BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1386|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1386
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 4/12/12
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES & WATER COMM. : 8-0, 5/8/12
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe, Padilla,
Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella
SUBJECT : Municipal water districts: water storage
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill removes barriers to groundwater
storage in the Central Basin, by clarifying existing law,
concerning the management of groundwater.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Creates water replenishment districts (WRDs) for the
purposes of replenishing groundwater supplies in the
WRD.
2. States that a WRD may store, transport, recapture,
recycle, purify treat or otherwise manage and control
water for the beneficial use of persons or property
within the WRD.
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3. Creates municipal water districts (MWDs). Water Code
Section 71610 states that an MWD may acquire, control,
distribute, store, spread, sink, treat, purify, recycle,
recapture, and salvage any water including sewage and
storm waters, for the beneficial use or uses of the MWD,
its inhabitants, or the owners of rights to water in the
MWD.
This bill amends the Municipal Water District Act to bar
the Central Basin MWD from:
1. Managing, controlling, or administering the importation
of water for storage, or the storing of groundwater.
2. Storing water underground except pursuant to either:
A. A contract with an independent holder of
adjudicated groundwater extraction rights within the
boundaries of the MWD and for the account of the
water rights holder.
B. A court order issued by a court having
jurisdiction over the adjudication of groundwater
extraction rights within the groundwater basin where
storage is sought.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/7/12)
Bell Gardens Chamber of Commerce
Central Basin Water Association
Cities of Norwalk, South Gate, and Torrance
Congress Person Grace F. Napolitano
Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners
South Bay Latino Chamber of Commerce
Southeast Water Coalition
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
West Basin Water Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/7/12)
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Central Basin MWD
Cities of Bell Gardens, Cudahy, and Montebello
San Gabriel Valley Water Company
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Bell Gardens Chamber of Commerce
writes:
For more than 50 years and until quite recently, the
"groundwater" role of the Water Replenishment District of
Southern California and the "imported surface water" role
of the Central Basin MWD have been acknowledged and
respected by the two districts. Historically, customers
of the two districts deal with the Water Replenishment
District on groundwater matters and the Central Basin
Municipal Water District on imported surface water
matters.
This bill is necessary because in recent years, the
Central Basin Municipal Water District has inserted
itself into the groundwater arena, first by purchasing
groundwater extraction rights it does not use and then by
relying on those rights to file or intervene in
groundwater litigation. The District has sponsored
unsuccessful legislation naming itself the groundwater
overseer of Central Basin. And, most recently, the
Central Basin MWD has funded a Program Environmental
Impact Report to control all groundwater in the district,
an action opposed by the vast majority, if not every
groundwater producer in both groundwater basins.
The costs of Central Basin MWD's campaign to expand into
the groundwater business have been deleterious, costing
ratepayers millions of dollars as we pay for litigation
costs on both sides. It has also stymied regional
efforts to access and maximize the groundwater storage
capacity of the Central and West Coat Basins, delaying
critical projects to increase water supply reliability
and programs to reduce Southern California's reliance of
imported water from the Bay Delta and the Colorado River.
The Legislature has taken steps to provide statutory
guidance and clarification in instances where the
functions are not explicitly defined and where potential
statutory conflict is acknowledged. We need the
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Legislature to step in once again to �?] clear up
existing statutory conflict and eliminate statutory
language the Central Basin Municipal Water District
relies on to assert groundwater storage authority.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the Central Basin
MWD:
SB 1386 singles out the Central Basin Municipal Water
District, removing our authority over groundwater
management. This would open the possibility of providing
these powers to the Water Replenishment District of
Southern California (WRD). Providing WRD with expanded
authority is not the solution to ensure our region's
water supply and affordability, as they have been
subjected to numerous restrictions by the Legislature for
financial mismanagement have been sued by cities within
�Senator Lowenthal's] district for the uniform
application of the Replenishment Assessment, which has
been found by the Los Angeles Superior Court to be
illegal. The uniform application also unfairly burdens
cities within the Central Basin, who subsidize
groundwater pumpers in the West Basin, as detailed in
studies by the Southeast Water Coalition.
These and other issues related to WRD's mismanagement of
funds and resources continue to play out in the
California Supreme Court with one case concerning the
West Coast Basin and WRD being accepted in December of
2011 for review. It is our concern that this legislation
would interfere with the legal proceedings concerning the
proper steward of groundwater basins and the
constitutionality of the replenishment assessment of WRD.
Finally, SB 1386 sets a dangerous precedent for all
California water agencies. We have yet to see any
justification for the targeted attack this bill makes on
a single water district. The passage of this legislation
would unduly impede Central Basin's ability to perform
its core functions and would pave the way for future
attempts to usurp the power of one agency and provide it
to another.
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CTW:mw 5/9/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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