California’s water resources control board can regulate groundwater usage by farmers in Kings County, after the state’s appellate court threw out a preliminary injunction and overruled a demurer. The pair of rulings means that farmers in the county will have to start metering and reporting how much water they draw from the ground, and pay the state fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot of water used. … Dusty Ference, the executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau, a nonprofit advocacy group representing farmers in the area that sued the state agency, said the group remains optimistic.

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