BILL NUMBER: AB 617 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 666
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 9, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 9, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Perea
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Sections 10540, 10721, 10727.4, 10727.8, and
10733.4 of, and to add Sections 10726.5 and 10732.2 to, the Water
Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 617, Perea. Groundwater.
Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or
medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are
designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to
be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated
groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires
all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority
basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or
coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022,
except as specified.
This bill would define "in-lieu use" for the purposes of the act
and would provide that, where appropriate, measures addressing
in-lieu use shall be included in a groundwater sustainability plan.
The act authorizes a groundwater sustainability agency to exercise
certain powers in implementing the act, in addition to, and not as a
limitation on, any existing authority, if the groundwater
sustainability agency adopts and submits to the Department of Water
Resources a groundwater sustainability plan or prescribed alternative
documentation.
This bill would, in addition to any other authorities granted to a
groundwater sustainability agency, authorize a groundwater
sustainability agency to enter into written agreements and funding
with private parties that assist in or facilitate the implementation
of groundwater sustainability plans or elements of a groundwater
sustainability plan.
The act, with a specified exception, does not authorize a local
agency to impose any requirement on the state or any agency,
department, or officer of the state.
This bill, if a groundwater sustainability agency finds that a
state entity is not working cooperatively regarding implementation of
a groundwater sustainability plan, would permit the groundwater
sustainability agency to file notice with the board and require the
board to notice proceedings to investigate the finding of the
groundwater sustainability agency. This bill would authorize the
board to direct the state entity to cooperate in the implementation
of the groundwater sustainability plan if the board determines that
the failure of the state entity to work cooperatively regarding
implementation of a groundwater sustainability plan compromises the
ability of the groundwater sustainability agency to implement the
plan in a manner that will likely achieve the sustainability goal
unless the state entity indicates its authority for not complying
with the groundwater sustainability plan.
Existing law, the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning
Act, authorizes a regional water management group to prepare and
adopt an integrated regional water management plan with specified
components relating to water supply and water quality. Existing law
authorizes a regional water management group to coordinate its
planning activities to address or incorporate all or part of certain
actions of its members into its plan, including groundwater
management planning.
This bill would specify that groundwater sustainability planning
is an action of regional water management group members that may be
addressed or incorporated into a regional water management plan.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 10540 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10540. (a) A regional water management group may prepare and
adopt an integrated regional water management plan in accordance with
this part.
(b) A regional water management group may coordinate its planning
activities to address or incorporate all or part of any of the
following actions of its members into its plan:
(1) Groundwater management planning pursuant to Part 2.75
(commencing with Section 10750), groundwater sustainability planning
pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720), or other
specific groundwater management authority.
(2) Urban water management planning pursuant to Part 2.6
(commencing with Section 10610).
(3) The preparation of a water supply assessment required pursuant
to Part 2.10 (commencing with Section 10910).
(4) Agricultural water management planning pursuant to Part 2.8
(commencing with Section 10800).
(5) City and county general planning pursuant to Section 65350 of
the Government Code.
(6) Stormwater resource planning that is undertaken pursuant to
Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 10560).
(7) Other water resource management planning, including flood
protection, watershed management planning, and multipurpose program
planning.
(c) At a minimum, all plans shall address all of the following:
(1) Protection and improvement of water supply reliability,
including identification of feasible agricultural and urban water use
efficiency strategies.
(2) Identification and consideration of the drinking water quality
of communities within the area of the plan.
(3) Protection and improvement of water quality within the area of
the plan, consistent with the relevant basin plan.
(4) Identification of any significant threats to groundwater
resources from overdrafting.
(5) Protection, restoration, and improvement of stewardship of
aquatic, riparian, and watershed resources within the region.
(6) Protection of groundwater resources from contamination.
(7) Identification and consideration of the water-related needs of
disadvantaged communities in the area within the boundaries of the
plan.
(d) This section does not obligate a local agency to fund the
implementation of any project or program.
SEC. 2. Section 10721 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10721. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:
(a) "Adjudication action" means an action filed in the superior or
federal district court to determine the rights to extract
groundwater from a basin or store water within a basin, including,
but not limited to, actions to quiet title respecting rights to
extract or store groundwater or an action brought to impose a
physical solution on a basin.
(b) "Basin" means a groundwater basin or subbasin identified and
defined in Bulletin 118 or as modified pursuant to Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 10722).
(c) "Bulletin 118" means the department's report entitled
"California's Groundwater: Bulletin 118" updated in 2003, as it may
be subsequently updated or revised in accordance with Section 12924.
(d) "Coordination agreement" means a legal agreement adopted
between two or more groundwater sustainability agencies that provides
the basis for coordinating multiple agencies or groundwater
sustainability plans within a basin pursuant to this part.
(e) "De minimis extractor" means a person who extracts, for
domestic purposes, two acre-feet or less per year.
(f) "Governing body" means the legislative body of a groundwater
sustainability agency.
(g) "Groundwater" means water beneath the surface of the earth
within the zone below the water table in which the soil is completely
saturated with water, but does not include water that flows in known
and definite channels.
(h) "Groundwater extraction facility" means a device or method for
extracting groundwater from within a basin.
(i) "Groundwater recharge" or "recharge" means the augmentation of
groundwater, by natural or artificial means.
(j) "Groundwater sustainability agency" means one or more local
agencies that implement the provisions of this part. For purposes of
imposing fees pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 10730)
or taking action to enforce a groundwater sustainability plan,
"groundwater sustainability agency" also means each local agency
comprising the groundwater sustainability agency if the plan
authorizes separate agency action.
(k) "Groundwater sustainability plan" or "plan" means a plan of a
groundwater sustainability agency proposed or adopted pursuant to
this part.
(l) "Groundwater sustainability program" means a coordinated and
ongoing activity undertaken to benefit a basin, pursuant to a
groundwater sustainability plan.
(m) "In-lieu use" means the use of surface water by persons that
could otherwise extract groundwater in order to leave groundwater in
the basin.
(n) "Local agency" means a local public agency that has water
supply, water management, or land use responsibilities within a
groundwater basin.
(o) "Operator" means a person operating a groundwater extraction
facility. The owner of a groundwater extraction facility shall be
conclusively presumed to be the operator unless a satisfactory
showing is made to the governing body of the groundwater
sustainability agency that the groundwater extraction facility
actually is operated by some other person.
(p) "Owner" means a person owning a groundwater extraction
facility or an interest in a groundwater extraction facility other
than a lien to secure the payment of a debt or other obligation.
(q) "Personal information" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 1798.3 of the Civil Code.
(r) "Planning and implementation horizon" means a 50-year time
period over which a groundwater sustainability agency determines that
plans and measures will be implemented in a basin to ensure that the
basin is operated within its sustainable yield.
(s) "Public water system" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.
(t) "Recharge area" means the area that supplies water to an
aquifer in a groundwater basin.
(u) "Sustainability goal" means the existence and implementation
of one or more groundwater sustainability plans that achieve
sustainable groundwater management by identifying and causing the
implementation of measures targeted to ensure that the applicable
basin is operated within its sustainable yield.
(v) "Sustainable groundwater management" means the management and
use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the
planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable
results.
(w) "Sustainable yield" means the maximum quantity of water,
calculated over a base period representative of long-term conditions
in the basin and including any temporary surplus, that can be
withdrawn annually from a groundwater supply without causing an
undesirable result.
(x) "Undesirable result" means one or more of the following
effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the
basin:
(1) Chronic lowering of groundwater levels indicating a
significant and unreasonable depletion of supply if continued over
the planning and implementation horizon. Overdraft during a period of
drought is not sufficient to establish a chronic lowering of
groundwater levels if extractions and groundwater recharge are
managed as necessary to ensure that reductions in groundwater levels
or storage during a period of drought are offset by increases in
groundwater levels or storage during other periods.
(2) Significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater storage.
(3) Significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion.
(4) Significant and unreasonable degraded water quality, including
the migration of contaminant plumes that impair water supplies.
(5) Significant and unreasonable land subsidence that
substantially interferes with surface land uses.
(6) Depletions of interconnected surface water that have
significant and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of
the surface water.
(y) "Water budget" means an accounting of the total groundwater
and surface water entering and leaving a basin including the changes
in the amount of water stored.
(z) "Watermaster" means a watermaster appointed by a court or
pursuant to other law.
(aa) "Water year" means the period from October 1 through the
following September 30, inclusive.
(ab) "Wellhead protection area" means the surface and subsurface
area surrounding a water well or well field that supplies a public
water system through which contaminants are reasonably likely to
migrate toward the water well or well field.
SEC. 3. Section 10726.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10726.5. In addition to any other authority granted to a
groundwater sustainability agency by this part or other law, a
groundwater sustainability agency may enter into written agreements
and funding with a private party to assist in, or facilitate the
implementation of, a groundwater sustainability plan or any elements
of the plan.
SEC. 4. Section 10727.4 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10727.4. In addition to the requirements of Section 10727.2, a
groundwater sustainability plan shall include, where appropriate and
in collaboration with the appropriate local agencies, all of the
following:
(a) Control of saline water intrusion.
(b) Wellhead protection areas and recharge areas.
(c) Migration of contaminated groundwater.
(d) A well abandonment and well destruction program.
(e) Replenishment of groundwater extractions.
(f) Activities implementing, opportunities for, and removing
impediments to, conjunctive use or underground storage.
(g) Well construction policies.
(h) Measures addressing groundwater contamination cleanup,
groundwater recharge, in-lieu use, diversions to storage,
conservation, water recycling, conveyance, and extraction projects.
(i) Efficient water management practices, as defined in Section
10902, for the delivery of water and water conservation methods to
improve the efficiency of water use.
(j) Efforts to develop relationships with state and federal
regulatory agencies.
(k) Processes to review land use plans and efforts to coordinate
with land use planning agencies to assess activities that potentially
create risks to groundwater quality or quantity.
( l ) Impacts on groundwater dependent ecosystems.
SEC. 5. Section 10727.8 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10727.8. (a) Prior to initiating the development of a groundwater
sustainability plan, the groundwater sustainability agency shall
make available to the public and the department a written statement
describing the manner in which interested parties may participate in
the development and implementation of the groundwater sustainability
plan. The groundwater sustainability agency shall provide the written
statement to the legislative body of any city, county, or city and
county located within the geographic area to be covered by the plan.
The groundwater sustainability agency may appoint and consult with an
advisory committee consisting of interested parties for the purposes
of developing and implementing a groundwater sustainability plan.
The groundwater sustainability agency shall encourage the active
involvement of diverse social, cultural, and economic elements of the
population within the groundwater basin prior to and during the
development and implementation of the groundwater sustainability
plan. If the geographic area to be covered by the plan includes a
public water system regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, the
groundwater sustainability agency shall provide the written
statement to the commission.
(b) For purposes of this section, interested parties include
entities listed in Section 10927 that are monitoring and reporting
groundwater elevations in all or a part of a groundwater basin
managed by the groundwater sustainability agency.
SEC. 6. Section 10732.2 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10732.2. If a groundwater sustainability agency finds that a
state entity is not working cooperatively regarding implementation of
a groundwater sustainability plan, the groundwater sustainability
agency may file notice with the board regarding its finding. The
board shall notice proceedings to investigate the finding of the
groundwater sustainability agency. If the board determines that the
failure of the state entity to work cooperatively regarding
implementation of a groundwater sustainability plan compromises the
ability of the groundwater sustainability agency to implement the
plan in a manner that will likely achieve the sustainability goal,
the board may direct the state entity to cooperate in the
implementation of the groundwater sustainability plan unless the
state entity indicates its authority for not complying with a
groundwater sustainability plan in the same manner as subdivision (f)
of Section 10735.8.
SEC. 7. Section 10733.4 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10733.4. (a) Upon adoption of a groundwater sustainability plan,
a groundwater sustainability agency shall submit the groundwater
sustainability plan to the department for review pursuant to this
chapter.
(b) If groundwater sustainability agencies develop multiple
groundwater sustainability plans for a basin, the submission required
by subdivision (a) shall not occur until the entire basin is covered
by groundwater sustainability plans. When the entire basin is
covered by groundwater sustainability plans, the groundwater
sustainability agencies shall jointly submit to the department all of
the following:
(1) The groundwater sustainability plans.
(2) An explanation of how the groundwater sustainability plans
implemented together satisfy Sections 10727.2, 10727.4, and 10727.6
for the entire basin.
(3) A copy of the coordination agreement between the groundwater
sustainability agencies to ensure the coordinated implementation of
the groundwater sustainability plans for the entire basin.
(c) Upon receipt of a groundwater sustainability plan, the
department shall post the plan on the department's Internet Web site
and provide 60 days for persons to submit comments to the department
about the plan.
(d) The department shall evaluate the groundwater sustainability
plan within two years of its submission by a groundwater
sustainability agency and issue an assessment of the plan. The
assessment may include recommended corrective actions to address any
deficiencies identified by the department.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a
groundwater sustainability agency from implementing a groundwater
sustainability plan prior to evaluation and assessment of the
groundwater sustainability plan by the department.