MJP –
Now that lawmakers in California have authorized a rise in infraction fees, growers face fines of up to $10,000 per day.
Ranchers disobeyed state restrictions and pumped water from the drought-stricken Shasta River for eight days, so California lawmakers increased the penalty for water violations significantly late Friday.
Cal Matters reports that tribespeople and environmentalists were displeased when state officials levied a maximum fine of $4,000—equivalent to around $50 per rancher.
For salmon, the Shasta River provides an essential habitat, particularly during the driest three years in California history.
The new bill is now in the hands of Governor Gavin Newsom and would increase the daily fines for small infractions to $10,000 per day, with an extra $2,500 added for each acre-foot of water stolen. Violators of curtailment orders might face fines of up to $10,000 per day.
There might have been penalties for the ranchers in Siskiyou County totaling more than $1.2 million had this statute been in charge.
California Trout’s Analise Rivero voiced her hope that the bill’s higher penalties would discourage similar transgressions in the future.
Because of the intricate water rights structure in the state, which frequently puts agricultural interests against environmental concerns, the law was able to pass with minimal opposition.
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The ranchers of Siskiyou County were involved in a dispute that led to the introduction of Assembly Bill 460.
To avoid a “tragedy of the commons” and guarantee compliance with water use restrictions, it was approved by the Senate by a vote of 38 to 2 and by the Assembly by a vote of 65 to 5.
Major agricultural groups in California decided not to oppose the bill when it was amended to eliminate language that would have enabled state officials to intervene faster in the event of environmental harm.
Concerns voiced by growers and urban water agencies were allayed by this modification.
According to Alexandra Biering, a senior policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau, the bill’s final version effectively discourages unlawful water use.
Government authorities from the state have long been critical of their ineffectiveness in enforcing water rights and preventing unlawful diversions.
A rural water association disregarded state curtailment orders to benefit their cattle, causing a precipitous decline in river flows and putting salmon populations at risk; this law fills enforcement gaps that were brought to light during the Shasta Valley event.
Native Americans and environmentalists alike have long recognized the traditional importance of salmon to their communities and have voiced their disapproval of the water board’s past use of its limited penalty powers.
Many believe that the new laws are essential for stricter enforcement of water regulations.
However, not all farmers and ranchers agree that the fines are the most important part of the bill; they cite the necessity of river water for irrigation during crucial growth seasons as an example.
Improved enforcement of water rights is a continuing topic of discussion, and this measure is one in a series of attempts to alter California’s water priority system.
Water activists are optimistic that by bringing together different parties, we can enhance the management of California’s water resources even more.
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