One of California’s top water regulators fielded questions recently over a slew of local agencies facing repercussions for their inadequate groundwater plans and for a patchwork of new fertilizer regulations hitting farmers across the state.
Sean Maguire is one of five board members overseeing the State Water Resources Control Board, an agency that wields a strong regulatory presence in the many ways that farmers interact with water in the state. Last week Maguire walked three blocks from the CalEPA building to the Capitol to face a round of questioning from senators considering his reappointment to the board.
Then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Maguire to serve as a civil engineer on the board in 2018. Since that time the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act has matured to the point that local agencies have submitted their 20-year plans and most have obtained a stamp of approval from the Department of Water Resources.
Six plans, however, were rejected, triggering the water board to step in as the regulatory backstop. In March the board delivered its first probationary order, after Tulare Lake groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) failed to strike a compromise in their plan that would rein in pumping and curb subsidence to rebalance the aquifer.
The decision drew outcry from the Kings County Farm Bureau, which filed a lawsuit to block the state action and called for the Kings County Water District’s general manager and board of directors to resign. During the Senate confirmation hearing last week, Republican Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield brought up the volatile situation with Maguire.
Sean Maguire, state water board“What do you think is the biggest challenge for the state water board in this new role to bring local control—if they can't manage it themselves—into the purview of which you sit on?” asked Grove.
Maguire stressed that SGMA’s intent has been clear since the legislation passed in 2014—namely, for GSAs to manage themselves and find meaningful pathways to sustainability.
“I didn't wish any of these basins to come to the state water board,” he said. “The whole point is to get them out of that process as quickly as possible. That is my goal.”
He asserted that probation is not a state takeover of the basin but an action that grants GSAs a year to correct the issues.
“I have a lot of farmers in that area who are very concerned about being able to grow food, because they have to have water to do so,” said Grove. “They're extremely fearful there's not going to be a path forward for them.”
Maguire acknowledged the challenge ahead is a steep one for the GSAs and requires an all-hands-on-deck approach from the locals.
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Farmers have also brought concerns over costly new water board regulations to Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego, who has long disparaged the regional water board for his district.
“There seems to be a sense that they're not responsive to the community when there are problems, that they are overenforcing when there is a violation,” said Jones, who worried such a bias could impact a draft agricultural order at the board. “There's some concern in San Diego this nitrogen regulation is actually going to be overrestrictive and cause unnecessary paperwork than really is going to solve any problem that's being presented.”
Maguire was reluctant to “step in and opine” about the evolving regulation but agreed with Jones that agriculture broadly varies throughout the state and that water board rules should reflect those differences. Other regional boards with agricultural orders have grappled with the same issues over tailoring rules for monitoring and tracking nitrogen use to the unique farming dynamics within their jurisdictions.
Maguire said the board is in the process of convening an independent expert panel to delve into the science and determine nitrogen management practices “that would make the most sense for smaller farms.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire was familiar with the struggles the vineyard managers in his North Coast district have faced in complying with a nitrogen order.
“Some of the rules, regulations and laws that have been advanced here in California take time to be able to adjust to,” said McGuire, who worried most about poor communities along the lower Russian River that must replace failing septic tanks to comply. “While there needs to be a long-term solution, being candid, a quick fix simply is not going to work.”
He hinted at backdoor discussions over potentially establishing a fund to support those residents.
“You may be hearing from us on that issue again as it starts to heat up,” the legislative leader told the water board member.
Several water interests backing the reappointment believed Maguire is the appropriate official to tackle such technical problems and untangle the diverse perspectives involved.
“Water is hard. It's multilayered. It's probably one of the most permanent critical issues,” said Bob Gore, a senior advisor at the Gualco Group representing several local water districts. “There is no better set of ears, heart and mind than in Sean Maguire.”
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