Sonoma County landowners could be fined over water use forms

More than 1,800 rural Sonoma County property owners are facing fines of up to $31,500 for failing to meet deadlines to submit information on their water use to state regulators tasked with protecting imperiled coho salmon and steelhead in the Russian River basin.

Notices of the potential fines by the State Water Resources Control Board were sent by certified mail Dec. 17 and 18 to 1,881 landowners, giving them 20 days from receipt of the letter to submit the required information online and avoid any fine, the water board said.

Those who fail to meet that deadline, which would fall in early January, will be fined at least $2,500 for noncompliance through Dec. 10, with the possibility of additional fines for failure to submit the information since that date.

Maximum fines range from $24,000 to $31,500, depending on the watershed in which the property, residential or commercial, is located. The notices were sent to 836 landowners in the Green Valley Creek watershed, 820 around Mark West Creek, 174 around Dutch Bill Creek and 51 around Mill Creek.

The notices were based on emergency regulations adopted by the water board in July and applied to more than 10,000 property owners in the four Sonoma County watersheds deemed important habitats for federally protected coho and steelhead. The regulations were twofold: setting mandatory water use restrictions on rural properties, excluding vineyards, and requiring all landowners and water suppliers to report information on their water sources and use.

Officials said the measures were intended to protect the fish this year in drought-affected creeks and help the state manage rural water use in future years.

The original deadlines for submitting the information were between Oct. 9 and 23, with a different date for each watershed, and reminder letters were sent Oct. 28 and 30 to those who had not responded, said Erin Ragazzi, assistant deputy director of the water board. By Dec. 13, about 80 percent of the landowners had provided the water use information, and the rest have now received the penalty notices, she said.

The water board “has gone above and beyond” its usual enforcement procedures in an effort to obtain the information rather than collect fines, Ragazzi said.

Even with rain falling and the county’s creeks running high, Ragazzi said the information still is needed to shape future water policy. “We need to have long-term plans in place to ensure there is adequate water for humans and fish in drought and non-drought years,” she said.

“There is a true need for this water use information in order to protect these important fish species,” Barbara Evoy, deputy director of the water board’s division of water rights, said in a press release.

Since August, water board staffers have responded to more than 1,600 emails and more than 2,900 phone calls and held 18 days of in-person assistance in Santa Rosa to help landowners complete the online forms, Ragazzi said.

As an alternative to submitting the information within 20 days, landowners may submit a written request for a water board hearing, which would be held in February or March. The board could take any action from eliminating the fine to setting it as high as the maximum amount, Ragazzi said.

John O’Donnell, a Sebastopol resident who is served by the city water system, questioned why he and some of his neighbors had received notices of the fines. O’Donnell said he is “very water conscious” and supports the protection of fish, but said “there must be a better way” for the state to get the information.

The online form required no further information after he indicated he was a city water customer, O’Donnell said.

Some Sebastopol landowners were included because parts of the city are within the Green Valley Creek watershed and those residents could be on the city water system and also have another source, such as a well, Ragazzi said. Residents who use only city water for domestic purposes should be able to complete the online form in a few minutes, she said.

For information or assistance, landowners may go to the emergency regulation website at www.waterboards.ca.gov/rrtribs.shtml or call 916-322-8422.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.