SGMA Fees on Irrigate Agricultural Land

The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires that each groundwater basin in the State be managed sustainably within its statutory timelines. Omochumne-Hartnell Water District overlies both the Sacramento Valley South American Subbasin and the San Joaquin Valley Cosumnes River Subbasin and is one of the groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) responsible for developing the required Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) in those subbasins before January 31, 2022. If the GSAs fail to act, or if the GSP is insufficient, the Subbasin would be subject to intervention and fees levied by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

SGMA authorizes a GSA to impose a fee on the extraction of groundwater or other regulated activity to fund the costs of a groundwater sustainability program. (Water Code, § 10730.) Here OHWD has determined that the estimated cost of its groundwater sustainability program for the 2021-2022 fiscal year is $157,500. To fund that program, OHWD leviedd a fee of $10 per groundwater-irrigated acre on every parcel in the GSA area. For purposes of the fee, groundwater irrigated lands shall include those areas determined by the most recent published Statewide Crop Mapping California DWR data to have applied groundwater from the Cosumnes Subbasin for agriculture irrigation purposes. No charge, however, shall be levied upon parcels that irrigate less than one acre or other de minimus users.

Because the amount to be charged is calculated attributable to the costs assigned to OHWD as part of the basins’ existing cost shares, the fee does not outweigh the cost of providing this service to OHWD irrigators and groundwater users. By participating in this effort, OHWD will continue to ensure that its interests are represented in the basin, and that the required GSP is completed in a timely fashion (thus avoiding potential state intervention).

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Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed in 2014 by the California State Legislature. Local districts have been tasked implement the law and provide groundwater management in their districts.

Information on SGMA

SGMA FEES Correction and Appeals

OHWD Groundwater Sustainability Regulatory Fee

Corrections and Appeals

Corrections to and appeals of the Groundwater Management Fee shall be administered as follows:

Review of Land Use Data: District staff and/or consultants shall perform an annual review of the data sets identified in the 2021 Groundwater Fee Study, and shall update the fee levy to be submitted to the County as appropriate. Persons who have data corrections to provide in advance of the fee levy may provide that information for review and inclusion by staff no later than April 30thof each fiscal year.
Contest of Fee: After the Fee has been levied in any fiscal year, should a Person wish to contest the number of Irrigated Acres upon which the Fee is charged in that year shall first be required to pay the Fee as charged.
Time to File: Following payment of the Fee, and no later than April 30th of the fiscal year the contested Fee’s levy, the landowner paying the Fee may file an appeal of that levy, on a form approved by the General Manager, setting forth the basis upon which the appeal is made. The appeal will be considered timely filed if, within the time allowed, 1) the form is postmarked, United States first class mail, 2) delivered to the General Manager or Clerk of the Board of Directors by electronic mail, or 3) personally delivered to the General Manager.
Initial Review: Within thirty (30) days after the appeal is received by the District, the General Manager shall review the appeal and is authorized to schedule a meeting with the person filing the appeal. The General Manager is authorized to grant the appeal, in whole or in part, or deny the appeal. A determination shall be made within the later of forty- five (45) days of the date of the appeal, or fifteen (15) days following the meeting, and shall be in writing and delivered to the Person in the same manner as the filing of the appeal.
Appeal to the Board of Directors: If the person or entity who filed the appeal is dissatisfied with the determination of the General Manager, they may file an appeal to the Board of Directors within fifteen (15) days of delivery of the General Manager’s determination, setting out in writing the information supporting the appeal. The appeal will be placed on the agenda for the next available Board meeting for review and consideration. The Board shall receive evidence, and hear from the appellant and staff regarding the merits of the appeal. The determination of the Board shall be memorialized in writing, and shall be final.
Refund of Fees: If, as a result of the appeal process, the Board or General Manager determines that the Fee was levied in error, the appellant shall be entitled to a credit or refund of the erroneously paid amount, which shall be processed

Appeal Form for assessed SGMA fee (pdf)

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SGMA Fees on Irrigate Agricultural Land

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SGMA FEES Correction and Appeals

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