Assemblymember Diane Papan, Chair
Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife
California State Assembly
1020 N Street, Room 160
Sacramento, CA 95814
Assemblymember Juan Carillo, Chair
Committee on Local Government
California State Assembly
1020 N Street, Room 157
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Tulare County Board of supervisors is proud to sponsor AB 1044 (Macedo), establishing a new Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) in southeastern Tulare County. Forming a new GSA through AB 1044 will provide ongoing GSA coverage for the lands previously governed by the Eastern Tule GSA. The new formation will allow the Tule Subbasin to work on satisfying the State Water Resources Control Board and get the subbasin out of probationary status.
Following the adoption of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the County was a founding member of the Eastern Tule GSA. The County’s participation was to cover the undistricted “white areas” in the Tule Subbasin. The GSA was formed via a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with other public agencies. The Eastern Tule GSA is one of several GSAs in the Tule Subbasin.
In September 2024, the Tule Subbasin was placed on probation by the State Water Resources Control Board. At the Probationary hearing, the State Water Resources Control Board chose to provide a “Good Actor” exemption to two GSAs in the Tule Subbasin. This decision prompted other public agencies in the Tule Subbasin to take action to become standalone GSAs. This resulted in the County being the lone member of the original JPA. The County does not have the resources to run a GSA and looked to the Kings River East Model (SB 37, 2016) to form a new GSA to cover the remaining area.
For these reasons, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors is proud to sponsor AB 1044 and urges your support.
Sincerely,
Pete Vander Poel, Chair
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
cc: Tulare County State Delegation, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange