BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1262|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1262
Author: Pavley (D) and Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 5/11/16
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 3/29/16
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/20/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NOES: Nguyen, Moorlach
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Water supply planning
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill revises requirements that new developments
must meet in order to demonstrate that its water supplies are
sufficient to include consideration of provisions of the
Groundwater Sustainability Act.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/11/16 clarify how to address
groundwater in land use planning.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires, pursuant to the California Water Code, every
large-scale development project - 500 new residential
connections or an equivalent size for other uses - to have a
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water supply assessment prepared according to the following
process:
a) A city or county, at the time that it determines that a
development is subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), must identify any water system that may
supply water for the project.
b) A water supply assessment must identify any existing
water supply entitlements, water rights, or water service
contracts relevant to the identified water supply for the
proposed project, and describe the quantities of water
received in prior years by the public water system or the
city or county through its water rights or other sources.
c) If the project relies in whole or in part on
groundwater, the water supply assessment must include
additional information, including a description of any
groundwater basins that will supply the project, the court
or State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB or State
Board) order if the basin is adjudicated, and an analysis
of the sufficiency of the groundwater from the basin or
basins.
2)Requires that, under CEQA, whenever a city or county
determines that a large-scale project, as defined in the
California Water Code (above), is subject to CEQA, it must
comply with the water supply assessment requirements triggered
by that determination.
3)Requires, under the Subdivision Map Act, cities and counties
to demonstrate that a sufficient water supply is available as
a condition in their approval of a tentative map for a
subdivision with more than 500 dwelling units.
a) Sufficient water supply is defined as the total water
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supplies available during normal, single-dry, and
multiple-dry years within a 20-year projection that will
meet the projected demand associated with the proposed
subdivision, in addition to existing and planned future
uses. In determining sufficient water supply, all of the
following factors shall be considered:
i) The availability of water supplies over a historical
record of at least 20 years.
ii) The applicability of an urban water shortage
contingency analysis that includes actions to be
undertaken by the public water system in response to
water supply shortages.
iii) The reduction in water supply allocated to a
specific water use sector pursuant to a resolution or
ordinance adopted, or a contract entered into, by the
public water system.
iv) The amount of water that the water supplier can
reasonably rely on receiving from other water supply
projects, such as conjunctive use, reclaimed water, water
conservation, and water transfers.
b) Proof of sufficient water must be based on a written
verification from the applicable public water system. In
order to be sufficient, the water supply must be able to
meet the demands of existing and future planned uses in
addition to the subdivision's demand over the next 20
years.
c) The public water system's written verification of its
ability or inability to provide a sufficient water supply
to meet the projected demand associated with the proposed
subdivision must be supported by substantial evidence. The
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substantial evidence may include, but is not limited to,
any of the following:
i) The public water system's most recently adopted
urban water management plan.
ii) A water supply assessment that was completed
pursuant to the California Water Code (above).
iii) Other information relating to the sufficiency of the
water supply that contains analytical information that is
substantially similar to the assessment required for
urban water management plans.
4)Specifies that the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
(SGMA), among other provisions, directs the Department of
Water Resources (DWR) to categorize the state's groundwater
basins into high, medium, low, and very low priorities, based
on factors such as the population overlying the basin, number
of wells in the basin, and overlying irrigated acreage. DWR
must also identify basins subject to critical overdraft.
a) Under SGMA, basins designated as high or medium priority
must be managed by a groundwater sustainability agency.
That agency must develop a groundwater sustainability plan
(GSP) to ensure that by 2040, the basin is in a sustainable
condition-there can be no undesirable results (such as land
sinking) from use of the basin.
b) A GSP must include, among other things, a description of
the consideration given to the applicable county and city
general plans and a description of the various adopted
water resources-related plans and programs within the basin
and an assessment of how the GSP may affect those plans.
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c) If a basin does not have a groundwater sustainability
agency by July 1, 2017, or the agency fails to adopt or
implement a GSP pursuant to SGMA, the State Board may
designate the basin as "probationary" and can develop a
plan to achieve sustainability for the basin.
This bill:
1)Revises the groundwater requirements for a water supply
assessment under the California Water Code to include, for
high- and medium-priority basins, information regarding the
following:
a) Whether the DWR has identified the basin as being
subject to critical overdraft.
b) Whether the State Board has designated the basin as a
probationary basin.
c) If a groundwater sustainability agency has adopted a GSP
or has an approved alternative, a copy of that alternative
or plan.
2)Excludes from consideration as a source of water under the
water supply assessment:
a) Hauled water.
b) Groundwater from a basin designated by the board as a
probationary basin. This exclusion does not apply to
groundwater from any portion of a basin excluded from
probationary status.
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3)Adds to the factors for determining sufficient water supply
under the Subdivision Map Act, if the subdivision relies in
whole or in part on groundwater, the following:
a) For a basin for which a court or the State Board has
adjudicated the rights to pump groundwater, the order or
decree adopted by the court or the State Board.
b) For a basin that has not been adjudicated, as follows:
i) For a basin designated as high- or medium-priority,
the most recently adopted or revised adopted GSP or
approved alternative. If there is no adopted GSP or
approved alternative, information as to whether DWR has
identified the basin or basins as overdrafted or has
projected that the basin will become overdrafted if
present management conditions continue.
ii) For a basin designated as low- or very low priority,
information as to whether DWR has identified the basin or
basins as overdrafted or has projected that the basin
will become overdrafted if present management conditions
continue.
4)Adds to list of supporting materials for the determination of
substantial evidence an adopted GSP or alternative approved
pursuant to SGMA.
5)Excludes from the determination of sufficient water supply
under the Subdivision Map Act, groundwater from a basin
designated by the board as a probationary basin. This
exclusion does not apply to groundwater from any portion of a
basin excluded from probationary status.
Background
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Show Me the Water. In response to local land use decisions
adversely affecting local water supply agencies, the Legislature
enacted SB 610 (Costa, Chapter 643, Statutes of 2001) and SB 221
(Kuehl, Chapter 642, Statutes of 2001). Often referred to as
the "show-me-the-water" bills, together these two bills formally
linked land use planning with water use planning, and vice
versa. SB 1262 amends those bills.
Comments
Correcting an Oversight. The SGMA legislation in 2014
introduced necessary changes to the local land use planning
laws, but inadvertently omitted conforming changes to the
"show-me-the-water" legislation. SB 1262 provides the necessary
updates to harmonize new development approvals with the
requirements of SGMA.
Definition of a Project. This bill does not change the
definition of a project subject to the "show-me-the-water"
bills. However, there seems to be interest in exploring that
option.
A coalition of environmental justice groups write
"Unfortunately, this legislation lets stand the definition of a
subdivision (500 or more connections) which effectively
precludes most development from this sensible review process. We
urge the authors and the committee to consider a substantial
reduction in this number in order to protect new communities and
ensure that the state will not have to share the burden of
supporting them in future droughts."
The California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions
similarly writes, "While we have no magic bullet number to offer
in terms of what is the "right size" for a project, we believe a
threshold of 500 units for projects at the zoning level (water
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supply assessment pursuant to SB 610) probably captures less
than half of the growth, and therefore, less than half of the
demand. The 500 unit threshold for subdivisions (written
verification pursuant to SB 221) probably captures a very small
percentage of subdivision activity. Most projects are
considerably smaller. ? We do feel it is best that thresholds
should change." Moreover, "We believe if there was a lower
trigger number for a project, the concern regarding phased
development and the demand for water required to adequately
supply those new phases will be addressed."
The author has indicated that she is willing to explore a
different definition as this bill moves forward.
Related Legislation
SB 1263 (Wieckowski/Pavley) strengthens the permitting process
for new public water systems to create greater environmental,
public health, and financial sustainability of drinking water
supplies.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified5/13/16)
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Desert Water Agency
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Valley Ag Water Coalition
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OPPOSITION: (Verified5/13/16)
California Apartment Association
California Association of Realtors
California Building Industries Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Independent Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "California has
a number of interconnecting laws that together attempt to ensure
that water supply availability is given proper consideration
when making land use decisions, and vice versa. Among those
laws are 2002's SBs 610 (Costa) and 221 (Kuehl), also known as
the 'show me the water bills.' When we passed the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014, we updated some water
and land use planning laws to reflect SGMA, but not the show me
the water bills.
"SB 1262 (Pavley/Wieckowski), in conjunction with SB 1263
(Wieckowski/Pavley), builds on the administration's Affordable
Safe Drinking Water Initiative to update the show me the water
bills as follows:
Integrates groundwater sustainability agencies and
consideration of groundwater sustainability plans into water
supply and land use planning.
Prohibits use of groundwater to supply new development if the
groundwater basin has been deemed out of compliance with SGMA
(i.e., is 'probationary').
Prohibits the use of hauled water to comply with show me the
water bills."
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: A coalition of building, real
estate, and other business interests write, "While we agree that
water supply and quality issues in the state deserve critical
attention, we are concerned with several provisions in the bill:
SB 1262 takes a project-by-project approach as a way to solve
issues that are endemic to entire basins. This approach draws
a litigation target on greatly needed new housing and
employment centers while ignoring the impact of the basin's
conditions on other water supply demands. These issues are
best dealt with in a plan-based, programmatic way that creates
a more level playing field through changes to urban water
management plans.
New construction projects do not have authority or the
responsibility to develop, approve and maintain legally valid
groundwater sustainability plans. Those duties and the
punishment for failing to comply with those duties -
designation of the basin as 'probationary' - should fall on
the agencies charged with responsibility - not on much-needed
new housing.
For these reasons, we oppose SB 1262."
Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
5/13/16 13:47:48
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