April 16, 2018 - SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Adam C. Gray (D – Merced) renewed calls last week to fix the state’s broken water rights management system following a court ruling that condemned the State Water Resources Control Board’s broken enforcement process.

In a case between the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID) and the State Water Board, a judge ruled this month that the Board lacks the authority to issue curtailment notices to pre-1914 and riparian water right holders. The judge ruled that the Board violated BBID’s due process rights by ordering immediate cessation of diversions and threatening the district with large fines without first providing the district its right to due process.

“The ruling reaffirms what we have known for some time,” Gray said. “We need to reform the State Water Board’s coercive enforcement process to guarantee water rights holders a fair hearing and due process. The Judge’s decision makes that clearer than ever.”
Source: Assemblymember Adam C. Gray