AgWA joins opposition to bill to make Scott/Shasta Emergency Regulations permanent—hearing slated for April 8
AgWA opposes AB 263, a bill that would make the Scott/Shasta “emergency drought” regulations permanent until the State Water Board comes out with its final instream-flow regulations. Today, we submitted a letter to the California legislative Committee on Water Parks and Wildlife.
“The SWB emergency regulations have been unreasonable since their inception,” our letter reads, “giving SWB unprecedented control over groundwater; skirting our court-decreed Scott River adjudication; disregarding decades of fish and flow data; and riding rough-shod over the carefully crafted groundwater sustainability plan for the Scott River watershed…The E-Regs threaten to destroy Siskiyou County’s agriculture-based economy and culture.”
In our letter, we cite a recent ruling from the Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeal in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield. “Courts must always consider reasonableness whenever adjudicating a use of water,” reads the ruling, citing the California Constitution’s Article X, Section 2. “[N]o use of water, including public trust uses, has an ‘absolute priority’ over other uses,” it continues. We believe the Emergency Regulation (and AB 263) do not strike a reasonable balance between the public trust (fish protection) and other beneficial uses (agriculture).
We would like to thank the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for their support! On March 27, 2025, the Commission also wrote a letter opposing AB 263. The bill "sets a bad precedent which undermines current standards of procedural due process," the letter reads. It “effectively places the Shasta River and Scott River watersheds into an indefinite curtailment that is no longer based on a drought-related emergency,” having “no firm end date or requirements that necessitate an updated inspection of drought findings in the Shasta River or Scott River watersheds.”
Siskiyou County Farm Bureau and other ag groups also submitted an opposition letter, which can be found here.
AB 263 was not introduced by Scott/Shasta’s assemblyman, but by District 2 Assemblyman Chris Rogers of Santa Rosa. A hearing will be held on the bill on April 8 at 9 a.m. in the Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife (go to Hearings | California State Assembly). Written testimony can be provided using this online form: California Legislature Position Letter Portal.
Meanwhile, Scott River basin snowpack for April 2025 is at 131% according to the latest snow survey (NOTE: the survey was done before the last major storm at the end of March.) Annual precipitation for Water Year 2024-25 is over 133% of average—already 107% of the average for the entire water year through September 30th, 2025! This winter’s good snowpack follows two previous good winters and average precipitation years from 2022 to 2024. We are not in a drought!
