BILL NUMBER: SBX7 8 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE NOVEMBER 4, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY NOVEMBER 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY NOVEMBER 4, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE NOVEMBER 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg
OCTOBER 28, 2009
An act to amend Sections 5100, 5101, 5103, and 5107 of, to add
Chapter 2.7 (commencing with Section 348) to Division 1 of, and to
repeal Section 5108 of, the Water Code, and to amend and supplement
the Budget Act of 2009 (Chapter 1 of the 2009-10 Third Extraordinary
Session) by amending Items 3940-001-0439 and 3940-001-3058 of Section
2.00 of the Budget Act of 2009, relating to water resources, and
making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 8, Steinberg. Water diversion and use: reporting: resources:
Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006: Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006.
(1) 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, 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. Existing law subjects a person who makes a material
misstatement in connection with the filing of the diversion and use
statements to administratively imposed civil penalties in the amount
of $500 for each violation.
This bill would revise the types of water diversions for which the
reporting requirement does not apply, including, among other
diversions, a diversion that occurs before January 1, 2009, if
certain requirements are met. The bill would delete exceptions to the
monthly record requirement, and revise requirements relating to the
contents of the statement of diversion and use.
The bill would subject a person to civil liability if that person
fails to file, as required, a diversion and use statement for a
diversion or use that occurs after January 1, 2009, tampers with any
measuring device, or makes a material misstatement in connection with
the filing of a diversion and use statement. The board would be
authorized to impose the civil liability in accordance with a
specified schedule.
The bill would authorize the board and the Department of Water
Resources to adopt emergency regulations for the filing of reports of
water diversion or use that are required to be filed by those
respective state agencies under specified statutory provisions.
The bill would make additional conforming changes and would set
forth related legislative findings and declarations.
(2) The Budget Act of 2009 made appropriations for the support of
the State Water Resources Control Board for the 2009-10 fiscal year,
with certain payments from the Water Rights Fund.
This bill would amend and supplement the Budget Act of 2009 by
making an additional appropriation from the fund to support water
rights enforcement. The bill would, commencing with the 2010-11
fiscal year, continuously appropriate $3,750,000 on an annual basis
only from fee revenue in the fund to the board for the purpose of
funding permanent water right enforcement positions.
(3) Under existing law, various bond acts have been approved by
the voters to provide funds for water projects, facilities, and
programs. The Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of
2006, a bond act approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006,
statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the
amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster
preparedness and flood prevention projects. The Safe Drinking Water,
Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection
Bond Act of 2006, an initiative bond act approved by the voters at
the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the
issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of
financing a safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood
control, and resource protection program.
This bill would appropriate $546,000,000 from these bond acts for
integrated regional water management, flood control and management,
and natural community conservation planing, as provided.
(4) The bill would take effect only if SB 1, SB 6, and SB 7 of the
2009-10 7th Extraordinary Session of the Legislature are enacted and
become effective.
Appropriation: yes.
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 over 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 are required for most
diversions.
(e) The Delta Vision Committee Implementation Report recommends
improved monitoring and reporting, including the elimination of
exemptions from requirements for the filing of statements of water
diversion and use.
SEC. 2. Chapter 2.7 (commencing with Section 348) is added to
Division 1 of the Water Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2.7. WATER DIVERSION AND USE REPORTS
348. (a) The department or the board may adopt emergency
regulations providing for the electronic filing of reports of water
diversion or use required to be filed with the department or board
under this code, including, but not limited to, any report required
to be filed under Part 5.1 (commencing with Section 5100) of Division
2 and any report required to be filed by a water right permittee or
licensee.
(b) Emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this section, or any
amendments thereto, shall be adopted by the department or the board
in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption
of these regulations is an emergency and shall be considered by the
Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and general
welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, any
emergency regulations or amendments to those regulations adopted
under this section shall remain in effect until revised by the
department or the board that adopted the regulations or amendments.
SEC. 3. Section 5100 of the Water Code is amended to read:
5100. As used in this part:
(a) "Best available technologies" means technologies at the
highest technically practical level, using flow totaling devices, and
if necessary, data loggers and telemetry.
(b) "Best professional practices" means practices attaining and
maintaining the accuracy of measurement and reporting devices and
methods.
(c) "Diversion" means taking water by gravity or pumping from a
surface stream or subterranean stream flowing through a known and
definite channel, or other body of surface water, into a canal,
pipeline, or other conduit, and includes impoundment of water in a
reservoir.
(d) "Person" means all persons whether natural or artificial,
including the United States of America, State of California, and all
political subdivisions, districts, municipalities, and public
agencies.
SEC. 4. 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 and from which the person's aggregate diversions do not
exceed 25 acre-feet in any year.
(b) Covered by a registration for small domestic or livestock
stockpond uses, or 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 and
included in annual reports filed with a court or the board by the
watermaster, which reports identify the persons who have diverted
water and describe the general purposes and the place, the use, and
the quantity of water that has been diverted from each source.
(e) 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.
(f) For use in compliance with Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 1226) or Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 1228) of
Chapter 1 of Part 2.
(g) A diversion that occurs before January 1, 2009, if any of the
following applies:
(1) The diversion is from a spring that does not flow off the
property on which it is located, and the person's aggregate
diversions do not exceed 25 acre-feet in any year.
(2) The diversion is covered by an application to appropriate
water on file with the board.
(3) The diversion is reported by the department in its hydrologic
data bulletins.
(4) The diversion is included in the consumptive use data for the
Delta lowlands published by the department in its hydrologic data
bulletins.
SEC. 5. 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. The location of the diversion works
shall be depicted on a specific United States Geological Survey
topographic map, or shall be identified using the California
Coordinate System, or latitude and longitude measurements. If
assigned, the public land description to the nearest 40-acre
subdivision and the assessor's parcel number shall also be provided.
(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 by a person who provides to the board
documentation demonstrating that the implementation of those
practices is not locally cost effective.
(2) (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) The purpose of use.
(g) A general description of the area in which the water was used.
The location of the place of use shall be depicted on a specific
United States Geological Survey topographic map and on any other maps
with identifiable landmarks. If assigned, the public land
description to the nearest 40-acre subdivision and the assessor's
parcel number shall also be provided.
(h) The year in which the diversion was commenced as near as is
known.
SEC. 6. Section 5107 of the Water Code is amended to read:
5107. (a) The making of any willful misstatement pursuant to this
part is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not to exceed six months, or both.
(b) Any person who fails to file a statement required to be filed
under this part for a diversion or use that occurs after January 1,
2009, who tampers with any measuring device, or who makes a material
misstatement pursuant to this part may be liable civilly as provided
in subdivisions (c) and (d).
(c) Civil liability may be administratively imposed by the board
pursuant to Section 1055 in an amount not to exceed the following
amounts:
(1) For failure to file a statement, one thousand dollars
($1,000), plus five hundred dollars ($500) per day for each
additional day on which the violation continues if the person fails
to file a statement within 30 days after the board has called the
violation to the attention of that person.
(2) For a violation resulting from a physical malfunction of a
measuring device not caused by the person or any other unintentional
misstatement, two hundred fifty dollars ($250), plus two hundred
fifty dollars ($250) per day for each additional day on which the
measuring device continues to malfunction or the misstatement is not
corrected if the person fails to correct or repair the measuring
device or correct the misstatement within 60 days after the board has
called the malfunction or violation to the attention of that person.
(3) For knowingly tampering with any measuring device or knowingly
making a material misstatement in a statement filed under this part,
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), plus one thousand dollars
($1,000) for each day on which the violation continues if the person
fails to correct the violation within 30 days after the board has
called the violation to the attention of that person.
(4) For any other violation, five hundred dollars ($500), plus two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each additional day on which the
violation continues if the person fails to correct the violation
within 30 days after the board has called the violation to the
attention of that person.
(d) When an additional penalty may be imposed under subdivision
(c) for failure to correct a violation or correct or repair a
malfunctioning measuring device within a specified period after the
violation has been called to a person's attention by the board, the
board, for good cause, may provide for a longer period for correction
of the problem, and the additional penalty shall not apply if the
violation is corrected within the period specified by the board.
(e) In determining the appropriate amount, the board shall
consider all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to,
all of the following factors:
(1) The extent of harm caused by the violation.
(2) The nature and persistence of the violation.
(3) The length of time over which the violation occurs.
(4) Any corrective action undertaken by the violator.
(f) All funds recovered pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Water Rights Fund established pursuant to Section
1550.
(g) Remedies under this section are in addition to, and do not
supersede or limit, any other remedies, civil or criminal.
SEC. 7. Section 5108 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 8. The sum of five hundred forty-six million dollars
($546,000,000) is hereby appropriated as follows:
(a) Two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) from the
funds made available by, and consistent with, Section 75026 of the
Public Resources Code to the Department of Water Resources for
integrated regional water management grants and expenditures for
programs and projects that, when implemented, will help reduce
dependence on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for water supply.
(b) Thirty-two million dollars ($32,000,000) from the funds made
available by, and consistent with, Section 75033 of the Public
Resources Code to the Department of Water Resources for flood control
projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta designed to reduce the
potential for levee failures that would jeopardize water conveyance.
(c) One hundred seventy million dollars ($170,000,000) from the
funds made available by, and consistent with, subdivision (c) of
Section 5096.821 of the Public Resources Code to the Department of
Water Resources to reduce the risk of levee failure in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that would jeopardize water conveyance.
(d) Seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) from the funds made
available by, and consistent with, Section 5096.827 of the Public
Resources Code to the Department of Water Resources for grants for
stormwater flood management projects.
(e) Twenty-four million dollars ($24,000,000) from the funds made
available by, and consistent with, subdivision (c) of Section 75055
of the Public Resources Code to the Wildlife Conservation Board for
grants to local agencies to implement, or assist in the establishment
of, natural community conservation plans for areas in or around the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code.
SEC. 9. Item 3940-001-0439 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2009 is amended to read:
3940-001-0439--For support of State Water
Resources Control Board................... 238,113,000
Schedule:
(1) 10-Water Quality.... 439,650,000
(2) 20-Water Rights..... 15,408,000
(3) 30.01-
Administration...... 21,059,000
(4) 30.02-Distributed
Administration...... -21,059,000
(5) Reimbursements...... -8,932,000
(6) Amount payable from
the General Fund
(Item 3940-001-
0001)............... -40,575,000
(7) Amount payable from
the Unified Program
Account (Item 3940-
001-0028)........... -621,000
(8) Amount payable from
the Waste Discharge
Permit Fund (Item
3940-001-0193)...... -78,768,000
(9) Amount payable from
the Marine Invasive
Species Control
Fund (Item 3940-001-
0212)............... -103,000
(10) Amount payable from
the Public
Resources Account,
Cigarette and
Tobacco Products
Surtax Fund (Item
3940-001-0235)...... -2,039,000
(11) Amount payable from
the Integrated
Waste Management
Account,
Integrated Waste
Management Fund
(Item 3940-001-
0387)............... -6,757,000
(12) Amount payable from
the Water Recycling
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-0419)...... -1,150,000
(13) Amount payable from
the Drainage
Management
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-0422)...... -515,000
(14) Amount payable from
the Seawater
Intrusion Control
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-0424)...... -222,000
(15) Amount payable from
the Underground
Storage Tank Tester
Account (Item 3940-
001-0436)........... -64,000
(16) Amount payable from
the 1984 State
Clean Water Bond
Fund (Item 3940-001-
0740)............... -322,000
(17) Amount payable from
the Federal Trust
Fund (Item 3940-001-
0890)............... -51,353,000
(18) Amount payable from
the Water Rights
Fund (Item 3940-001-
3058)............... -11,197,000
(19) Amount payable from
the Watershed
Protection
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6013)...... -250,000
(20) Amount payable from
the Santa Ana River
Watershed
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6016)...... -250,000
(21) Amount payable from
the Lake Elsinore
and San Jacinto
Watershed
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6017)...... -150,000
(22) Amount payable from
the Nonpoint Source
Pollution Control
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6019)...... -200,000
(23) Amount payable from
the State Revolving
Fund Loan
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6020)...... -81,000
(24) Amount payable from
the Wastewater
Construction Grant
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6021)...... -23,000
(25) Amount payable from
the Coastal
Nonpoint Source
Control
Subaccount (Item
3940-001-6022)...... -150,000
(26) Amount payable from
the Water Security,
Clean Drinking
Water, Coastal and
Beach Protection
Fund of 2002 (Item
3940-001-6031)...... -3,000,000
(27) Amount payable from
the Safe Drinking
Water, Water
Quality and Supply,
Flood Control,
River and Coastal
Protection Fund of
2006 (Item 3940-001-
6051)............... -4,073,000
(28) Amount payable from
the Petroleum
Underground Storage
Tank Financing
Account (Item 3940-
001-8026)........... -618,000
(29) Amount payable from
the State Water
Pollution Control
Revolving Fund
Administration Fund
(Item 3940-001-
9739)............... -5,532,000
Provisions:
1. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, upon approval
and order of the Director of
Finance, the State Water
Resources Control Board may
borrow sufficient funds for
cash purposes from special
funds that otherwise provide
support for the board. Any such
loans are to be repaid with
interest at the rate earned in
the Pooled Money Investment
Account.
2. Of the amount contained in
Schedule (2), $3,750,000 shall
be used to fund 25.0 permanent
positions in support of water
rights enforcement.
SEC. 10. Item 3940-001-3058 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2009 is amended to read:
3940-001-3058--For support of State Water
Resources Control Board, for payment to Item
3940-001-0439, payable from the Water Rights 11,197,00
Fund......................................... 0
Provisions:
1. The increase in appropriation
in this item shall be paid only
from the fee revenue in the
Water Rights Fund.
SEC. 11. Commencing with the 2010-11 fiscal year, and
notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, three million
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,750,000) is hereby
continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, on an
annual basis, only from the fee revenue in the Water Rights Fund to
the State Water Resources Control Board for the purposes of funding
25.0 permanent water right enforcement positions, as provided in
Schedule (2) of Item 3940-001-0439 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act
of 2009, as amended by this act.
SEC. 12. This act shall take effect only if Senate Bill 1, Senate
Bill 6, and Senate Bill 7 of the 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary
Session of the Legislature are enacted and become effective.