As required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA),
the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the proposed
rules for modifying groundwater basin boundaries. The proposed
“emergency” rules, which have an adoption date of January 1,
2016, specify the process that local agencies must follow when
requesting modifications to existing boundaries of groundwater
basins and subbasins or the creation of new subbasins. The rules
also identify the methodology and criteria that will be utilized
by DWR when reviewing and approving the boundary modification
requests.
The State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) and
Department of Water Resources (DWR) have scheduled four
informational meetings to discuss SGMA implementation and to
answer questions from the public. The four meetings are being
held in Valley Glen (Los Angeles area) – October 21, Tulare –
October 22, Sacramento (to include a webcast) – October 27 and
Redding – November 5. Each meeting will begin with a technical
session intended for local public agencies and organizations,
followed by a public forum.
The California Energy Commission is hosting several regional
workshops to highlight opportunities for local community-scale
renewable energy development and demonstration projects. The
workshops will showcase recently completed projects and will
present information with a focus on locally available resources
and funding from other governmental and private entities to help
communities utilize local renewable resources. Workshops will be
held across the state, with Webex capabilities as well.
Flood Protection/Land Use – Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley
AB 747 (Eggman) – Support
Chapter 152 – Statutes of 2015
AB 747, by Assembly Member Susan Eggman and co-sponsored by San
Joaquin County and the City of Stockton, was recently signed by
the Governor. This measure addresses an outstanding issue
concerning the implementation of SB 5 (Machado, Chapter 364,
Statutes of 2007) — one of a six-bill flood protection package
signed into law in 2007.
Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP) Grant Program
The Department of Water Resources announces the release of the
draft Guidelines for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP)
Grant Program and draft Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) for
the “Counties with Stressed Basins” solicitation, funded by the
Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014
(Proposition 1). The documents can be found on the DWR
website.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has made preliminary
identification of 21 groundwater basins and subbasins that have
been significantly overdrafted by excessive pumping and thus fall
under the earliest deadlines required by the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
AB 301, by Assembly Member Frank Bigelow, was signed by the
Governor this week. This bill requires the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to notify owners of habitable
structures subject to the state responsibility area fire
prevention fee (fee) that when selling the property, they may
negotiate the apportionment of the annual fee with the buyer as
one of the terms of the sale.
After hours of public testimony on Tuesday, the State Water
Resources Control Board (Water Board) adopted emergency
regulations requiring an immediate 25 percent reduction in
overall potable urban water use statewide in accordance with Gov.
Jerry Brown’s April 1 Executive_Order.
Water Board officials said the emergency regulation was needed to
conserve water throughout California, especially if the drought
continues into subsequent years.
Several bills were introduced at the beginning of the year that
proposed amendments to the State Groundwater Sustainability Act
of 2014 (SGMA). Other bills addressing groundwater in general
were also introduced. Quite a few of these measures failed
passage in fiscal committee or were designated as two-year bills.
The following is an update on the groundwater bills that are
still under active consideration this year:
Save the Date— CSAC Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources
Policy Committee.
Please save the date of Thursday, May 28 from 10:15- 11:45 a.m.
for the next meeting of the CSAC Agriculture, Environment &
Natural Resources Policy Committee, which will take place during
the CSAC Legislative Conference. Agenda Highlights include:
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation
will take up the issue of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) next
week. As you may recall, this Committee, let by Assembly Member
Richard Bloom, heard this item back in March, but deferred action
to a later date. The Senate Budget subcommittee with jurisdiction
over this issue, led by Senator Wolk, voted last month to approve
the Governor’s proposed FY 151-6 allocation of $644,000 for
annual PILT payments to local governments.
Drought Emergency Rulemaking Available for Public Comment
On Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board)
released the formal emergency regulatory package for implementing
the state’s required 25% reduction in urban water use. Comments
are due on Monday, May 4 at 10 a.m. The State Board is scheduled
to take action on the package May 5 or 6. The package released
Tuesday is the third iteration of the regulation, which was first
released April 7, then again April 18 after modifications.
