East Turlock Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency Incentivized Fallowing Program Policy

The East Turlock Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETSGSA) is implementing a voluntary Incentivized Fallowing Program (IFP) to reduce groundwater demand and meet sustainability targets outlined in the Revised Turlock Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The program offers financial incentives to landowners and operators who agree to fallow irrigated agricultural land for three consecutive years, forfeiting all associated groundwater allocations and prohibiting any irrigation during the term. Enrollment requires that the land was irrigated in 2022, consists of at least five contiguous acres, and is free of outstanding compliance issues with water accounts. Participants must maintain vegetated cover to prevent dust and nuisance conditions, and the IFP Agreement must be recorded with the county, creating a legal encumbrance on the parcel. Selection for participation is based solely on historical consumptive groundwater use per acre measured during the 2023–2024 reporting periods, with higher-use parcels prioritized to maximize water savings efficiency. The program operates within Merced and Stanislaus Counties, and applications are accepted during a two-month window at the start of each reporting period, with funding allocated on a first-ranked, budget-limited basis. Incentive payments are not issued as direct cash but are administered as offsets against Groundwater Use Fee invoices through the agency’s Groundwater Accounting Platform. The IFP Policy, attached as Exhibit B, and the map of ETSGSA jurisdiction, Exhibit A, form the legal basis of the program, which is enforced through compliance inspections on-site and administrative acceptance through county recording. No federal contracting mechanisms or FAR clauses apply; instead, the program operates under state groundwater sustainability law, CEQA exemptions, and ETSGSA’s own regulatory framework, with no formal contract types, payment offices, or contracting officer roles designated. The General Manager serves as the primary point of contact for program administration and agreement execution, and there are no socioeconomic, size, or entity certifications required from applicants.