BILL NUMBER: AB 49 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Feuer and Huffman
DECEMBER 1, 2008
An act to add Part 2.55 (commencing with Section 10608) to ,
and to repeal and add Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 10800) of,
Division 6 of the Water Code, relating to water
conservation .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 49, as amended, Feuer. Water conservation: urban water
use. agricultural water management planning.
Existing
(1) Existing law requires the
Department of Water Resources to convene an independent technical
panel to provide information to the department and the Legislature on
new demand management measures, technologies, and approaches.
"Demand management measures" means those water conservation measures,
programs, and incentives that prevent the waste of water and promote
the reasonable and efficient use and reuse of available supplies.
This bill would require the state to achieve a 20% reduction in
urban per capita water use in California by December 31, 2020.
The state would be required to make incremental progress towards this
goal by reducing per capita water use by at least 10% on or before
December 31, 2015. The bill would require the department to develop,
by December 31, 2010, and through a public participation process,
regional urban water use targets and interim regional urban water use
targets in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would
require agricultural water suppliers to implement water use
efficiency best management practices and would impose related
reporting requirements on agricultural water suppliers. The bill
would require the department, in consultation with other
state agencies, to develop a single standardized water use reporting
form. The bill, with certain exceptions, would condition eligibility
for certain water management grants or loans to urban water suppliers
and agricultural water suppliers on the implementation of water
conservation requirements established by the bill.
(2) Existing law, until January 1, 1993, and thereafter only as
specified, requires certain agricultural water suppliers to prepare
and adopt water management plans.
This bill would substantially revise existing law relating to
agricultural water management planning to require agricultural water
suppliers to prepare and adopt agricultural water management plans
with specified components on or before December 31, 2011, and
December 31, 2015, and on or before December 31 every 5 years
thereafter. An agricultural water supplier that becomes an
agricultural water supplier after December 31, 2012, would be
required to prepare and adopt an agricultural water management plan
within one year after becoming an agricultural water supplier. The
agricultural water supplier would be required to notify each city or
county within which the supplier provides water supplies with regard
to the preparation or review of the plan. The bill would require the
agricultural water supplier to submit copies of the plan to the
department and other specified entities. The bill would provide that
an agricultural water supplier is ineligible to receive specified
state funds if the supplier does not prepare, adopt, and submit the
plan in accordance with the requirements established by the bill.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 2.55 (commencing with Section 10608) is
added to Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:
PART 2.55. WATER CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL DECLARATION AND POLICY
10608. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Water is a public resource that the California Constitution
protects against waste and unreasonable use.
(b) Growing population, climate change, and the need to protect
and grow California's economy while protecting and restoring our fish
and wildlife habitats make it essential that the state manage its
water resources as efficiently as possible.
(c) Reduced water use through conservation provides significant
energy and environmental benefits, can help protect water quality,
improves streamflows, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
(d) The success of state and local water conservation programs to
increase efficiency of water use is best determined on the basis of
measurable outcomes related to water use or efficiency.
(e) Improvements in technology and management practices offer the
potential for increasing water efficiency in California over time,
providing an essential water management tool to meet the need for
water for urban, agricultural, and environmental uses.
(f) The Governor has called for a 20 percent per capita reduction
in urban water use statewide by 2020.
10608.4. It is the intent of the Legislature, by the enactment of
this part, to do all of the following:
(a) Require all water suppliers to increase the efficiency of use
of this essential resource.
(b) Establish a framework to meet the state targets for urban
water conservation identified in this part and called for by the
Governor.
(c) Measure increased efficiency of urban water use on a per
capita basis.
(d) Establish consistent water use efficiency planning and
implementation standards for urban water suppliers and agricultural
water suppliers.
(e) Require implementation of specified best management practices
for agricultural water suppliers.
(f) Support the economic productivity of California's
agricultural, commercial, and industrial sectors.
10608.8. (a) This part does not limit or otherwise affect the
application of Section 1011.
(b) This part does not limit or otherwise affect the application
of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340), Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 11370), Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400),
and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) This part may not reduce the total water used in the
agricultural or urban sectors, because other factors such as changes
in agricultural economics or population growth may have greater
effects on water use. This part does not limit the economic
productivity of California's agricultural, commercial, or industrial
sectors.
CHAPTER 2. DEFINITIONS
10618.12. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:
(a) "Agricultural water supplier" means a water supplier, either
publicly or privately owned, providing water to more than 2,000 acres
of agricultural land, or supplying more than 2,000 acre-feet of
agricultural water annually, excluding recycled water. An
agricultural water supplier includes a supplier or contractor for
water, regardless of the basis of right, which distributes or sells
water for ultimate resale to customers.
(b) "Base daily per capita water use" means a daily per capita
water use during a base year or base years determined by the
department pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 10608.20 that best
reflects current normal water use and, to the extent feasible, is a
base year of 2004 or later.
(c) "Commercial water user" means a water user that provides or
distributes a product or service.
(d) (1) "Daily per capita water use" means the gross water use in
a calendar year divided by the average number of residents during
that year divided by 365 days per year.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the average number of residents
during that year shall be determined using federal, state, and
regional population reports supplemented with local information and
trend-based extrapolations.
(e) "Disadvantaged community" means a community with an annual
median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide
annual median household income.
(f) "Gross water use" means the total volume of treated or
untreated water entering the distribution system of an urban retail
water supplier and excludes agricultural water deliveries and
recycled water use.
(g) "Industrial water user" means a water user that is primarily a
manufacturer or processor of materials as defined by the Standard
Industrial Classifications Code numbers 2000 through 3999.
(h) "Institutional water user" means a water user dedicated to
public service. This includes higher education institutions, schools,
courts, churches, hospitals, and government facilities.
(i) "Locally cost effective" means that the present value of the
local benefits of implementing an agricultural best management
practice is greater than or equal to the present value of the local
cost of implementing that measure.
(j) "Recycled water use" means any beneficial use of nonpotable
recycled water by a retail customer of the urban retail water
supplier which helps meet an urban retail water suppliers gross water
use.
(k) "Urban retail water supplier" means a water supplier, either
publicly or privately owned, that directly provides municipal water
to more than 3,000 end users or that supplies more than 3,000
acre-feet of water annually.
(l) "Urban wholesale water supplier," either publicly or privately
owned, means a water supplier that provides more than 3,000
acre-feet of water annually at wholesale for municipal purposes.
(m) "Water conservation" means the efficient management of water
resources for beneficial uses, preventing waste, or accomplishing
additional benefits with the same amount of water.
CHAPTER 1. URBAN WATER SUPPLIERS
10608.16. (a) The state shall achieve a 20-percent reduction in
urban per capita water use in California on or before December 31,
2020.
(b) The state shall make incremental progress towards the state
target specified in subdivision (a) by reducing per capita water use
by at least 10 percent on or before December 31, 2015.
10608.20. (a) The department shall, through a public
participation process, by December 31, 2010, develop regional urban
water use targets and interim regional urban water use targets.
(b) The targets shall cumulatively result in a statewide
20-percent reduction in daily per capita water use by 2020.
(c) In developing urban water use targets, the department shall do
all of the following:
(1) Consider the high efficiency and low per capita water use
levels already achieved by some urban water suppliers.
(2) Consider climactic differences within the state.
(3) Provide flexibility to urban water suppliers and regions in
meeting the targets.
(4) Define the base year or years and determine statewide base
daily per capita water use.
(d) The department shall, through a public participation process,
by December 31, 2010, develop per capita water use calculation
procedures with public input. The calculation procedures shall
include all of the following:
(1) Methods for computing base daily per capita water use for
commercial, industrial, and institutional water users.
(2) Methods for computing current per capita water use for
commercial, industrial, and institutional water users.
(3) Methods for computing current per capita residential water
use.
(4) Methods for computation at geographic scales including urban
retail water supplier, urban wholesale water supplier, regional water
management group, integrated regional water management funding area,
hydrologic region, or other appropriate geographic scales.
(e) Per capita water use calculation procedures developed by the
department shall not include nonpotable recycled water in computing
per capita water use.
10608.24. (a) Each urban retail water supplier shall meet its
interim urban water use target by December 31, 2015.
(b) Each urban retail water supplier shall meet its urban water
use target by December 31, 2020.
10608.28. (a) An urban retail water supplier may meet its urban
water use target within its retail service area, or by participation
in cooperative programs at geographic scales including urban
wholesale water supplier, regional water management group, integrated
regional water management funding area, hydrologic region, or other
appropriate geographic scales for which computation methods have been
developed by the department.
(b) An urban retail water supplier may meet its urban water use
target entirely through efficiency gains in its residential water use
sector, entirely through efficiency gains in its commercial,
institutional, and industrial sector, or through some combination
between the two sectors.
10608.32. All costs incurred pursuant to this part by a water
utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission may be
recoverable in rates subject to review and approval by the Public
Utilities Commission, and may be recorded in a memorandum account and
reviewed for reasonableness by staff of the Public Utilities
Commission.
10608.36. Urban wholesale water suppliers shall include in the
urban water management plans required pursuant to Part 2.6
(commencing with Section 10610) an assessment of their present and
proposed future measures, programs, and policies to help achieve the
water use reductions required by this part.
10608.40. Urban water retail suppliers shall report to the
department on their progress in meeting their urban use water targets
as part of their urban water management plans submitted pursuant to
Section 10631.
10608.44. State agencies shall reduce water use on facilities
they own or operate to support urban retail water suppliers in
meeting the target identified in Section 10608.16.
CHAPTER 2. AGRICULTURAL WATER SUPPLIERS
10608.48. (a) On or before July 31, 2012, an agricultural water
supplier shall implement water use efficiency best management
practices pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c).
(b) Agricultural water suppliers shall implement all of the
following critical best management practices:
(1) Measure the volume of water delivered to customers with
sufficient accuracy to comply with subdivision (a) of Section 531.10
and to implement volumetric pricing pursuant to paragraph (4).
(2) Designate a water conservation coordinator who will develop
and implement the water management plan and prepare progress reports.
(3) Provide for the availability of water management services to
water users. These services may include, but are not limited to, all
of the following:
(A) On-farm irrigation and drainage system evaluations.
(B) Normal year and real-time irrigation scheduling and crop
evapotranspiration information.
(C) Surface water, groundwater, and drainage water quantity and
quality data.
(D) Agricultural water management educational programs and
materials for farmers, staff, and the public.
(4) Adopt a pricing structure for water customers based at least
in part on quantity delivered.
(5) Evaluate the policies of agencies that provide the supplier
with water to identify the potential for institutional changes to
allow more flexible water deliveries and storage.
(6) Evaluate and improve the efficiencies of the supplier's pumps.
(c) Agricultural water suppliers shall implement additional best
management practices, including, but not limited to, practices to
accomplish all of the following, if the measures are locally cost
effective and technically feasible:
(1) Facilitate alternative land use for lands with exceptionally
high water duties or whose irrigation contributes to significant
problems, including drainage.
(2) Facilitate use of available recycled water that otherwise
would not be used beneficially, meets all health and safety criteria,
and does not harm crops or soils.
(3) Facilitate the financing of capital improvements for onfarm
irrigation systems.
(4) Implement an incentive pricing structure that promotes one or
more of the following goals:
(A) More efficient water use at the farm level.
(B) Conjunctive use of groundwater.
(C) Appropriate increase of groundwater recharge.
(D) Reduction in problem drainage.
(E) Improved management of environmental resources.
(F) Effective management of all water sources throughout the year
by adjusting seasonal pricing structures based on current conditions.
(5) Line or pipe distribution systems and construct regulatory
reservoirs to increase distribution system flexibility and capacity,
decrease maintenance, and reduce seepage.
(6) Increase flexibility in water ordering by, and delivery to,
water customers within operational limits.
(7) Construct and operate supplier spill and tailwater recovery
systems.
(8) Increase planned conjunctive use of surface and groundwater
within the supplier service area.
(9) Automate canal control structures.
(10) Facilitate or promote customer pump testing and evaluation.
(d) Agricultural water suppliers shall report to the department on
which best management practices have been implemented and are
planned to be implemented, an estimate of the water savings that have
occurred since the last report, and an estimate of the water savings
estimated to occur five and 10 years in the future. If an
agricultural water supplier determines that a best management
practice is not locally cost effective or technically feasible, the
supplier shall submit information documenting that determination.
(e) The reports shall be submitted to the department on or before
____, and thereafter in years ending in zero and years ending in
five.
(f) Agricultural water supplier reporting requirements may be met
through the submission to the department of an agricultural water
management plan required pursuant to Section 10820, or developed for
the United States Bureau of Reclamation that is consistent with this
part.
(g) The reports shall be submitted using a standardized form
developed pursuant to Section ____.
(h) The department may update the best management practices
required pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c), in consultation with
the Agricultural Water Management Council, the United States Bureau
of Reclamation, and after technical and public input provided
pursuant to Section ____.
CHAPTER 3. STANDARDIZED DATA COLLECTION
10608.52. (a) The department, in consultation with the board, the
California Bay-Delta Authority, the State Department of Public
Health, and the Public Utilities Commission, shall develop a single
standardized water use reporting form to meet the water use
information needs of each agency.
(b) At a minimum, the form shall be developed to accommodate
information sufficient to assess an urban water supplier's compliance
with conservation targets pursuant to Section 10608.24 and an
agricultural water supplier's compliance with implementation of best
management practices pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10608.48.
CHAPTER 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS
10608.56. (a) Beginning August 1, ____, the terms of, and
eligibility for, a water management grant or loan made to urban
retail water suppliers and awarded or administered by the department,
board, or California Bay-Delta Authority or its successor agency
shall be conditioned on the implementation of this part.
(b) Beginning January 1, ____, the terms of, and eligibility for,
a water management grant or loan made to agricultural water suppliers
and awarded or administered by the department, board, or California
Bay-Delta Authority or its successor agency shall be conditioned on
the implementation of this part.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall
determine that an urban retail water supplier is eligible for a water
management grant or loan even though the supplier has not met the
per capita reductions required pursuant to Section 10608.24, if the
urban retail water supplier has submitted to the department for
approval a schedule, financing plan, and budget, to be included in
the grant or loan agreement, for achieving the per capita reductions.
The supplier may request grant or loan funds to achieve the per
capita reductions to the extent the request is consistent with the
eligibility requirements applicable to the water management funds.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the department shall
determine that an agricultural water supplier is eligible for a water
management grant or loan even though the supplier is not
implementing all of the best management practices described in
Section 10608.48, if the agricultural water supplier has submitted to
the department for approval a schedule, financing plan, and budget,
to be included in the grant or loan agreement, for implementation of
the best management practices. The supplier may request grant or loan
funds to implement the best management practices to the extent the
request is consistent with the eligibility requirements applicable to
the water management funds.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall
determine that an urban retail water supplier is eligible for a water
management grant or loan even though the supplier has not met the
per capita reductions required pursuant to Section 10608.24, if the
urban retail water supplier has submitted to the department for
approval documentation demonstrating that their entire service area
qualifies as a disadvantaged community.
10608.60. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that funds made
available by Section 75026 of the Public Resources Code should be
expended, consistent with Division 43 (commencing with Section 75001)
of the Public Resources Code and upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for grants to implement this part. In the allocation of
funding, it is the intent of the Legislature that the department give
consideration to disadvantaged communities to assist in implementing
the requirements of this part.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that funds made available
by Section 75041 of the Public Resources Code should be expended
consistent with Division 43 (commencing with Section 75001) of the
Public Resources Code and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for
direct expenditures to implement this part.
CHAPTER 5. QUANTIFYING AGRICULTURAL WATER USE EFFICIENCY
10608.64. The department shall develop a methodology for
quantifying the efficiency of agricultural water use. Alternatives to
be assessed shall include, but not be limited to, determination of
efficiency levels based on crop type or irrigation system
distribution uniformity. On or before December 31, 2011, the
department shall report to the Legislature on a proposed methodology
and a plan for implementation. The plan shall include the estimated
implementation costs and the types of data needed to support the
methodology.
SEC. 2. Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 10800) of
Division 6 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 3. Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 10800) is
added to Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:
PART 2.8. AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL DECLARATIONS AND POLICY
10800. This part shall be known and may be cited as the
Agricultural Water Management Planning Act.
10801. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The waters of the state are a limited and renewable resource.
(b) The California Constitution requires that water in the state
be used in a reasonable and beneficial manner.
(c) Urban water districts are required to adopt water management
plans.
(d) The conservation of agricultural water supplies is of great
statewide concern.
(e) There is a great amount of reuse of delivered water, both
inside and outside the water service areas.
(f) Significant noncrop beneficial uses are associated with
agricultural water use, including streamflows and wildlife habitat.
(g) Significant opportunities exist in some areas, through
improved irrigation water management, to conserve water or to reduce
the quantity of highly saline or toxic drainage water.
(h) Changes in water management practices should be carefully
planned and implemented to minimize adverse effects on other
beneficial uses currently being served.
(i) Agricultural water suppliers that receive water from the
Central Valley Project are required by federal law to prepare and
implement water conservation plans.
(j) Agricultural water users applying for a permit to appropriate
water from the board are required to prepare and implement water
conservation plans.
10802. The Legislature finds and declares that all of the
following are the policies of the state:
(a) The conservation of water shall be pursued actively to protect
both the people of the state and the state's water resources.
(b) The conservation of agricultural water supplies shall be an
important criterion in public decisions with regard to water.
(c) Agricultural water suppliers shall be required to prepare
water management plans to achieve conservation of water.
CHAPTER 2. DEFINITIONS
10810. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set
forth in this chapter govern the construction of this part.
10811. "Agricultural water management plan" or "plan" means an
agricultural water management plan prepared pursuant to this part.
10812. "Agricultural water supplier" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 10608.12.
10813. "Customer" means a purchaser of water from a water
supplier who uses water for agricultural purposes.
10814. "Person" means any individual, firm, association,
organization, partnership, business, trust, corporation, company,
public agency, or any agency of that entity.
10815. "Public agency" means any city, county, city and county,
special district, or other public entity.
10816. "Urban water supplier" has the same meaning as set forth
in Section 10617.
10817. "Water conservation" means the efficient management of
water resources for beneficial uses, preventing waste, or
accomplishing additional benefits with the same amount of water.
CHAPTER 3. AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLANS
Article 1. General Provisions
10820. (a) An agricultural water supplier shall prepare and adopt
an agricultural water management plan in the manner set forth in
this chapter on or before December 31, 2011, and December 31, 2015,
and on or before December 31 every five years thereafter.
(b) Every supplier that becomes an agricultural water supplier
after December 31, 2012, shall prepare and adopt an agricultural
water management plan within one year after the date it has become an
agricultural water supplier.
(c) A water supplier that indirectly provides water to customers
for agricultural purposes shall not prepare a plan pursuant to this
part without the consent of each agricultural water supplier that
directly provides that water to its customers.
10821. (a)
An agricultural water supplier shall update its plan at least once
every five years on or before December 31, in years ending in zero
and five.
(b) An agricultural water supplier required to prepare a plan
pursuant to this part shall notify each city or county within which
the supplier provides water supplies that the agricultural water
supplier will be preparing the plan or reviewing the plan and
considering amendments or changes to the plan. The agricultural water
supplier may consult with, and obtain comments from, each city or
county that receives notice pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) The amendments to, or changes in, the plan shall be adopted
and submitted in the manner set forth in Article 3 (commencing with
Section 10840).
Article 2. Contents of Plans
10825. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
part to allow levels of water management planning commensurate with
the numbers of customers served and the volume of water supplied.
(b) This part does not require the implementation of water
conservation programs or practices that are not locally cost
effective.
10826. An agricultural water management plan shall be adopted in
accordance with this chapter. The plan shall do all of the following:
(a) Describe the agricultural water supplier and the service area,
including all of the following:
(1) Size of the service area.
(2) Location of the service area and its water management
facilities.
(3) Terrain and soils.
(4) Climate.
(5) Operating rules and regulations.
(6) Water delivery measurements or calculations.
(7) Water rate schedules and billing.
(8) Water shortage allocation policies.
(b) Describe the quantity and quality of water resources of the
agricultural water supplier, including all of the following:
(1) Surface water supply.
(2) Groundwater supply.
(3) Other water supplies.
(4) Source water quality monitoring practices.
(5) Water uses within the agricultural water supplier's service
area, including all of the following:
(A) Agricultural.
(B) Environmental.
(C) Recreational.
(D) Municipal and industrial.
(E) Groundwater recharge.
(F) Transfers and exchanges.
(G) Other water uses.
(6) Drainage from the water supplier service area.
(7) Water accounting, including all of the following:
(A) Quantifying the water supplier's water supplies.
(B) Tabulating water uses.
(C) Overall water budget.
(8) Water supply reliability.
(c) Include an analysis, based on available information, of the
effect of climate change on future water supplies.
(d) Describe previous water management activities.
(e) Include in the plan the water use efficiency information
required pursuant to Section 10608.48.
10827. Agricultural water suppliers that are members of the
Agricultural Water Management Council, and that submit water
management plans to that council in accordance with the "Memorandum
of Understanding Regarding Efficient Water Management Practices By
Agricultural Water Suppliers In California," dated January 1, 1999,
may submit the water management plans identifying water demand
management measures currently being implemented, or scheduled for
implementation, to satisfy the requirements of Section 10826.
10828. (a) Agricultural water suppliers that are required to
submit water conservation plans to the United States Bureau of
Reclamation pursuant to either the Central Valley Project Improvement
Act (Public Law 102-575) or the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, or
both, may submit those water conservation plans to satisfy the
requirements of Section 10826, if both of the following apply:
(1) The agricultural water supplier has adopted and submitted the
water conservation plan to the United States Bureau of Reclamation
within the previous four years.
(2) The United States Bureau of Reclamation has accepted the water
conservation plan as adequate.
(b) This part does not require agricultural water suppliers that
are required to submit water conservation plans to the United States
Bureau of Reclamation pursuant to either the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (Public Law 102-575) or the Reclamation Reform Act of
1982, or both, to prepare and adopt water conservation plans
according to a schedule that is different from that required by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation.
10829. An agricultural water supplier may satisfy the
requirements of this part by adopting an urban water management plan
pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) or by
participation in area-wide, regional, watershed, or basinwide water
management planning if those plans meet or exceed the requirements of
this part.
Article 3. Adoption and Implementation of Plans
10840. Every agricultural water supplier shall prepare its plan
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 10825).
10841. Prior to adopting a plan, the agricultural water supplier
shall make the proposed plan available for public inspection, and
shall hold a public hearing on the plan. Prior to the hearing, notice
of the time and place of hearing shall be published within the
jurisdiction of the publicly owned agricultural water supplier
pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code. A privately owned
agricultural water supplier shall provide an equivalent notice within
its service area. After the hearing, the plan shall be adopted as
prepared or as modified during or after the hearing.
10842. An agricultural water supplier shall implement the plan
adopted pursuant to this chapter in accordance with the schedule set
forth in its plan, as determined by the governing body of the
agricultural water supplier.
10843. (a) An agricultural water supplier shall submit to the
entities identified in subdivision (b) a copy of its plan no later
than 30 days after the adoption of the plan. Copies of amendments or
changes to the plans shall be submitted to the entities identified in
subdivision (b) within 30 days after the adoption of the amendments
or changes.
(b) An agricultural water supplier shall submit a copy of its plan
and amendments or changes to the plan to each of the following
entities:
(1) The department.
(2) Any city, county, or city and county within which the
agricultural water supplier provides water supplies.
(3) Any groundwater management entity within which jurisdiction
the agricultural water supplier extracts or provides water supplies.
(4) Any urban water supplier within which jurisdiction the
agricultural water supplier provides water supplies.
(5) Any city or county library within which jurisdiction the
agricultural water supplier provides water supplies.
(6) The California State Library.
(7) Any local agency formation commission serving a county within
which the agricultural water supplier provides water supplies.
10844. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date of adopting its
plan, the agricultural water supplier shall make the plan available
for public review on the agricultural water supplier's Internet Web
site.
(b) An agricultural water supplier that does not have an Internet
Web site shall submit to the department, not later than 30 days after
the date of adopting its plan, a copy of the adopted plan in an
electronic format. The department shall make the plan available for
public review on the department's Internet Web site.
10845. (a) The department shall prepare and submit to the
Legislature, on or before December 31, 2012, and thereafter in the
years ending in six and years ending in one, a report summarizing the
status of the plans adopted pursuant to this part.
(b) The report prepared by the department shall identify the
outstanding elements of any plan adopted pursuant to this part. The
report shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of this part
in promoting efficient agricultural water management practices and
recommendations relating to proposed changes to this part, as
appropriate.
(c) The department shall provide a copy of the report to each
agricultural water supplier that has submitted its plan to the
department. The department shall also prepare reports and provide
data for any legislative hearing designed to consider the
effectiveness of plans submitted pursuant to this part.
(d) This section does not authorize the department, in preparing
the report, to approve, disapprove, or critique individual plans
submitted pursuant to this part.
CHAPTER 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
10850. (a) Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside,
void, or annul the acts or decisions of an agricultural water
supplier on the grounds of noncompliance with this part shall be
brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and
the court's review of compliance or noncompliance with this part
shall extend to whether the plan, or portion thereof, or revision
thereto, substantially complies with the requirements of this part.
(b) An action or proceeding alleging failure to adopt a plan shall
be commenced within 18 months after that adoption is required by
this part.
(c) Any action or proceeding alleging that a plan, or action taken
pursuant to the plan, does not comply with this part shall be
commenced within 120 days after submitting the plan or amendments to
the plan to entities in accordance with Section 10844 or the taking
of that action.
(d) In an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void,
or annul the acts or decisions of an agricultural water supplier
made pursuant to this part at a properly noticed public hearing, the
issues raised shall be limited to those raised in the public hearing,
or in written correspondence delivered to the agricultural water
supplier prior to, or at, the public hearing, except if the court
finds either of the following:
(1) The issue could not have been raised at the public hearing by
a person exercising reasonable diligence.
(2) The body conducting the public hearing prevented the issue
from being raised at the public hearing.
10851. The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) does
not apply to the preparation and adoption of plans pursuant to this
part. This part does not exempt projects for implementation of the
plan or for expanded or additional water supplies from the California
Environmental Quality Act.
10852. An agricultural water supplier that does not prepare,
adopt, and submit its agricultural water management plan in
accordance with this part is ineligible to receive funds made
available pursuant to any program administered by the board, the
department, or the California Bay-Delta Authority, or participate in
any drought assistance program administered by the state, until the
agricultural water management plan is submitted pursuant to this
part.
SECTION 1. Part 2.55 (commencing with Section
10608) is added to Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:
PART 2.55. WATER CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL DECLARATIONS AND POLICY
10608. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Water is a public resource that the California Constitution
protects against waste and unreasonable use.
(b) Growing population, climate change, and the need to protect
California's fish and wildlife make it essential that the state
manage its water resources as efficiently as possible.
(c) Reduced water use through conservation provides significant
energy and environmental benefits, can help protect water quality,
improves streamflows, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
(d) The success of state and local water conservation programs to
increase efficiency of water use is best determined on the basis of
measurable outcomes related to water use or efficiency.
(e) Improvements in technology and management practices offer the
potential for increasing water conservation in California over time,
providing an essential water management tool to meet the need for
water for urban, agricultural, and environmental uses.
(f) The Governor has called for a 20 percent per capita reduction
in urban water use statewide by 2020.
CHAPTER 2. URBAN WATER USE
10608.4. The state shall achieve a 20-percent reduction in urban
per capita water use in California on or before December 31, 2020.