EKI identified calibration weaknesses in the Tulare Lake groundwater model and will await its 2026 update. Staff said overdue GEARS reports from either reporting period face 25% monthly penalties beginning February 1, 2027. Staff plans to seek a county bridge loan pending Prop 218 revenue and bring budgets to the next board meeting. A Prop 26 extraction fee would follow a separate agenda process; no fee or loan was approved. The November and December meetings are planned to be combined on a date to be determined.
State staff outlined a timeline toward a Tulare Lake interim plan by late 2027 that would raise pumping fees from $20 to $35 per acre-foot. New fees include $100/year for certain domestic wells and about $200,000 to apply for an exclusion, plus $50,000/year to maintain it. El Rico GSAs proposed 10-foot subsidence allowance was raised as a concern, with other GSAs prepared to pursue exclusion requests if it blocks basin-wide plan approval.
Staff reported that the state's Tule interim plan could impose a two-mile pumping moratorium along the Friant-Kern Canal by April 2027, and staff noted the framework could be analogized to the Tulare Lake Subbasin's subsidence issues. A court ruling may allow probation billing to proceed for some GSAs; the state also pushed back on the well mitigation plan and DWR called the subsidence approach too reactive.
The board approved contracts for independent groundwater model review and to begin a new Prop 218 funding/outreach process. Members warned a cash shortfall could trigger state intervention, citing the Tule example where state staff discussed ~$35/acre-foot pumping fees plus annual well charges. A Prop 26 extraction fee was discussed as a possible option.
The board approved Option 2 of the FY 2026–27 budget with $520K for well mitigation (not to be spent without outside funding) and discussed a $16/acre-foot sustainable yield reservation fee concept. Staff said the Tule Southeast interim plan is targeted for June 2027 and Tulare Lake may follow; a revised GSP is slated for March 2027. The board also amended its allocation policy, removing export restrictions and replacing them with detailed reporting requirements.
