BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 454
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
AB 454
(Bigelow) - As Introduced February 23, 2015
SUBJECT: Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
SUMMARY: Adds one year to each of the deadlines for forming a
management agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA) and adopting a plan. Specifically, this bill:
1)Changes the compliance date for forming a Groundwater
Sustainability Agency (GSA) from June 30, 2017 to June 30,
2018;
2)Changes the compliance deadline for adopting a Groundwater
Sustainability Plan (GSP) from January 31, 2022 to January 31,
20123 for high- and medium-priority groundwater basins that is
neither:
a) In a critical condition of overdraft; or,
b) In a condition where groundwater extractions result in
significant depletions of interconnected surface waters.
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3)Changes the compliance deadline for adopting a GSP from
January 31, 2025 to January 31, 2026 for high- and medium-
priority groundwater basins that are in a condition where
groundwater extractions result in significant depletions of
interconnected surface waters.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to evaluate
groundwater basins and designate them as high, medium, low or
very low, according to various factors including, but not
limited to, level of dependence upon the basin by municipal
and agricultural users;
2)Requires that local agencies in high- and medium-priority
groundwater basins subject to SGMA form one or more local
Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) by June 30, 2017 in
order to develop and implement Groundwater Sustainability
Plans (GSPs) that provide for the sustainable management of
the groundwater basin or subbasin, as defined.
3)Requires that GSAs in basins with chronic overdraft develop
and adopt GSPs for their basin or subbasin by January 31,
2020.
4)Requires that GSAs in all other high- and medium-priority
basins subject to SGMA develop and adopt GSPs by January 31,
2022.
5)Delays enforcement for failure to a adopt a GSP in a high- or
medium-priority basins that is in a condition where
groundwater extractions result in significant depletions of
interconnected surface waters until January 31, 2025.
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6)Requires that adopted GSPs utilize a 50 year planning horizon
that will achieve sustainability in a basin or subbasin within
20 years and include identified milestones at five year
intervals.
7)Defines sustainable groundwater management in a GSP as
avoiding undesirable results in the basin or subbasin from
groundwater pumping such as significant and unreasonable:
lowering of groundwater levels: reduction of groundwater
storage; seawater intrusion; degraded water quality; land
subsidence; and, depletions of interconnected surface waters.
8)Provides GSAs with optional tools for reaching sustainability
including, but not limited to, the ability to conduct
investigations, collect fees, limit pumping, require
measurement and reporting of groundwater extractions, monitor
compliance, charge civil penalties for violations, and
implement plans and programs to recharge a basin or subbasin.
9)Authorizes the State Water Board to declare a basin in
probationary status and adopt an interim plan for a basin,
subbasin, or portion of a basin or subbasin, under three
narrow circumstances:
a) There is no GSA for all or a portion of a basin or
subbasin by June 30, 2017;
b) There is no GSP for all or a portion of a basin or
subbasin by the relevant deadline; or,
c) A submitted GSP is deemed inadequate by DWR and there is
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also either:
i) Chronic overdraft in the basin or subbasin; or,
ii) Groundwater pumping is causing a significant
depletion of interconnected surface waters in the basin
or subbasin.
10)Allows the State Water Board, in an area that has no GSA by
June 30, 2017, to require direct reporting of groundwater
extractions and to charge fees to administer that program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This bill would delay multiple SGMA deadlines,
require DWR, the State Water Board, and others that are helping
to implement SGMA to re-write and redistribute guidance
materials.
SGMA took effect four months ago and the short time lines in the
Act are reflective of the crisis facing many of the State's
groundwater basins. California is more dependent on groundwater
than any other state in the United States. Groundwater makes up
40% of the overall water supply in an average year but during
drought many water users drill new wells or increase pumping
from existing wells. That can push the State's reliance on
groundwater to more than 60% of the overall water supply.
SGMA was adopted in 2014 when California was in its third year
of drought. It is now in the fourth year of drought causing the
Governor to issue Executive Order B-29-15 on April 1, 2015,
proclaiming a State of Emergency throughout the State due to
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limited rainfall, record low snowpack in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains, decreased water levels in reservoirs, reduced flows
in the State's rivers, and "shrinking supplies in underground
water basins."
The Executive Order seeks to accelerate actions that can help
address the crisis including immediately requiring local
agencies in high- and medium-priority basins to begin monitoring
groundwater levels in compliance with DWR's California Statewide
Groundwater Elevation Monitoring program, if they are not doing
so already. If those agencies fail, DWR is to report them to
the State Water Board for potential enforcement action.
Supporting arguments. The author states that this bill is
"needed to allow locals a little bit more time to determine and
organize their groundwater sustainability plans, as the current
time line is unrealistic for many locals throughout California."
Opposing arguments. Opponents state that SGMA deadlines were
negotiated among many parties only a few months ago. Opponents
add that they are not aware of any changed circumstances that
would necessitate building in additional delays and are of the
opinion that the original timelines in SGMA are "overly
generous."
Related Legislation
This is one of 14 bills in the Legislature proposing changes to
SGMA and its related statutes. The other bills are: AB 452
(Bigelow) prohibiting the State Water Board from using Water
Rights Fund monies for SGMA enforcement, except funds collected
from SGMA enforcement; AB 453 (Bigelow) allowing groundwater
management plans adopted prior to SGMA to be amended and
extended; AB 455 (Bigelow) requiring the Judicial Council to
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come up with a 270-day process for completing all California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) legal challenges to SGMA
projects; AB 617 (Perea) adding mutual water companies to GSAs;
AB 938 (Salas) making minor technical changes to SGMA; AB 939
(Salas) changing the time period for providing technical data
upon which a fee is based from 10 days to 20 days before the
meeting to adopt the fee; AB 1242 (Gray) prohibiting the State
Water Board from setting in-stream flows standards unless the
Board mitigates for the potential local response of increased
groundwater use; AB 1243 (Gray) rebating 50% of all SGMA
enforcement penalties back to local governments and water
districts for groundwater recharge projects; AB 1390 (Alejo)
creating a streamlined process for groundwater adjudications and
exempting them from SGMA, except minimal reporting requirements;
AB 1531 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
making minor technical changes to SGMA; SB 13 (Pavley) making
noncontroversial technical cleanup changes to SGMA; SB 226
(Pavley) adding a streamlined groundwater adjudication section
to SGMA; and SB 487 (Nielsen) exempting SGMA projects from CEQA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
Center for Biological Diversity
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Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club of California
Analysis Prepared by:Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P., & W. / (916)
319-2096