The California Court of Appeal has ruled against Sonoma County in a long-running lawsuit brought by Russian Riverkeeper and the California Coastkeeper Alliance over the county's groundwater well ordinance. The court reaffirmed that counties share responsibility under the Public Trust Doctrine to protect rivers and fish when permitting wells, and found the county violated the California Environmental Quality Act by adopting its 2023 ordinance without environmental review. The decision binds every county in the state, a matter of some consequence for the Russian River watershed.
Read the full story: State Court: Counties Must protect Rivers from Groundwater Pumping — Sonoma Valley Sun, Aug 8.
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