AB 1587,
as amended, Mathis. begin deleteWater Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014: groundwater: recharge basins. end deletebegin insertGroundwater: subsidence abatement.end insert
Under existing law, the right to water or to the use of water is limited to that amount of water that may be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served. Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board administers a water rights program pursuant to which the board grants permits and licenses to appropriate water. Existing law declares that the storing of water underground, and related diversions for that purpose, constitute a beneficial use of water if the stored water is thereafter applied to the beneficial purposes for which the appropriation for storage was made.
end insertbegin insertThis bill, during a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency based on drought or flood conditions, would prohibit the board from requiring a permit to recharge groundwater if the water may be diverted and used without injury to a lawful user of water, and the water may be diverted and used without unreasonable effect on other beneficial uses.
end insertbegin insertExisting law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law requires the High-Speed Rail Authority to biennially provide a project update report to specified legislative committees on the development and implementation of intercity high-speed train service, which includes a programwide summary, as well as details by project segment, with all information necessary to clearly describe the status of each project.
end insertbegin insertThis bill, by January 1, 2020, would require the authority to report to the Legislature on the effects high-speed rail will have on the subsidence of farms, homes, and land on the path of the train.
end insertExisting law, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $7,545,000,000 to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. The bond act provides that the sum of $900,000,000 is to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditures on, and competitive grants and loans for, projects to prevent or clean up the contamination of groundwater that serves or has served as a source of drinking water. The bond act authorizes the use of $100,000,000 of those funds for competitive grants for projects that develop and implement groundwater planning requirements.
This bill, in implementing the competitive grants for those projects that develop and implement groundwater planning requirements, would require special consideration be given to those projects that would create groundwater recharge basins in areas of fallow farmland. This bill would appropriate $50,000,000 from the proceeds of the bond act for the purpose of that competitive grant program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the
2Subsidence Abatement Act of 2016.
begin insertThe Legislature finds and declares as follows:end insert
begin insert
4(a) California’s vast, natural aquifers were formed by rain and
5melted snow that percolated into the soil over thousands of years.
P3 1When water is extracted in huge volumes, and there is insufficient
2rain to replace it, the earth gradually sinks.
3(b) Subsidence has been a recurring problem in the San Joaquin
4Valley, the more arid southern half of California’s heavily farmed
5Central Valley. In one example that became legendary among
6groundwater experts, an area near Mendota sank 28 feet between
71925 and 1977. The issue largely abated with the advent of
8California’s massive manmade plumbing system that showered
9the valley with an abundance of surface water from northern
10California. In recent years, as the Sierra snowpack has dwindled
11and fresh water supplies have diminished, subsidence has returned
12with a vengeance.
13(c) A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
14study based on satellite imaging showed significant rates of
15subsidence in recent times. A spot near Corcoran in the Tulare
16basin sank 12 inches in one
recent eight-month period. Researchers
17found a stretch near the California Aqueduct, the key highway of
18the State Water Project, that sank eight inches in four months last
19year.
20(d) Subsidence is not a problem limited to the San Joaquin
21Valley. A spot near Arbuckle in Colusa County sank five inches
22during the last half of 2014, according to the NASA report.
23(e) The rate of subsidence underscores how quickly underground
24aquifers are being drained. A report by the University of
25California, Davis, said farmers are pumping an additional six
26million acre-feet of groundwater this year as compared to 2011,
27the year before the drought started, in order to compensate for
28
shortages in deliveries of surface water from the State Water
29Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
30(f) Groundwater acts as a savings account to provide supplies
31during drought, but the NASA report shows the consequences of
32excessive withdrawals as we head into the fifth year of historic
33drought. The Legislature will work together with counties, local
34water districts, and affected communities to identify ways to slow
35the rate of subsidence and protect vital infrastructure, such as
36canals, pumping stations, bridges, and wells.
37(g) Experts say subsidence makes it harder to replenish an
38aquifer once the rains come because subsidence effectively
39compacts the
soil, making it harder to store water underground.
begin insertSection 185033.7 is added to the end insertbegin insertPublic Utilities Codeend insertbegin insert,
2to read:end insert
(a) By January 1, 2020, the High-Speed Rail
4Authority shall report to the Legislature on the effects high-speed
5rail will have on the subsidence of farms, homes, and land on the
6path of the train.
7(b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a)
8shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the
9Government Code.
10(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
11section is repealed on January 1, 2024.
begin insertSection 1242.1 is added to the end insertbegin insertWater Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert
begin insertNotwithstanding any other law, during a period for
14which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of
15emergency under the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter
167 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the
17Government Code) based on drought or flood conditions, the board
18shall not require a permit to recharge groundwater if the following
19conditions are met:
20(a) The water may be diverted and used without injury to a
21lawful user of water.
22(b) The water may be diverted and used without unreasonable
23effect on other beneficial uses.
Section 79776 is added to the Water Code, to read:
In implementing Section 79775, special consideration
27shall be given to those projects that would create groundwater
28recharge basins in areas of fallow farmland.
Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) is hereby
31appropriated from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure
32Improvement Fund of 2014 for the purpose of Section 79775 of
33the Water Code.
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