California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 938


Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

February 26, 2015


An act to amend Section 10722.4 of the Water Code, relating to groundwater.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 938, as introduced, Salas. Groundwater: basin reprioritization: establishment of groundwater sustainability agency.

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to identify the extent of monitoring of groundwater elevations that is being undertaken within each groundwater basin or subbasin and to prioritize basins or subbasins as high, medium, low, or very low priority and requires the initial priority for each basin to be established no later than January 31, 2015. Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the department 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. The act requires a local agency, any time the department changes these basin priorities and elevates a basin to a medium- or high-priority basin after January 31, 2015, to either establish a groundwater sustainability agency within 2 years of reprioritization and adopt a groundwater sustainability plan within 5 years of reprioritization, or to submit an alternative to the department that the local agency believes satisfies the objectives of these provisions within 2 years of reprioritization.

This bill would impose the requirement to establish a groundwater sustainability agency or submit an alternative after reprioritization on a local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 10722.4 of the Water Code is amended
2to read:

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10722.4.  

(a) Pursuant to Section 10933, for the purposes of
4this part the department shall categorize each basin as one of the
5following priorities:

6(1) High priority.

7(2) Medium priority.

8(3) Low priority.

9(4) Very low priority.

10(b) The initial priority for each basin shall be established by the
11department pursuant to Section 10933 no later than January 31,
122015.

13(c) Any time the department updates Bulletin 118 boundaries
14pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12924, the department shall
15reassess the prioritization pursuant to Section 10933.

16(d) Any time the department changes the basin priorities
17pursuant to Section 10933, if a basin is elevated to a medium- or
18high-priority basin after January 31, 2015, a local agencybegin insert or
19combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basinend insert
shall
20have two years from the date of reprioritization to either establish
21a groundwater sustainability agency pursuant to Chapter 4
22(commencing with Section 10723) and five years from the date of
23reprioritization to adopt a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant
24to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 10727) or two years to
25satisfy the requirements of Section 10733.6.



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