BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 900
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   AB 900 (De Leon) - As Amended:  April 28, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Water, Parks and  
          Wildlife     Vote:                            13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires an in-Delta water user to monitor and report  
          his or her water diversion to the State Water Resources Control  
          Board (SWRCB).  Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires, as of January 1, 2011, a person who diverts surface  
            water from the legal Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to report  
            those diversions to SWRCB every three years.

          2)Exempts from these reporting requirements diversions sources  
            that have a capacity of less than 10 gallons per minute.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Costs in 2011-12 and 2012-13, ranging from roughly $275,000 to  
            $525,000 and requiring seven staff members, to receive,  
            validate, and record 800 to 1,600 new water diversion filings.  
            (GF or Water Rights Fund) 

          2)Minor annual costs of less than $50,000, beginning in 2013-14,  
            receive, file and maintain diversion filings.  (GF or Water  
            Rights Fund)
           
           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale.   Competing agricultural, urban, and environmental  
            demands constrain the use of Delta water. For example, a  
            federal judge recently reduced water export pumping from the  
            Delta in response to declining fish populations.  Such  
            constraints highlight the need to better manage Delta water  
            use.  








                                                                  AB 900
                                                                  Page  2


            In December 2007, the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force-a  
            commission created by the governor to advise on Delta  
            management-estimated that in-Delta water diversions represent  
            between 4%-5% of total Delta water diversions. However, and in  
            contrast to diversions made as part of the Central Valley  
            Project and the State Water Project, in-Delta water diversions  
            are exempt from water diversion reporting requirements. This  
            exemption has lead to a lack of information on the quantity  
            and timing of in-Delta water diversions, a situation that  
            interferes with effective management of the Delta.  To remedy  
            this situation, the Task Force has recommended, among other  
            things, repealing Delta diversion reporting exemptions.  This  
            bill, sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District, is  
            consistent with that recommendation.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081