April 12. 2017
The Honorable Bill Dodd
State Capitol, Room 5063
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 252 (Dodd) – SUPPORT
Dear Senator Dodd:
The Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) is a statewide organization that
represents both farmers and non-farm residents who support sustainable food and
farming policies. CAFF is pleased to support your SB 252, which will take modest and
reasonable steps to prevent further groundwater overdraft.
CAFF supported passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 and
SB 1317, authored by Senator Wolk, last year, because we are very concerned about the
impacts of continued groundwater overdraft on California agriculture and rural
communities, particularly the thousands of small- and medium-scale farms and the rural
residents that depend on water wells for both irrigation and drinking water. Since
passage of SGMA, California has seen a rush to drill deep new wells before the law is
fully implemented, often on cropland that historically has used surface water or had no
irrigation at all, which only exacerbates the overdraft problem. To add insult to injury,
the rush includes hedge funds and international investors who have no concern for the
long-term viability of California agriculture, but only for the short-term profit to be
reaped before they move to the next hot commodity.
SB 1317 is really quite modest.
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It does not prohibit new well drilling, but only requires applicants for new
wells, and the local governments to which they apply, to make information
about the new well – for example, its location, depth and proposed extraction
rate – available to the public.
It does not apply to new water wells of “de minimis extractors” or to
replacement wells that do not exceed the existing well’s extraction level.
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And of California’s 515 groundwater basins, including 127 basins of highand medium-priority, SB 252 applies only in the 21 groundwater basins that
have been determined by DWR to be “critically overdrafted.”
DWR Director Croyle has stated flatly that business as usual in these basins “now puts at
risk the very system that brings water to the San Joaquin Valley. The situation is
untenable.” We agree. For the good of California’s agricultural industry, including the
thousands of farmers and the communities that depend on farming, we thank you for
your efforts and look forward to working with you for the enactment of SB 252.
Sincerely,
David Runsten
Policy Director
cc: Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife
Senate Committee on Governance and Finance
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