BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 453|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 453
Author: Salas (D)
Amended: 8/8/16 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-1, 6/14/16
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Monning, Vidak, Wolk
NOES: Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 8/16/16 (pursuant
to Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Vidak,
Wolk
NOES:
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hertzberg
SUBJECT: Extraction of groundwater: Semitropic Water Storage
District
SOURCE: Semitropic Water Storage District
DIGEST: This bill rants the Semitropic Water Storage District
(WSD) additional powers and authorities to impose fees and fund
projects to help manage groundwater until such time as there is
an adopted groundwater sustainability plan.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/8/16 remove all references to the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). It now provides
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Page 2
these new powers and authorities to Semitropic WSD outside of
SGMA.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Authorizes the creation of WSDs to operate facilities for
storage and distribution of water. As part of this operation,
the WSDs have the power to set tolls and charges for the use
of water, issue bonds, buy and sell property, acquire property
it deems necessary by condemnation; sue or be sued; and
c2)ontract.
3)Requires, in high- and medium-priority groundwater basins,
groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to develop and
implement groundwater sustainability plans. Among other
things, GSAs implementing such plans may:
a) Impose fees on the extraction of groundwater from the
basin to fund the costs of groundwater management.
b) Require the reporting of groundwater extractions via
meters, the cost of which would be borne by the owner of
the well.
c) Determine the quantity of groundwater extracted and
impose charges on that quantity of water, should the owner
or operator of a groundwater extraction facility fail to
timely comply with the requirements the district
established under this measure.
This bill:
1)Grants the Semitropic WSD the following additional powers and
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authorities to:
a) Impose fees on the extraction of groundwater from the
basin to fund the costs of groundwater management.
b) Require the reporting of groundwater extractions via
meters, the cost of which would be borne by the owner of
the well.
c) Determine the quantity of groundwater extracted and
impose charges on that quantity of water, should the owner
or operator of a groundwater extraction facility fail to
timely comply with the requirements the district
established under this bill.
2)Authorizes fees imposed pursuant to this bill to include fixed
fees and fees charged on a volumetric basis, including fees
that increase based on the quantity of groundwater produced
annually, the year in which the production of groundwater
commenced from a groundwater extraction facility, and impacts
to the basin.
3)Applies only to Semitropic WSD.
4)Includes a provision declaring that a special law is needed
because of the unique circumstances of the Semitropic WSD.
5)Is an urgency statute, the urgency being: "In order for the
Semitropic Water Storage District to pursue early
implementation of storage and groundwater projects that are
needed in order to help recover the Kern County Groundwater
Basin, which is listed by the Department of Water Resources as
a critically overdrafted basin, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately."
Comments
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Kern County Subbasin. Semitropic WSD is in the northern part
Kern County and overlies a portion of the Kern County Subbasin.
The subbasin comprises 1,950,000 acres in the south end of the
San Joaquin Valley. DWR has designated it as a high-priority
basin and is one of 21 basins designated as being in critical
overdraft.
Kern County GSAs. As of 6/2/16, no one has filed notice with DWR
to be the GSA for the portion of the basin within Semitropic
WSD's service area.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/16/16)
Semitropic Water Storage District (source)
Valley Ag Water Coalition
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/16/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "The
groundwater basin that the Semitropic WSD relies on is subject
to critical overdraft; one of 21 basins with such a designation
by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). These basins must
adopt a groundwater sustainability plan by 2020. Funding early
actions ahead of 2020 will allow the District to implement
projects and programs that will help achieve local
sustainability goals. However, under existing law, the District
lacks the authority to implement the provisions outlined in the
Sustainably Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Therefore, absent
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the Legislature granting authority, a water storage district
cannot fund projects and programs directly related to
groundwater replenishment until their basin is covered within
the boundaries of a groundwater sustainability agency."
Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/16/16 17:38:42
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