She said the clinic sent a letter to the State Board stating small farmers are often left out and vulnerable to regulatory issues. Johnson said the clinic understands there are fewer small farmers in Kern but nonetheless she suggested creating a di minimus class for small farmers and an equitable fee structure since small farmers don’t cause harm and can’t afford the fees. She also wants the GSAs to do special outreach to small farmers so it will be equitable.
Richard Garcia was online and Chair of the Buttonwillow County Water District. He thanked the participants for a good presentation and the chance to learn. He said BCWD has only three wells and he thanked the GSAs for working with them developing the GSP at no charge. He said probation could harm local businesses in the disadvantaged community of Buttonwillow.
A Punjabi farmer from south of the Kern River spoke in person and presented a letter from his father, Paramjit Dosanjh. The letter stated Dosanjh never had a groundwater concern and all the water districts, board and staff, have consistently adapted to preserving groundwater in the area for more than six decades. He’s confident the SGMA challenges will successfully be met. He asked the board not to place the subbasin on probation.
Tony Hoag was online and said he lives in a rural area west of Bakersfield. In 2016 his well went dry and the local water district – Rosedale Rio Bravo I believe – responded immediately and helped them with well mitigation. He said it doesn’t make sense to place the subbasin on probation. He said domestic wells are not a major problem. He said to consider most of the wells in jeopardy are out of date and in bad shape to begin with. He urged the board to not impose probation.
Next Annette Tenenbaum, a biology scientist from California Fish & Wildlife, spoke online saying some of the potential GSA fee scheduling may result in discouraging putting much needed groundwater on wetlands. It is state policy to seek and provide protection and expansion. She advocated the State Board include an appropriate reduced pumping fee for water going to wetlands as a public trust.
Natalia Ospina (sp?) said online she wants Kern County to be a thriving place but one of equity. Communities of color must be prioritized and she is concerned with water wells going dry. She said there has been significant progress but not enough to positively impact equity. The GSP must go further and the board must place Kern on probation.
Natalie Escobedo Garcia was slated to speak online but wasn’t about to show. Chris Martin, State Water Project said there has been much hard work in balancing the SGMA compliance. He said the SWP serves everyone from DACs to global businesses working in California. Subsidence has impacted the California Aqueduct and could do more harm while increasing costs. Several miles of restoration is needed and could costs in the billions of
dollars. He said the Westside Water Coalition enacted a moratorium on pumping within 2.5 miles of the Aqueduct. He doesn’t want probation.
Royce Fast, Kern County Water Agency board member and farmer spoke next. He said Kern County has been working on groundwater management many years before SGMA. He said once State Board staff started working in cooperation within the past two year specifically progress has been made. He urged no probation.
William McKenna, attorney for Water California Audit, said he represents an advocacy group for the public trust. His deal was the diversions on the Kern River. He said he is convinced the water districts are willing to work and include the public trust in their goals. He advocated for continuance.
Madona Lang, Kern County farmer, said her family grows in Kern Delta WD and other areas in the county. She said Semitropic even serves lunch as an incentive to attend. She said there has been a positive collaboration with the Kern Subbasin and the State Board. She also advocated for continuance. She added the Semitropic meetings are monthly on the second Wednesday at noon.
Eric Orellana spoke online saying he’s from Kern County and he was critical of the outreach. Saying noon isn’t an equitable time for the community to attend a meeting. There are issues of class and race that are being avoided and have been for hundreds of years. For too long business has been dominated by those who hold onto farming operations for generations and he doesn’t see an opportunity for the Hispanics, especially the illegal population of farmworkers. He said the mitigation plan has done a good job including domestic wells and there is some money for water quality. But they have only provided one $50,000 technical assistance grant. He said that is a complete failure as there are many wells and water systems failing. Technical assistance isn’t enough. He’s heard the GSAs are looking for funding from the state which is completely unacceptable as the state doesn’t have the money and technical assistance isn’t enough. He said the GSP has been too lenient on local people and urged the subbasin be put on probation today.
Raul Baraza Jr., General Manager of Arvin Community Services District and originally from Wasco spoke in person saying his parents have provided for four children to all go to college by working in agriculture. He said to take this into consideration when the
comments are taking place. He said he’s taken boxing gloves to a few meetings but he’s found the cooperation with the water and irrigation districts and GSAs to be inclusive. He urged the board to not put the subbasin in probation.
Gail Delihant Western Growers advocated for continuance in her usual graceful way.
Jennifer Clary in person, California Clean Water Action said she believes there will be a continuance granted. She said she’s never seen any ag program that wasn’t delayed. She said Lost Hills was threatened with an annoying agreement that would edge out California Clean Water Action’s complaint.
Online a lady from Delano, Carmen Garza, said she’s been involved with agriculture since she was very young and retired from agriculture recently. She said she cannot overstate the importance of farms. This work has allowed them to purchase homes, send children to college and filled them with pride. Probation would harm all of this by harming an industry that provides so much.
Esquivel said there are six more panels and he asked, if possible, if any of them are on the same side, might they consolidate their comments for the sake of time. Then there was a break and we came back at 4:15pm.
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