Like recycling, sustainability is another sacrament of the climate cult.

Napa Valley’s already struggling wine industry is being slapped with a new groundwater bill as county officials scramble to meet California’s state-mandated sustainability goals.

Even grape growers who don’t pump groundwater will have to cough up $17.53 for every planted acre under proposed fees for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the Napa Valley Register reported after The Post broke the story in June.

Those who actually use groundwater for irrigation face another $26.91 per acre, taking their total hit to $44.44.

Late last year, the Board of Directors of the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (NCGSA) passed a resolution authorizing the agency to levy groundwater-sustainability fees on users in the Napa Valley Subbasin.

However, the New York Post points out this so-called sustainability fee could stick vineyards with a $25,000 yearly charge just as they’re working to cut expenses and adapt to a changing market. According to the Napa Valley Register the backlash over these sustainability impacts was enough that the board reversed course and temporarily lowered the fees … for now.

Fees for pumping groundwater on the Napa Valley floor this fiscal year should be less than half the maximum amounts that some grape growers feared might become reality.

The Board of Supervisors decided in June to lower the inaugural year groundwater fees. But the county had yet to crunch the numbers to come up with the amounts.

A new county report describes the proposed amounts for the 2026-27 fiscal year that runs from July 1 through June 30. The Board of Supervisors could adopt the fees during its 2 p.m. session Tuesday in the county administration building, at 1195 Third St. in downtown Napa.

Even after that cut and other fee concessions, industry experts say it will still make wine production in the region less sustainable, meaning the result will be fewer and higher pried California wines.

One account on X that monitors corruption in Napa Valley reveals that the local government is a crime syndicate.

Sustainability once meant using resources wisely, cutting waste, and protecting the environment while meeting human needs. Today, as Napa Valley’s example reveals, it often serves as cover for agencies to expand power and direct public funds to regulators, consultants, and favored contractors. The result: more permits, paperwork, costs, delays, and rules that businesses must absorb.

The worst part about all of this is that the environmentalists, if not the political Left overall, doesn’t care in the least. They just love watching the world burn.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay