Professor Frank Comments on Groundwater Regulation for Sacramento Bee
Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented for the Sacramento Bee on a set of California legislative bills that would establish the state's first system of groundwater regulation. One potential problem with the new regulations, which were signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown on September 16, is that it may take decades to establish groundwater basin sustainability plans in areas already experiencing serious overdrafts.
"By the time this process cranks up in five, 10, or 20 years, the damage may long have been done," said Frank.
Frank also expressed concerns about a clause in the legislation that forbids public disclosure of personal information in reports on groundwater extraction. If applied broadly to groundwater use, it could prevent regulators from acquiring vital information about the location of wells and the rate of groundwater extraction.
"I think it's a problem," Frank said. "That effort at confidentiality would seem to have the potential to undermine the whole purpose and utility of this groundwater extraction data."
Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.