BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 617 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 617 (Perea) - As Amended April 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|14 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill makes numerous revisions to last year's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Specifically, this bill: AB 617 Page 2 1)Modifies the current SGMA prohibition against counting any increase in groundwater pumping during the period that a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is under development as the basis for a later groundwater claim. 2)Revises the definition of groundwater recharge to include in lieu use (the use of surface water by persons that may otherwise extract groundwater). 3)Allows a private mutual water company to join Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) formed by one or more public agencies pursuant to a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) and exercise the GSA powers provided by SGMA. 4)Allows GSAs to enter into public/private partnerships to facilitate the implementation of GSPs. 5)Creates a remedy for state agency noncompliance with the GSP by allowing a GSA to file notice with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and authorizing SWRCB to direct a state entity to cooperate. 6)Modifies the requirement that multiple GSAs in the same groundwater basin must utilize the same data and methodologies and instead states that they must use consistent data and methodologies. 7)Specifies that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to the formation or election of a GSA. 8)Deletes the requirement for GSPs to coordinate so that the entire basin is covered and instead allows coordinated AB 617 Page 3 implementation among a subgroup or groups in a basin. 9)Allows the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to consider whether a GSA has failed to meet SGMA requirements because it is in litigation when granting five-year extensions. 10)Prohibits the SWRCB from placing any portion of a basin in probationary status if there is an adopted GSP that is being implemented in accordance with the sustainability goals. FISCAL EFFECT: Increased costs for DWR potentially in the millions of dollars (GF or special fund) to investigate groundwater basins and assist the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in the determination of sustainable use. According to DWR, this bill eliminates the requirement to submit a groundwater sustainability plan to DWR where a basin has multiple plans and multiple entities. DWR would likely have to step in and provide the planning and data to SWRCB for enforcement purposes. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill clarifies and harmonizes various SGMA provisions by addressing some fundamental policy questions including, but not limited to, the application of deadlines during litigation, the application of CEQA to GSA formation, whether state agencies should comply with GSPs, and whether GSAs can enter into public/private partnerships. AB 617 Page 4 2)Background. Groundwater is either a subterranean stream flowing through a known and definite channel or percolating groundwater. Groundwater that is a subterranean stream is subject to the same State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) water right permitting requirements as surface water. There is no statewide permitting requirement for percolating groundwater, which is the majority of groundwater in the state. DWR is required to prioritize groundwater basins based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, the level of population and irrigated acreage relying on the groundwater basin as a primary source of water and the current impacts on the groundwater basin from overdraft, subsidence, saline intrusion and other water quality degradation. The groundwater basins identified in DWR's Groundwater Report, Bulletin 118, are required to be regularly and systematically monitored locally and the information is required to be readily and widely available. DWR is required to perform the groundwater elevation monitoring function if no local entity will do so, but then bars the county and other entities eligible to monitor that basin from receiving state water grants or loans. 3)The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Last year, AB 1739 (Dickinson, Chapter 347, Statutes of 2014) and SB 1168 (Pavley, Chapter 346, Statutes of 2014), established landmark state policy and requirements for groundwater sustainability and management. By January 31, 2020, SGMA requires groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) in all groundwater basins experiencing critical conditions of overdraft that DWR determines to be of medium or high priority. SGMA requires sustainable groundwater management plans for all other medium or high priority basins by January 31, 2022, unless the basin AB 617 Page 5 is legally adjudicated or the local agency establishes it is otherwise sustainably managed. SGMA requires local agencies to identify or form a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) by January 1, 2017. Counties are presumed to be the default agency if no other agency identifies itself. Water corporations regulated by the PUC are able to participate in the GSA if other agencies approve. 4) Related Legislation. In addition to this bill, the following 14 bills propose to modify SGMA and its related statutes: a) AB 452 (Bigelow) prohibits the SWRCB from using the revenue from water rights fees for SGMA enforcement. This bill failed in Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. b) AB 453 (Bigelow) allows an existing groundwater management plant to be amended prior to the adoption of GSP as required by SGMA. This bill is pending in the Senate. c) AB 454 (Bigelow) extends the deadline for forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency from June 30, 2017 to June 30, 2016. This bill also extends the compliance deadline for adopting a Groundwater Sustainability Plan from January 31, 2022, to January 31, 2023 and from January 31, 2025, to January 31, 2026, depending on the priority status and condition of the basin. This two-year bill is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. d) AB 455 (Bigelow) requires the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court by July1, 2016, to ensure CEQA AB 617 Page 6 challenges to SGMA projects are resolved within 9 months. Projects may proceed during the challenge period. This bill is pending in the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. e) AB 647 (Eggman) revises the definition of the beneficial use of water to include water stored in the ground as specified. This bill is pending on the Assembly Floor. f) AB 936 (Salas) expands state funding eligibility for groundwater projects and programs located in disadvantaged communities if the grants or loans are used to address noncompliance. This bill is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on suspense. g) AB 938 (Salas) clarifies all local agencies overlaying a groundwater basin that is reclassified by DWR as a basin subject to SGMA are entitled to additional time for compliance. This bill is pending in the Senate. h) AB 939 (Salas) extends the time a groundwater sustainability agency is required to make the data supporting a proposed fee available to the public from 10 to 20 days prior to the public meeting to consider adoption of the fee. This bill is pending in the Senate. i) AB 1242 (Gray) requires the SWRCB to implement mitigation measure for groundwater basins who increase groundwater pumping in response to a state regulatory action. This bill is pending in the Assembly Appropriation Committee. AB 617 Page 7 j) AB 1243 (Gray) requires 50% of the fines collected by SWRCB for SMGA violations are used to fund local groundwater recharge projects. This bill is in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. aa) AB 1390 (Alejo) provides an expedited groundwater basin adjudication process in lieu of SGMA requirements. This bill is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. bb) SB 13 (Pavley) provides technical revisions to SGMA. This bill is in the Assembly. cc) SB 226 (Pavley) adds a streamlined groundwater adjudication section to SGMA. This bill is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee. dd) SB 487 (Nielsen) exempts SGMA projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This bill is in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 617 Page 8