Yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bills 1168 and 1319 (both Pavley, D-Agoura Hills) and Assembly Bill 1739 (Dickinson, D-Sacramento), which together establish the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The Act comprehensively regulates groundwater for the first time in California’s history.

The signing ceremony took place in the Governor’s Office and was attended by number of  governmental officials including:

• Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross
• California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird
• CalEPA Undersecretary Gordon Burns
• State Water Board representatives, including Board Chair Felicia Marcus, Board Member Dorene D’Adamo and Executive Director Tom Howard

Craig McNamara, president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, moderated the ceremony. A number of speakers commented on the legislation before Governor Brown signed it. Those who spoke included:

• Miles Reiter, chairman and CEO of Driscoll’s Berries
• Jay Ziegler, the external affairs director of The Nature Conservancy
• Tim Quinn, the executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies
• Senate Pro Tem-elect Kevin de León
• Sen. Fran Pavley and Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, who sponsored the legislation

All noted the importance and historic nature of the legislation. During his remarks, Assemblymember Dickinson said, “With these new laws in effect, California will take important steps to ensure we are protecting our valuable water supply for years to come.”

Before signing the bills, Brown noted that “This is a big deal.” In his statement he said, “It’s been known about for decades that underground water has to be managed and regulated in some way.” Brown also emphasized that the next step will be implementing the new laws.