BILL NUMBER: SB 610 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 23, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Costa
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to amend Section 21151.9 of the Public Resources Code, and
to amend Sections 10635, 10910, 10911, 10912, and 10915 of, and to
repeal Section 10913 of, the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 610, as amended, Costa. Water supply planning.
(1) Existing law requires every urban water supplier to include as
part of its urban water management plan an assessment of the
reliability of its water service to its customers.
This bill would require additional information to be included as
part of an urban water management plan for urban water suppliers
whose water supply includes groundwater.
(2) Existing law, under certain circumstances, requires a city or
county that determines an environmental impact report is required in
connection with a project, as defined, to request each public water
system that may supply water for the project to assess, among other
things, whether its total projected water supplies will meet the
projected water demand associated with the proposed project.
Existing law requires the public water system to submit the
assessment to the city or county not later than 30 days from the date
on which the request was received and, in the absence of the
submittal of an assessment, provides that it shall be assumed that
the public water system has no information to submit. Existing law
makes legislative findings and declarations concerning "Proposition
C," a measure approved by the voters of San Diego County relating to
regional growth management, and provides that the procedures
established by a specified review board established in connection
with that measure are deemed to comply with the requirements
described above relating to water supply planning by a city or
county.
This bill would revise these those
provisions. The bill, instead, would require a city or county that
determines a project is subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act to identify any public water system that may supply water
for the project and to request those public water systems ,
under certain circumstances, to assess whether its total
projected water supplies will meet the projected water demand
associated with the proposed project. The bill would require the
assessment to include , among other information, an
identification of existing water supply entitlements, water rights,
or water service contracts held by the public water system
relevant to the identified water supply for the
proposed project and prior years water
deliveries so received in prior years
by the public water system pursuant to those entitlements,
rights, and contracts . The bill would require the city
or county, if it is not able to identify any public water
system that may supply water for the project, to prepare the water
supply assessment. The bill would revise the definition of
"project," for the purposes of these provisions, and make related
changes.
The bill would require authorize the
city or county, if a public water system does not submit the
assessment within 90 days, to request the Department of
Water Resources to submit the assessment to the city or county not
later than 90 days from the date on which the request was received.
The bill would provide for the recovery of the costs incurred by the
department in connection with the preparation of the assessment
seek a writ of mandamus to compel the governing body
of the public water system to comply with the requirements relating
to the submission of the water supply assessment . The bill
would require the city or county to include the water supply
assessment and certain other prescribed
information in any environmental document prepared for the project
pursuant to the act. By establishing duties for counties and cities,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would provide that the County of San Diego is deemed to
comply with these water supply planning requirements if the Office of
Planning and Research determines that certain requirements have been
met in connection with the implementation of "Proposition C."
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for
making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State
Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed
$1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide
costs exceed $1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for
making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The length and severity of droughts in California cannot be
predicted with any accuracy.
(2) There are various factors that affect the ability to ensure
that adequate water supplies are available to meet all of California'
s water demands.
(3) Because of these factors, it is not possible to guarantee a
permanent water supply for all water users in California in the
amounts requested.
(4) Therefore, it is critical that California's water agencies
carefully assess the reliability of their water supply and delivery
systems.
(5) Furthermore, California's overall water delivery system has
become less reliable over the last 20 years because demand for water
has continued to grow while supplies available for consumptive uses
have decreased.
(6) With increasing frequency, California's water agencies are
required to impose water rationing on their residential and business
customers during this state's frequent and severe periods of drought.
(7) The identification of water supplies needed during
multiple-year droughts is vital to California's business climate, as
well as to the health of the agricultural industry, environment,
rural communities, and residents who continue to face the possibility
of severe water cutbacks during water shortage periods.
(8) It appears that the water supply and land use planning
linkage, established by Part 2.10 (commencing with Section 10910) of
Division 6 of the Water Code, has not been implemented in a manner
that ensures the appropriate level of communication and the necessary
information to understand water supply availability is not
consistently reaching the governing bodies of the affected
organizations in order for decisions to be made with regard to
development and water supply availability within local communities.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to strengthen the process
pursuant to which cities and counties determine the adequacy of
existing and planned future water supplies to meet existing and
planned future demands on those water supplies.
SEC. 2. Section 21151.9 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
21151.9. Whenever a city or county determines that a project, as
defined in Section 10912 of , and described in Section 10910
of, the Water Code, is subject to this division, it shall
comply with Part 2.10 (commencing with Section 10910) of Division 6
of the Water Code.
SEC. 3. Section 10635 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10635. (a) Every urban water supplier shall include, as part of
its urban water management plan, an assessment of the reliability of
its water service to its customers during normal, dry, and multiple
dry water years. This water supply and demand assessment shall
compare the total water supply sources available to the water
supplier with the total projected water use over the next 20 years,
in five-year increments, for a normal water year, a single dry water
year, and multiple dry water years. The water service reliability
assessment shall be based upon the information compiled pursuant to
Section 10631, including available data from state, regional, or
local agency population projections within the service area of the
urban water supplier.
(b) In addition to the information provided pursuant to
subdivision (a), for urban water suppliers whose water supply
includes groundwater, the following additional information shall be
provided as part of its urban water management plan:
(1) An identification and description of the other users of the
groundwater basin and the historical water use patterns of those
other users during normal, single-dry, and multiple-dry water years.
(2) An estimate of the maximum quantity of water that can be
continuously withdrawn from the groundwater basin without adverse
effect.
(3) An identification as to whether the groundwater basin is
overdrafted and a description of the known and anticipated effects of
the overdraft condition.
(4) A description of any groundwater management programs that have
been implemented, including any strategies to monitor groundwater
levels and extractions and the development of any cooperative
arrangements among basin users to minimize or eliminate problem
conditions.
(b) For urban water suppliers whose water supply includes
groundwater, the following information shall be provided as part of
the assessment required pursuant to subdivision (a):
(1) A copy of any groundwater management plan adopted by the urban
water supplier, including plans adopted pursuant to Part 2.75
(commencing with Section 10750), or any other specific authorization
for groundwater management.
(2) A description of any groundwater basin or basins from which
the urban water supplier pumps groundwater. For those basins for
which a court or the board has adjudicated the rights to pump
groundwater, a copy of the order or decree adopted by the court or
the board and a description of the amount of groundwater the urban
water supplier has the legal right to pump under the order or decree.
For basins that have not been adjudicated, information as to
whether the department has identified the basin or basins as
overdrafted or in critical condition in its Bulletin 118 series and a
detailed description of the efforts being undertaken by the urban
water supplier to eliminate the long-term overdraft condition.
(3) A detailed description and analysis of the amount and location
of groundwater pumped by the urban water supplier for the past five
years.
(c) The urban water supplier shall provide that portion of its
urban water management plan prepared pursuant to this article to any
city or county within which it provides water supplies no later than
60 days after the submission of its urban water management plan.
(d) Nothing in this article is intended to create a right or
entitlement to water service or any specific level of water service.
(e) Nothing in this article is intended to change existing law
concerning an urban water supplier's obligation to provide water
service to its existing customers or to any potential future
customers.
SEC. 4. Section 10910 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10910. (a) Any city or county that determines that a project, as
defined in Section 10912, is subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
Public Resources Code) under Section 21080 of the Public Resources
Code shall comply with this part .
(b) The city or county, at the time that it determines whether an
environmental impact report, a negative declaration, or a mitigated
negative declaration is required for any project subject to the
California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 21080.1 of
the Public Resources Code, shall identify any water system that is,
or may become, a public water system, as defined in Section 10912,
that may supply water for the project. If the city or county is not
able to identify any public water system that may supply water for
the project, the city or county shall request the department
to comply with this part.
(c) project, the city or county shall prepare the
water assessment required by this part after consulting with the
local agency formation commission and any public water system
adjacent to the project site.
(c) (1) The city or county, at the time it makes the
determination required under Section 21080.1 of the Public Resources
Code, shall request each public water system identified pursuant to
subdivision (b) to assess determine
whether the projected water demand associated with a proposed project
was included as part of the most recently adopted urban water
management plan adopted pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section
10610). As part of that assessment, the public water
system shall indicate whether its total projected water supplies
available during normal, single-dry, and multiple-dry water years
included in the 20-year projection contained in the urban water
management plan will meet the projected water demand associated with
the proposed project, in addition to the public water system's
existing and planned future uses. The
(2) If the projected water demand of the project was described in
the most recently adopted urban water management plan, the public
water system shall comply with subdivisions (d), (e), (f), and (g).
If the projected water demand of the project was not described in the
most recently adopted urban water management plan, or the public
water system has no urban water management plan, or the city or
county is required to comply with this part pursuant to subdivision
(b), the water supply assessment for the project shall include a
discussion with regard to whether the public water system's total
projected water supplies available during normal, single-dry, and
multiple-dry water years during a 20-year projection will meet the
projected water demand associated with the proposed project, in
addition to the public water system's existing and planned future
uses, including agricultural and manufacturing uses.
(d) (1) The assessment shall also include an identification
of any existing water supply entitlements, water rights, or water
service contracts held by the public water system
relevant to the identified water supply for the proposed project
, and a description of the quantities of prior years'
water deliveries received water deliveries received
in prior years by the public water system under the existing
water supply entitlements, water rights, or water service contracts.
(d)
(2) An identification of existing water supply entitlements,
water rights, or water service contracts held by the public water
system shall be demonstrated by providing information related to all
of the following:
(1)
(A) Written contracts or other proof of entitlement to an
identified water supply.
(2)
(B) Copies of a capital outlay program for financing the
delivery of a water supply, that has been adopted by the public water
system.
(3)
(C) Federal, state, and local permits for construction of
necessary infrastructure associated with delivering the water supply.
(4)
(D) Any necessary regulatory approvals that are required in
order to be able to convey or deliver the water supply.
(e) If no prior years' water deliveries have been received by the
(e) If no water deliveries have been received in prior years by
the public water system under the existing water supply
entitlements, water rights, or water service contracts, the public
water system shall also include in its water supply assessment
pursuant to subdivision (c), an identification of the other public
water systems or water service contract holders that receive a water
supply or have existing water supply entitlements, water rights, or
water service contracts, to the same source of water as the public
water system has identified as a source of water supply within its
water supply assessments.
(f) In addition to the information provided pursuant to
subdivision (c), a public water system whose water supply includes
groundwater shall also provide the following information:
(1) An identification and description of the other users of the
groundwater basin and the historical water use patterns of those
other users during normal, single-dry, and multiple-dry water years.
(2) An estimate of the maximum quantity of water that can be
continuously withdrawn from the groundwater basin without adverse
effect.
(3) An identification as to whether the groundwater basin is
overdrafted and a description of the known and anticipated effects of
the overdraft condition.
(4) A description of any groundwater management programs that have
been implemented, including any strategies to monitor groundwater
levels and extractions and the development of any cooperative
arrangements among basin users to minimize or eliminate problem
conditions.
(f) If a water supply for a proposed project includes groundwater,
the following additional information shall be included in the water
supply assessment:
(1) A copy of any groundwater management plan adopted by the urban
water supplier, including plans adopted pursuant to Part 2.75
(commencing with Section 10750), or any other specific authorization
for groundwater management.
(2) A description of any groundwater basin or basins from which a
court or the board the proposed project will be supplied. For those
basins for which a court or the board has adjudicated the rights to
pump groundwater, a copy of the order or decree adopted by the court
or the board and a description of the amount of groundwater the urban
water supplier has the legal right to pump under the order or
decree. For basins that have not been adjudicated, information as to
whether the department has identified the basin or basins as
overdrafted or in critical condition in its Bulletin 118 series and a
detailed description by the urban water supplier of the efforts
being undertaken to eliminate the long-term overdraft condition.
(3) A detailed description and analysis of the amount and location
of groundwater pumped by the urban water supplier for the past five
years.
(g) (1) The governing body of each public water system shall
approve the assessment prepared pursuant to subdivision (c), at a
regular or special meeting and submit the assessment to the city or
county not later than 90 days from the date on which the request was
received.
(2) If the governing body does not approve and submit the
assessment within 90 days, the city or county shall request
the department to prepare the assessment pursuant to subdivision (c)
and the department shall submit the assessment to the city or county
not later than 90 days from the date on which the request was
received.
(3) The Controller shall deduct the amount of any costs incurred
by the department in preparing the assessment pursuant to paragraph
(2), as those costs are determined by the department and submitted to
the Controller, from any appropriation to, or for the benefit of,
the public water system for which the assessment was prepared until
the total cost of the assessment has been recovered by the state.
may seek a writ of mandamus to compel the governing
body of the public water system to comply with the requirements of
this part relating to the submission of the water supply assessment.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, if a project
has been the subject of a water supply assessment that complies with
the requirements of this part, no additional water supply assessment
shall be required unless one or more of the following changes
occurs:
(1) Substantial changes in the project.
(2) Substantial changes in the circumstances or conditions under
which the project is being undertaken.
(3) Significant new information becomes available which was not
known and could not have been known at the time when the assessment
was prepared.
SEC. 5. Section 10911 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10911. (a) If, as a result of its assessment, the public water
system concludes that its water supplies are, or will be,
insufficient, the public water system shall provide to the city or
county its plans for acquiring additional water supplies, setting
forth the measures that are being undertaken to acquire and develop
those water supplies. Those plans may include, but are not limited
to, information concerning all of the following:
(1) The estimated total costs, and the proposed method of
financing the costs, associated with acquiring the additional water
supplies.
(2) All federal, state, and local permits, approvals, or
entitlements that are anticipated to be required in order to acquire
and develop the additional water supplies.
(3) Based on the considerations set forth in paragraphs (1) and
(2), the estimated timeframes within which the public water system
expects to be able to acquire additional water supplies.
(b) The city or county shall include the water supply assessment
provided pursuant to Section 10910, and any information provided
pursuant to subdivision (a), in any environmental document prepared
for the project pursuant to Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(c) The city or county may include in any environmental document
an evaluation of any information included in that environmental
document provided pursuant to subdivision (b). The city or county
shall determine, based on the entire record, whether projected water
supplies will be sufficient to satisfy the demands of the project, in
addition to existing and planned future uses. If the city or county
determines that water supplies will not be sufficient, the city or
county shall include that determination in its findings for the
project.
SEC. 6. Section 10912 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10912. For the purposes of this part, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Project" means any of the following:
(1) A proposed residential development of more than 500 dwelling
units.
(2) A proposed shopping center or business establishment employing
more than 1,000 persons or having more than 500,000 square feet of
floor space.
(3) A proposed commercial office building employing more than
1,000 persons or having more than 250,000 square feet of floor space.
(4) A proposed hotel or motel, or both, having more than 500
rooms.
(5) A proposed industrial, manufacturing, or processing plant, or
industrial park planned to house more than 1,000 persons, occupying
more than 40 acres of land, or having more than 650,000 square feet
of floor area.
(6) A mixed-use project that includes one or more of the projects
specified in this subdivision.
(7) A general plan, element, or amendment that provides for one or
more of the projects specified in this subdivision.
(8) A project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to,
or greater than, the amount of water required by a 500 dwelling unit
project.
(b) If a public water system has fewer than 5,000 service
connections, then "project" means any proposed residential, business,
commercial, hotel or motel, or industrial development that would
account for an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of the
public water system's existing service connections, or a mixed-use
project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to, or
greater than, the amount of water required by residential development
that would represent an increase of 10 percent or more in the number
of the public water system's existing service connections.
(c) "Public water system" means a system for the provision of
piped water to the public for human consumption that has 3000 or more
service connections. A public water system includes all of the
following:
(1) Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facility
under control of the operator of the system which is used primarily
in connection with the system.
(2) Any collection or pretreatment storage facility not under the
control of the operator that is used primarily in connection with the
system.
(3) Any person who treats water on behalf of one or more public
water systems for the purpose of rendering it safe for human
consumption.
SEC. 7. Section 10913 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 8. Section 10915 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10915. The County of San Diego is deemed to comply with this part
if the Office of Planning and Research determines that all of the
following conditions have been met:
(a) Proposition (C), as approved by the voters of the County of
San Diego in November 1988, requires the development of a regional
growth management plan and directs the establishment of a regional
planning and growth management review board.
(b) The County of San Diego and the cities in the county, by
agreement, designates the San Diego Association of Governments as
that review board.
(c) A regional growth management strategy that provides for a
comprehensive regional strategy and a coordinated economic
development and growth management program has been developed pursuant
to Proposition C.
(d) The regional growth management strategy includes a water
element to coordinate planning for water that is consistent with the
requirements of this part.
(e) The San Diego County Water Authority, by agreement with the
San Diego Association of Governments in its capacity as the review
board, uses the association's most recent regional growth forecasts
for planning purposes and to implement the water element of the
strategy.
(f) The procedures established by the review board for the
development and approval of the regional growth management strategy,
including the water element and any certification process established
to ensure that a project is consistent with that element, comply
with the requirements of this part.
SEC. 9. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
(g) The environmental documents for a project located in the
County of San Diego include information that accomplishes the same
purposes as a water supply assessment that is prepared pursuant to
Section 10910.
SEC. 9. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.