BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 37
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Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
SB
37 (Vidak) - As Amended June 21, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
SUBJECT: Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act
SUMMARY: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency, specifies the boundaries, Board
composition, powers and duties, and adds the Agency to the list
of exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates a groundwater management agency in the Counties of
Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East
Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency).
a) Defines the boundaries of the Agency.
b) Provides that the Agency is governed by a Board
consisting of seven members, as specified.
2)Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to
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manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local
agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with
powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA).
3)Requires the Agency to be a groundwater sustainability agency
(GSA), pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings
Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
4)Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater
sustainability plan (GSP), pursuant to existing law, to
achieve sustainable groundwater management within the
territory of the Agency.
5)Provides that the Agency only has the powers granted by this
Act and SGMA, 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 SGMA. Requires the agency to abide
by the rules and regulation promulgated by the Department of
Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB) to implement SGMA
6)Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of
regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and
extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
7)Permits the Agency to exclude from any of the requirements of
the 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.
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8)Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement
with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the
Agency's plan with other agencies or GSP's within the Kings
Subbasin, as required by SGMA.
9)Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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 amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan,
investigations, inspections, compliance assistance,
enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent
reserve.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the 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
basins subject to SGMA form one or more GSAs by June 30, 2017.
3)Allows any local agency or combination of local agencies
overlying a groundwater basin to elect to be a groundwater
sustainability agency for that basin, except as specified.
4)Requires that GSAs in basins with chronic overdraft develop
and adopt a GSP for their basin by January 31, 2020.
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5)Defines the Kings basin in the San Joaquin Valley to be in
chronic overdraft.
6)Requires that GSAs in all other high- and medium-priority
basins subject to SGMA develop and adopt a GSP by January 31,
2022.
7)Requires the DWR to draft and adopt emergency regulations for
the evaluation of GSPs, the implementation of GSPs, and
coordination agreements by June 1, 2016.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency, specifies the boundaries, Board
composition, powers and duties, and adds the Agency to the list
of exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater.
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1)Author's Statement: SGMA requires local agencies to manage
groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and provides local
agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies
to sustainably manage groundwater resources. Establishing a
sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any
local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be
a GSA through a joint powers agreement, memorandum of
agreement, or a water corporation. The act leaves no room for
a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to
sit on a GSA as a voting member. SB 37 will create the Kings
River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act
district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare
counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities
of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities
of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana. SB 37
provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out
the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of
this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms
of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for
multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to
be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement.
2)Background: SGMA requires the development of a local process
to sustainably manage groundwater. Specifically, in all SGMA
regulated basins GSAs must be formed by June 30, 2017, GSPs
for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and
sustainability must be reached by 2040 (the timeline is two
years later for all other basins).
Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was
managed at the local level.
A local agency that provided water service was authorized to
develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as
AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of
"special act special districts" that addressed groundwater
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management - these local agencies were created via statute to
establish unique governance structures and grant powers that
were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular
groundwater basin.
Local Control under SGMA: GSAs must self-identify by June 30,
2017, to the DWR, and can include a city, a county, a special
district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a
legal agreement, like a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) or
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One agency can form a GSA for
the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual
GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are
multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater
under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and
developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs
should govern local groundwater resources to achieve
sustainability goals.
All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority,
and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft,
must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020.
The Kings Subbasin that is the subject of this bill has been
designated to be in a state of critical overdraft.
Kings River East GSA: On March 28, 2016, Alta Irrigation
District filed paperwork with the DWR on behalf of the to-be
created Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in
order to notify the DWR that Kings River East would like to
serve as the GSA for a portion of the Kings Subbasin of the
San Joaquin Valley Basin. The notice to the DWR says that "all
of those local agencies, acting as interested parties, have
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Kings
River GSA,?. in the MOU, such interested parties commit to
forming either (i) a special act district, or (ii) a joint
powers authority to implement the GSA."
The notice to the DWR also states:
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"On March 17, 2016, the Kings River East held a public hearing
to consider serving as the GSA. The signed MOUs state the
intent of the parties to form the GSA. The District did not
receive any written comments prior to the hearing.
Furthermore, at that public hearing, the Kings River East did
not receive any comments or conditions objecting to or
criticizing the formation of the Kings River East GSA.
Section 6 of the MOU, regarding the GSA Governing Body,
specifies and describes the governance structure for the Kings
River East GSA."
The notice to the DWR also references this bill, the intent of
which is to establish a special act district.
Powers and Duties: This bill specifies that Kings River East
shall exercise powers granted by this act and SGMA that are
reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to implement SGMA.
The bill further specifies that the board may adopt ordinances
for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and
controlling the use and extraction of groundwater and give the
agency the ability to exclude groundwater extraction
operators.
Chaptering Out: A portion of this bill amends the same code
section as SB 564 (Cannela) West Kings Groundwater
Sustainability Agency. SB 564 will be heard in this committee
at the same June 28, 2016 hearing as this bill. Committee
staff suggests that these bills be amended to address their
chaptering out conflicts.
3)Prior and Related Legislation:
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a) SB 564 (Cannela), would establish West Kings
Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
b) SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, the Statutes of 2014,
enacted SGMA.
c) AB 1738 (Dickinson), Chapter 347, the Statutes of
2014, enacted SGMA.
4)Supporting Arguments: The Kings River East working group has
engaged in a collaborative process to determine how irrigation
districts, cities, counties, agricultural, and disadvantaged
communities can come together to develop a GSA. Kings River
East has proven its intent to work with its neighbors within
the same groundwater basins though the signing of MOUs in
order to comply with SGMA regulations including complimentary
GSP's. A one size fits all approach to SGMA will not be
successful but the passage of this bill would signal the
confidence that the state has in local agencies to create
groundwater sustainability amongst the diverse conditions that
exist in our aquifers.
5)Opposing Arguments: This bill proposes a new local agency with
unknown powers, as a result, remaining sustainable groundwater
agencies within the Kings Basin may be at a disadvantage when
developing the basin-wide plan. If the new agency is granted
specific or implied powers and authorities beyond and/or
different than those of other agencies within the basin,
coordination will be difficult and the potential for conflict
increased. SGMA provides for a variety of alternatives for
coordinated governance and management of groundwater within a
basin. Alternatives to this agency should be thoroughly
explored prior to the creation of a redundant sustainable
groundwater agency in Kings Basin. Until alternatives are
considered it is premature to establish a new special agency
in order to achieve sustainability of groundwater resources
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within the East Kings area. The creation of this agency may
potentially compromise the interests of other local agencies
and key stakeholders in the area.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alta Irrigation District
Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Realtors
California Citrus Mutual
City of Dinuba
City of Orange Cove
City of Reedley
Community Water Center
Cutler Public Utility District
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Gillette Citrus, Inc.
Hills Valley Irrigation District
Kings County Water District
Kings River Water District
London Community Services District
Orange Cove Irrigation District
Orosi Public Utility District
Peltzer Enterprises
Sultana Community Services District
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Tulare County Farm Bureau
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Opposition
Fresno Irrigation District (To previous version)
Analysis Prepared by:Ryan Ojakian / W., P., & W. / (916)
319-2096