Yolo County board directs staff to study well rules, adopts temporary moratorium plan

Yolo County supervisors on Aug. 26 directed staff to pursue changes to the county’s agricultural well‑permitting process and moved to consider a temporary 45‑day moratorium on new agricultural well permits within areas identified by the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA). The board voted unanimously to advance staff recommendations and set a public hearing for Oct. 7 to consider extending or modifying the moratorium and the county’s urgency ordinance.

The action followed an hourlong presentation from April Meneghetti, director of Yolo County Environmental Health, who reviewed the county’s permitting history and the options staff have identified to address concerns about groundwater impacts, well verification and crop conversions. Meneghetti said the county now has 35 pending agricultural well applications, 20 of which are with the YSGA for review and 11 located inside YSGA focus areas; about half of the applications have been in the queue since 2022.

Meneghetti outlined the legal and regulatory background: until March 2022 environmental health issued permits under the county’s minimum well standards (which are based on California Department of Water Resources Bulletin 74). After state Executive Orders N‑7‑22 and N‑3‑23 required additional GSA review, the governor’s EO well‑permitting requirements ended Sept. 5, 2024. On Oct. 22, 2024 the Board of Supervisors adopted urgency ordinance 1569 to continue local review practices that mirror the prior executive orders; staff told the board they recommend returning Oct. 7 with proposed changes to…