Opener
The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires every groundwater basin in California ranked medium and high priority to be managed by one of more Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) pursuant to an adopted Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) or alternative plan. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued the initial groundwater basin prioritization in 2014. […]
In July 2017, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted waste discharge requirements (a “General Permit”) to regulate vineyards parcels of 5 acres or more in the Napa River and Sonoma Creek watersheds to monitor vineyard sediment, pesticide and nutrient discharges. General enrollment is due by July 31, 2018. The Regional board […]
Thursday and Friday, November 5th & 6th Paso Robles, California Three DP&F attorneys will be speaking at the annual CEB Wine Law Forum,™ taking place on November 5th and 6th in Paso Robles, California. The Forum, sponsored by the International Wine Law Association and moderated by DPF’s Richard Mendelson, will address Water Regulation, the AVA System, and Employment Law. Mr. […]
As California’s severe drought deepens legislation moves upstream in Sacramento regarding groundwater. Historically the State of California has not had jurisdiction over groundwater, but with serious groundwater depletion issues in most of the key agricultural regions exacerbated by this historic drought, the current is now sweeping us all toward State oversight of this precious resource. […]
A number of property owners in Napa County, including wineries, recently have received a form letter from the State Water Resources Control Board entitled, “NOTICE OF POTENTIAL UNAUTHORIZED DIVERSION AND USE OF WATER, AND FAILURE TO FILE A STATEMENT OF WATER DIVERSION AND USE FOR DIVERSION OF WATER IN NAPA COUNTY.” The letter states that the […]