State Water Board General Fund Cuts Result in Increased Fees

Under the 2011-‘12 budget that Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed on June 30, the state is reducing its General Fund support of the State Water Resources Control Board. That reduction in General Fund dollars is replaced with more than $24 million in new fees.

The fee increases include $1.4 million for the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, $1.8 million for the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ag waivers), $6.7 million for basin planning activities, $11.5 million for Total Maximum Daily Load activities and $3.2 million for water rights. An additional $1.23 million from the state’s General Fund has been eliminated from the Department of Water Resources’ budget for the Watermaster Program replacing the funding with fees.

For the last several years, ACWA, as part of a large coalition including the California Farm Bureau and the California Chamber of Commerce, has successfully fought off these additional fees to the State Water Resources Control Board.

The 2011-’12 state budget is available in full at www.ebudget.ca.gov.