BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1262| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 1262 Page 2 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 SB 1262 Page 3 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 SB 1262 Page 4 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. SB 1262 Page 5 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. SB 1262 Page 6 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 SB 1262 Page 7 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 SB 1262 Page 8 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 SB 1262 Page 9 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." SB 1262 Page 10 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 **** END ****