Background
Groundwater is essential to meet California’s consumptive and environmental water needs. In dry years, as much as forty-five percent of the state’s total consumptive water use is satisfied by groundwater. Groundwater overdraft, land subsidence, water quality degradation, and seawater intrusion are major groundwater problems that occur in certain regions of the state. Effective groundwater legal systems are essential to address these problems and manage groundwater sustainably.
In 2014, California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which provides authority to local agencies to sustainably manage groundwater basins through planning and implementation. Unfortunately, SGMA has proven to be a complicated, dynamic regulatory law that is not easy to follow nor to comply with, especially for small farmers. Small farmers are essential to the nation’s food supply, including through their participation in farmers markets and producing organic food. This clinic will help small farmers manage their groundwater resources under SGMA and protect their water rights so that they can continue to farm effectively.
Information for Interested Law Students
Among the clinical skills that will be developed, students will have the opportunity to work with and represent small farmers, educate the small farmer community about SGMA and other water issues, and advocate for small farmers at administrative hearings and other proceedings.