Forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies for Sonoma County
| Geolocation: | 38° 34' 40.6398", -122° 59' 19.7948" |
|---|---|
| Total Population | .502502,000,000 millionmillion |
| Total Area | 45804,580 km² 1,768.338 mi² km2 |
| Climate Descriptors | Humid mid-latitude (Köppen C-type), Dry-summer |
| Predominent Land Use Descriptors | agricultural- cropland and pasture, agricultural- confined livestock operations, conservation lands, forest land, urban |
| Important Uses of Water | Agriculture or Irrigation, Domestic/Urban Supply |
Summary
Following three years of severe drought -- the driest recorded period in the century and a half since the state began recording rainfall -- California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA) to create a statewide framework for groundwater regulation. This legislation called for local agencies to form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) for 127 priority groundwater basins by 2017, develop groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) by 2022, and achieve sustainability within 20 years. Each GSA has the significant challenge and opportunity to develop a GSP and prevent “undesirable results” of chronic groundwater overdraft while considering the interest of “all beneficial uses and users of groundwater.”
Beginning in 2015 shortly after the legislation, groundwater sustainability agency formation in Sonoma County, California, involved mediating agreements on governance for three emergent groundwater agencies, including legal structure, governing board structure, voting, initial funding, and public advisory component in three priority basins under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
The Consensus Building Institute (CBI), an impartial mediation and facilitation services organization, facilitated discussions among staff of agencies eligible to serve as the GSA and workshops with interested stakeholders and the public to identify agreements on GSA formation. At the outset of this effort, CBI conducted an issue assessment with eligible agencies and stakeholders and conducted a joint evaluation with Sonoma County staff to assess issues and design a decision-making framework on the agency formation process. Public agency staff and CBI designed and implemented a countywide community engagement plan and held nine public workshops to solicit input and build widespread support and understanding. Toward the end of the process, CBI convened a meeting of elected officials from 9 public agencies to resolve final conflicts on voting and representation for GSA formation.
The agreement included the legal structure, board composition and selection, voting, and funding for the agency formation process. The newly formed agency, the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency, will regulate groundwater. The process achieved success for a variety of reasons: the public workshops were instrumental to broadening input to staff-centered discussions; the robust advisory process gave non-governmental actors a voice to contribute to decision-making; and the provision to allow newly formed entities to automatically join the governing board.
Natural, Historic, Economic, Regional, and Political Framework
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Tagged with: GSA groundwater groundwater sustainability agency SGMA
