The Yolo County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 21 introduced and waived first reading of an ordinance to codify emergency agricultural-well permitting procedures and extended the existing urgency ordinance to avoid a lapse before permanent code changes take effect.

What staff proposed: April Meneghetti, director of Environmental Health, presented the draft amendment to Title 6, Chapter 8 of the Yolo County Code to carry forward agricultural-well permitting procedures that were adopted under urgency ordinance 15,69 in October 2024. Those rules were originally put in place to respond to governor'level drought-related executive orders and to align county permitting with groundwater sustainability verification by the applicable Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), especially inside focus areas of the Yolo Subbasin.

Key elements: The proposed code changes would require verification from the GSA that proposed new agricultural wells in the Yolo Subbasin are consistent with the groundwater sustainability plan and would preserve the urgency-ordinance permit term practices: a two-year permit term now reflected in practice, an initial one-year application validity with an optional 180-day extension, a first appeal to the Planning Commission (rather than directly to the Board), and post-installation reporting of measured pumping capacity for wells installed in focus areas.

Board action and timing: Staff asked the board to introduce the ordinance by title only, waive first reading and continue the item to Nov. 4 for second reading and adoption; the ordinance would become effective 30 days after adoption (tentatively Dec. 4). The board voted to waive first reading and to extend the urgency ordinance (15,69) to preserve permit procedures during the interim. The board also noted that a separate moratorium in certain focus areas remains in effect under urgency ordinance 15,77; staff said they will return on Nov. 4 with proposed changes to that moratorium per prior direction from Oct. 7.

Why it matters: The code changes are intended to maintain procedural continuity for agricultural well permitting in a basin subject to groundwater sustainability obligations. Staff emphasized the changes are procedural and intended to reduce impacts on nearby wells by preserving separation-distance rules and the GSA verification process. The extension of the urgency ordinance prevents a lapse that could interrupt permitting while the permanent ordinance is finalized.

Next steps: The board continued the ordinance to Nov. 4 for second reading and adoption and authorized extending urgency ordinance 15,69 to cover the interim. Staff will return with the finalized ordinance text and related CEQA determinations, and with recommended changes to the moratorium within focus areas.