BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2304 HEARING DATE: June 22, 2010
AUTHOR: Huffman URGENCY: No
VERSION: June 15, 2010 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Groundwater management plans components.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Under existing law, local agencies may, but are not required, to
adopt groundwater management plans. Such plans are sometimes
known as "AB 3030 Plans."
If a local agency wishes to receive state funds administered by
the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for the construction of
groundwater projects or for other projects that directly affect
groundwater levels or quality, the local agency must have an AB
3030 plan or equivalent groundwater management plan meets
specific requirements. These requirements are sometimes known
as "SB 1938 requirements." To meet the SB 1938 requirements, a
local agency must:
Prepare and implement a groundwater management plan that
includes basin management objectives for the groundwater basin
that is subject to the plan. The plan must include components
relating to the monitoring and management of groundwater
levels within the groundwater basin, groundwater quality
degradation, inelastic land surface subsidence, and changes in
surface flow and surface water quality that directly affect
groundwater levels or quality or are caused by groundwater
pumping in the basin.
Prepare a plan that enables the local agency to work
cooperatively with other public entities whose service area or
boundary overlies the groundwater basin.
Prepare a map that details the area of the groundwater basin
and the area of the local agency, that will be subject to the
plan, as well as the boundaries of other local agencies that
overlie the basin in which the agency is developing a
groundwater management plan.
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Adopt monitoring protocols that are designed to detect changes
in groundwater levels, groundwater quality, inelastic surface
subsidence for basins for which subsidence has been identified
as a potential problem, and flow and quality of surface water
that directly affect groundwater levels or quality or are
caused by groundwater pumping in the basin. The monitoring
protocols must be designed to generate information that
promotes efficient and effective groundwater management.
Local agencies that are located in areas outside the
groundwater basins delineated on the latest edition of the
department's groundwater basin and subbasin map shall prepare
groundwater management plans incorporating the components in
this subdivision, and shall use geologic and hydrologic
principles appropriate to those areas.
A local agency with an existing plan that meets the SB 1938
requirements, or a local agency that completes an upgrade of its
plan to meet those requirements within one year of applying for
funds, are be given priority for funding by DWR over local
agencies that are in the process of developing a groundwater
management plan. DWR is required to withhold funds from the
project until the upgrade of the groundwater management plan is
complete.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would add the following to the SB 1938 requirements:
The groundwater management plan must include a map identifying
the recharge areas for the groundwater basin. Recharge areas
are defined as areas that substantially contribute to the
replenishment of the groundwater basin. The map would be
required to include a description of how the recharge areas
substantially contribute to the replenishment of the
groundwater basin.
The local agency must provide the map to the appropriate local
planning agencies after adoption of the groundwater management
plan.
The bill would allow local agencies to request state funds to
map groundwater recharge areas to the extent that the request is
consistent with eligibility requirements for those funds.
The bill would change the adoption process for AB 3030 plans to
require the opportunity for interested persons to request and
receive a copy of the proposed groundwater management plan and
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maps identifying recharge areas
The bill would also make technical changes regarding AB 3030
plans.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The author quotes the California Department of Water Resources'
California Groundwater, Bulletin 118, issued in 2003:
"Groundwater recharge areas, and the human activities that
can render them unusable, are an example of the need to
coordinate land use activities to protect both groundwater
quality and quantity. Protection of recharge areas, whether
natural or man-made, is necessary if the quantity and
quality of groundwater in the aquifer are to be
maintained."
According to the author, "There is currently no requirement for
local agencies to identify and map groundwater recharge areas.
Without this information the ability to effectively manage a
groundwater basin is seriously limited."
"AB 2304 promotes the management and protection of the state's
groundwater supplies by requiring, as a condition or receiving a
state grant or loan, local water agencies to map the recharge
areas that substantially contribute to the replenishment of the
groundwater basin, and submit this information to local planning
agencies. "
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
A coalition of agricultural interests and the California Chamber
of Commerce has concerns "about the impact that such mapping
will have on private lands. Once these new resource areas are
identified, how will the landowner be properly notified before
they are formally "mapped" and informed of potential changes in
land use designations on their property? How will a landowner
be fairly compensated for potentially restrictive local use
designations or from depressed land use values?"
"Without fair and reasonable land owner protections, AB 2304
would encourage groundwater agency and local government to be
very expansive in their designations. If they are required to
sufficiently notify all properties impacted by the designations
their accuracy will improve dramatically. Ultimately, if
these new areas with "significant" recharge potential are
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considered a valuable public resource that should be preserved
and protected we don't want to deny landowners' the use of their
property without due process."
COMMENTS
Bulletin 118. The state groundwater report commonly known as
Bulletin 118 has a long and important history in California.
The Bulletin 118 series was preceded by Water Quality
Investigations Report No. 3, Ground Water Basins in California
(referred to in this bulletin as Report No. 3), published in
1952 by the Department of Public Works, Division of Water
Resources (the predecessor of DWR). The Bulletin 118 series is
widely acknowledged as the source of information on California's
groundwater resources.
The most recent update of Bulletin 118 made 7 major findings.
The 7th finding was:
Land use decisions affecting recharge areas can reduce the
amount of groundwater in storage and degrade the quality of
that groundwater.
In many basins, little is known about the location of
recharge areas and their effectiveness.
Protection and preservation of recharge areas are seldom
considered in land use decisions.
If recharge areas are altered by paving, channel lining,
or other land use changes, available groundwater will be
reduced.
Potentially contaminating activities can degrade the
quality of groundwater and require wellhead treatment or
aquifer remediation before use.
There is no coordinated effort to inform the public that
recharge areas should be protected against contamination
and preserved so that they function effectively.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
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SUPPORT
California Groundwater Coalition (Co-Sponsor)
Groundwater Resources Association of California (Co-Sponsor)
Atascadero/Green Valley Watershed Council
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Clean Water Action
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Metropolitan Water District of California
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club of California
Sonoma County
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
OPPOSITION
California Chamber of Commerce
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
Western Growers Association
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