Last week, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released its draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) regulations and announced that three public meetings will be held in March during which time the agency will receive public comment on the proposal. 

The meetings will take place between March 21^st and 25^th at the following locations:

Monday, March 21, 2016

VISALIA

4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

Visalia Convention Center

303 E Acequia Avenue, Visalia

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

SANTA ANA

1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.

Delhi Community Center

505 E. Central Avenue, Santa Ana

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Public Comment Webinar ONLINE WEBINAR

1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.

To access the webinar:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2515354223176908292

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Friday, March 25, 2016

SACRAMENTO

9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.

Secretary of State Building

1500 11^th Street, Sacramento

Alternatively, interested parties may provide comment electronically or via mail.

Formal comments can be emailed to: [email protected] (Subject: Draft GSP Regulations Public Comment) or can be mailed to:

California Department of Water Resources

Attn: Lauren Bisnett, Public Affairs Office

P.O. Box 942836

Sacramento, California 94236

The public comment period runs from February 18 through March 25. Written comments must be received electronically or postmarked on or before March 25, 2016.

DWR’s Suggestions for Effective Comments

All written comments received on the draft regulations will be posted online and considered. The most effective comments are those that follow these guidelines:

• Comments should be concise and focus directly on the draft regulations.
• Comments should identify the specific section(s) of the draft regulations at issue and should include supporting evidence and facts.
• The commenter should provide complete references and/or citations, particularly when referring to websites (for example, provide a specific URL address rather than simply citing “DWR website”).

Timeline for Adopting Groundwater Sustainability Plan Regulations

• Release of Draft GSP Regulations – February 18, 2016
• Public comment meetings – March 2016
• Deadline for public comment – March 25, 2016
• Proposed presentation of GSP Regulations to California Water Commission for consideration and potential adoption – Spring 2016
• Submission of adopted GSP Regulations to Office of Administrative Law – Spring 2016

For information about DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Program please visit:

http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/sgm/index.cfm

For more information regarding California’s groundwater please visit:

http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/index.cfm

Questions about groundwater issues? Contact Gail Delihant at (916) 446-1435.