Less surface water creates a greater need to pump from underground, which lowers the water table for all users. Regardless of Thursdays ruling, onlookers can expect it wont be the end of this issue. Whitney said the letter wasnt an actual agreement, but part of a back and forth between Sandridge and Tulare Lake Canal Company that was never accepted nor executed. gcse.async = true; For the portions that can be tracked through state and other water district records, the water is mostly flowing south to Kern County, much of it from Kings Countys two largest and most powerful farming operations J.G. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. Like its neighbors, Kings is intensively farmed. Both GSAs, along with three others in the Tulare Lake subbasin, submitted a single joint groundwater plan. And whats the end game of moving that water? Kings County approved 1,238 new agricultural well permits between the start of the last drought in 2012 and 2021, according to county records. The most recent Boswell-Vidovich beef joins at least two other ongoing legal battles over water. He came on board full-time in 2011, give or take, he said. And, you know, at some point in time that water is in risk of going to an urban area. News, Latest Through Sandridge, Vidovich owns about 130,000 acres with 38,500 acres in Kern, 82,000 acres in Kings, 9,500 acres in Tulare and 300 acres in Fresno county, per ParcelQuest. When he brought the issue to the Kings County Water Commission in February 2020, it was tabled and the commission has not met since. And that may be true. He said he bought his first parcel here in 1994 when he invested in a foreclosed property in Kings County. Doug Verboon, a Kings County farmer and member of the county board of supervisors, sounds weary when he talks about Kings Countys water. All right reserved. Its just smart business. Work with nature; dont fight it, Avila said repeatedly. Earlier this week, a Kings County Superior Court Judge ordered a preliminary injunction on the pipeline owned by Sandridge Partners and Santa Clara County's John Vidovich, as first reported by SJV Water. Whos Responsible for Farm Towns Multibillion Dollar Sinking? Vidovich made an offer on the land and Page took it. Bigger landowners hold contracts for most of the state water brought to Kings from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and they own large portions of the private ditch companies that divvy up the Kings River water and ferry it to farms. Incorporate ESG considerations into our investment analysis and decision-making processes, Prioritize ESG issues in our ownership policies and practices, as active owners, Seek appropriate disclosure on ESG metrics within Sunridge investments, Promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry, Work with internal and external stakeholders to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles, Report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles, We invest in experienced management teams and companies to build and grow sustainable champions across the food and agribusiness value chain, Seeds, genetics, fertilizers, crop protection, equipment, services, Produce, plantations, aquaculture, specialty crops, Shipping, infrastructure, cold storage, distribution, Our focus is on member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), We have the ability to scale businesses globally beyond OECD countries. It is an administrator, delivering supplies on direction of its landowners, such as Sandridge, said Sandridge attorney Marshall Whitney. As the processing and sales branch of the organization, SunnyGem almonds are sorted, processed and sold to the wholesale ingredient industry. True, Angiolas canal stops about 23 miles southeast of the project. Digging a new well can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and as each farmer chases water deeper into the earth, it not only pushes others to go deeper, it undermines expensive efforts to recharge the aquifer. Farming runs deep in the blood of growers like Jeff and Karen Gilcrease. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. Both entities are large growers in Kern County as well. Hes a 61-year-old developer who grew up on a farm in Sunnyvale in the heart of what would become the Silicon Valley. His letter states that if all the groundwater being pumped out of the Tulare Lake subbasin isnt fully accounted for, that could harm other GSAs in the subbasin. But in the ongoing legal fracas, a declaration by Sandridge Farm Manager Craig Andrew sketches out the picture. A new groundwater ordinance approved Nov. 29 by the Kings County Board of Supervisors could put the county in the middle of a water war being waged by its two largest farming entities, the J.G. The comments dont come from Boswell and Vidovich themselves, of course, but from the groundwater sustainability agencies each farming operation essentially controls. Second, Im a farmer, Vidovich says. Litigation is pending with respect to some of the suspected transfers, but not all., Sandridge is being sued by the Kings River Water Association, which claims it is moving river water outside its rightful place of use.. The fight between the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the J.G. Boswell and Sandridge are the two biggest kids on the block when it comes to farming and water in Kings County. In aprevious story about the Tulare Lake Subbasin groundwater plan, SJV Water noted that it included only vague outlines for how it planned to manage the areas overdraft and most pumping reduction plans wouldnt kick in until 2035, five years before SGMAs deadline. The line will transfer well water belonging to Sandridge Partners for irrigation purposes, Andrews declaration states. Anything that has water on it, youre going to contend with big money. That includes land with river rights, state water contracts or even just groundwater. She can be reached atlois.henry@sjvwater.org. Partnership Credit Card accounts: John Lewis plc is a credit broker and not a lender, introducing the Partnership Credit Card under exclusive arrangements with the lender NewDay Ltd. Sunridge Partners provides patient capital, deep industry expertise and a hands-on approach to achieving outsized returns for all stakeholders. A skill his detractors say hes used to maneuver water away from its rightful place to his own benefit. Other water districts contended it was much more. About 90% of its farms are considered family owned, according to the 2017 US Department of Agriculture farm census. He Toppled Vince McMahon. Ag Giants Boswell, Vidovich Sling Mud at Each Other The canal company sued but couldnt immediately stop the project. But that money enabled me to go into Angiola (a water district in Tulare County) and have other water sources.. Exactly what groundwater would be moved? He demanded Sandridge provide more data to the other groundwater sustainability agencies. Michael was a business development director for one of Sunridge Partners' portfolio companies. But thats become increasingly challenging. This is what businesses do, he said. Large water pipeline in Kings County raising questions, concerns Theres a lot of people who dont like me, but nobody didnt like my dad.. SANDRIDGE PARTNERS | 16 followers on LinkedIn. As far as Walker knows, no agency, city or county board is trying to figure out whats really happening. There are often laws binding it to a basin. He paid em three times what anyone else wouldve for their land and now theyre all gettin water because of his policies, Page said. To bring it to fruition the district would have to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture or California state revolving fund for money, then build a new treatment facility and construct a line to get its wastewater to the Sandridge line. News, Business transferred or sold large chunks of its surface water, Too little or too much, theres always controversy brewing over Kern River water, Kern River water heads north through flood channel but wont hit Tulare Lake yet, Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up, Vibration in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows. Levees were built in 1983 to protect Corcoran from Kings River floodwater. And thats the biggest issue. The punitive damage portion, about $73 million, was overturned on appeal and the case has been sent back to Kings County. But a portion of the Sandridge pipeline has been laid on land owned by Stratford PUD, Chrissakis noted. Boswell Farming Company and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich. It doesnt make economic sense. When asked about the pipeline Wyrick mentions in his June 2020 letter, Vidovich says only floodwater from the Kings River may have been shipped out of the county. Lois Henry is the CEO/editor of SJV Water. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. While the letter was improvident, attorney Whitney said, it certainly wasnt any kind of peak behind the curtain maintaining it wasnt an official indemnification by Angiola. Farmers in Giant Game of SGMA Dodgeball. If the State Water Resources Control Board decides not, it could give those rights away. Local Yes, critics agree, but Boswell uses that water to irrigate in the district. Not a chance. The Boswell comments are ina letter sent from the El Rico GSA, while Vidovichs concerns are outlined ina letter from the Southwest Kings GSA. Independent farmers are selling out, said Kings County farmer Robert Smith, who grows walnuts, almonds, corn and cotton on about 1,000 acres. Hes now the president of that powerful panel. (Vidovich said he didnt think Sandridge had hit 100,000 acres, total, yet.). Two giant Central Valley farming companies are slinging serious mud at one another over groundwater. Last month, the Tulare Lake Canal Company sued Sandridge Partners, the farming and water giant owned by Santa Clara County native John Vidovich, over the construction of a water pipeline in southern Kings County. At the time, I was heavy with state water but the state water had low allocations and I had no other water source over there (Dudley Ridge land in western Kings County).. A 2020 groundwater sustainability report shows that over the previous five years, agriculture in Kings County relied on an average of about 319,000 acre feet from local rivers and streams, 475,000 acre feet from groundwater and just 37,000 acre feet of state water. And, importantly, Angiola promised not to take the groundwater outside of Tulare or Kings counties or allow any of its landowners to do so. Enforcement could involve pumping limits, fines, and large pumping fees per acre-foot. The Kings is as erratic a river as the Kern so floodwaters are unpredictable. News, California The case is being heard in Kern County by Judge David Lampe. When you first meet John Vidovich, everything from his ball cap to his dirty boots tells you hes a farmer. Where is the water going? - Ghana Business News Jeff has been involved in the groundwater sustainability planning in his area and is concerned about the out-of-county water transfers hes heard about. Boswell has declined to answer questions about its water transfers as well as the amount of groundwater it pumps. When asked if he applies the skills he learned in his military intelligence training to his life today, he answers that we all use the things we learn through life. Validated processes that pasteurize the almonds are performed in-house. All the rest of that stuff its just jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo.. Water is our blood, he said, and theyre stealing it.. Numbers havent been set in stone just yet, but its looking like the Kings/Tulare farming areas will settle somewhere near allowing 1.5 acre feet of water to be pumped per acre. Fight over Kings County pipeline just the latest clash between water Vidovich has said he only moves local groundwater to other lands he farms in Kings County. Its principals and employees are rarely quoted in the media. The Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by JG Boswell Company, moved the equipment onto the canal banks in late January to block trenching for a pipeline by Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich. But when the Kings does flood, as its doing now, millions of acre feet rush north to join up with the San Joaquin River and empty into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. His operation is extensive and very smart.. Nor the end of the clash of Kings Countys most powerful water titans. The giant JG Boswell Company has little love for Sandridge Partners. Boswell has been woven into the fabric of Kings County since its founder, James Griffin Boswell, first set foot on the old Tulare Lake bed 100 years ago and envisioned a cotton empire. His nephew spun the company into a $2.5 billion international farming and development powerhouse. Weather. Your email address will not be published. Latest The land in and around the city of Corcoran has been subsiding for many years, the Southwest Kings GSA comment letter states. About Us - De Anza Properties The title Baron Sandridge was given to Churchill by James II in 1685, and was his first English peerage title (his earlier title, Baron Eyemouth, had been created in 1682 by James . The sale is still considered a blow to Kings water portfolio by other farmers. 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Sandridge Partners, controlled by Silicon Valley developer John Vidovich, is a relative newcomer to the region, making large land acquisitions in the last three decades. But a pipeline, which Vidovich is allowed to build under the Semitropic agreement, could span that distance. Boswell bulldozers allowed to stay put, blocking Kings County pipeline A trial date has been set for December 2022. . I understand the fear, but its not based on reason.. Our team includes leading industry operators and executives as well as a seasoned board of advisors from across the food and agriculture industry. The district plans to store flood flows on land next to the California Aqueduct, the main artery that moves water from northern to southern California, then pump it south. . Michael began his career in commodities trading at Dominion Resources, one of the largest physical and financial traders of natural gas in the US. A Farmer's Quest to Beat California's Waves of Drought and Deluge In fact, Vidovich frequently moves water by pipeline, Pace said, pointing to a massive line Vidovich installed that appears to take Angiola groundwater through his Dudley Ridge lands. Those plans were posted online and the public comment period recently closed. Later, Page would run for and win a seat on the Kern County Water Agency board. John Vidovich, ultimately, followed in his fathers footsteps after obtaining a law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. SANDRIDGE PARTNERS, L.P. Company Number 201005600010 Status Active Incorporation Date 4 February 2010 (about 13 years ago) Company Type Limited Partnership - CA Jurisdiction California (US) Registered Address 920 WEST FREMONT AVE SUNNYVALE CA 94087 United States Directors / Officers JOHN VIDOVICH, LLC, general partner Inactive Directors / Officers The large, black pipe could be seen . It wanted an operating agreement and hefty insurance coverage. Once a river is at flood stage, that usually means all other rights have been filled and the overflow is free game. From ending poverty and hunger to climate change and sustaining our natural resources, food and agriculture lies at the very heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The association contends that even though those lands are in the county, they are beyond whats considered the rivers service area. And river water cannot be taken outside that service area, according to the lawsuit. But, in the last five or 10 years, only corporate guys have been coming in. These 12 secret power players are shaping SF Bay Area housing market Either way, Judge Chrissakis ordered the pipeline halted until she decides whether it should come under CEQA review at a March 23 hearing. So, capturing that south fork floodwater would benefit both Kings and Kern county farmers, according to Semitropics Gianquinto. Click here to read all the comment letters on groundwater sustainability plans submitted to the Department of Water Resources. Mavens Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide. At one point, he was moving nearly 30,000 acre feet a year, according to Angiolas records. And its that groundwater part of Semitropics agreement with Vidovich that is raising hackles along with eyebrows. The judge made a partial ruling in June that long standing river agreements do allow river owners to move water within the service area. But comments made during a hearing Monday on Sandridges restraining order pulled back the curtain on the real concern. The sprawling Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County wants Kings River flood water that it says current rights holders are letting flow to the ocean in heavy precipitation years. A judge found this past March that the initiative was flawed because Vidovich used his own project description instead of the neutral description by the Cupertino city attorney. Based in Los Altos, California, De Anza Properties is a collaborative, nationwide firm owned and operated by its Principals. But he fears family ownership is already being priced out of farming and predicts the business will be consolidated into fewer and fewer hands. It agreed to pay Pixley/Lower Tule $240,000 a year to bring in federal water to recharge the groundwater. Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond We lose innovation., Still, Zetland didnt fault Sandridge or Boswell. Lukas holds an MA in Natural Sciences, an MPhil in Management, and a PhD in Plant Sciences from the University of Cambridge. He ran, unsuccessfully for city council in his hometown of Los Altos Hills in 2006. As for Angiolas involvement, Chrissakis found a Jan. 17 letter to Tulare Lake Canal Company, in which Angiola says it will use the pipeline and indemnify the canal company for any damage from the pipeline, highly relevant.. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. Michael is seasoned agribusiness investment and business development professional with more than a decade of experience. Im actually not supposed to talk about it.. Zakaria: These Revolutions May Help India Really Take off at Last, Future of California at Risk if CEQA Environmental Law Remains Unchanged, NBA Playoffs: Star-Studded Round 2 Has Big Names, Intense Rivalries. Avila says corporations are gobbling up the land to plant more permanent crops and draining the countys water in the process. Wyrick writes that it is believed Sandridge uses a canal/pipeline system to move groundwater from the Tule and Westside subbasins south and west for use in the Southwest Kings GSA as well as lands in the Kern Subbasin. That information also isnt contained in groundwater plans for the El Rico Groundwater Sustainability Agency, which covers Boswell lands almost exclusively. SANCHEZ VS VIDOVICH ET AL - UniCourt Semitropic Water Storage District, in northwestern Kern, has raised a lot of eyebrows with its ambitious, some say audacious, Tulare Lake Storage and Floodwater Protection Project. Yes, locals have a bad taste in their mouths from Vidovichs water moves, I was told by several people, many of whom said they were too afraid of retaliation to use their names. He started buying consistently in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties throughout the early and mid-2000s and continues to add properties sometimes at a blistering pace. In addition to inshell and raw . Home | Sunridge Partners Vidovich is gobbling up all the parcels he can so he can keep on pumping, Mitchell said. Theres so many canals and ways it can move; its hard to track, he said. Our farming company, Sandridge Partners, farms thousands of acres of almonds each year in the central region of California providing an ever-increasing supply of almonds. Latest Though he insists this flood water isnt being used and is, in fact, a nuisance, locals consider it an attempted theft of the Kings River. It now retains about 132,000 acres in Kings as well as 3,700 acres in Tulare County and 23,000 acres in Kern County, according to ParcelQuest, a property information database. He specialised in product and growth strategy projects within the consumer and food space. Boswell repeatedly declined requests for interviews on this story. He recalls that when he was growing up, the region was dotted with small dairies, orchards, rotating crops of corn, cotton and alfalfa, and open grazing land with sloughs that could absorb water in flood years. World, Latest All right reserved. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP (FRN: 821518) is an Appointed Representative of Kroll Securities Limited, (FRN: 466588) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In 2016, the levees had to be built up another four feet. Tulare County judge orders landowner to stop pumping, exporting Related Story: Its Farmers vs. Boswell has also been moving water out of Kings. gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; You dont know the purpose of this pipeline, Tulare Lake Canal Company attorney Leonard Herr told the judge. The corporations and the bigger guys are buying up land left and right for astronomical prices, Smith said. Muriel started her career in the US as a personal assistant and then, 14 years was an Executive Assistant working with a large team at Eurostar International. Pace farmed in the valley and partnered with Vidovich for a while. Ghana Business News - The first place for your business news. The association contends that those lands arent in the rivers service area.. Then there was the nail in the coffin for folks like Pace and Mitchell when Vidovich appeared in a National Geographic film called Water and Power: A California Heist, which ran in mid-March and again on June 25. The boundaries of that service area, however, have yet to be determined. He was in military intelligence and had a top secret clearance that involved gathering data and evaluating products they made, he said. Now, Pace said, Vidovich will do the same thing on a larger scale by moving Kings and Tulare groundwater to Kern County. No, he said. Hurley, who also serves as general manager of Green Valley, said that basin, which is separate from the Tulare Lake basin, is actually in balance. Hes serious about taking water out of this valley, Pace said. Meanwhile, the complaint against Sandridge by Tulare Lake Canal Company is still pending. We are one of the largest vertically integrated almond suppliers in the world. People complain all the time about whats happening with our water, but no one wants to do anything, he said. The difference, according to Vidovich, is Sandridge is letting some of its Kings County lands go fallow, while, he says, Boswell is pumping additional groundwater to continue farming its Kings County acreage. The elder Vidovich built a regional real estate powerhouse, which the younger Vidovich grew into a statewide empire. Previously, Lukas worked as a Strategy Manager at Teneo, focusing on strategic and organisational transformations as well as projects requiring advanced data analytics. They argued that McCarthy Farms breached a contract when they sold the land and water rights to Vidovich and Sandridge Partners, which included members of Vidovichs family. His father, Stephen Vidovich, formed De Anza Properties and helped develop the valley. They just do what they want and you have to sue to stop em, Mitchell said. Thats true of the entire San Joaquin Valley, where he said farmings footprint is retracting because of pumping restrictions looming under the states new groundwater law. Founded in 1966, with legacies dating back more than 100 years; our highly trained staff provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, and financing services to clients across the . News Boswell Company, and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich, filed a blizzard of court actions alleging the other was trespassing and seeking injunctions to . Ben also has experience working in the investment banking division of Credit Suisses general industrials team. It shows something about the thought process that we dont usually get to see, she said, wondering if the letter is a kind of smoking gun that exposes the true intent of the pipeline as a public project thats being hidden.. The purpose of the pipeline is irrelevant, said Sandridge Attorney Marshall Whitney. But in terms of equity, yes, there is a problem.. The website iswww.sjvwater.org. Vidovich, he said, is just the new water baron on the block, thats all. A trial date has been set for December 2022. Welcome to Kings County, where water wars still rage both in and outside the courthouse and often have deeper currents than what appears in legal papers. People just dont want to face the music.. believe Sunridge can have the greatest impact are: Previously, Michael was an investment professional at RJI Capital, a boutique private equity and. And if its not economical, you dont have to question the morality.. There is some uncertainty by El Rico GSA with regard to this request because of the hidden nature of Sandridges operations, Wyrick wrote in the June 2020 letter. My business approach right now is to acquire as much water as I can to be diversified in water. However, during testimony in the states Kings River proceeding, Boswell employee Mark Unruh said the company irrigates nearly year-round, from late October through the summer. The 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno has overturned a $73.4 million verdict against McCarthy Family Farms and Bay Area developer John Vidovich and Sandridge Partners involving a land. Vidovich is, after all, a powerful landowner in the Central Valley. Sandridge filed a restraining order to have the excavators, bulldozers and trucks removed, but Kings County Superior Court And thats the deeper current here. Gianquinto and Vidovich have repeatedly said that it would be nearly impossible for an individual to use state facilities to create a private water market using any water, let alone groundwater. Bilyana is involved in the financial oversight of Sunridge Parners and its portfolio companies. Karen isnt the only one who feels this way.
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