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From:Tovey Giezentanner
To:Clerk of the Board
Cc:Loeser, Kamie; McGregor, Dillon
Subject:AGUBC letter re Domestic Well User Stakeholder Appointment
Date:Wednesday, December 3, 2025 1:21:37 PM
Attachments:0 final AGUBC Letter re DWU.pdf
Please see attached for the upcoming board hearing, if this issue is on the agenda.
Thank you.
Tovey
Tovey Giezentanner * 916-801-0344 * tovey@giezentanner.com
December 1, 2025
The Honorable Tod Kimmelshue, Chairman
Butte County Board of Supervisors
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200
Oroville, CA 95965
Re: Letter in Support of Ms. Theresa Schneider Appointment & Comments
Regarding Legal Interpretation of Vina GSA JPA Section 7.1.2(b)
Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board:
On behalf of the Agricultural Groundwater Users of Butte County (AGUBC), we
respectfully submit this letter in support of Ms. Theresa Schneider’s appointment to the Board of
Directors of the Vina Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) as the Non-Agricultural
Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director.
Ms. Schneider possesses the necessary temperament, knowledge, and collaborative spirit
required for this position. And most importantly, she satisfies each of those qualifications for the
position of the Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director, as set forth in the
GSA’s Joint Powers Agreement (JPA): she resides within the GSA’s jurisdictional boundary; she
owns or leases residential real property within the GSA’s jurisdictional boundary; she extracts
groundwater from within the GSA’s jurisdictional boundary for domestic water use only; and she
is not party to any pending litigation against the GSA or its Members (i.e., the County of Butte,
the City of Chico, and the Durham Irrigation District).
In submitting this letter of support, we must address an assertion made by some
stakeholders that the Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director not have any
professional or personal connection to agriculture. This assertion is not supported by the plain
language of the JPA and, if inappropriately applied, would disenfranchise a significant portion of
those would-be eligible applicants. We respectfully request that the Board of Supervisors (Board)
consider the following comments before making its appointment of the Non-Agricultural Domestic
Well User Stakeholder Director:
1.Analysis of JPA Section 7.1.2(b)
The GSA is governed by a five-member Board of Directors made up of one representative
from each of its Members; one Stakeholder Director representative of agricultural groundwater
users (referred to as the “Agricultural Stakeholder Director”); and one Stakeholder Director
representative of domestic well users (referred to as the “Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User
Stakeholder Director”). (See JPA, §§ 7.1, 7.2.)
A.Textual Interpretation: The Criteria Applies to the Use, Not the User
Section 7.1.2(b) of the JPA expressly states that:
The Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director
shall meet the following criteria, determined at the sole discretion
of the Butte County Board of Supervisors: (1) reside in the Agency
Jurisdiction and owns or leases residential real property in the
Agency Jurisdiction; and (2) extracts groundwater from the Agency
Jurisdiction for domestic water use only. The Domestic Well User
Stakeholder may not be a party to any pending litigation against the
Agency or any of its Members.
(Emphasis added.)
Accordingly, when considering whether an applicant for the Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User
Stakeholder Director position is eligible for appointment, the Board of Supervisors must be able
to check each of the following boxes:
QUALIFICATIONS CHECK
As you can see, nowhere within the JPA is the Board of Supervisors called to consider an
applicant’s employment or personal activities. The JPA does not state that the Non-Agricultural
Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director "shall not be employed in agriculture." Nor does it state
that the Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director "shall own no agricultural
land." Therefore, an applicant should not be deemed ineligible simply because of their association
with agriculture so long as they satisfy each of the criteria set forth above.
B.A Narrow Interpretation Disenfranchises the Majority
In addition, this assertion that the Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User
Stakeholder Director not have any professional or personal connection to agriculture also
calls into question what actually constitutes “residential real property.”
According to the GSA, there are approximately 37,000 parcels and, at most, 4,200
total domestic wells, within the Subbasin's 180,000-acre boundary. Of the Subbasin's
180,000-acre boundary, the Tuscan Water District (TWD) encompasses roughly 100,000
acres, consisting of 3,137 parcels. Those parcels can be categorized as follows:
Parcel Size Number of
Parcels
% of
Total
0 to 1.0 acres 653 20.8%
1.01 to 10.0 acres 1,146 36.5%
10.0 to 20.0 acres 401 12.8%
20.0 to 40.0 acres 359 11.4%
Above 40 acres 578 18.4%
Total 3,137 100%
The data above reveals a demographic reality that overrides simplistic definitions of land use.
Parcels between 1 acre and 40 acres—traditionally the heart of Butte County's rural-residential
community—constitute 60.7% of the total parcels (1,906 out of 3,137), at least within TWD.
Residents on these small- to mid-sized parcels often have personal or professional ties to the
agricultural community—whether they are retired farmers, agricultural mechanics, or families
with 4-H or Junior Livestock projects. So, if the Board of Supervisors adopts this assertion that the
Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director not have any professional or personal
connection to agriculture, the Board of Supervisors could be faced with a number of questions,
like:
•Is a resident on a 2 to 5-acre parcel with a large garden ineligible?
•Is a resident on a 5-acre parcel with a 4-H or Junior Livestock project ineligible?
•Is a resident on a 15-acre parcel who leases pasture to a neighbor ineligible?
•Is an orchard manager living on a 2-acre lot ineligible?
If the Board of Supervisors disqualifies an applicant based on their employment,
association, or even their hobby on their land, then the Board of Supervisors would be creating a
"status-based" eligibility requirement that does not exist within the plain text of the JPA. Under
the plain language of the JPA, it is irrelevant whether an applicant is engaged in agriculture or is
employed within the agricultural industry. The JPA was not designed to control the social or
professional associations of the Director; it was designed to represent the specific interests of
domestic groundwater extraction. By focusing on the person rather than the water use, the narrow
eligibility interpretation risks disenfranchising over 60% of the very domestic well users this seat
was designed to represent.
2. Request for Statement of Legislative Intent
To prevent future uncertainty, we also urge the Board to include the following interpretive
statement in its motion of appointment:
"For purposes of Section 7.1.2(b) of the Vina Subbasin JPA, the
Board determines that 'Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User'
refers to the character of the water use, not the occupation or
associations of the Stakeholder Director. Any resident of the
Subbasin who owns or leases residential property and extracts
groundwater for domestic use only—regardless of parcel size,
zoning, or the individual’s employment in the agricultural sector—
is eligible for appointment."
3.Clarification Regarding the Role of the Alternate Director
Finally, we must address the suggestion that the current Alternate Director serve as
a sort of “successor-in-waiting.” This suggestion conflates that process set forth in the
GSA’s governing document – the Vina GSA JPA – and the Board of Supervisors’ general
appointment practice where an alternate often transitions into a primary role based on
custom or ease.
As explained above, the JPA expressly sets forth the procedure for the appointment
of the Stakeholder Director positions. Section 7.3 expressly requires that Stakeholder
Directors be appointed via an "open application process" determined at the "sole
discretion" of the Board of Supervisors. The JPA does not grant the Alternate Director a
right of automatic succession; rather, Section 7.7 clarifies that in the event of a vacancy,
the Alternate Director serves only temporarily "until a new Director is appointed as set
forth in Section 7.3." Therefore, the Board of Supervisors is the sole appointing authority,
and it must select the most qualified candidate from the current applicant pool rather than
elevating an Alternate Director by default.
4.Conclusion
The JPA was designed to represent water users, not to create social silos. By
interpreting the "Non-Agricultural Domestic Well User Stakeholder Director " position to
focus on the domestic use of the well, the Board of Supervisors ensures that the majority
of rural residents—specifically the 60% living on parcels between 1 and 40 acres—are not
disenfranchised simply because they live a rural or agricultural lifestyle.
We respectfully request the Board of Supervisors appoint Ms. Theresa Schneider
and adopt the interpretive clarification proposed above.
Respectfully submitted,
Rich McGowan, President
Agricultural Groundwater Users of Butte County (AGUBC)
cc: Dillon McGregor, GSA Program Manager, Vina GSA