BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2304|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2304
Author: Huffman (D), et al
Amended: 8/3/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 5-3, 6/22/10
AYES: Pavley, Lowenthal, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Kehoe
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-27, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Groundwater management plans: components
SOURCE : California Groundwater Coalition
Groundwater Resources Association of California
DIGEST : This bill requires local agencies to map
recharge areas and identify and describe areas that
substantially contribute to the replenishment of the
groundwater basin, adds requirements for public notice and
provisions of copies regarding groundwater management
plans, and allows local agencies to request mapping funds,
upon request.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Encourages local agencies to work cooperatively to manage
CONTINUED
AB 2304
Page
2
groundwater resources within their jurisdictions and, if
not otherwise required by law, to voluntarily adopt
groundwater management plans.
2.Requires a groundwater plan contain components related to
funding, management, and monitoring in order for a local
agency to be eligible for groundwater project funds
administered by the Department of Water Resources (DWR).
3.Requires all of the groundwater basins identified in
DWR's Bulletin 118 to be regularly and systematically
monitored and the information to be readily and widely
available.
4.Requires a local agency considering adopting a
groundwater management plan to hold a hearing prior to
adopting a resolution of intention to draft a groundwater
management plan. After a groundwater management plan is
prepared, requires the local agency to hold a second
hearing prior to determining whether to adopt the plan.
5.Makes entities managing groundwater, including local
agencies that are monitoring groundwater pursuant to a
groundwater management plan, eligible for state water
grants and loans.
This bill:
1.Requires a local agency to include a map, or maps, of
recharge areas in its groundwater management plan, upon
request of state funds including current recharge areas
that substantially contribute to the replenishment of the
groundwater basin. Requires a description of how those
areas substantially contribute.
2.Adds a notice requirement that, after a local agency has
prepared a groundwater management plan and is holding a
second hearing to adopt the plan, allows interested
persons to request copies about the plan and maps
describing the recharge areas prior to the second
hearing. Requires the local agency to provide 30 days
notice of the date, time, and place of the second hearing
to each person that requests information. Requires the
local agency, upon written request, to provide a copy of
AB 2304
Page
3
the proposed groundwater management plan to an interested
person.
3.Allows a local agency to request state funds,
administered by the department, to map groundwater
recharge areas to the extent the request for state funds
is consistent with the eligibility requirements that are
applicable to those funds.
4.Authorizes an interested person to contact DWR for, and
also authorizes DWR to provide, specified copies relating
to groundwater management plans.
Background
Groundwater is one of California's most important natural
resources and our reliance on it continues to grow.
Periodically, DWR produces a report on California's
groundwater entitled Bulletin 118. In the most recent
version of Bulletin 118, produced in 2003, California was
not only the single largest user of groundwater in the
nation, extracting 14.5 million acre-feet annually, but
that use represented 20% of all the groundwater extracted
in the entire United States. Protecting the quality,
quantity, and sustainability of groundwater is critical.
Bulletin 118 estimated that 43% of all Californians obtain
their drinking water from groundwater. Yet, despite
California's heavy reliance on groundwater, basic
information for many of the groundwater basins is lacking.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
California Groundwater Coalition (co-source)
Groundwater Resources Association of California (co-source)
Atascadero/Green Valley Watershed Council
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Groundwater Association
Clean Water Action
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
AB 2304
Page
4
Metropolitan Water District of California
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Natural Resources Defense Council
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club of California
Sonoma County
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Western Municipal Water District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/3/10)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
Western Growers Association
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's office, "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
AB 2304
Page
5
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 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De
Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway,
Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight,
Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva,
Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland
CTW:nl 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****