Technical Review Panel Guides Groundwater Protection
Groundwater protection at the Mojave Groundwater Bank combines expert review of monitoring data with public-agency decisions on pumping and mitigation.
The Technical Review Panel is the three-member advisory body specified by the County-approved groundwater plan for the Mojave Groundwater Bank, a water supply and groundwater storage project being developed by Cadiz in partnership with public agencies and Native American Tribes to provide new water supply and infrastructure for Southwest communities. The panel evaluates monitoring methods, groundwater conditions, and proposed responses to potential impacts. It makes technical recommendations; San Bernardino County retains final decision authority under the plan, and Santa Margarita Water District retains its own enforcement responsibilities, including requiring corrective action.
Summary
- All three Technical Review Panel members must have relevant professional qualifications and at least 10 years of groundwater experience.
- San Bernardino County and Santa Margarita Water District each appoint one Technical Review Panel member. Those representatives jointly select the third, subject to both agencies’ approval.
- The Mojave Groundwater Bank’s Technical Review Panel connects monitoring results with recommendations for additional monitoring, mitigation, or changes to project operations.
- San Bernardino County and Santa Margarita Water District retain enforcement authority. The Technical Review Panel supports their oversight through data review and technical recommendations.
Experienced Specialists Review Groundwater Conditions
The groundwater management plan requires technical expertise to interpret monitoring data and advise the agencies responsible for groundwater protection. Its three-member Technical Review Panel reviews monitoring protocols, collection and processing methods, water quality, groundwater-level changes, and the potential for undesirable results defined by the plan.
Members must have professional technical qualifications suited to those duties and at least 10 years of groundwater experience. The plan gives state certifications in engineering, hydrology, or geology as examples of relevant qualifications. These requirements apply to all three members, including the jointly selected third representative.
Agency Appointments Establish a Three-Member Panel
The County-approved management plan divides appointment responsibilities between San Bernardino County and Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD). The plan assigns no panel seat or appointment role to Cadiz or Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company.
- The County appoints one representative: That representative must meet the plan’s professional qualifications and groundwater-experience requirements.
- SMWD appoints one representative: The same qualification requirements apply to the district’s appointee.
- The two representatives select the third: Their choice is subject to review and approval by both the County and SMWD.
- A court process is available if they cannot agree: The representatives may petition the San Bernardino Superior Court to appoint the third technical representative.
The County and SMWD initiated the panel in February 2023. A draft implementation work plan was submitted to the panel for review in June 2024, as recorded in the five-year monitoring report.
The three-member Technical Review Panel has been selected and seated and is meeting in preparation for anticipated construction in 2027.
Monitoring Data Guide Protective Recommendations
The panel evaluates observations against the management plan’s requirements and action criteria. The groundwater monitoring record provides context for those observations, including agricultural pumping responses, water quality, and land-surface surveys. Project-scale operations remain subject to their own monitoring requirements.
The review process connects evidence to action:
- Assess whether monitoring methods and data are adequate for interpreting groundwater and related resource conditions.
- Evaluate whether an action criterion has been or may be triggered, and assess the proposed corrective response.
- Recommend additional monitoring, mitigation, changes to operations, or refinements to the management plan when appropriate.
- Submit determinations and recommendations to the agencies responsible for final oversight decisions.
At least two members must agree on the panel’s determinations and recommendations. Any differing views are submitted alongside the majority recommendation for the agencies to consider.
The plan requires a pre-operational phase beginning with construction and lasting at least 12 months. Baseline monitoring establishes aquifer and watershed conditions for comparison with later observations.
Public Agencies Can Require Changes to Pumping
San Bernardino County reviews the technical findings and can require alternative corrective action if it finds the proposed response inadequate. SMWD retains its own responsibilities to enforce mitigation measures. The panel advises those agencies; its recommendations do not automatically become orders to change pumping.
Corrective measures can include reducing or stopping groundwater extraction to address predicted or observed undesirable results. The safe-yield plan operates alongside groundwater-level conditions and resource-specific safeguards, rather than as the only test for intervention.
Reports Provide Public Access to Monitoring Findings
The management plan makes annual reports available to agencies, organizations, interest groups, and the public upon written notification to San Bernardino County. It separately requires five-year reports to be available electronically. Those reports include electronic data files and groundwater-model input and output files.
The panel must convene at least annually and as needed to review monitoring findings, action criteria, corrective measures, and proposed plan refinements. The plan permits in-person meetings, telephone conferences, and video conferences.
Technical Review Strengthens Groundwater Oversight
The Mojave Groundwater Bank’s Technical Review Panel gives public agencies expert advice on groundwater protection. Its appointment requirements, review duties, voting rules, and reporting framework support informed decisions about monitoring, mitigation, and pumping. The County and SMWD retain authority to require protective measures, using the panel’s recommendations and any recorded disagreements to inform their decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Are Technical Review Panel Members Selected?
San Bernardino County and Santa Margarita Water District each appoint one member. Their representatives jointly select a third, subject to both agencies’ approval. If they cannot agree, the plan allows them to petition the San Bernardino Superior Court to appoint the third representative. The plan assigns no panel seat or appointment role to Cadiz or Fenner Gap.
What Monitoring Reports Can the Public Access?
The Mojave Groundwater Bank’s management plan provides access to annual reports upon written notification to San Bernardino County and requires five-year reports to be available electronically. Five-year reports include electronic data and model input and output files.
Who Can Require Corrective Action Following Technical Review?
San Bernardino County retains final decision authority under the plan, and SMWD retains its own enforcement responsibilities. The panel recommends responses. Agency action can include changes to operations, mitigation, or reducing or stopping groundwater pumping.
What Qualifications Must Panel Members Have?
All three members must have professional technical qualifications appropriate to their duties and at least 10 years of groundwater experience. The plan identifies state certifications in engineering, hydrology, or geology as examples of relevant qualifications.
How Often Must the Technical Review Panel Meet?
The management plan requires the panel to convene at least annually and as needed for its review responsibilities. Meetings may occur in person, by telephone, or by video conference.
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