BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 964 (Huffman)
Hearing Date: 08/15/2011 Amended: 06/30/2011
As proposed to be amended
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 9-0
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 964 streamlines the process for authorizing
water diversions from streams and rivers for "small irrigation
use" as defined in the bill, with certain limitations.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Developing rules $130 $130 Special
*
by the Water Board
Processing registrations
($65)Special *
by the Water Board
Developing rules by $35 Special
**
the Department of
Fish and Game
Environmental review Unknown minor cost increases Special
**
by the Department of
Fish and Game
* Water Rights Fund.
** Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Under current law, individuals desiring to appropriate water
from streams and rivers of the state must file an application to
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appropriate water with the State Water Resources Control Board
(Water Board). Water must be put to reasonable and beneficial
use, and is subject to limitation based on available water and
water rights that have already been established. Current law
provides for a simplified process for individuals that seek a
registration to appropriate water for small domestic use or
livestock stockpond use, provided that 1) the water is put to
beneficial use, 2) there is sufficient water available, and 3)
the maximum diversion is less than 4,500 gallons per day or for
storage of less than 10 acre-feet per year.
Individuals are required to pay fees to the Water Board to pay
for the costs of regulating water rights issues. When
applications to appropriate water are made, the Water Board is
the lead agency for any environmental review required under the
California Environmental Quality Act.
Also under current law, applications to divert water may trigger
the need for a Streambed Alteration Agreement from the
Department of Fish and Game, depending on the size and nature of
the diversion and the potential impacts of that diversion. Under
current practice, if the Department does need to issue a
Streambed Alteration Agreement, it relies on the environmental
analysis performed by the Water Board.
AB 964 authorizes the registration of diversions for "small
irrigation use" which is defined as water used for irrigation
uses, heat control, and frost protection. Diversions may not
exceed 42,000 gallons per day or for storage of more than 20
acre-feet per year. The bill requires the Water Board to develop
conditions for small irrigation use before any registrations can
be made. The bill also makes several technical changes to the
statutes governing water diversions.
The Water Board indicates that it will incur upfront costs of
about $130,000 per year for two years to develop conditions for
the registration of diversions for small irrigation use. After
that time, it will incur costs of about $130,000 per year to
process registrations. However, this cost will be offset by
reduced costs, because individuals can use the small irrigation
use registration rather than a more complicated water rights
application, saving the Water Board an estimated $65,000 per
year.
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Because the bill simplifies the process for approving small
irrigation diversions, pursuant to the general conditions to be
adopted by the Water Board, the bill makes the approval of small
irrigation use diversions a ministerial, rather than
discretionary act by the Water Board. Thus, under the California
Environmental Quality Act, the Water Board would not be required
to conduct an environmental analysis of those registrations.
However, because the issuance of a Streambed Alteration
Agreement is a discretionary act, the Department of Fish and
Game may be required to conduct an environmental analysis.
Because the Water Board will no longer be the lead agency for
conducting those analyses, the Department would be the lead
agency.
The Department of Fish and Game indicates that it will incur
one-time costs of about $35,000 to participate in the
development of the general conditions. The Department also
indicates that it will incur additional costs to conduct
environmental reviews of proposed diversions for small
irrigation use. According to the Department, those costs could
be substantial, potentially up to $2 million per year.
The Water Board indicates that in the vast majority of cases,
applications for the kinds of small diversions addressed by the
bill are either categorically exempt from environmental review
because the impacts are so small or they can be approved with a
mitigated negative declaration, which requires much less review
than a full environmental impact report. Therefore, staff
believes that the actual increase in workload by the Department
is not likely to be significant. In addition, the Department is
already required under law to review proposed diversions to
determine whether they require a Streambed Alteration Agreement
or any permits under the Endangered Species Act. Staff believes
that any necessary environmental review of a proposed diversion
can be performed as part of those analyses at minor additional
cost.
The proposed author's amendments would state that the Water
Board is not required to develop general conditions for small
irrigation use until adequate resources are available. The
amendments also direct the Water Board to develop general
conditions for the area surrounding the Russian River watershed
before developing other general conditions.
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