On Tuesday’s county board of supervisors meeting, the board was presented with the next step to creating a Joint Powers Authority for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin.
JPA would act as an authority that could levy fees to fund programs that comply with the state’s sustainable groundwater management act. The JPA would include members of each of the five groundwater sustainability agencies to vote on water-use fees.
Many members of the public spoke out against the creation of a Joint Powers Authority. Although the sustainable groundwater management act prohibits agencies from imposing fees on “de minimis users,” those who pump two-acre feet of water or less annually, proposition 218 requires that agencies charge all customers a fee for programs and services they benefit from. This includes de minimis users.
The Joint Powers Authority would be required to review and vote on fees every five years. Fees would be levied on the amount of water consumption for irrigation.
The creation of the Joint Powers Authority still must go to the remaining groundwater sustainability agencies for a vote.
The board of supervisors voted 3 – 2 in support of the Joint Powers Authority. Supervisors Peschong and Moreno dissented.
