Dual appellate court opinions issued Wednesday in a closely watched groundwater case out of Kings County will likely mean three things: Farmers there could have to start reporting extractions and paying fees; the state will reopen communications with local water managers; and the lawsuit will continue.

Lois Henry

Monserrat Solis

SJV Water

The Kings County Farm Bureau sued the Water Resources Control Board in May 2024 after the Water Board placed the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers most of Kings County, on probation for lacking an adequate groundwater plan.

Under probation, farmers must meter and register their wells at $300 each, report extractions and pay the state a $20-per-acre-foot fee.

The Farm Bureau obtained a preliminary injunction against those measures as part of its law

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