BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1168|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1168
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 4/23/14
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 7-2, 4/22/14
AYES: Pavley, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Cannella, Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Groundwater management
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill enacts the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (Act) and states as the intent of the Legislature
that, among other things, all groundwater basins and subbasins
shall be managed sustainably by local entities pursuant to an
adopted sustainable groundwater management plan.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes local agencies, as defined, to adopt and implement
a groundwater management plan.
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2.Requires a groundwater management plan to contain specified
components and requires a local agency seeking state funds
administered by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for
groundwater projects or groundwater quality projects to do
certain things, including, but not limited to, prepare and
implement a groundwater management plan that includes basin
management objectives for the groundwater basin.
This bill:
1.Establishes the statutory framework for a new Act. In
imposing this Act, it is the intent of the legislature that
all of the following occur:
A. All groundwater basins and subbasins be managed
sustainably by local entities pursuant to an adopted
sustainable groundwater management plan.
B. Attention to develop, adopt, and implement a sustainable
groundwater management plan be directed first to high and
medium priority groundwater basins and subbasins.
C. Upon a finding of compelling state interest, the state
would have recourse to cause a sustainable groundwater
management plan to be developed, adopted, and implemented
where local interests either cannot or will not do so
themselves.
1.Specifies that these provisions apply to all groundwater
basins and subbasins in the state.
2.Authorize unspecified entities to develop a sustainable
groundwater management plan, defined as a document that
describes the activities intended to be included in a
groundwater management program, to be developed and adopted to
encompass an entire basin or subbasin in an unspecified
manner, and according to an unspecified schedule.
3.Authorizes, under unspecified conditions, the state to take
action to cause a sustainable groundwater management plan to
be developed, adopted, and implemented.
Background
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California is the only state without a mandatory statewide
system of groundwater management. That isn't to say there isn't
any groundwater management in California; some of California's
groundwater basins are sustainably managed. However, many are
not.
A number of different entities may manage some aspect of
groundwater in California. These include:
1.Special Districts - many types of special districts have some
groundwater related authorities under the water code and other
statutes. Such districts include county water districts,
municipal utility districts, community service districts, and
water replenishment districts.
2.Special Act Districts - the Legislature has created a number
of special districts whose specific purpose is to manage one
groundwater basin or another. These include agencies such as
the Orange County Water District and Fox Canyon Groundwater
Management Agency.
3.Court Appointed Watermasters - in an adjudication the court
determines who has rights to pump from the groundwater basin,
how much they can pump, etc. The court also typically
appoints someone to be the "Watermaster" whose job is to
ensure that the basin is managed in accordance with the
court's decree.
4.Cities and Counties - the courts have held that cities and
counties, under their general police powers, have the
authority to enact ordinances regarding groundwater. More
than 20 counties have done so, generally addressing issues
such as banning transfers of groundwater out of the county.
Counties also issue drilling permits for water wells.
The powers to manage groundwater vary. In most special act
districts, the authorizing act allows the agency to require
groundwater users to report their extractions to the agency, who
can then levy fees for groundwater management or water supply
replenishment. Some acts also provide the special district the
authority to limit exports and extractions.
For most non-special act districts, the authority to manage
groundwater derives from what is commonly referred to as AB 3030
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(Costa, Chapter 947, Statutes of 1192). AB 3030 allows, but
does not require, certain defined existing local agencies to
develop groundwater management plans in defined groundwater
basins and subbasins.
An AB 3030 plan can be developed only after a public hearing and
adoption of a resolution of intention to adopt a groundwater
management plan. If landowners representing more than 50% of
the assessed value of lands within the proposed district do not
protest the plan, the plan can be adopted within 35 days. If
landowners representing a majority of the assessed value in the
proposed district oppose, the plan cannot be adopted and no new
plan may be attempted for one year.
AB 3030 plans cannot be adopted in adjudicated basins or in
basins where groundwater is managed under other sections of the
Water Code without the permission of the court or the other
agency.
Once the plan is adopted, rules and regulations must be adopted
to implement the program called for in the plan. Many plans
that have been adopted are relatively simple and in some cases
are a means of defining boundaries.
There are 149 adopted AB 3030 plans.
If a local agency wishes to receive state funds administered by
the DWR for 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 meet specific requirements. These requirements are
sometimes known as "SB 1938 requirements."
This January, the Governor released his final California Water
Action Plan (CWAP). Among the many initiatives in the CWAP is a
call to improve sustainable groundwater management.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, unknown, at
least in the mid-hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars
annually, from the General Fund for the state's oversight of
groundwater management.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/14)
Association of California Water Agencies
California Water Foundation
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Even though
the Legislature has put in place a number of tools to facilitate
effective groundwater management (such as AB 3030 plans, SB 1938
requirements, Special Act Districts, etc.) we still have
significant parts of the state that do not have effective
groundwater management. This lack of management is leading to:
subsidence and damage to public infrastructure such as both the
SWP and CVP aqueducts; local wells going dry; further
degradation of groundwater water quality; rivers "losing" water
that formerly supported anadromous fish and other species of
concern; and the list goes on.
The Governor's office, ACWA, the California Water Foundation,
environmental organizations, just about everyone seems [to be]
working on a revamping of groundwater management. The
Governor's office has also said that he wants to enact any
statutory changes necessary to improve groundwater management
through trailer bill language as a part of the May Revise.
RM:e 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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