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Merced County shifts groundwater export review role to local GSAs in amended ordinance
Summary
The Board adopted an amendment allowing Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to determine whether proposed groundwater exports are sustainable, removing the county's prior one‑size‑fits‑all role; the vote passed 4–1 with Supervisor McDaniel dissenting. Several GSAs had already adopted local prohibitions and asked for additional language tying export to GSA probation status.
The Merced County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 approved an amendment to the county’s 2015 Groundwater Mining and Export Ordinance that gives ground‑level groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) authority to determine whether proposed exports are sustainable under their plans.
Mark Mims, director of Community and Economic Development, said the ordinance change is intended to reflect the county’s diverse groundwater basins and to align county permitting with GSA determinations. “The proposed amendment...would give GSAs a…
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