BILL NUMBER: SB 37 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 7, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 12, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Vidak
(Principal coauthor: Senator Fuller)
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Mathis and Salas)
DECEMBER 1, 2014
An act to amend Section 10723 of the Water Code, and to create the
Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and prescribing
its boundaries, organization, operation, management, financing, and
other powers and duties, relating to water districts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 37, as amended, Vidak. Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency Act.
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. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of
local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a
groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems
certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the
exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries
with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to
opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.
This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency and would require the agency's initial
boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the
Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. The
bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater
sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the
boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and
implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable
groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill
would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The
bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of
directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to
be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing
duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River
East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency
with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Kings
River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act.
Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act
Article 1. Findings and Declarations
101. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
preservation of the groundwater resources within the territory of the
agency for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses is in the
public interest and that the creation of the agency pursuant to this
act is for the common benefit of water users.
102. The Legislature further finds and declares that the
groundwater management activities of the agency benefit all operators
of groundwater extraction facilities within the territory of the
agency.
103. The Legislature further finds and declares that circumstances
in the territory of the agency to be formed hereby, which may not
exist in other locations, justify the formation of the agency and the
grant of powers contained in this act.
Article 2. Creation and Purposes
201. (a) A groundwater management agency is hereby created in the
Counties of Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East
Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
(b) The agency shall be governed by a board as specified in
Section 501 and shall have the boundaries specified in Section 301.
The agency shall only exercise the powers granted by this
act and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74
(commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code) for
purposes of groundwater management within the boundaries of the
agency, together with any other powers as are reasonably implied,
necessary, and proper to carry out the objectives and purposes of the
agency to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
The agency shall abide by the rules and regulations promulgated by
the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources
Control Board to implement the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act.
Article 3. Boundaries
301. For purposes of this act, the initial boundaries of the
agency shall include the following:
(a) All land located within the exterior perimeter boundaries of
Alta Irrigation District that is within the Counties of Fresno and
Tulare.
(b) All land located in the incorporated City of Reedley.
(c) All land located in Kings River Water District plus parcel
350-150-16 within the County of Fresno, as that parcel existed as of
January 1, 2016, and excluding the incorporated City of Sanger.
(d) Land that is east of Alta Irrigation District and east of the
east line of Sections 13 and 24, T13S, R23E, between Alta Irrigation
District and east line and the east line of the Bulletin 118 Kings
Subbasin boundary, as described in the report by the Department of
Water Resources titled, "California's Groundwater: Bulletin 118,"
updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised in
accordance with Section 12924 of the Water Code.
302. The agency's initial boundaries shall be established by the
boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a
noticed public hearing. The boundaries shall be depicted on a map
that shall be adopted by the boards of supervisors of those counties
and thereafter recorded in the office of the county recorder of each
county.
303. The boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and
Tulare may adjust the boundaries of the agency in the same manner
prescribed for establishment of the initial boundaries if the
boundaries of the basin are revised, including the establishment of
new subbasins.
Article 4. Definitions
401. Unless otherwise indicated by their context, the definitions
set forth in this article govern the interpretation of this act.
401.1. "Actively and primarily engaged in production of
agriculture" means that a person derives at least 75 percent of his
or her annual income from production agriculture.
402. "Agency" means the Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency established by this act.
403. "Alta" means the Alta Irrigation District.
404. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation or structure that
transmits water in sufficient quantities to supply pumping wells or
springs.
405. "Basin" has the same meaning as defined in Section 10721 of
the Water Code.
406. "Board" means the board of directors of the agency, as more
particularly described in Section 501.
407. "Cities" means the Cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and
Reedley.
408. "Coordination agreement" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 10721 of the Water Code.
409. "County" means either the County of Fresno or the County of
Tulare, as the context requires. "Counties" means the County of
Fresno and the County of Tulare.
410. "Extraction" means the act of obtaining groundwater by
pumping or other controlled means.
411. "Groundwater" has the same meaning as defined in Section
10721 of the Water Code.
412. "Groundwater management activities" means programs, measures,
or actions taken to preserve, protect, and enhance groundwater
resources within the territory of the agency.
413. "Kings Subbasin" means the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater
Basin Kings Subbasin.
414. "Member agency" means Alta, the counties, the cities, and the
special districts entitled to representation on the agency's board
of directors as specified in Section 501.
415. "Operator" has the same meaning as defined in Section 10721
of the Water Code.
416. "Person" includes any state or local governmental agency,
private corporation, firm, partnership, limited liability company,
individual, group of individuals, or, to the extent authorized by
law, any federal agency.
417. "Plan" means a groundwater sustainability plan prepared by
the agency pursuant to this act.
418. "Supplemental water" means surface water or groundwater
imported from outside the watershed or watersheds of the basin or
aquifer and floodwaters that are conserved and saved within the
watershed or watersheds that would otherwise have been lost or would
not have reached the basin or aquifer.
Article 5. General Provisions
501. (a) The agency shall be governed by a board of directors that
shall consist of seven members, as follows:
(1) One member shall be chosen by Alta.
(2) One member shall be chosen by the County of Fresno.
(3) One member shall be chosen by the County of Tulare.
(4) One member shall be chosen by the cities. This member shall be
chosen from the members of the city councils of the cities whose
territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the agency.
This member shall be chosen at a public meeting where each city is
represented by its mayor.
(5) One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing
boards of the following special districts that are not governed by
the board of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water
activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the
territory of the agency:
(A) Hills Valley Irrigation District.
(B) Orange Cove Irrigation District.
(C) Tri-Valley Water District.
(D) Kings River Water District.
(6) One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing
boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the
territory of the agency.
(7) One member shall be chosen by the other six board members to
represent agricultural interests within the territory of the agency.
This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in
production of agriculture within the territory of the agency. This
member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations
submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County
Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be
members of either organization.
(b) The board members described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of
subdivision (a) shall be chosen by their respective governing boards
from their board members whose districts or divisions overlie, at
least in part, the territory of the agency.
(c) The board members described in paragraphs (5) and (6) of
subdivision (a) shall be chosen at a public meeting where each
special district is represented by the president or chair of its
governing board.
(d) There shall be an alternate for each board member, chosen in
the same manner and by the same entity as the board member. The
alternate member shall act in place of the board member he or she is
an alternate for in case of that board member's absence or inability
to act.
502. (a) The members described in paragraphs (1) to (6),
inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 501 shall serve for a
four-year term of office, or until the member is no longer an
eligible official of the member agency. These members may serve for
more than one term of office.
(b) The member described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of
Section 501 shall serve a four-year term of office.
503. (a) The board may adopt an ordinance to provide compensation
to members of the board in an amount not to exceed one hundred
dollars ($100) per day for each day's attendance at meetings of the
board or for each day's service rendered as a member of the board by
request of the board. For purposes of this section, the determination
of whether a board member's activities on any specific day are
compensable shall be made pursuant to Article 2.3 (commencing with
Section 53232) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code.
(b) Reimbursement for expenses of members of the board is subject
to Sections 53232.2 and 53232.3 of the Government Code.
(c) The board may adopt an ordinance to increase the compensation
received by members of the board above the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) per day. The increase shall not exceed an amount equal
to 5 percent, for each calendar year following the operative date of
the last adjustment, of the compensation that is received when the
ordinance is adopted.
(d) A board member shall not be compensated for more than a total
of 10 days in any calendar month.
504. (a) The board may adopt ordinances for the purpose of
regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and
extraction of groundwater within the territory of the agency.
(b) An ordinance adopted by the board shall become effective 30
days from the date of its passage.
(c) All ordinances shall be adopted at noticed, public hearings by
a majority vote of the board. No ordinance shall be adopted by the
board except at a public hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be
published in a newspaper of general circulation pursuant to Section
6066 of the Government Code.
(d) The board shall provide notice of the adoption of all
ordinances.
505. No provision of this act shall be construed as denying to the
counties, any city, Alta, or any other member agency any rights or
powers that they already have or that they may be granted.
506. The agency may contract with either county or Alta for staff
and other services. The agency may hire contractors and consultants
as it considers appropriate.
507. The agency shall enter into a coordination agreement with
other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the agency's plan
with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the
Kings Subbasin as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the
Water Code).
508. The agency may exclude from any of the requirements of this
act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually
extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater as specified by an
ordinance adopted by the board.
Article 6. Studies and Investigations
601. The agency may collect data and conduct technical and other
investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of
this act. All hydrological investigations and studies carried out by
or on behalf of the agency shall be constructed by or under the
supervision of licensed engineers or other persons qualified in
groundwater geology or hydrology.
602. The agency may recommend and encourage water recycling and
other water development projects, where those projects will enhance
and contribute to the responsible management of groundwater
resources, as part of its annual plan for implementation of
groundwater management objectives.
Article 7. Sustainable Groundwater Management Powers
701. The agency shall develop and implement a groundwater
sustainability plan pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
10727) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code to achieve
sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the
agency.
702. The agency shall elect to be a groundwater sustainability
agency pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 10723) of Part
2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code for that portion of the Kings
Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency.
703. The agency may exercise any of the powers described in
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 10725) of Part 2.74 of Division 6
of the Water Code and the enforcement powers described in Chapter 9
(commencing with Section 10732) of Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the
Water Code.
704. The availability of supplemental water to any operator shall
not subject that operator to regulations that are more restrictive
than those imposed on other operators.
Article 8. Fee Authority
801. Pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 10730) of Part
2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code, the agency may impose fees,
including, but not limited to, permit fees and fees on groundwater
extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs of a
groundwater sustainability program, that include, but are not limited
to, the preparation, adoption, and amendment of a groundwater
sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance
assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a
prudent reserve.
SEC. 2. Section 10723 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10723. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any local
agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin
may decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that
basin.
(b) Before deciding to become a groundwater sustainability agency,
and after publication of notice pursuant to Section 6066 of the
Government Code, the local agency or agencies shall hold a public
hearing in the county or counties overlying the basin.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the following
agencies created by statute to manage groundwater shall be deemed the
exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory
boundaries with powers to comply with this part:
(A) Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District,
Zone 7.
(B) Alameda County Water District.
(C) Desert Water Agency.
(D) Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.
(E) Honey Lake Valley Groundwater Management District.
(F) Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
(G) Long Valley Groundwater Management District.
(H) Mendocino City Community Services District.
(I) Mono County Tri-Valley Groundwater Management District.
(J) Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.
(K) Ojai Groundwater Management Agency.
(L) Orange County Water District.
(M) Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency.
(N) Santa Clara Valley Water District.
(O) Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District.
(P) Willow Creek Groundwater Management Agency.
(2) An agency identified in this subdivision may opt out of being
the exclusive groundwater management agency within its statutory
boundaries by sending a notice to the department, which shall be
posted on the department's Internet Web site within 15 days of
receipt. If an agency identified in paragraph (1) opts out of being
the exclusive groundwater management agency, any other local agency
or combination of local agencies operating within the statutory
boundaries of the agency that has opted out may notify the department
pursuant to Section 10723.8 of its decision to be the groundwater
sustainability agency.
(3) A local agency listed in paragraph (1) may comply with this
part by meeting the requirements of Section 10733.6 or opting to
become a groundwater sustainability agency pursuant to this section.
A local agency with authority to implement a basin-specific
management plan pursuant to its principal act shall not exercise any
authorities granted in this part in a manner inconsistent with any
prohibitions or limitations in its principal act unless the governing
board of the local agency makes a finding that the agency is unable
to sustainably manage the basin without the prohibited authority.
(d) The decision of a local agency or combination of agencies to
become a groundwater sustainability agency shall take effect as
provided in Section 10723.8.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.