Amended in Senate June 17, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1739

Introduced by Assembly Member Dickinson

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(Principal coauthor: Senator Pavley)

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Rendon)

February 14, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Section 65302.2 of, and to add Section 56878 to, the Government Code, and to amend Section 10795.4 of, end delete begin insert Sections 65352 and 65352.5 of, and to add Section 65302.12 to, the Government Code, and to add Section 1242.1 to, end insert and to add Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) to Division 6 of, the Water Code, relating to groundwater.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1739, as amended, Dickinson. begin delete Groundwater basin management: sustainability. end delete begin insert Groundwater management. end insert

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(1) Existing law authorizes local agencies, as defined, to adopt and implement a groundwater management plan. Existing law requires a groundwater management plan to contain specified components and requires a local agency seeking state funds administered by the Department of Water Resources for groundwater projects or groundwater quality projects to do certain things, including, but not limited to, preparing and implementing a groundwater management plan that includes basin management objectives for the groundwater basin.

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This bill would require all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans, with specified exceptions. This bill would require a groundwater sustainability agency to certify that its plan complies with the requirements of this bill no later than January 31, 2020, and every 5 years thereafter. This bill would encourage basins designated as low-priority basins by the department to be managed under groundwater sustainability plans as soon as possible. This bill, to the extent practicable, would require a groundwater sustainability plan to be coterminous and augment a groundwater management plan.

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This bill would provide specific authority to a groundwater sustainability agency including, but not limited to, the ability to require the registration of a groundwater extraction facility, to require that a groundwater extraction facility be measured with a water-measuring device, to regulate groundwater pumping, and to impose certain charges. This bill, after January 31, 2020, would prohibit a person from increasing groundwater extractions on a property within the basin, as specified, until a groundwater sustainability agency or the State Water Resources Control Board complies with the above-described requirements, unless the person submits to the county a specified report. This bill would authorize a groundwater sustainability agency to conduct inspections and would require the inspection to be made with any necessary consent or with an inspection warrant. Because the willful refusal of an inspection lawfully authorized by an inspection warrant is a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a crime.

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This bill would authorize the department to provide technical assistance to a groundwater sustainability agency upon the request of the agency and would require, by January 1, 2017, the department to submit to the Legislature and publish on its Internet Web site best management practices for the sustainable management of groundwater.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to amend this measure to provide that one or more state agencies act to ensure that all basins in California are on track to achieve the sustainability goal if local agencies are unable to adopt or implement groundwater sustainability plans that achieve that goal. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to amend this measure to provide for expedited adjudications of rights to extract and store water from and in basins by enacting and directing the Judicial Council to develop innovative judicial procedures to manage those adjudications as quickly as reasonably feasible. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to amend this measure to provide that the State Water Resources Control Board and the regional water quality control boards must weigh the value of surface water for groundwater replenishment and recharge to promote the state’s interest in groundwater sustainability.

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(2) The California Constitution requires the reasonable and beneficial use of water.

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This bill would state the policy of the state to encourage conjunctive use of surface and groundwater.

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(3) Existing law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city with specified elements, including, among others, land use and conservation elements. Existing law requires a city or county, upon the adoption or revision of its general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, to utilize as a source document any urban water management plan submitted to the city or county by a water agency.

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This bill would require, prior to the adoption or any substantial amendment of a general plan, the planning agency to review, and if necessary revise the land use, conservation, open space, or any other element of the general plan to address a groundwater sustainability plan, groundwater management plan, groundwater management court order, judgment, or decree, adjudication of water rights, or a certain order of the State Water Resources Control Board. This bill would require the planning agency to refer a proposed action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan to any local agency or joint powers authority that has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan or that otherwise manages groundwater and to the State Water Resources Control Board if it has adopted a groundwater sustainability plan that includes territory within the planning area.

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Existing law requires a public water system to provide a planning agency with certain information upon receiving notification of a city’s or a county’s proposed action to adopt or substantially amend a general plan.

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This bill would also require a public water system to provide a report on the anticipated effect of the proposed action on implementation of a groundwater sustainability plan. This bill would require a groundwater sustainability agency to provide the planning agency with certain information as is appropriate and relevant.

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By imposing new duties on a city or county, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

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(5) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

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This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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(1) Existing law authorizes local agencies, as defined, to adopt and implement a groundwater management plan. Existing law requires a groundwater management plan to contain specified components and requires a local agency seeking state funds administered by the Department of Water Resources for groundwater projects or groundwater quality projects to do certain things, including, but not limited to, prepare and implement a groundwater management plan that includes basin management objectives for the groundwater basin.

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This bill would require a sustainable groundwater management plan to be adopted, except as provided, for each high or medium priority groundwater basin by any groundwater management agency, defined as a special district authorized to provide water for beneficial uses or with specific authority to conduct groundwater management, a city, a county, a city and county, or certain joint powers authorities. This bill would require a sustainable groundwater management plan to meet certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the plan contain sustainable groundwater management objectives to achieve sustainable groundwater management in the groundwater basin within 20 years of the implementation of the plan but would allow the department to grant an extension beyond 20 years to 30 years based on groundwater basin circumstances, and that the plan contain the components required of a groundwater management plan seeking the above-described state funds. This bill would require a sustainable groundwater management plan to be submitted by the groundwater management agency to the department for technical review.

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This bill, as of an unspecified date or as of a date adopted by the groundwater management agency, whichever is earlier, would prohibit the extraction of groundwater within a groundwater basin for new commercial, multifamily residential, or industrial development, except for the use of a single-family domestic well, unless the groundwater basin has a sustainable groundwater management plan. This bill would authorize a groundwater management agency to establish, assume, or cooperatively manage well permitting programs to provide essential management information to implement a sustainable groundwater management plan and basin management objectives, and to regulate the pumping of groundwater. This bill would require the process for developing or revising a sustainable groundwater management plan, or revising a groundwater management plan to meet sustainable groundwater management plan requirements, to meet specified requirements for public notification, hearing, and protest.

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(2) Existing law provides that moneys in the Local Groundwater Assistance Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, are authorized to be used by the Department of Water Resources to assist local public agencies to conduct groundwater studies, to carry out groundwater monitoring and management activities, and to assist in the development of groundwater management plans.

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This bill would authorize the department to use moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to conduct groundwater studies or to carry out groundwater monitoring and management activities described in paragraph (1).

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(3) Existing law, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, sets forth the powers and duties of a local agency formation commission and governs the procedures for the formation, change of organization, and reorganization of cities and special districts.

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This bill would authorize the local agency formation commission to provide special technical assistance and an expedited timeline to facilitate the formation of a local and regional groundwater management agency if there is no local and regional groundwater management agency existing in a defined groundwater basin.

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(4) Existing law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city with specified elements, including, among others, land use and conservation elements. Existing law requires a city or county, upon the adoption or revision of its general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, to utilize as a source document any urban water management plan submitted to the city or county by a water agency.

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This bill would require a city or county, upon the adoption or revision of its general plan, to reference as a source document any sustainable groundwater management plan or groundwater management plan for a groundwater basin or subbasin within the jurisdiction of the city or county. By imposing a new requirement on a city or county, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 65302.12 is added to the end insert begin insert Government
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 65302.12. end insert   

Prior to the adoption or any substantial amendment
of a city or county’s general plan, the planning agency shall
review, and if necessary, revise the land use, conservation, open
space, or any other element of the general plan to address any of
the following:

(a) An adoption of, or update to, a groundwater sustainability
plan or groundwater management plan pursuant to Part 2.74
(commencing with Section 10720) or Part 2.75 (commencing with
Section 10750) of Division 6 of the Water Code or groundwater
management court order, judgment, or decree.

(b) An adjudication of water rights such as an adjudication
pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 10742) of Part
2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code.

(c) An order by the State Water Resources Control Board
pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10738) of Part
2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 65352 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

65352.  

(a) Prior to action by a legislative body to adopt or
substantially amend a general plan, the planning agency shall refer
the proposed action to all of the following entities:

(1) A city or county, within or abutting the area covered by the
proposal, and any special district that may be significantly affected
by the proposed action, as determined by the planning agency.

(2) An elementary, high school, or unified school district within
the area covered by the proposed action.

(3) The local agency formation commission.

(4) An areawide planning agency whose operations may be
significantly affected by the proposed action, as determined by the
planning agency.

(5) A federal agency if its operations or lands within its
jurisdiction may be significantly affected by the proposed action,
as determined by the planning agency.

(6) (A) The branches of the United States Armed Forces that
have provided the Office of Planning and Research with a
California mailing address pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
65944 when the proposed action is within 1,000 feet of a military
installation, or lies within special use airspace, or beneath a
low-level flight path, as defined in Section 21098 of the Public
Resources Code, provided that the United States Department of
Defense provides electronic maps of low-level flight paths, special
use airspace, and military installations at a scale and in an
electronic format that is acceptable to the Office of Planning and
Research.

(B) Within 30 days of a determination by the Office of Planning
and Research that the information provided by the Department of
Defense is sufficient and in an acceptable scale and format, the
office shall notify cities, counties, and cities and counties of the
availability of the information on the Internet. Cities, counties, and
cities and counties shall comply with subparagraph (A) within 30
days of receiving this notice from the office.

(7) A public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the
Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service connections,
that serves water to customers within the area covered by the
proposal. The public water system shall have at least 45 days to
comment on the proposed plan, in accordance with subdivision
(b), and to provide the planning agency with the information set
forth in Section 65352.5.

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(8) Any local agency or joint powers authority that has adopted
a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74
(commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code
or that otherwise manages groundwater pursuant to other
provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree within the
planning area of the proposed general plan.

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(9) The State Water Resources Control Board if it has adopted
a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74
(commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code
that includes territory within the planning area of the proposed
general plan.

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(8)

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begin insert (10) end insert  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a
proposed action within the boundaries of the district.

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(9)

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begin insert (11) end insert  On and after March 1, 2005, a California Native American
tribe, that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American
Heritage Commission, with traditional lands located within the
city or county’s jurisdiction.

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(10)

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begin insert (12) end insert  The Central Valley Flood Protection Board for a proposed
action within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water Code.

(b) Each entity receiving a proposed general plan or amendment
of a general plan pursuant to this section shall have 45 days from
the date the referring agency mails it or delivers it in which to
comment unless a longer period is specified by the planning
agency.

(c) (1) This section is directory, not mandatory, and the failure
to refer a proposed action to the other entities specified in this
section does not affect the validity of the action, if adopted.

(2) To the extent that the requirements of this section conflict
with the requirements of Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section
65919), the requirements of Chapter 4.4 shall prevail.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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begin insert Section 65352.5 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

65352.5.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is vital
that there be close coordination and consultation between
California’s water supply begin insert or management end insert agencies and California’s
land use approval agencies to ensure that proper water supply begin insert and
management end insert planning occurs in order to accommodate projects
that will result in increased demands on water supplies begin insert or impact
water resource management end insert .

(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to provide a
standardized process for determining the adequacy of existing and
planned future water supplies to meet existing and planned future
demands on these water supplies begin insert and the impact of land use
decisions on the management of California’s water supply
resources end insert .

(c) Upon receiving, pursuant to Section 65352, notification of
a city’s or a county’s proposed action to adopt or substantially
amend a general plan, a public water system, as defined in Section
116275 of the Health and Safety Code, with 3,000 or more service
connections, shall provide the planning agency with the following
information, as is appropriate and relevant:

(1) The current version of its urban water management plan,
adopted pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610)
of Division 6 of the Water Code.

(2) The current version of its capital improvement program or
plan, as reported pursuant to Section 31144.73 of the Water Code.

(3) A description of the source or sources of the total water
supply currently available to the water supplier by water right or
contract, taking into account historical data concerning wet, normal,
and dry runoff years.

(4) A description of the quantity of surface water that was
purveyed by the water supplier in each of the previous five years.

(5) A description of the quantity of groundwater that was
purveyed by the water supplier in each of the previous five years.

(6) A description of all proposed additional sources of water
supplies for the water supplier, including the estimated dates by
which these additional sources should be available and the
quantities of additional water supplies that are being proposed.

(7) A description of the total number of customers currently
served by the water supplier, as identified by the following
categories and by the amount of water served to each category:

(A) Agricultural users.

(B) Commercial users.

(C) Industrial users.

(D) Residential users.

(8) Quantification of the expected reduction in total water
demand, identified by each customer category set forth in paragraph
(7), associated with future implementation of water use reduction
measures identified in the water supplier’s urban water
management plan.

(9) Any additional information that is relevant to determining
the adequacy of existing and planned future water supplies to meet
existing and planned future demands on these water supplies.

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(10) A report on the anticipated effect of proposed action to
adopt or substantially amend a general plan on implementation
of a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74
(commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code.

end insert begin insert

(d) Upon receiving, pursuant to Section 65352, notification of
a city’s or county’s proposed action to adopt or substantially
amend a general plan, a groundwater sustainability agency, as
defined in Section 10720.5 of the Water Code, shall provide the
planning agency with the following information, as is appropriate
and relevant:

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(1) The current version of its groundwater sustainability plan
adopted pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720)
of Division 6 of the Water Code.

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(2) If the groundwater sustainability agency manages
groundwater pursuant to a court order, judgment, decree, or
agreement among affected water rights holders, or if the State
Water Resources Control Board has adopted a groundwater
sustainability plan pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section
10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code, the groundwater
sustainability agency shall provide the planning agency with maps
of recharge basins and percolation ponds, extraction limitations,
and other relevant information, or the court order, judgment, or
decree.

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(e) A groundwater sustainability agency that has given notice
of intention to adopt a groundwater sustainability plan, but has
not adopted a plan, shall provide a report to the planning agency
on the anticipated effect of proposed action to adopt or
substantially amend a general plan on adoption of the groundwater
sustainability plan and on the impacts of the proposed action on
sustainable management of groundwater.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 1242.1 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 1242.1. end insert   

It is the policy of the state to encourage conjunctive
use of surface and groundwater. To that end, the Legislature
declares that the storage of water underneath the ground is a
beneficial use of water.

end insert

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begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) is added
to Division 6 of the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

PART  begin insert 2.74. end insert   Groundwater Sustainability Planning

 

Chapter   begin insert 1. end insert Title and Policy

 

begin insert 10720. end insert   

This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
“Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014.”

begin insert 10720.1. end insert   

In enacting this part, it is the intent of the Legislature
that all of the following occur:

(a) The enhancement of local management of groundwater
consistent with rights to use or store groundwater and Section 2
of Article X of the California Constitution. It is the intent of the
Legislature to preserve and enhance the security of water rights
in the state to the greatest extent possible consistent with the
sustainable management of groundwater.

(b) The establishment of minimum standards for groundwater
management together with the requisite authority and funding.

(c) The avoidance or minimization of subsidence.

(d) The improvement of data collection and understanding about
groundwater.

(e) The increase in groundwater storage and removal of
impediments to recharge.

(f) The provision of state technical and financial assistance.

(g) The management of groundwater basins through the actions
of local governmental agencies to the greatest extent feasible,
while minimizing state intervention to only when necessary to
ensure that local agencies manage groundwater in a sustainable
manner.

(h) The intervention by the state when necessary to ensure that
local agencies manage groundwater in a sustainable manner.

 

Chapter   begin insert 2. end insert Definitions

 

begin insert 10720.5. end insert   

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:

(a) “Adjudication action” means an action filed in the superior
court to determine the rights to extract groundwater from a basin
or store water within a basin, including, but not limited to, actions
to quiet title respecting rights to extract or store groundwater or
an action brought to impose a physical solution on a basin.

(b) “Agricultural water supplier” has the same meaning as
defined in Section 10608.12.

(c) “Basin” means a groundwater basin or subbasin identified
and defined in Bulletin 118 or as modified pursuant to Chapter
10 (commencing with Section 10742).

(d) “Bulletin 118” means the department’s report entitled
“California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118” updated in 2003, as it
may be subsequently updated or revised in accordance with Section
12924 or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 10723).

(e) “De minimus producer” means a person who extracts, for
domestic purposes, 2 acre feet or less per year.

(f) “Governing body” means the legislative body of a
groundwater sustainability agency.

(g) “Groundwater” means water beneath the natural surface
of the ground, in fully saturated pore spaces within the soil or
rock, excluding those waters that are flowing through natural
known and definite channels.

(h) “Groundwater extraction facility” means a pump or other
mechanism for extracting groundwater from within a basin.

(i) “Groundwater sustainability agency” means either a local
agency or a joint powers authority formed by local agencies that
implements the provisions of this part with respect to a
groundwater sustainability plan. For purposes of imposing fees
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 10732) or taking
action to enforce a groundwater management plan, “groundwater
management agency” also means each local agency comprising
the groundwater management agency if the plan authorizes
separate agency action.

(j) “Groundwater sustainability plan” or “plan” means a plan
of a groundwater sustainability agency proposed or adopted
pursuant to this part.

(k) “Groundwater sustainability program” means a coordinated
and ongoing activity undertaken to benefit a basin, pursuant to a
groundwater sustainability plan.

(l) “Local agency” means a local public agency, including, but
not limited to, a city, county, irrigation district, county water
district, municipal water district, California water district, water
storage district, reclamation district, or other special district that
provides water or water management service within a groundwater
basin.

(m) “Monitoring entity” means an entity identified by the
department pursuant to Section 10930.

(n) “Operator” means a person operating a groundwater
extraction facility. The owner of a groundwater extraction facility
shall be conclusively presumed to be the operator unless a
satisfactory showing is made to the governing body of the
groundwater sustainability agency that the groundwater extraction
facility actually is operated by some other person.

(o) “Owner” means a person owning a groundwater extraction
facility or an interest in a groundwater extraction facility other
than a lien to secure the payment of a debt or other obligation.

(p) “Planning and implementation horizon” means a 50-year
time period over which a groundwater sustainability agency
determines that plans and measures will be implemented in a basin
to ensure that the basin is operated within its sustainable yield.

(q) “Public water system” has the same meaning as defined in
Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

(r) “Recharge” means the process by which a basin is
replenished with water whether by natural or artificial means or
in-lieu.

(s) “Sustainability goal” means the existence and
implementation of one or more groundwater sustainability plans
that achieve sustainable groundwater management by identifying
and causing the implementation of measures targeted to ensure
that the applicable basin is operated within its sustainable yield.

(t) “Sustainable groundwater management” means the
management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be
maintained during the planning and implementation horizon
without causing unreasonable adverse environmental, economic,
or social consequences through the development, implementation,
and updating of plans and programs based on the best available
science, monitoring, forecasting, and use of technological
resources, as determined by a groundwater sustainability agency.

(u) “Sustainable yield” means the maximum quantity of water,
calculated over a base period representative of long-term
conditions in the basin and including any temporary surplus, that
can be withdrawn annually from a groundwater supply without
causing an undesirable result.

(v) “Undesirable result” means one or more of the following
effects occurring after January 1, 2015, and caused by
groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin:

(1) Chronic lowering of groundwater levels indicating a
significant and unreasonable depletion of supply if continued over
the planning and implementation horizon, excluding lowering
groundwater levels caused by a drought.

(2) Significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater
storage.

(3) Significant seawater intrusion.

(4) Significant and unreasonable degraded water quality,
including the migration of contaminant plumes that impair water
supplies.

(5) Significant land subsidence that substantially interferes with
surface land uses.

(6) Surface water depletions that have significant adverse
impacts on species listed under the federal Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) or the California
Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).

(w) “Water year” means the period from October 1 through
the following September 30, inclusive.

 

Chapter   begin insert 3. end insert General Provisions

 

begin insert 10721. end insert   

Subject to Section 10736, by January 31, 2020, all
basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the
department pursuant to Section 10933 shall be managed under a
groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater
sustainability plans pursuant to this part. The Legislature
encourages basins designated as low priority basins by the
department pursuant to Section 10933 to be managed under
groundwater sustainability plans pursuant to this part as soon as
possible.

begin insert 10721.5. end insert   

Groundwater management pursuant to this part shall
be consistent with Section 2 of Article X of the California
Constitution. Nothing in this part modifies rights or priorities to
use or store groundwater consistent with Section 2 of Article X of
the California Constitution, except that in medium- and
high-priority basins, no extraction of groundwater between January
1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, or the date of adoption of a
groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to this part, whichever
is sooner, may be used as evidence of, or to establish or defend
against, any claim of prescription.

begin insert 10722. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency that adopts
a groundwater sustainability plan may file an action to determine
the validity of the plan pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 860) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(b) Subject to Sections 394 and 397 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, the venue for an action pursuant to this section shall
be the county in which the principal office of the groundwater
management agency is located.

(c) Any judicial action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside,
void, or annul the ordinance or resolution imposing a new, or
increasing an existing, fee imposed pursuant to Section 10732,
10732.5, or 10733 shall be brought pursuant to Section 66022 of
the Government Code.

(d) Any person may pay a fee imposed pursuant to Section
10732, 10732.5, or 10733 under protest and bring an action
against the governing body in the superior court to recover any
money that the governing body refuses to refund. Payments made
and actions brought under this section shall be made and brought
in the manner provided for the payment of taxes under protest and
actions for refund of that payment in Article 2 (commencing with
Section 5140) of Chapter 5 of Part 9 of Division 1 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code, as applicable.

(e) Any action by a landowner or other water right holder to
attach, review, set aside, void, or annul an extraction allocation
established by a groundwater sustainability plan shall be brought
pursuant to the expedited adjudication procedures of Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 10742).

(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, actions by a
groundwater sustainability agency are subject to judicial review
pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

begin insert 10722.5. end insert   

Except for Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
10742), this part does not apply to any of the following agencies
that are implementing basin-specific management plans:

(a) Desert Water Agency.

(b) Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.

(c) Honey Lake Valley Groundwater Management District.

(d) Long Valley Groundwater Management District.

(e) Mendocino City Community Services District.

(f) Mono County Tri-Valley Groundwater Management District.

(g) Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

(h) Ojai Groundwater Management Agency.

(i) Orange County Water District.

(j) Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency.

(k) Santa Clara Valley Water District.

(l) Sierra Valley Water District.

(m) Willow Creek Groundwater Management Agency.

 

Chapter   begin insert 4. end insert Basin Boundaries

 

begin insert 10723. end insert   

Unless other basin boundaries are established pursuant
to this chapter, a basin’s boundaries shall be as identified in
Bulletin 118.

begin insert 10723.5. end insert   

(a) The department shall consider proposals to adjust
the boundaries of a basin in accordance with the following:

(1) A proposal shall be supported by the following information:

(A) Information to demonstrate that the proposed adjusted basin
can be the subject of sustainable groundwater management. It
shall not be necessary that the information show that a proposed
adjusted basin currently is subject to sustainable groundwater
management.

(B) A technical report concerning the boundaries of, and
conditions in, the proposed adjusted basin that is stamped by a
registered civil engineer or certified hydrologist.

(C) Information demonstrating that the entity proposing the
basin boundary adjustment consulted with interested local agencies
and public water systems in the basin before filing the proposal
with the department.

(2) A proposal may be supported by information concerning
historic management of the proposed adjusted basin.

(3) The department shall circulate a draft decision by the
department no fewer than 60 days before the department adopts
that decision.

(b) The department shall require anyone who proposes a basin
boundary adjustment to serve the basin boundary adjustment
proposal on other interested parties and to submit responses to
proposals for basin boundary adjustments to the department.

(c) (1) All proposals to adjust basin boundaries pursuant to
this section shall be filed with the department by July 1, 2016.

(2) The department shall issue all decisions concerning
adjustments to basin boundaries pursuant to this section by
January 1, 2018.

(3) The department may provide for expedited processing to
consider proposals to adjust basin boundaries if necessary to
expedite consideration of the boundaries of a basin that is subject
to an adjudication action.

(d) The adjustment of boundaries pursuant to this section
includes the subdivision of a basin.

(e) (1) By January 1, 2016, the department shall adopt
emergency regulations to implement this section in an open and
public process that includes the following:

(A) An opportunity for the public to submit proposals for the
regulations to the department by April 1, 2015.

(B) Circulation of draft regulations by the department by August
1, 2015, for public review and comment.

(2) The department shall adopt emergency regulations pursuant
to this section in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code. The adoption of these regulations shall be deemed to be an
emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative
Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulation
adopted by the department pursuant to this section shall remain
in effect until revised by the department.

begin insert 10724. end insert   

(a) The department shall review all of the basin
boundaries identified in Bulletin 118 and publish any necessary
revisions to those boundaries by January 1, 2023, in an update of
Bulletin 118. As indicated by the best available technical
information, including the groundwater sustainability plans that
groundwater sustainability agencies submitted to the department
in 2020, the department shall adjust the boundaries of basins and
define any subdivisions of existing basins as new basins. In
adjusting a basin’s boundaries and defining any subdivisions of
an existing basin as a new basin, the department shall determine
whether those adjustments would result in a basin that would
support sustainable groundwater management. In revising basin
boundaries for an update of Bulletin 118, the department shall
favor definitions of basins that enable the most practical and
effective groundwater management.

(b) In updating basin boundaries pursuant to this section, the
department shall comply with the procedures applicable to a formal
rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code).

 

Chapter   begin insert 5. end insert Identification of Groundwater
Sustainability Agencies

 

begin insert 10725. end insert   

To the extent practicable, a groundwater sustainability
plan developed in accordance with this part shall be coterminous
and augment groundwater management plans developed pursuant
to Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750).

begin insert 10725.5. end insert   

(a) A groundwater management agency that has
adopted a groundwater management plan that meets the
requirements of Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750) prior
to January 1, 2014, shall be presumed to be the groundwater
sustainability agency to develop a basin sustainability plan in
accordance with this part. The groundwater sustainability agency
may adopt a resolution of intent to prepare a groundwater
sustainability plan in accordance with this part no later than
January 1, 2016. The groundwater sustainability agency shall
submit an adopted resolution of intent to the department within
30 days of its adoption.

(b) If a resolution of intent is not adopted and submitted as
provided in subdivision (a), the county that the groundwater
management plan area is located in may, by January 1, 2017, do
either of the following:

(1) Adopt and submit to the department a resolution of intent
to adopt a groundwater sustainability plan for the area.

(2) Request any other local agency or joint powers authority
providing water or water management services within the
groundwater management plan areas to adopt and submit to the
department a resolution of intent to adopt a groundwater
management plan for that area.

(c) If a resolution of intent is not adopted and submitted as
provided in subdivision (a) or (b), any local agency or joint powers
authority in the basin may adopt and submit to the department a
resolution of intent to adopt a groundwater sustainability plan for
the basin.

(d) If no resolution of intent is adopted and submitted as
provided in subdivision (a), (b), or (c), subdivision (a) of Section
10726 shall apply.

(e) If a groundwater sustainability agency or other local agency
submits prescribed alternative documentation in accordance with
Section 10736, the agency also shall adopt a resolution of intent
to comply with this part not later than January 1, 2016. The
resolution of intent shall be provided to the department within 30
days of adoption of the resolution.

begin insert 10726. end insert   

If any portion of a basin is outside the jurisdictional
boundary of any groundwater sustainability plan as adopted or
as intended to be prepared according to a resolution of intent
pursuant to Section 10725.5, that portion of the basin shall be
coordinated with the nearest groundwater sustainability plan in
any of the following ways:

(a) (1) The landowners and other groundwater users in the
unmanaged area may elect to form a new public agency or private
corporation for the purpose of cooperating in the groundwater
management plan or may petition to be annexed into an existing
public agency.

(2) If the landowners and other groundwater users choose to
form a new public agency or request to be annexed into an existing
agency, the local agency formation commission shall complete
proceedings on the formation of the agency or the annexation of
the area and serve as the conducting authority within six months
from the date the landowners and other groundwater users file a
formation or annexation application with the commission.

(b) A groundwater sustainability agency may utilize existing
authority to annex or otherwise bring any unmanaged land into
its boundaries for purposes of the agency’s plan or to otherwise
extend the geographic reach of the plan to include unmanaged
areas of the basin. In the event that a local agency seeks to annex
lands for the purpose of developing a groundwater sustainability
plan, the local agency formation commission shall complete
proceedings in accordance with the schedule set forth in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a).

(c) If a groundwater sustainability agency cannot or elects not
to annex or otherwise extend boundaries to include the unmanaged
areas, a county that overlies the basin may utilize existing authority
to cause the development of a groundwater sustainability plan for
the unmanaged areas. A county may, by resolution or ordinance,
delegate this authority to a local agency, in which case the local
agency formation commission shall take appropriate action to
ensure that all areas overlying a groundwater basin are within
the boundaries of one or more of the agencies developing the
groundwater sustainability plan. The local agency formation
commission shall complete actions pursuant to this subdivision
no later than January 1, 2017.

(d) If by January 1, 2017, an area overlying a basin is not within
the jurisdiction of a local agency that is participating in the
development of a groundwater sustainability plan, the board may,
after notice and a hearing, order one or more local agencies
developing a groundwater sustainability plan to include the area
within the plan.

begin insert 10726.5. end insert   

(a) If more than one groundwater sustainability plan
exists or is developed for a basin, the plans shall be coordinated
through a joint powers agreement, memorandum of understanding,
or similar agreement. The agreement or memorandum of
understanding shall ensure that multiple groundwater sustainability
plans advance sustainable groundwater management of the basin
as a whole.

(b) If by July 1, 2017, the groundwater sustainability agencies
within a basin cannot come to an agreement to coordinate
groundwater sustainability plans, a groundwater sustainability
agency may petition the board, no later than June 30, 2017, to do
either of the following:

(1) Appoint a single groundwater sustainability agency to
develop the groundwater sustainability plan for the basin.

(2) Impose an alternative governance structure with a governing
board that is representative of the local agencies within the basin.

(c) If the board appoints a groundwater sustainability agency
or imposes a governance structure pursuant to subdivision (b),
the board may consider factors that will best foster sustainable
groundwater management as a whole, including, but not limited
to, the following:

(1) The geographic extent and governmental authorities of
existing groundwater management agencies, local agencies, and
any relevant county.

(2) The financial and technical resources available to the
relevant public agencies to implement a groundwater sustainability
plan.

(3) The technical groundwater information and data available
to the relevant local agencies.

(4) The relevant local agencies’ history of groundwater
management.

(d) The board may utilize available processes and authorities
to appoint the groundwater sustainability agency or impose a
governance structure pursuant to subdivision (b), and may conduct
hearings, workshops, and other information gathering processes
to inform its determination.

(e) The board shall appoint a groundwater sustainability agency
or impose a governance structure pursuant to subdivision (b) no
later than June 30, 2018.

(f) If multiple groundwater sustainability plans cover different
portions of a basin, each plan shall not conflict with or impede
sustainable groundwater management relating to any other plan
in the basin.

begin insert 10727. end insert   

A groundwater sustainability plan may include criteria
to exempt small domestic pumping of groundwater for use on
overlying lands in unmanaged areas of the basin if the groundwater
sustainability agency determines that the exclusion of the pumping
will not otherwise affect sustainable management of the basin
pursuant to this part.

 

Chapter   begin insert 6. end insert Management Tools

 

begin insert 10728. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency may exercise
any of the powers described in this chapter in implementing this
part, in addition to, and not as a limitation on, any existing
authority, if the groundwater sustainability agency adopts and
submits to the department a groundwater sustainability plan or
prescribed alternative documentation in accordance with Section
10736.

(b) A groundwater sustainability agency has and may use the
powers in this chapter to provide the maximum degree of local
control and flexibility consistent with the sustainability goals of
this part.

begin insert 10728.5. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency may perform
any act necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this part,
including, but not limited to, the performance of an agreement,
acting jointly or in cooperation with the United States, any state,
county, city, district of any kind, public or private corporation,
association, firm, or individual, or any combination of them.

(b) A groundwater sustainability agency may perform any acts
necessary or proper for the performance of an agreement with the
United States, any state, county, city, district of any kind, public
or private corporation, association, firm, or individual, or any
combination of them, for the joint acquisition, construction, leasing,
ownership, disposition, use, management, maintenance, repair,
or operation of any rights, works, or other property of a kind that
may be useful in implementing the purposes of this part.

(c) A groundwater sustainability agency may adopt rules and
regulations for the purpose of this part, in compliance with any
procedural requirements applicable to the adoption of rules and
regulations by the groundwater sustainability agency. In addition
to any other applicable procedural requirements, the groundwater
sustainability agency shall provide notice of the proposed adoption
of the groundwater sustainability agency on its Internet Web site
and provide for electronic notice to any person who requests
electronic notification.

(d) This part shall apply to the United States and an Indian tribe
to the extent authorized under federal or tribal law.

(e) This part shall apply to the state and its agencies and
departments and to local agencies to the same extent as a person
regulated by a groundwater sustainability plan. A groundwater
sustainability agency shall not impose a penalty pursuant to this
part on the state or its agencies, departments, or officers.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, in any judicial action
authorized by this part, the court shall direct that a prevailing
party that is a groundwater sustainability agency, or owner or
operator of a groundwater extraction facility, shall be awarded
the reasonable attorney’s fees and costs relating to an action
authorized pursuant to this part.

begin insert 10729. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency may conduct
an investigation for the purposes of this part, including, but not
limited to, investigations for the following:

(1) To determine the need for groundwater management.

(2) To prepare and adopt a groundwater sustainability plan
and implementing rules and regulations.

(3) To propose and update fees.

(4) To monitor compliance and enforcement.

(b) An investigation may include surface waters and surface
water rights as well as groundwater and groundwater rights.

(c) In connection with an investigation, a groundwater
sustainability agency may inspect the property or facilities of a
person or entity to ascertain whether the purposes of this part are
being met and compliance with this part. The local agency may
conduct an inspection pursuant to this section upon obtaining any
necessary consent or obtaining an inspection warrant pursuant
to the procedure set forth in Title 13 (commencing with Section
1822.50) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

begin insert 10729.5. end insert   

(a) Each groundwater extraction facility within a
groundwater sustainability agency shall be registered with the
groundwater sustainability agency if the groundwater sustainability
plan provides for establishing a groundwater charge pursuant to
this part or for otherwise regulating groundwater extractions. The
groundwater sustainability agency may, by resolution or ordinance,
establish reasonable requirements for the registration of a
groundwater extraction facility.

(b) Any form used to register a groundwater extraction facility
pursuant to this section shall not be made available for inspection
by the public. The groundwater sustainability agency may use
information from the form to develop or implement a groundwater
sustainability program or plan pursuant to this part.

(c) An owner or operator of a groundwater extraction facility
that fails to register the facility within a time period provided for
in a groundwater sustainability plan shall become jointly and
severally liable to the groundwater sustainability agency for a
penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per unregistered
groundwater extraction facility.

begin insert 10730. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency may require
through its groundwater sustainability plan that the use of every
groundwater extraction facility within the groundwater
sustainability agency be measured no less than 60 days after
registration by a water-measuring device satisfactory to the
groundwater sustainability agency. If water-measuring devices
are required by the groundwater sustainability plan, an owner or
operator of a groundwater extraction facility that fails to install
a satisfactory water-measuring device within the 60-day time
period shall be jointly and severally liable to the groundwater
sustainability agency for a penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000)
per groundwater extraction facility lacking a water-measuring
device.

(b) All costs associated with the purchase and installation of
the water-measuring device shall be borne by the owner or
operator of each groundwater extraction facility. The water
measuring devices shall be installed by the groundwater
sustainability agency or, at the groundwater sustainability agency’s
option, by the owner or operator of the groundwater extraction
facility. Water-measuring devices shall be calibrated on a
reasonable schedule as may be determined by the groundwater
sustainability agency.

(c) A groundwater sustainability agency may require, through
its groundwater sustainability plan, that the owner or operator of
a groundwater extraction facility within the groundwater
sustainability agency file an annual statement with the groundwater
sustainability agency setting forth the total extraction in acre-feet
of groundwater from the facility during the previous year. If filing
of groundwater extraction statements is required by the
groundwater sustainability plan, an owner or operator of a
groundwater extraction facility that fails to file a timely
groundwater extraction statement shall be jointly and severally
liable to the groundwater sustainability agency for a penalty of
one thousand dollars ($1,000) per groundwater extraction facility
without a filed groundwater extraction statement per each month
since the date the first penalty could have been imposed by the
groundwater sustainability agency.

(d) In addition to the measurement of groundwater extractions
pursuant to subdivision (a), a groundwater sustainability agency
may use any other reasonable method to determine groundwater
extraction.

(e) This section does not apply to de minimus extractors.

begin insert 10730.5. end insert   

An entity within the area of a groundwater
sustainability plan shall only divert surface water to underground
storage consistent with the plan and shall report the diversion to
underground storage to the groundwater sustainability agency for
the relevant portion of the basin.

begin insert 10731. end insert   

A groundwater sustainability agency may do the
following:

(a) Acquire by grant, purchase, lease, gift, devise, contract,
construction, or otherwise, and hold, use, enjoy, sell, let, and
dispose, of real and personal property of every kind, including
lands, water rights, structures, buildings, rights-of-way, easements,
and privileges, and construct, maintain, alter, and operate any
and all works or improvements, within or outside the agency,
necessary or proper to carry out any of the purposes of this part.

(b) Appropriate and acquire surface water or groundwater and
surface water or groundwater rights, import surface water or
groundwater into the agency, and conserve and store within or
outside the agency that water for any purpose necessary or proper
to carry out the provisions of this part, including, but not limited
to, the spreading, storing, retaining, or percolating into the soil
of the waters for subsequent use or in a manner consistent with
the provisions of Section 10735. As part of this authority, the
agency may validate an existing groundwater conjunctive use or
storage program upon a finding that the program would aid or
assist the agency in developing or implementing a groundwater
sustainability plan.

(c) Provide for a program of voluntary fallowing of agricultural
lands or validate an existing program.

(d) Perform any acts necessary or proper to enable the agency
to purchase, transfer, deliver, or exchange water or water rights
of any type with any person that may be necessary or proper to
carry out any of the purposes of this part, including, but not limited
to, providing surface water in exchange for a groundwater
extractor’s agreement to reduce or cease groundwater extractions.
The agency shall not deliver retail water supplies within the service
area of a public water system without either the consent of that
system or authority under the agency’s existing authorities.

(e) Transport, reclaim, purify, desalinate, treat, or otherwise
manage and control polluted water, wastewater, or other waters
for subsequent use in a manner that is necessary or proper to carry
out the purposes of this part.

(f) Whenever, in the opinion of the agency’s governing board,
the public interest or convenience may require, it may order any
work or improvement that it is authorized to undertake to be done
in accordance with the procedures and pursuant to the provisions
of the Improvement Act of 1911 (Division 7 (commencing with
Section 5000) of the Streets and Highways Code), the Improvement
Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500)
of the Streets and Highways Code), or the Municipal Improvement
Act of 1913 (Division 12 (commencing with Section 10000) of the
Streets and Highways Code).

(g) Commence, maintain, intervene in, defend, compromise,
and assume the cost and expenses of any and all actions and
proceedings.

begin insert 10731.5. end insert   

A groundwater sustainability agency shall have the
following additional authority and may regulate groundwater
pumping using that authority by means of ordinance or resolution:

(a) To impose spacing requirements on new groundwater well
construction to minimize well interference and impose reasonable
operating regulations on existing groundwater wells to minimize
well interference, including requiring pumpers to operate on a
rotation basis.

(b) To control groundwater extractions by regulating, limiting,
or suspending extractions from individual groundwater wells or
extractions from groundwater wells in the aggregate, the
construction of new groundwater wells, the enlarging of existing
groundwater wells, the reactivation of abandoned groundwater
wells, or otherwise establishing groundwater extraction
allocations. A limitation on extractions by a groundwater
sustainability agency shall not be construed to be a final
determination of rights to extract groundwater from the basin or
any portion of the basin. A groundwater sustainability agency may
use the expedited adjudication procedures in Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 10742) in establishing groundwater
extraction allocations.

(c) To authorize temporary and permanent transfers of
groundwater extraction allocations within the agency’s boundaries,
if the total quantity of groundwater extracted in any year is
consistent with the provisions of the groundwater sustainability
plan.

(d) To establish accounting rules to allow unused groundwater
extraction allocations issued by the agency to be carried over from
one year to another and voluntarily transferred, if the total quantity
of groundwater extracted in any five-year period is consistent with
the provisions of the groundwater sustainability plan.

 

Chapter   begin insert 7. end insert Financial Authority

 

begin insert 10732. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency may impose
fees, including, but not limited to, permit fees and fees on
groundwater extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the
costs of a groundwater sustainability program, including, but not
limited to, preparation, adoption, and amendment of a groundwater
sustainability plan, and program administration, investigations,
inspections, compliance assistance, and enforcement. A
groundwater sustainability agency shall not impose a fee pursuant
to this subdivision on a de minimus producer unless the agency
has regulated the users pursuant to this part.

(b) Prior to imposing or increasing a fee, a groundwater
sustainability agency shall hold at least one open and public
meeting, at which oral or written presentations may be made as
part of the meeting.

(1) Notice of the time and place of the meeting shall include a
general explanation of the matter to be considered and a statement
that the data required by this section is available. The notice shall
be mailed at least 14 days prior to the meeting to each record
owner of property within the basin and to any interested party who
files a written request with the agency for mailed notice of the
meeting on new or increased fees. A written request for mailed
notices shall be valid for one year from the date that the request
is made and may be renewed by making a written request on or
before April 1 of each year.

(2) At least 10 days prior to the meeting, the groundwater
sustainability agency shall make available to the public data upon
which the proposed fee is based.

(c) Any action by a groundwater sustainability agency to impose
or increase a fee shall be taken only by ordinance or resolution.

(d) (1) As an alternative method for the collection of fees
imposed pursuant to this section, a groundwater management
agency may adopt a resolution requesting collection of the fees in
the same manner as ordinary municipal ad valorem taxes.

(2) A resolution described in paragraph (1) shall be adopted
and furnished to the county auditor and board of supervisors on
or before August 1 of each year that the alternative collection of
the fees is being requested. The resolution shall include a list of
parcels and the amount to be collect for each parcel.

(e) The power granted by this section is in addition to any
powers a groundwater sustainability agency has under any other
law.

begin insert 10732.5. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability agency that adopts
a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to this part may impose
fees on the extraction of groundwater from the basin to fund costs
of groundwater management, including, but not limited to, the
costs of the following:

(1) Administration, operation, maintenance, and acquisition of
lands or other property, facilities, and services.

(2) Supply, production, treatment, or distribution of water.

(3) Other activities necessary or convenient to implement the
plan.

(b) Fees may be implemented pursuant to Part 2.75
(commencing with Section 10750) in accordance with the
procedures provided in this section.

(c) Fees imposed pursuant to this section shall be adopted in
accordance with subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 6 of Article
XIII D of the California Constitution.

(d) Fees imposed pursuant to this section may include fixed fees
and fees charged on a volumetric basis, including, but not limited
to, fees that increase based on the quantity of groundwater
produced annually, the year in which the production of
groundwater commenced from a groundwater extraction facility,
and impacts to the basin.

(e) The power granted by this section is in addition to any
powers a groundwater sustainability agency has under any other
law.

begin insert 10733. end insert   

A groundwater sustainability agency may fund activities
pursuant to Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750) and may
impose fees pursuant to Section 10732.5 to fund activities
undertaken by the agency pursuant to Part 2.75 (commencing with
Section 10750).

begin insert 10733.5. end insert   

(a) A groundwater fee levied pursuant to this chapter
shall be due and payable to the groundwater sustainability agency
by each owner or operator on a day established by the groundwater
sustainability agency.

(b) If an owner or operator knowingly fails to pay a groundwater
charge within 30 days of it becoming due, the owner or operator
shall be liable to the groundwater sustainability agency for interest
at the rate of 1 percent per month on the delinquent amount of the
groundwater charge and a 10 percent penalty.

(c) The groundwater sustainability agency may bring a suit in
the court having jurisdiction against any owner or operator of a
groundwater extraction facility within the area covered by the
plan for the collection of any delinquent groundwater charges,
interest, or penalties imposed under this chapter. If the
groundwater sustainability agency seeks an attachment against
the property of any named defendant in the suit, the groundwater
sustainability agency shall not be required to furnish bond or other
undertaking as provided in Title 6.5 (commencing with Section
481.010) of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(d) In the alternative to bringing a suit pursuant to subdivision
(c), a groundwater sustainability agency may collect any delinquent
groundwater charge and any civil penalties and interest on the
delinquent groundwater charge pursuant to the laws applicable
to the local agency or, if a joint powers authority, to the entity
designated pursuant to Section 6509 of the Government Code. The
collection shall be in the same manner as it would be applicable
to the collection of delinquent assessments, water charges, or tolls.

(e) As an additional remedy, a groundwater sustainability
agency, after a public hearing, may order an owner or operator
to cease extraction of groundwater until all delinquent fees are
paid. The groundwater sustainability agency shall give notice to
the owner or operator by certified mail not less than 15 days in
advance of the public hearing.

(f) The remedies specified in this section for collecting and
enforcing fees are cumulative and may be pursued alternatively
or may be used consecutively as determined by the governing body.

begin insert 10734. end insert   

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall affect or interfere with
the authority of a groundwater sustainability agency to levy and
collect taxes, assessments, charges, and tolls as otherwise provided
by law.

(b) For the purposes of Section 6254.16 of the Government
Code, persons subject to payment of fees pursuant to this chapter
are utility customers of a groundwater sustainability agency.

begin insert 10734.5. end insert   

(a) If there is reasonable cause to believe that the
production of groundwater from any groundwater extraction
facility is in excess of that disclosed by the statements covering
the facility or if no statement is filed covering the facility, then the
governing body may cause an investigation and report to be made
concerning the production of groundwater from that groundwater
extraction facility that includes, but is not limited to, the accuracy
of the water-measuring device. The governing body may make a
determination fixing the amount of groundwater production from
the groundwater extraction facility at an amount not to exceed the
maximum production capacity of the facility for purposes of levying
a groundwater charge. If a water-measuring device is permanently
attached to the groundwater extraction facility, the record of
production as disclosed by the water-measuring device shall be
presumed to be accurate unless the contrary is established by the
groundwater management agency after investigation.

(b) After the governing body makes a determination fixing the
amount of groundwater production pursuant to subdivision (a), a
written notice of the determination shall be mailed to the owner
or operator of the groundwater extraction facility at the address
as shown by the groundwater management agency’s records. A
determination made by the governing body shall be conclusive on
the owner or operator and the groundwater charges, based on the
determination together with any interest and penalties, shall be
payable immediately unless within 10 days after the mailing of the
notice the owner or operator files with the governing body a written
protest setting forth the ground for protesting the amount of
production or the groundwater charges, interest, and penalties. If
a protest is filed pursuant to this subdivision, the governing body
shall hold a hearing to determine the total amount of the
groundwater production and the groundwater charges, interest,
and penalties. The determination by the governing body at the
hearing shall be conclusive if based upon substantial evidence.
Notice of the hearing shall be mailed to each protestant at least
10 days before the date fixed for the hearing. Notice of the
determination of the governing body hearing shall be mailed to
each protestant. The owner or operator shall have 20 days from
the date of mailing of the determination to pay the groundwater
charges, interest, and penalties determined by the governing body.

 

Chapter   begin insert 8. end insert Groundwater Sustainability Plans

 

begin insert 10735. end insert   

(a) A groundwater sustainability plan shall be adopted
for each medium or high priority basin by an overlying
groundwater sustainability agency. The plan may incorporate,
extend, or be based on a plan adopted pursuant to Part 2.75
(commencing with Section 10750) and shall include all of the
following:

(1) A description of the physical setting and characteristics of
the aquifer system underlying the basin that includes the following:

(A) Historical data, to the extent available.

(B) Groundwater levels, groundwater quality, subsidence, and
groundwater-surface water interaction.

(C) Known issues of concern with respect to the data described
in this paragraph.

(D) A general discussion of historical and projected water
demands and supplies.

(E) A map that details the area of the basin and the boundaries
of the groundwater sustainability agencies that overlie the basin
that have or are developing groundwater sustainability plans.

(F) A map identifying existing and potential recharge areas for
the basin. The map or maps shall identify the existing recharge
areas that substantially contribute to the replenishment of the
groundwater basin. The map or maps shall be provided to the
appropriate local planning agencies after adoption of the
groundwater sustainability plan.

(2) Groundwater management objectives to achieve the
sustainability goal in the basin within 20 years of the
implementation of the plan. The plan shall include a description
of how the plan helps meet each objective and how each objective
is intended to achieve the sustainability goal for the basin for
long-term beneficial uses of groundwater. The department, at the
request of the groundwater management agency, may grant an
extension of up to 10 years beyond the 20 year sustainability time
frame if necessary based on groundwater basin circumstances.

(3) A planning and implementation horizon of at least 50 years.

(4) As applicable to the basin, components relating to the
following:

(A) The monitoring and management of groundwater levels
within the basin.

(B) The monitoring and management of groundwater quality,
groundwater quality degradation, inelastic land surface
subsidence, and changes in surface flow and surface water quality
that directly affect groundwater levels or quality or are caused by
groundwater pumping in the basin.

(C) Mitigation of overdraft.

(D) How recharge areas identified in the plan substantially
contribute to the replenishment of the basin.

(5) A summary of the type of monitoring sites, type of
measurements, and the frequency of monitoring for each location
monitoring groundwater levels, groundwater quality, subsidence,
streamflow, precipitation, evaporation, and tidal influence. The
plan shall include a summary of monitoring information such as
well depth, screened intervals, and aquifer zones monitored, and
a summary of the type of well relied on for the information,
including public, irrigation, domestic, industrial, and monitoring
wells.

(6) Monitoring protocols that are designed to detect changes
in groundwater levels, groundwater quality, inelastic surface
subsidence for basins for which subsidence has been identified as
a potential problem, and flow and quality of surface water that
directly affect groundwater levels or quality or are caused by
groundwater pumping in the basin. The monitoring protocols shall
be designed to generate information that promotes efficient and
effective groundwater management.

(b) A groundwater sustainability plan may include all of the
following, where appropriate:

(1) Control of saline water intrusion.

(2) Wellhead protection areas and recharge areas.

(3) Migration of contaminated groundwater.

(4) A well abandonment and well destruction program.

(5) Replenishment of groundwater extractions.

(6) Activities implementing, opportunities for, and impediments
to, conjunctive use.

(7) Well construction policies.

(8) Measures addressing groundwater contamination cleanup,
recharge, diversions to storage, conservation, water recycling,
conveyance, and extraction projects.

(9) Efficient water management practices, as defined in Section
10902, for the delivery of water and water conservation methods
to improve the efficiency of water use.

(10) Efforts to develop relationships with state and federal
regulatory agencies.

(11) Processes to review land use plans and efforts to coordinate
with land use planning agencies to assess activities that potentially
create risks to groundwater quality or quantity.

begin insert 10735.5. end insert   

(a) Prior to initiating the development of a
groundwater sustainability plan, the groundwater sustainability
agency shall make available to the public and the department a
written statement describing the manner in which interested parties
may participate in the development and implementation of the
groundwater sustainability plan. The groundwater sustainability
agency may appoint and consult with an advisory committee
consisting of interested parties for the purposes of developing and
implementing a sustainable groundwater management plan. The
groundwater management agency shall encourage the active
involvement of diverse social, cultural, and economic elements of
the population within the groundwater basin prior to and during
the development and implementation of the groundwater
management plan. The groundwater sustainability agency shall
encourage the active involvement of diverse social, cultural, and
economic elements of the population within the basin prior to and
during the development and implementation of the groundwater
sustainability plan.

(b) The groundwater sustainability agency shall establish and
maintain a list of persons interested in receiving notices regarding
plan preparation, meeting announcements, and availability of draft
plans, maps, and other relevant documents. A person may request,
in writing, to be placed on the list of interested persons.

begin insert 10736. end insert   

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a
groundwater sustainability agency shall certify that its plan
complies with this part no later than January 31, 2020, and every
five years thereafter. A groundwater sustainability agency shall
submit this certification to the department within 30 days of the
certification.

(b) A basin shall be in compliance with this part if a
groundwater sustainability agency for a basin or other local
agency submits to the department no later than January 31, 2020,
and every five years thereafter, any of the following documents:

(1) A copy of a governing final judgment or other judicial order
or decree establishing a groundwater sustainability program for
the basin.

(2) A report approved by a groundwater sustainability agency
that shows that current management or operations activities have
been consistent with the sustainable yield of the basin over a period
of at least 10 years. The report shall be prepared by a registered
professional engineer or geologist who is licensed by the state and
submitted under that engineer’s or geologist’s seal. The report
may demonstrate compliance with the sustainability goal in the
basin by presenting a balanced water budget for the basin, a
technical analysis demonstrating stable groundwater levels over
the relevant period, or other sufficient technical analyses.

(c) (1) The department may review the submissions made
pursuant to this section and may request the supporting information
on which the certification pursuant to subdivision (a) or the other
documentation pursuant to subdivision (b) relied. The department
may issue findings concerning the validity of the certification or
other submission.

(2) Before issuing findings pursuant to paragraph (1), the
department shall transmit a draft of its findings to the submitting
agency and shall consult with that agency. The submitting agency
may submit a response to the department within 60 days of
receiving the department’s draft findings.

(3) If the department’s findings issued pursuant to paragraph
(1) concern the compliance of a plan with requirements for
sustainable groundwater management or the operation of a basin
consistent with the basin’s sustainable yield, the submitting agency,
within 90 days of receipt, shall consider amendments to its plan
or technical analysis to address the department’s findings.

(d) The Antelope Valley basin at issue in the Antelope Valley
Groundwater Cases (Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding
Number 4408) shall be treated as an adjudicated basin pursuant
to this section if the superior court’s final judgment, order, or
decree is submitted to the department consistent with this section.

begin insert 10736.5. end insert   

A groundwater management agency shall periodically
evaluate its groundwater sustainability plan, assess changing
conditions in the basin that may warrant modification of the plan
or management objectives, and may adjust components in the plan.
An evaluation of the plan shall focus on determining whether the
actions under the plan are meeting the plan’s management
objectives and whether those objectives are meeting the
sustainability goal in the basin.

begin insert 10737. end insert   

A groundwater sustainability agency preparing a
groundwater sustainability plan or a plan amendment shall notify
any city or county within the area of the proposed plan or
amendment at least 90 days before a public hearing on the plan
where the agency will be reviewing the plan or amendment and
considering its adoption or amendment. The groundwater
sustainability agency shall obtain comments from any city or
county that receives notice pursuant to this section and shall
consult with a city or county that requests consultation within 30
days of receipt of the notice. Nothing in this section is intended to
preclude an agency and a city or county from otherwise consulting
or commenting regarding the adoption or amendment of a plan.

begin insert 10737.5. end insert   

(a) The department or a groundwater sustainability
agency may provide technical assistance to entities that extract
or use groundwater to promote water conservation and protect
groundwater resources.

(b) The department may provide technical assistance to any
groundwater sustainability agency in response to that agency’s
request for assistance in the development and implementation of
a groundwater sustainability plan. The department shall use its
best efforts to provide the requested assistance.

(c) (1) By January 1, 2017, the department shall submit to the
Legislature and publish on its Internet Web site best management
practices for the sustainable management of groundwater.

(2) Best management practices to be submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.

(3) The department shall develop the best management practices
in consultation with a representative task force of interested
entities. The department shall ensure that the task force’s members
are broadly representative of stakeholders who are interested in
groundwater. The task force shall have no more than 25
stakeholder members. The task force also shall include at least
three licensed engineers who have extensive experience with
groundwater issues. The department shall convene the task force’s
first meeting by July 1, 2015. All meetings of the task force shall
be open to the public.

(4) A groundwater sustainability agency may consider the best
management practices developed by the department in preparing
a groundwater sustainability plan consistent with the requirements
of this chapter.

 

Chapter   begin insert 9. end insert State Intervention

 

begin insert 10738. end insert   

It is the intent of the Legislature to amend this measure
to provide that one or more state agencies act to ensure that all
basins in California are on track to achieve the sustainability goal
if local agencies are unable to adopt or implement groundwater
sustainability plans that achieve that goal.

 

Chapter   begin insert 10. end insert Expedited Adjudication

 

begin insert 10742. end insert   

It is the intent of the Legislature to amend this measure
to provide for expedited adjudications of rights to extract and store
water from and in basins by enacting, and directing the Judicial
Council to develop, innovative judicial procedures to manage
those adjudications as quickly as reasonably feasible so as to
enable the sustainable management of groundwater in the state.

 

Chapter   begin insert 11. end insert Land Use

 

begin insert 10745. end insert   

(a) After January 31, 2020, until a groundwater
sustainability agency or the board complies with this part for a
basin, a person shall not increase groundwater extractions on a
property within the basin from the average of the extractions on
that property during the period of January 1, 2010, to December
31, 2014, inclusive, unless the person submits to the county a report
that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) A registered professional engineer or geologist licensed by
the state prepared the report and submitted it under the engineer’s
or geologist’s seal.

(2) It includes a technical analysis demonstrating stable
groundwater levels over the relevant period in the area where the
increased extraction would occur.

(3) It demonstrates that the increased extractions would not
cause undesirable results in the basin.

(b) A land use agency shall issue a well-drilling permit only if
the extractions from the new or refurbished well satisfy the limit
established pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) This section does not apply to the following:

(1) Monitoring wells.

(2) Wells used for groundwater remediation under a cleanup
or remedial action plan approved by a public agency with authority
to oversee groundwater remediation or by a court of competent
jurisdiction.

(3) A well that is subject to judicial oversight and control
pursuant to a final judgment governing extractions from the
groundwater basin.

(d) This section shall not be construed as an exemption from
any adjudication of rights to use groundwater whether that
adjudication occurs in a court of California, the United States, or
under procedures provided in Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 10742).

 

Chapter   begin insert 12. end insert Water Supply Reliability

 

begin insert 10748. end insert   

Sustainable groundwater management in California
depends upon creating more opportunities for robust conjunctive
management of surface water resources. Climate change will
intensify the need to recalibrate and reconcile surface and
groundwater management strategies. It is the intent of the
Legislature to amend this measure to provide that the State Water
Resources Control Board and the regional water quality control
boards weigh the value of surface water for groundwater
replenishment and recharge to promote the state’s interest in
groundwater sustainability.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

end insert begin insert

The provisions of this act are severable. If any
provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

end insert begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

end insert begin insert

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 8. end insert   

end insert begin insert

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 5 of
this act, which adds Sections 10729.5 and 10734 to the Water
Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the
meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and
agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the
California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision,
the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the
interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting
that interest:

end insert begin insert

In order to allow this act to fully accomplish its goals, it is
necessary to protect proprietary information submitted pursuant
to this act as confidential. Therefore, it is in the state’s interest to
limit public access to this information.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 56878 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

56878.  

If there is no local and regional groundwater
management agency existing in a groundwater basin, as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 10720 of the Water Code, the
commission may provide special technical assistance and an
expedited timeline to facilitate the formation of a local and regional
groundwater management agency.

SEC. 2.  

Section 65302.2 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

65302.2.  

(a) Upon the adoption, or revision, of a city or
county’s general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, the city or
county shall utilize as a source document any urban water
management plan submitted to the city or county by a water
agency.

(b) Upon the adoption, or revision, of a city or county’s general
plan, the city or county shall utilize as a source document the
following plans for a groundwater basin or subbasin within the
jurisdiction of the city or county:

(1) A sustainable groundwater management plan adopted
pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division
6 of the Water Code.

(2) A groundwater management plan adopted pursuant to Part
2.75 (commencing with Section 10750) of Division 6 of the Water
Code.

SEC. 3.  

Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) is added
to Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:

 

PART 2.74.  Groundwater Sustainability

 

10720.  

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:

(a) “Bulletin No. 118” means the department’s bulletin entitled
“California’s Ground Water,” dated September 1975, and any
amendments to that bulletin.

(b) “Groundwater” means all water beneath the surface of the
earth within the zone below the water table in which the soil is
completely saturated with water, but does not include water that
flows in known and definite channels.

(c) “Groundwater basin” means any groundwater basin or
subbasin identified in Bulletin No. 118 that the department
identifies as a high or medium priority groundwater basin as part
of the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring
Program in accordance with Sections 10933 and 12924.

(d) “Groundwater management agency” means a special district
authorized to provide water for beneficial uses or with specific
authority to conduct groundwater management, a city, a county,
a city and county, or a joint powers authority comprised of any or
all of the these.

(e) “Groundwater management program” means a coordinated
and ongoing activity undertaken for the benefit of a groundwater
basin, or a portion of a groundwater basin, based on the best
available science, monitoring, forecasting, and use of technological
resources, pursuant to a sustainable groundwater management
plan.

(f) “Recharge” means the augmentation of groundwater, by
natural or artificial means, with surface water or recycled water.

(g) “Sustainable groundwater management” means the
management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be
maintained during the planning and implementation horizon
without resulting in a significant adverse overdraft-related
environmental, social, or economic effect, as determined by the
groundwater management agency.

10725.  

(a) A sustainable groundwater management plan shall
be adopted for each groundwater basin by any overlying
groundwater management agency. A sustainable groundwater
management plan shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Include the components set forth in Section 10753.7.

(2) Be adopted on or before January 1, 2020, and updated every
five years thereafter.

(3) Contain sustainable groundwater management objectives to
achieve sustainable groundwater management in the groundwater
basin within 20 years of the implementation of the plan, include
an analysis demonstrating how the objectives will achieve
sustainable groundwater management, and identify the parties
responsible for achieving the objectives. The department may grant
an extension beyond the 20-year sustainability timeframe if
necessary based on groundwater basin circumstances, but in no
case may a sustainable management plan contemplate that more
than 30 years are required to achieve sustainable groundwater
management.

(4) Provide a planning and implementation horizon of at least
50 years.

(5) Annually submit a performance report comparing the status
of the groundwater basin to the sustainable groundwater
management objectives.

(6) Provide summaries of monitoring data regularly to the
department for the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation
Monitoring Program and locally to the groundwater basin
stakeholders through an Internet Web site or similar method.

(b) A sustainable groundwater management plan shall not be
required for a groundwater basin, or a portion of a groundwater
basin, that is subject to groundwater management pursuant to other
provisions of law or a court order, judgment, or decree.

(c) If multiple sustainable groundwater management plans cover
different portions of a groundwater basin, each sustainable
groundwater management plan shall not conflict with or impede
sustainable groundwater management relating to the other
sustainable groundwater management plans in the groundwater
basin.

(d) (1) A groundwater management agency may incorporate
into a sustainable groundwater management plan a neighboring
area overlying the groundwater basin not already covered by
another sustainable groundwater management plan.

(2) A groundwater basin boundary, as defined in Bulletin No.
118, may be adjusted by a groundwater management agency, in
consultation with adjacent groundwater basin groundwater
management agencies and the department, to address hydrologic
conditions and other features of the subbasin based on a technical
analysis supporting the boundary adjustment.

10726.  

The process for developing or revising a sustainable
groundwater management plan, or revising a groundwater
management plan adopted pursuant to Part 2.75 (commencing with
Section 10750) to meet the requirements of this part, shall meet
the requirements on a local agency for public notification, hearing,
and protest set forth in Sections 10753.2 to 10753.6, inclusive.

10730.  

(a) A sustainable groundwater management plan shall
be submitted by the groundwater management agency to the
department for technical review.

(b) The department shall subject the sustainable groundwater
management plan to technical review for adequacy and do one of
the following:

(1) Approve the sustainable groundwater management plan.

(2) Conditionally approve the sustainable groundwater
management plan.

(3) Determine the sustainable groundwater management plan
to be inadequate and allow six months for resubmission of the
sustainable groundwater management plan with revisions.

10735.  

A groundwater management agency may do all of the
following:

(a) Enter into a joint powers authority, participate in a
memorandum of understanding among existing agencies,
participate in an integrated regional water management planning
group, any of which may include a locally authorized watermaster,
or establish another form of appropriate local or regional
sustainable groundwater management entity.

(b) Raise funds for the purposes of this chapter.

(c) Regulate the pumping of groundwater.

(d) Establish, assume, or cooperatively manage well permitting
programs to provide essential management information to
implement a sustainable groundwater management plan and basin
management objectives. The well permitting program may include,
but is not limited to, information about the location, depth, water
quality, construction, and production of a well and shall ensure
that well abandonment standards are enforced.

(e) Enforce the agency’s sustainable groundwater management
plan.

10740.  

(a) As of ____ date or as of the date adopted by the
groundwater management agency, whichever is earlier, a person
or entity shall not extract groundwater within a groundwater basin
for new commercial, multifamily residential, or industrial
development, unless a groundwater basin has a sustainable
groundwater management plan.

(b) This section does not apply to the use of a single-family
domestic well.

SEC. 4.  

Section 10795.4 of the Water Code is amended to read:

10795.4.  

Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the money in
the fund may be used by the department to assist local public
agencies by awarding grants to those agencies to conduct
groundwater studies or to carry out groundwater monitoring and
management activities in accordance with Part 2.75 (commencing
with Section 10750), Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720),
or other authority pursuant to which local public agencies manage
groundwater resources, or any combination of these including the
development of groundwater management plans, as provided for
in subdivision (a) of Section 10753.7.

SEC. 5.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete