BILL NUMBER: AB 900	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 28, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member De Leon
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Emmerson,  Fuller,  
Gilmore,  Salas, and Solorio)

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Sections 5101 and 5103 of the Water Code, relating
to water diversion.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 900, as amended, De Leon. Water diversion: statements of water
diversion and use.
   Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires each person who
diverts water after December 31, 1965, to file with the State Water
Resources Control Board a prescribed statement of diversion and use.
Existing law requires a statement to include specified information,
including, on and after January 1, 2012, monthly records of water
diversions. Under existing  law ,   law, 
the monthly record requirement does not apply to a surface water
diversion with a combined diversion capacity from a natural channel
that is less than 50 cubic feet per second or to diverters using
siphons in the tidal zone.
   This bill would delete an exception to the statement requirement
for diversions included in the consumptive use data for the delta
lowlands published by the department in its hydrologic data
bulletins.  The bill would add an exception to the statement
requirement for a surface water diversion from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, as defined, that has a combined diversion capacity of
less that 10 gallons per minute.  The bill would, commencing
January 1, 2011, impose the monthly record requirement on any surface
water diversion  of any size   that has a
specified diversion capacity  that is within the 
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined   Delta, unless
the board makes a specified   determination  . The
bill would also provide that the monthly record requirement would not
apply to  a  surface  water  diversion that is
outside  of  the  Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta   Delta  , and that has a combined diversion
capacity from a natural channel that is less than 50 cubic feet per
second. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The San Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
(Delta) is in the midst of an ecological crisis. Its unique character
and capacity to serve California are threatened by a variety of
factors, including diversions of water, pollution, urbanization,
flood and seismic risks, and invasive species.
   (b) The water that is found in, and delivered through, the Delta
is the source of drinking water for 25,000,000 Californians, fuels a
$37,000,000,000 agricultural industry, and serves as an important
habitat for over 750 plant and animal species.
   (c) It has been estimated that there are approximately 1,800
agricultural, municipal, and industrial diversions in the Delta that,
combined, divert 5 percent of the freshwater flows from the Delta
watershed. However, because none of these in-Delta diverters are
required to measure and report their water diversion and use, there
is presently little data regarding the nature, extent, and location
of these diversions.
   (d) Given the well-known importance of water to the state's
health, economy, and welfare, including to its ecosystems and natural
resources, water measurement and reporting is required in virtually
every part of the state, except in the Delta.
   (e) In order to develop the information necessary to inform
impending decisions regarding the allocation and use of water in, and
delivered through, the Delta, a baseline of water diversion
information from in-Delta diversions is necessary and appropriate.
  SEC. 2.  Section 5101 of the Water Code is amended to read:
   5101.  Each person who, after December 31, 1965, diverts water
shall file with the board, prior to July 1 of the succeeding year, a
statement of his or her diversion and use, except that a statement is
not required to be filed if the diversion is any of the following:
   (a) From a spring that does not flow off the property on which it
is located.
   (b) Covered by an application, permit or license to appropriate
water on file with the board.
   (c) Included in a notice filed pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with
Section 4999).
   (d) Regulated by a watermaster appointed by the department.
   (e) Reported by the department in its hydrologic data bulletins.

   (f) A surface water diversion from the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, as defined in Section 12220, that has a combined diversion
capacity of less than 10 gallons per minute.  
   (f) 
    (g)  Included in annual reports filed with a court or
the board by a watermaster appointed by a court or pursuant to
statute to administer a final judgment determining rights to water,
which reports identify the persons who have diverted water and give
the general place of use and the quantity of water that has been
diverted from each source. 
   (g) 
    (h)  For use in compliance with the provisions of
Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 1226) of Chapter 1 of Part 2.
  SEC. 3.  Section 5103 of the Water Code is amended to read:
   5103.  Each statement shall be prepared on a form provided by the
board. The statement shall include all of the following information:
   (a) The name and address of the person who diverted water and of
the person filing the statement.
   (b) The name of the stream or other source from which water was
diverted, and the name of the next major stream or other body of
water to which the source is tributary.
   (c) The place of diversion. If a public land survey has been made,
location of diversion works shall be described to the nearest
40-acre subdivision. If not, it shall be described by reference to
nearest local landmarks or other recorded surveys.
   (d) The capacity of the diversion works and of the storage
reservoir, if any, and the months in which water was used during the
preceding calendar year.
   (e) (1) On and after January 1, 2012, monthly records of water
diversions. The measurements of the diversion shall be made using
best available technologies and best professional practices. Nothing
in this paragraph shall be construed to require the implementation of
technologies or practices that are not locally cost effective.
   (2) Except as specified in paragraph (3), paragraph (1) does not
apply to a surface water diversion that is outside  of
 the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section
12220, and that has a combined diversion capacity from a natural
channel that is less than 50 cubic feet per second.
   (3) Commencing January 1, 2011, paragraph (1) shall apply to any
surface water diversion  of any size that is within the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220. 
 that has a combined diversion capacity of 10 gallons per minute
or greater that is within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as
defined in Section 12220, unless the board determines that requiring
the reporting of those diversions is necessary for the efficient
management of water rights. 
   (4) (A) The terms of, and eligibility for, any grant or loan
awarded or administered by the department, the board, or the
California Bay-Delta Authority on behalf of a person that is subject
to paragraph (1) shall be conditioned on compliance with that
paragraph.
   (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the board may determine that
a person is eligible for a grant or loan even though the person is
not complying with paragraph (1), if both of the following apply:
   (i) The board determines that the grant or loan will assist the
grantee or loan recipient in complying with paragraph (1).
   (ii) The person has submitted to the board a one-year schedule for
complying with paragraph (1).
   (C) It is the intent of the Legislature that the requirements of
this subdivision shall complement and not affect the scope of
authority granted to the board by provisions of law other than this
article.
   (f) For persons not subject to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), a
description of the acreage of each crop irrigated, the average
number of people served with water, the average number of stock
watered, and the nature and extent of any other use during the
preceding calendar year, or other equivalent information that
indicates the quantity of water used as may be prescribed by the
board. Those who maintain water measuring devices and keep monthly
records of water diversions shall state the quantity of water
diverted by months during the preceding calendar year.
   (g) The purpose of use.
   (h) A general description of the area in which the water was used.
If the water was used on an area within the 1/16 section containing
the point of diversion, a statement to that effect will suffice;
otherwise a description or sketch of the general area of use shall be
given.
   (i) The year in which the diversion was commenced as near as is
known.