Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law last week that will incorporate environmental justice principles in legal disputes that stands to impact future groundwater use decisions across California’s agriculture dominated regions. The law, AB 779, will require state courts to consider water use by small farmers and disadvantaged communities when settling those disputes, which historically skew in favor of larger agricultural businesses. California is implementing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to address groundwater depletion across the state. Solving disputes through adjudication in the courts costs millions of dollars in legal fees and takes years.

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