The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted Nov. 4 to amend an existing temporary moratorium on new agricultural well permits by adding a replacement‑well exemption intended to let property owners replace failing wells without going through the more extensive hardship process.

County environmental health director April Meneghetti told the board the exemption is aimed at allowing a “more streamlined permitting process” for wells that meet specific criteria: the replacement must serve the same farmed area, have the same or smaller casing diameter and similar or lower pumping capacity, and the old well must be destroyed or abandoned under permit. “The goal is to maintain status quo with as far as the demand of groundwater,” Meneghetti said, noting staff reviewed the draft with hydrologic consultants and stakeholders.

Farmers and their representatives urged flexibility during the public hearing. Ryan Thomason, representing the Mondavi family, asked that permit reviewers base decisions on “historic horsepower” rather than temporary reduced output from failing wells. “There are situations… where when wells start to fail, you do lower the horsepower in order to prolong the life of the well,” Thomason said. Jack Vickery, a fourth‑generation farmer and Farm Bureau board member, warned the moratorium could harm lending and crop decisions and urged removing or revising restrictions on crop conversion.

Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency representative Kristen Sikhi said the focus‑area boundaries and monitoring data are iterative. “We have more than 500 wells in our network… we can’t monitor all 500,” she said, and acknowledged some cooperators’ data arrive with delay; she said the GSA is open to updating focus areas as better data arrive.

Supervisors pressed staff on timing for replacement permits and hardship appeals; Meneghetti said typical verification steps take a few weeks and the YSGA review generally responds within code timelines, while hardship requests that go to the planning commission may take one to two months unless a special meeting is convened. County counsel Phil Pogletich emphasized a practical implementation approach: staff “are not going to apply a gotcha approach… If things have changed in the last several months, we’re not going to hold that against them.”

Supervisor Terry Barajas moved to adopt staff’s recommendation, including direction to streamline hardship review and expedite planning‑commission hearings for urgent cases; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. Staff said they will implement the exemption with checks such as required pumping capacity reports and continued coordination with the YSGA, and report back to the board via a new water working group that will meet monthly.