BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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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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