County Well Permitting Workshop

On March 28th, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-77-22. Although the order contained multiple directives related to water management in the state, action 9A and 9B requires that local well permitting authorities (Environmental Health in Mendocino County) must take a series of steps during the well permitting process for wells intending to extract more than 2 acre-feet of groundwater (except public water supply systems) that applied for a well permit after the adoption of the executive order. If the proposed well location is in a high or medium priority groundwater basin, the well permitting agency must consult with the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and receive written verification from the GSA that the proposed well location is not inconsistent with the applicable Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) and will not decrease the likelihood of achieving the sustainability goals that the GSAs have developed under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).  In Mendocino County there is one medium priority groundwater basin, and that is the Ukiah Valley basin, that would require GSA review of well permits within the basin boundaries. 

To further explain the mandates related to the executive order, the Mendocino County Environmental Health and the Ukiah Valley GSA are planning to host a workshop on November 15^th from 5-6:30 PM at Barra of Mendocino. If you have applied for a well permit since March or are planning to submit a permit, you are encouraged to attend.