California Water Board has issued a draft administrative civil liability complaint with a plan to fine $1.5 million against a district for its alleged unauthorized diversion and use of water. The State Water Resources Control Board issued the complaint against Byron-Bethany Irrigation District for their alleged disregard to the notices issued by the board warning them not to pump water based on their priority right because of insufficient water.
"Byron-Bethany Irrigation District,located in Byron,has a pre-1914 right of May 1914 to draw water from the intake channel at the Banks Pumping Plant in Contra Costa County formerly known as Italian Slough. On June12, 2015, the State Water Board notified all pre-1914 appropriative right holders with a priority date of 1903 or later in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watersheds and Delta that there was insufficient supply available to meet the needs of all water right holders, and that water was no longer available for diversion under their right," reads a statement of California Water Boards.
Despite the notice, the board said that Byron-Bethany Irrigation, which supplies to three counties and 12,000 residents, ignored the warning and continued to pump water until about June 25 despite having prior information of the new rule. The proposed Administrative Civil Liability is based on the enhanced drought penalty structure approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2014, the board said.
The District may request a hearing before the State Water Board within 20 days of receiving the draft complaint, it said. However, if the District does not request a hearing, the State Water Board said they will adopt the Administrative Civil Liability Order.
District general manager Rick Gilmore said he didn't about the fine, International Business Times reports. He further said that they purchased supplemental sources.
California has been struggling with severe drought for at least two years.
