Hillel Aron

(CN) — California’s water resources control board can regulate groundwater usage by farmers in Kings County, after the state’s appellate court threw out a preliminary injunction and overruled a demurer.

The pair of rulings means that farmers in the county will have to start metering and reporting how much water they draw from the ground, and pay the state fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot of water used.

A spokesperson for the State Water Resources Control Board applauded the ruling, saying in a written statement that it would “allow the board to resume the important work of achieving sustainable groundwater management in the Tulare Lake subbasin while trial court proceedings continue.”

Dusty Ference, the executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau, a nonpro

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