To all concerned water users, I became aware yesterday of the Department of Water Resource's approval of the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). This GSP is radically different from those proposed in the Southern San Joaquin Valley and sets a dangerous precedent that could extend into other basins across the state by setting water allocations based upon a GSA’s determination of water rights. This purely political determination was made with the stroke of a bureaucratic pen, without providing property owners a day in court. The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority (IWVGA) is clearly trying to permanently end all ag activity in the Indian Wells Valley through extreme fees and very short-term groundwater pumping allowances. The IWGA determined agriculture had no water rights to native groundwater. It then imposed a $2,130 replenishment on groundwater use. The IWVGA Board of Directors is comprised of only one major water user, the Indian Wells Valley Water District (Water District). The Water District is the only member of the IWVGA that pays fees and was recently removed from the Chairperson position by the other agencies. The Water District has been forced to file an adjudication in the basin. The Water District is not the only major water user without representation. The major water users in the Indian Wells Valley, including agriculture and industry, have had no effective input or say in the GSA’s policies or the GSP. In my opinion, the GSA has been fiscally irresponsible and has misrepresented many facts and conditions to the residents of the Indian Wells Valley and to DWR in their GSP. I am writing you to request action on your part - help me push back on out-of-control government. My farm is currently in jeopardy. Your water rights may be next on the chopping block. Please personalize and forward this letter to Jim DeBoo, the Governor's Executive Secretary, and Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, at the following email addresses:
Jim.DeBoo@gov.ca.gov KB.R@cdfa.ca.gov Regards, Rod Stiefvater Mojave Pistachios, LLC