Madera County GSA committee recommends special assessments to collect unpaid groundwater penalties

The Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency committee on July 14 recommended that the board adopt two resolutions declaring special assessments and notices of levy to collect unpaid penalties for excessive groundwater extraction under California Water Code section 10732.

Emily Garcia, senior administrative analyst, told the committee that the resolutions cover unpaid penalties for 2024 and 2025 in the Madera and Chowchilla subbasins and that unpaid amounts will be enrolled on the secured property tax roll for collection. Garcia summarized the penalties schedule used by the GSA, which begins at $100 per acre‑foot of excess extraction and increases by $100 annually up to a $500 cap.

"The 2025 penalties will be placed on the property tax roll for collection," Garcia said, adding that some 2024 penalties already were enrolled but remain unpaid. She reported the combined outstanding balance for 2025 across the two subbasins was about $892,000; in the Madera subbasin $649,000 remained outstanding across 65 parcel numbers and in Chowchilla $242,000 remained outstanding across 15 APNs. For 2024 the Madera subbasin showed roughly $4,800 outstanding.

Why it matters: staff said the special assessment process is the GSA’s method for collecting unpaid administrative penalties when direct billing fails; enrollment on the property tax roll shifts collection to the county’s secured property tax process and can include a notice of lien that affects sale or transfer of the parcel.

During public comment, Mark Peters of the Madera subbasin voiced support for collection efforts: "I support this. I wish you didn't have to do all this work to get the money," he said. An online commenter, Devin Aviles of the Ag Rural Cooperative, asked how long the tax‑roll process typically takes and whether reductions in water allocations in 2026 could increase delinquencies. Staff answered that unpaid amounts placed on the secured tax roll are generally due on the same schedule as property taxes (with key collection dates in December and April) and that tax‑sale processes can take multiple years in cases where property taxes go unpaid.

The committee recorded a 2–0 vote to recommend that the board adopt the resolutions; the item will move to the board of directors for formal action. The committee’s materials cite Resolution 2022‑143/145 authorizing enrollment and California Water Code section 10732 as the authority for moving unpaid penalties to the tax roll.

Next steps: the committee forwarded the resolutions to the board for consideration and adoption; staff will continue outreach and coordination with the county tax collector to implement enrollment and notice procedures where directed.