Appellate court justices heard arguments Tuesday in the highly watched dispute over whether the state exceeded its authority when it placed the Tulare Lake subbasin on probation last year for failing to come up with an adequate plan to protect the region’s groundwater. … The outcome of Tuesday’s arguments could have far reaching effects throughout the San Joaquin Valley, most of which is severely overdrafted and struggling to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

Other groundwater news:

• SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.): Kern water banking project gets another $22 million in Proposition 1 funding