BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 564
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Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 564
(Cannella) - As Amended August 4, 2016
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|Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|14 - 1 |
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| |Local Government | |9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY: This bill creates the North Fork Kings Groundwater
Sustainability Agency (Agency) in the counties of Fresno and
Kings, and specifies the boundaries, Board composition, powers
and duties of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of
exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater.
Specifically, this bill:
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1)Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to
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).
2)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.
3)Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater
sustainability plan (GSP) to achieve sustainable groundwater
management within the territory of the Agency.
4)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.
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.
5)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.
6)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.
7)Allows the Agency to establish advisory committees for
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assisting the board in the development and operation of the
GSA and the development and implementation of the GSP.
8)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, program administration, and a prudent reserve.
9)Provides that in the event of a conflict between the Agency's
Act and SGMA, the provisions of SGMA prevail.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs
are not reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy
fees sufficient to cover any costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "It was the expressed intent
of the Legislature in writing SGMA to manage groundwater
basins through the actions of local governmental agencies to
the greatest extent feasible. This legislation, in creating a
special act agency to serve as the GSA for an area
encompassing 265 square miles, is fully consistent with
legislative intent for a number of reasons. The special act
agency would include in its governing body traditionally
disparate interests, including representatives appointed by
the principal land use agency, local agencies providing
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drinking water to disadvantaged communities, local agencies
providing farm water supplies and mutual water companies that
provide farm water supplies. Mutual water companies would not
be a member of the GSA, but a representative of a mutual water
company may be appointed to serve on the governing body.
"The goal of this legislation is to provide 'a seat at the
table' for all of the entities that have a stake in
sustainable groundwater management in this area. This
approach offers the best governance model for achieving
sustainable groundwater management in this area. A GSA that
consists of only local agencies would require other interested
parties to participate only through attending meetings and
reviewing and commenting on the development and implementation
of the groundwater sustainability plan. It will be far better
to provide equal and equitable access to the decision making
process."
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
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"special act special districts" that addressed groundwater
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.
SGMA requires local entities in medium- and high-priority
basins to establish GSAs by June 2017, to avoid state
intervention. GSAs must self-identify by June 30, 2017, to
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 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.
3)Related Legislation. SB 37(Vidak), before this Committee
today, creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability
Agency.
4)Prior Legislation. SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, and AB 1738
(Dickinson), Chapter 347, the Statutes of 2014, enacted SGMA.
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Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081