<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div class="" style=""><a href="http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_26433548/california-assembly-passes-historic-groundwater-legislation?source=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter" class="" style="">http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_26433548/california-assembly-passes-historic-groundwater-legislation?source=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter</a><br class="" style=""></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; " class=""><span class="" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><h1 id="articleTitle" class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px;
font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; color: inherit; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-size: 33px; white-space: normal !important; ">California Assembly passes historic groundwater legislation</h1><div id="articleByline" class="" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; ">By Jessica Calefati jcalefati@bayareanewsgroup.com<div id="articleDate" class="" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 10px/16.989px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-top: 2px;
padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 22px; ">POSTED: 08/29/2014 01:47:40 PM PDT<a href="http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_26433548/california-assembly-passes-historic-groundwater-legislation?source=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="ci_26433548" style="color: rgb(57, 84, 122); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-size: 12px; float: right; " class="">0 COMMENTS</a></div></div><br class="" style=""><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div class="" style="text-align: left; "></div><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div id="articleBody" class="" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times
New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 22.652px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><div class="" id="articleViewerGroup" style="text-align: left; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "></span><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span></div><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">SACRAMENTO -- The state Assembly today narrowly approved a package of bills designed to regulate the
pumping of groundwater in California for the first time in state history and make the most significant changes to state water law in 50 years.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP2r" style="text-align: left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P2r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP2" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P2" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>Democrats acted on the bills over the strong objections of lawmakers from both parties who represent the Central Valley, where farmers who are struggling to survive the current drought have been
pumping an increasing amount of groundwater to irrigate their crops.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP3r" style="text-align: left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P3r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP3" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P3" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>"Mark Twain famously said, 'Whisky is for drinking and water is for fighting over.' Certainly we have had our fair share of fights over water," said Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, the sponsor of one bill.<div class="" style=""></div><div
style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP4r" style="text-align: left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P4r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP4" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P4" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>"But every single member on this floor recognizes we've been overdrafting groundwater in this state — not just this year, not just since the drought started, but for decades," he said.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal
Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP5r" style="text-align: left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P5r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP5" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P5" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>Two of the three bills in the package still need Senate approval, though they're expected to pass in the upper house easily.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP6r" style="text-align: left; float: right; "
class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P6r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP6" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P6" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>Although landowners who seek to divert water from reservoirs and rivers have been required to get a permit to do so since 1914, farmers and cities who tap underground aquifers have always been allowed to pump as much as they want. As a result, water tables in places such as the San Joaquin Valley and Paso Robles have dropped dangerously low.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP7r"
style="text-align: left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P7r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP7" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P7" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>The bills requires local government officials to bring "high" or "medium" priority groundwater basins up to sustainable levels by 2040. It aims to address the fact that the Central Valley consumes twice as much groundwater as nature is returning through rain and snow, recent studies have found.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""></div><div id="ppixelP8r" style="text-align:
left; float: right; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P8r" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div><div id="ppixelP8" style="text-align: left; float: left; " class=""><div class="" id="ndn-video-player-P8" data-config-distributor-id="90757" style="text-align: left; "></div></div>Still, lawmakers who represent the Central Valley urged their colleagues to oppose the groundwater pumping legislation because it will harm farmers and the thousands of Californians those farmers employ.<div class="" style=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, said the bill aims to change too much, too fast. And Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, R-Tulare said accused
lawmakers who represent areas not affected by the proposed regulations of rushing to judgement on the bill. "A rushed decision in my opinion is never a good decision," Conway said.</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Contact Jessica Calefati at 916-441-2101. Follow her at <a href="http://Twitter.com/calefati" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; " class="">Twitter.com/calefati</a>. Read the Political Blotter at <a href="http://IBAbuzz.com/politics" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial;
-webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; " class="">IBAbuzz.com/politics</a>.</div></div></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; " class=""><br class="" style=""></div></div></body></html>