SB 487, as introduced, Nielsen. Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA exempts specified projects from its requirements.
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 a local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to elect to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin and authorizes that groundwater sustainability agency to adopt, implement, and enforce a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans. The act exempts the preparation and adoption of a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plan from the provisions of CEQA, but does not exempt a project that would implement actions taken pursuant to the plan.
This bill would additionally exempt from the requirements of CEQA the formation of a groundwater sustainability agency, the amendment of a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plan, and the implementation of those plans, except to the extent that the implementation requires the construction or installation of a new facility. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 10724.1 is added to the Water Code, to
2read:
Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
4Public Resources Code does not apply to the formation of a
5groundwater sustainability agency pursuant to this chapter.
Section 10728.6 of the Water Code is amended to read:
Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
8Public Resources Code does not apply tobegin delete the preparationend deletebegin insert either of
9the following:end insert
10begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertThe preparation, adoption,end insert andbegin delete adoptionend deletebegin insert
amendmentend insert of
11begin delete plansend deletebegin insert
a plan or coordinated planend insert pursuant to this chapter.begin delete Nothing
12in this part shall be interpreted as exempting from Division 13
13(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code
14a project that would implement actions taken pursuant to a plan
15adopted pursuant to this chapter.end delete
P3 1(b) A project that implements a plan or coordinated plan, except
2to the extent that the implementation requires the construction or
3installation of a new facility.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
5Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
6a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
7charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
8level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
917556 of the Government Code.
O
99