After a public hearing, the Pleasant Valley GSA board adopted the Groundwater Sustainability Plan and approved domestic-well mitigation and subbasin exceedance policies. Landowners disputed the existing 90/10 allocation approach. No allocation or recharge policy was adopted at this meeting; both are slated for further discussion and possible adoption in October.
The board denied a late 2026 allocation request tied to Spice World/Valley Garlic after debate over Land IQ versus Provost & Pritchard verification. Staff and consultants discussed shifting from the 90:10 approach to a county-acreage/APN method and limiting allocations to the GSAs proportionate share of basin native yield. A Sept. 30 special meeting in Coalinga is planned for a GSP public hearing and possible adoption.
A $50/acre-foot groundwater extraction fee was approved for FY 2026-27 after a majority-protest hearing, along with a penalty policy providing a 12-month cure period before up to $500/acre-foot penalties. A draft recharge policy was discussed but not adopted; commenters raised concerns about leave-behind percentages and technical support.
The board discussed two penalty options for over-pumping violations to be voted on at the next meeting, and reviewed a draft five-year budget supporting a Prop 218 process to raise groundwater extraction fees to a ceiling of ~$50/acre-foot. Staff reported that all 2026 allocation confirmations were received by the April 15 deadline, with unclaimed acres redistributed to participating landowners.
A groundwater allocation policy became active January 1, 2026, setting a 28,000 acre-feet annual limit split between sustainable and transitional yield. About 23,000 acres were classified as irrigated using DWR/Land IQ data and grower surveys. The district will read meters and bill for 2025 use and future pumping, and landowners are asked to review allocation packets and submit corrections.
