Groundwater Assessment

[lsvr_feature icon=”fa fa-users” title=”Election Results”]A Public Hearing was held on May 9, 2018 at 5:30 pm in Riverdale, CA. The Proposition 218 ballots were tabulated and results announced with 94% in favor of the $10/acre assessment. Votes were weighted by acreage. The Board set the rate at $10/acre for the fiscal year 2018-19 to be levied on all landowners within the boundaries of the North Fork Kings GSA.

To determine if your property lies within the North Fork Kings GSA, use this CA DWR map tool. Type your address into the search bar at the top left of the page to find your GSA.

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Public Notice[/lsvr_feature][lsvr_feature icon=”fa fa-tint” title=”The Cost of Groundwater Management”]An assessment of $10/acre was passed to cover the costs to follow requirements of the new unfunded State law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Act requires better management and balance of groundwater supplies in a groundwater subbasin through the creation of local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) with extensive powers to manage groundwater.

Based on the Agency’s needs, the North Fork Kings GSA Board of Directors conducted and successfully passed a Proposition 218 Election for landowner approval to levy an assessment. The assessment will generate sufficient revenue to fund both annual Agency operation costs and expenses associated with the development and implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

The $10/acre assessment will be levied on all landowners within the bounds of the North Fork Kings GSA via Fresno and Kings County tax rolls beginning fiscal year 2018-19.

To determine if your property lies within the North Fork Kings GSA, use this CA DWR map tool. Type your address into the search bar at the top left of the page to find your GSA.[/lsvr_feature][lsvr_feature icon=”fa fa-gavel” title=”Failure Comes at a Greater Cost”]The fee of $10/acre will help keep SGMA implementation at the local level with the North Fork Kings GSA. Without funding from the assessment, compliance would still have happened but at a much higher cost. The State has introduced a fee structure for probationary basins (those that fail to meet state-mandated deadlines and thus are not in compliance) many times more costly than the new North Fork Kings GSA assessment.

2018 State Fee Structure

The State fee structure above is intended for basins that are deemed probationary for failing to meet SGMA deadlines and sustainability requirements, and therefore require State Intervention. The new assessment keeps the State from intervening in the North Fork Kings GSA.[/lsvr_feature][lsvr_feature title=”Engineer’s Report” icon=”fa fa-book”]

At the January 10, 2018 Board meeting, the Directors of the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency approved the Engineer’s Report to conduct a Proposition 218 Election. The Engineer’s Report is prepared in accordance with State law to describe an equitable distribution of the benefit assessments to be derived by each parcel within the Agency upon which such assessments will be levied. The Engineer’s Report discusses benefits of the Agency’s organization, proposed actions, and services provided by the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency.

NFKGSA Engineer’s Report

Attachments A-E[/lsvr_feature][lsvr_feature title=”Proposed 5-Year Assessment Schedule” icon=”fa fa-table”]The Agency has landowner approval to levy an assessment up to the maximum amount shown in the table below, specifically $10.00/acre for all parcels. The components that make up the total are shown in the table below (click to enlarge) and are explained further in the Engineer’s Report. Note that the assessment amount levied by the Agency may vary from year to year, but will not exceed the maximum amount unless an increase is approved through a subsequent Proposition 218 proceeding. The necessary funding for the Agency will be reviewed annually by the Board and, depending on the funds projected to be needed for the year, may be approved up to the maximum ($10.00 per acre) assessment rate.

[/lsvr_feature][lsvr_feature icon=”fa fa-file-text” title=”Landowner Workshop Materials”]The North Fork Kings GSA conducted workshops prior to the Proposition 218 Public Hearing. The workshops covered an overview of SGMA, the North Fork Kings GSA purpose, and the reason for the Prop 218 Election. The materials are available below.