California twin tunnel project under environmental review

State and federal authorities said Thursday they’re seeking public input.

California regulators violated the rights of some farmers by demanding mandatory water cutbacks without giving them a prior hearing, a state judge ruled on Friday.

According to the Sacramento Bee newspaper, the order could hinder the efforts of regulators to enforce water curtailment rules set this year for over 9,000 holders of water rights, among them farmers growing crops such as olives, almonds, and cherries.

Chang identified that the State Water Resources Control Board have failed to comply with their rights by ordering them to quit pumping from rivers and streams.

Residents, farmers and businesses across California have endured water restrictions because of the state’s four-year dry spell.

The curtailment notices have been received by thousands during the past year. However, the state says it has the right to punish those who are taking water illegally during the ongoing drought. Now a judge has sided with four of them, at least temporarily, putting into limbo one of the state’s tools for clamping down on water use. Those cutbacks include notices by the State Water Resources Control Board that rivers and streams are heavily dried up to deliver water entitled to them.

In a five-page ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang said the state board erred by curtailing the rights “without any sort of pre-deprivation hearing”.

Penalties are up to $1,000 per day and up to $2,500 per acre-foot of water that is taken illegally.

Steve Herum, an attorney who challenged the board, says the court ruling throws all cutbacks into question.

Tim Moran, a spokesman for the water board, said the agencies lawyers were reviewing the decision.

A number of irrigators had responded with lawsuits, contending, among other things, that before the state board halted diversions, it need to hold hearings in which the rights holders could contest the need for curtailments.

“If the goal is to address drought and water, it will do very little”, said Somach.