BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2304|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2304
Author: Huffman (D), et al
Amended: 8/12/10 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 (1) requires a local agency that
develops a groundwater management plan and drafts a
resolution to adopt a plan, to provide a copy of a
resolution of intention to the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) within 30 days of the date of adoption, (2)
requires the local agency, upon written request, to provide
a copy of the proposed groundwater management plan to an
interested person, (3) requires the local agency to provide
each of those interested persons with a specified notice at
least 30 days prior to the commencement of the 2nd hearing
to determine whether to adopt the plan.
CONTINUED
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/12/10 require that upon
adoption of a resolution of intent to develop a groundwater
management plan, the local agency to provide a copy of the
resolution to DWR, and further provide that DWR post that
information on its internet website. The amendments also
make conforming and other technical changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Encourages local agencies to work cooperatively to manage
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 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 that develops a groundwater
management plan and drafts a resolution to adopt a plan,
to provide a copy of a resolution of intention to the DWR
within 30 days of the date of adoption.
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2.Requires the local agency, upon written request, to
provide a copy of the proposed groundwater management
plan to an interested person.
3.Requires the local agency to provide each of those
interested persons with a specified notice at least 30
days prior to the commencement of the 2nd hearing to
determine whether to adopt the plan.
4.Requires DWR to post on its Internet Web site the
information DWR possesses regarding the local agencies
that have jurisdiction to develop groundwater management
plans.
5.Specifies that the groundwater projects to which these
requirements apply include projects that are part of an
integrated regional water management program or plan.
6.Requires, commencing January 1, 2012, a map identifying
the recharge areas, as defined, for the groundwater basin
to be included in a groundwater management plan for
purposes of the state funding requirements.
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 percent 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 percent 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
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/10)
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
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sacramento Groundwater Authority
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club of California
Sonoma County
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Western Municipal Water District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/10)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
Stockton East Water District
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
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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 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,
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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 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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