On October 29, 2025, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Kings County Farm Bureau v. State Water Resources Control Board reversed a broad preliminary injunction that had barred the State Water Resources Control Board from imposing regulatory fees and mandating groundwater extraction monitoring and reporting in the San Joaquin Valley’s critically overdrafted Tulare Lake Subbasin. … The Kings County Farm Bureau opinion provides guidance to help GSAs and stakeholders use Periodic Evaluations to make the case for protecting sustainable subbasins, or portions of subbasins, against the potential for probation when other subbasins or portions of subbasins are failing to show progress toward achieving sustainability.

Other water policy news:

• California Department of Water Resources: News release: Extension of Tulare Lake Subbasin groundwater extraction reporting period and reporting deadlines under SGMA
• Best Best & Krieger: Blog: A recent California ballot initiative could redefine the CEQA review process