Napa County Grapples with Groundwater Pumping Fees

By Barry Eberling, Napa Register

 "Napa County is trying to ease the sticker shock that some grape growers are receiving from the soon-to-begin groundwater pumping fees for wells on the Napa Valley floor.
By how much may not be known until July 28. That’s when county supervisors, for the first time, are scheduled to adopt groundwater pumping fees for the Napa Valley subbasin to appear on property tax bills...

​Still, the worst-case scenarios left a bad taste in the mouth for many in the wine industry. The Napa Valley Grapegrowers' executive director, Caleb Mosley, said one Oakville grower faced a $12,800 fee.
“This is on top of an already difficult landscape that we’re operating within,” he told supervisors during budget hearings on June 16..."

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