Professor Frank Comments on New California Groundwater Legislation for Los Angeles Times
Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented for the Los Angeles Times on a set of California legislative bills that would establish the state's first system of groundwater regulation. The bills, which are awaiting the signature of California Governor Jerry Brown, would bring a measure of state control to groundwater usage in California, where some groundwater basins are being depleted dramatically as a result of unregulated pumping, but some have expressed concerns that the measures may not go far enough.
One potential problem is that it may take decades to establish groundwater basin sustainability plans in areas already experiencing serious overdrafts. "Meanwhile the problem gets more and more protracted and the potential exists for more and more irreversible damage," said Frank.
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.