A Kings County Superior Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the state’s decision to place the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probation for its groundwater management.
The order will be in effect until Aug. 20 when the judge will consider issuing a temporary injunction.
The backstory: In April the State Water Board designated the subbasin as probationary and imposed a $20 per acre-foot extraction fee for groundwater that is pumped in the basin.
- Shortly after, the Kings County Farm Bureau filed a lawsuit arguing that the state effectively disposed of all local management efforts to date to begin a state-mandated process from scratch, which will be expensive, duplicative and punitive.
The big picture: Kings County Judge Kathy Ciuffini issued the temporary restraining order against the State Water Resources Control Board on Monday.
- That means that all growers in the subbasin are not required to meter or record groundwater for now.
- Ciuffini initially issued a tentative ruling saying she would side with the state, but she changed her mind following arguments regarding the harm to farms and ranches that would be caused by the probation designation.
What they’re saying: “The judge’s decision to issue the TRO gives us great hope that receiving a temporary injunction in August is a real possibility,” said KCFB Executive Director Dusty Ference.
