California Court of Appeal

In this case, defendant United Water Conservation District and its board of directors manage the groundwater resources in central Ventura County, plaintiff-city pumps groundwater from defendants' territory and sells it to residential customers, and defendants collect a fee from groundwater pumpers, including the City, based on the volume of water they pump. The Water Code authorizes this fee (Water Code sections 74508 and 75522) and requires defendants to set different rates for different uses. Under section 75594, groundwater extracted for non-agricultural purposes must be charged at three to five times the rate applicable to water used for agricultural purposes. The City brought suit, alleging that the fees it pays defendants violate article XIII D of the California Constitution because they "exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel" of land from which the City pumps its water. The judgment of the trial court awarding relief to the City on grounds that defendants' groundwater extraction charges are property-related and thus subject to article XIII D is reversed but otherwise affirmed, where: 1) a pump fee is better characterized as a charge on the activity of pumping rather than a charge imposed by reason of property ownership, and so the pumping fees paid by the City are not property-related and do not come under the ambit of article XIII D; 2) the pumping fees are not taxes subject to the requirements of article XIII C; and 3) substantial evidence supports the trial court's finding that the charges are valid regulatory fees because they are fair and reasonable, and do not exceed defendants' resource management costs.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/17/2015
• Published 03/17/2015

Judges

• Perren

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel