BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: SB 133 HEARING DATE: March 24, 2009
AUTHOR: Corbett URGENCY: No
VERSION: March 18, 2009 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: Environmental QualityFISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Groundwater: wells, exploratory holes, and other
excavations.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Niles Cone is the name of a 57,900 acre groundwater subbasin
along the south-east side of the San Francisco Bay. The
subbasin is overlain principally by the Cities of Fremont,
Newark, and Union City - less than 10% is overlain by portions
of the City of Hayward.
The Alameda County Water District (ACWD) is a retail water
purveyor encompassing the Cities of Fremont, Newark and Union
City. The ACWD was established in 1914 under the California
County Water District Act. It was originally created to protect
the groundwater basin, conserve the waters of the Alameda Creek
Watershed and develop supplemental water supplies, primarily for
agricultural use. Today, the ACWD provides water primarily to
urban customers.
The Niles Cone subbasin was the principal source of water supply
for the ACWD until 1962. Up to that time, groundwater use by
the ACWD and numerous private pumpers exceeded recharge, and
this imbalance permitted salt water from the Bay to intrude into
the basin, severely limiting its use. In 1962, the ACWD was the
first state contractor to receive water from the State Water
Project (SWP). SWP water was used to recharge the groundwater
basin. As a result, groundwater levels rose and prevented
additional saltwater intrusion. However, certain areas within
the groundwater basin remain brackish due to past years of
seawater intrusion.
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In 1973, three identical City well ordinances were adopted by
the Cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City. The purposes of
the ordinances were:
To prevent the pollution or contamination of groundwater so
that groundwater may be used for beneficial uses and will not
jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the people.
To provide for the construction, repair, reconstruction, and
destruction of wells and exploratory holes.
To ensure the proper destruction of wells and exploratory
holes found to be public nuisances.
The City well ordinances:
Designated the ACWD as "enforcing agency."
Defined the area of enforcement as city political boundary,
not ACWD boundary.
Described permit process, including fees and costs which are
adopted by the Board.
Required an ACWD drilling permit prior to beginning drilling
activities.
Sets minimum standards for the construction, repair,
reconstruction, or destruction of wells.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would amend the County Water District Act to authorize
ACWD to take any of the following actions within the cities of
Fremont, Newark, and Union City:
Inspect and investigate wells, exploratory holes, and other
excavations and enforce regulations adopted by the board
regarding the construction, use, maintenance, repair,
improvement, decommissioning, or destruction of wells,
exploratory holes, other excavations, and appurtenances.
Take measurements, collect data, including samples of
groundwater, and make analyses pertaining to wells and the use
of groundwater within the district.
Require persons or entities to obtain a permit from the
district to construct, operate, decommission, abandon, or
destroy a well, exploratory hole, or other excavation.
Impose and collect fees to recover the cost of inspecting
wells, exploratory holes, and other excavations and otherwise
implement and enforce this article.
Require the sealing of abandoned or unused wells according to
regulations adopted by the board that are designed to protect
groundwater from contamination.
Require any person applying for any land development permit or
approval to obtain documentation from the ACWD indicating that
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existing wells or other excavations are in compliance with the
regulations of the district or that no wells or other
excavations have been identified within the boundaries of the
property proposed to be developed.
This bill would further:
Declare that any abandoned or unused well, exploratory hole,
or other excavation that creates or threatens to create a
water contamination hazard is a public nuisance.
Define the process for determining that a public nuisance
exists.
Establish the process for requiring abating of such public
nuisances.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The City of Fremont's comments are typical. "Fremont has worked
closely with the Alameda County Water District (District) on
this issue since 1973 when we first adopted the City of Fremont
Well Ordinance No. 950. However, many changes have occurred
over the last 35 years in the well drilling and subsurface
investigation industry. To address these and any future changes,
SB 133 would, in addition to the existing protection: 1) ensure
a consistent and appropriate regional approach to protect the
Niles Cone Groundwater Basin, 2) provide flexibility to adapt to
changing conditions and technologies as necessary and 3) clarify
and streamline the abatement process for ground water
contamination sites."
The Tri-City Ecology Center further observes "ACWD has been an
outstanding steward of our water resources and already has
responsibility for things like underground tank leakage and
salt-water intrusion. It seems to us a logical extension of
their current charter to add this responsibility to it. It would
be easier for one organization to be responsible for the
protection of the Niles Cone, rather than four, and it would be
simple for those who need to intrude into the groundwater basin
to know ACWD is the appropriate agency to approve such efforts
and to monitor their performance."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
COMMENTS
Similar to Santa Clara Valley Water District . The provisions
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regarding the declaration of public nuisance and the process for
abating such public nuisances are patterned after 60-6.1 of the
Santa Clara Valley Water District Act. That section was added
to the Act in 1985 and by all accounts seems to work well.
Why Exclude Hayward? While the Niles Cone subbasin is overlain
principally by the Cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City,
small parts are overlain by portions of the City of Hayward.
Ideally, groundwater management and protection efforts encompass
entire basins or subbasins. While it may be troublesome for the
City of Hayward to cede well management authority to ACWD for
small parts of the City, inconsistent management rules could
similarly lead to inadvertent contamination of the Niles Cone
subbasin. Should this bill move forward, the author should be
encouraged to explore ways to ensure that well management
practices are uniform for the entire Niles Cone subbasin,
regardless of an overlying city.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
SUPPORT
Alameda County Water District (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
Association of California Water Agencies
City of Freemont
City of Newark
City of Union City
East Bay Municipal Utility District
League of Women Voters of Freemont, Newark, and Union City
Tri-City Ecology Center
OPPOSITION
None Received
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