Merced supervisors set first reading of groundwater ordinance

The Merced County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday set the first reading for its highly anticipated groundwater ordinance, but not before a lengthy discussion about possible tweaks to the ordinance.

The supervisors unanimously scheduled the ordinance’s first reading for March 3 and its second reading with possible adoption for March 17. Two public hearings are required before an ordinance can be adopted and become law 30 days later. Public comment will be accepted at both meetings.

The proposed ordinance, which was prompted by a large groundwater sale to Stanislaus County last year, manages groundwater transfers outside of the county’s basins through a permitting process. Drilling a new well, mining and exporting groundwater would require a permit.

A list of suggested changes stemming from letters and public feedback received this past weekend was presented to the board Tuesday. One suggestion was to specify that the county’s Community and Economic Development Department will administer the environmental review process for permits requiring analysis through the California Environmental Quality Act.

The costs associated with a CEQA review can range from $10,000 to $100,000, county documents said. Applicants will be responsible for those costs.

The supervisors agreed to bring that language clarification, along with some other potential changes, to the board’s next meeting Feb. 10.

Another potential change would require county officials to give 24-hour notice to landowners before entering to inspect a property. This could cause some controversy, county officials acknowledged, but County Counsel James Fincher said the county’s current well ordinance allows similar inspections. The board agreed to discuss it further and bring back possible changes on Feb. 10.

Other developments and suggested changes discussed Tuesday:

▪ Removing language that prohibits a permit on wells, land or properties that have other violations. This suggestion would allow county officials to approve a permit for a well, even if it has a violation from another county department or agency. The current draft ordinance would only allow a permit to be issued once the violation was corrected.

▪ Provide 60 days to remedy a violation prior to permit revocation. This suggestion would allow landowners 60 days to correct a violation before the county can revoke a permit. A citation would be issued first, similar to other county processes.

▪ The possibility of making the ordinance retroactive. District 4 Supervisor Deidre Kelsey suggested making the ordinance apply to groundwater transfers initiated since the beginning of 2014. The county’s attorney said there might be legal exposure in doing that, but staff will evaluate the possibility prior to the Feb. 10 board meeting.

▪ Establishing structure for a water committee. The board didn’t express an immediate desire to formalize the water stakeholders’ group, which has been meeting since last year to discuss the ordinance. The supervisors might change that in the future to appoint two people from each district to sit on the committee.

▪ No change to ordinance’s appeals process. Applicants that are denied a permit or neighbors opposing a project would be given 15 days to appeal and pay a $675 fee.

▪ No change to monitoring and reporting processes. All new wells would require a metering device and residents must report water usage to the county. This won’t be required of existing wells, but state legislation could change that in the future.

This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Merced supervisors set first reading of groundwater ordinance."