Workgroup will develop two board policies

Members of the public, member agency representatives, and other stakeholders are encouraged to participate

A workgroup is being formed to develop two new board policies for groundwater
management in the North Kings GSA. The two policies will directly impact sustainability
efforts by enabling the North Kings GSA to track progress at milestones on the road to
sustainability by 2040 and widen its involvement in Fresno County’s well drilling permit
process within the service area.

The policy development will take place under the direction of the North Kings GSA’s first
workgroup. The collaborative workgroup model, adopted as a Workgroup Policy at the
North Kings GSA’s April Board Meeting, invites direct participation from the public,
member agency representatives, and other stakeholders to work on implementing the
Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).

A Member Agency Reporting Policy will create a standard reporting process for North
Kings GSA member agencies’ progress on groundwater overdraft correction at milestones
during GSP implementation. The member agencies have agreed to take responsibility for
correcting their groundwater overdraft portion in the North Kings GSA by implementing
their own projects and management actions, making standard reporting critical to tracking
and achieving sustainability GSA-wide.

The workgroup will concurrently develop a New Well Policy to ensure the North Kings
GSA has ample time to review well permit applications submitted to Fresno County. The
policy will likely also provide opportunity for communication between the North Kings GSA
and well drillers and owners about potential impacts they need to consider, including depth
and location. While the North Kings GSA has already been coordinating with Fresno
County on well permit application review, a formalized policy to widen the GSA’s
involvement is needed to ensure strategic well drilling in light of the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

The North Kings GSA highly encourages stakeholder involvement in its workgroups,
valuing input from a wide range of groundwater users impacted by the North Kings GSA
activities implementing SGMA. Those interested in joining the first workgroup to
develop the Member Agency Reporting and New Well Policies should contact North
Kings GSA Executive Director, Kassy Chauhan, at northkingsgsa@gmail.com, or fill
out the online comment form (and don’t forget to check the box to ensure you
receive our email updates!).