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Board authorizes interim variances for OPV basins and forms ad hoc committee to resolve backlog
Summary
The board authorized the interim executive officer to continue temporary variances for operators in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins for water year 2024–25 and created a short‑term ad hoc committee to work with staff to resolve a multi‑year backlog of variance applications and related surcharges.
The Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency on June 13 authorized the interim executive officer to continue previously issued temporary variances for operators with pending variance applications in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley (OPV) basins for water year 2024–25.
Staff background: Agency staff reported that review and analysis of variance applications in the OPV basins have been on hold while the board addressed related concord issues; the board previously authorized temporary variances for prior water years and suspended surcharge payments pending final agency decisions. Staff said about 30 concord accounts in OPV have not yet received semiannual extraction statements and that a backlog of variance requests remains from multiple years.
Board action and committee: The board voted to extend those temporary variances for operators in the identified categories who have pending variance applications and also formed a variance ad hoc committee. The board directed the ad hoc committee to work with staff on a sequential work plan: (1) quantify the scope and number of outstanding requests, (2) categorize the causes (missing records, cropping‑pattern changes, administrative errors), (3) develop options to resolve prior years (unwinding) and to prevent future backlogs, and (4) provide interim milestones so the board can track progress.
Public comments and concerns: Farmers and stakeholders who spoke at the hearing urged careful treatment and noted ongoing litigation that could affect base‑period calculations. Jurgen Gramko (introduced as president of Marathon Land) urged caution because litigation is defining native versus augmented yield and because the base period used in litigation differs from the ordinance’s base period. Greg Lewis of Duda Farms and other growers urged an ad hoc approach to identify how many requests are administrative versus substantive.
Why it matters: the variance backlog covers multiple crop years and affects how surcharges and extraction allocations are applied to growers; the ad hoc committee is intended to produce a practical, phased fix and recommendations to the full board.
Next steps: staff will support the ad hoc committee’s work, gather records and scope the outstanding variance requests, and report back to the board on interim milestones and a timeline for resolution.
