California Counties have a chance to influence how the state will
review the Groundwater Sustainability Plans many local
jurisdictions will be drafting. CSAC and RCRC filed a joint
letter yesterday, hoping to maintain flexibility and clarity in
the final regulations from the Department of Water Resources.
The Assembly and the Senate budget subcommittees met this week to
discuss budget items related to California’s tree mortality
crisis. This follows a joint February informational hearing on
the topic where the Committees invited speakers, including a
Tuolumne county supervisor, to speak to varying aspects of the
tree mortality crisis to better understand the threats
California’s forests face and the actions the Administration is
taking to respond to those threats.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater
Management Program has scheduled three required public meetings
and a statewide webinar to solicit comments on the Draft
Groundwater Sustainability Plan Emergency Regulations. Local
agencies and interested parties are encouraged to attend, listen,
and provide comments. The deadline to submit written comments
has been extended to April 1, 2016.
More Information
Marijuana policy was front and center in the Golden State this
past week, with the state Assembly holding an informational
hearing on banking and the medical cannabis industry and six
north coast counties holding their second summit on marijuana to
get the latest information about new laws and regulations.
On January 20, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), that
they are considering a “disaster deductible” concept that would
require recipients of federal disaster assistance funds to meet a
certain level of spending before receiving federal funds
following a disaster.
The California Water Commission announced that they will conduct
a public hearing on March 16, 2016 to consider the adoption of
regulations for the Water Storage Investment Program, including
the quantification and management of the public benefits of water
storage projects. Public comments regarding the proposed
regulation will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on March 14, 2016.
AB 45, by Assembly Member Kevin Mullin moved off the Assembly
floor this week on a 50-18 vote with several democrats voting no.
CSAC has reviewed the amendments that were taken in the
Appropriations Committee and unfortunately we still have several
issues with the bill.
AB 21 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey and Wood) – Support AB
1575 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey and Wood) –
Pending—Request Comments AB 21 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer,
Lackey and Wood) would strike a provision of the Medical
Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) that was
inadvertently included in AB 243 (Wood), one of the three bills
that together established MMRSA.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final
versions of the Guidelines
for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP) Grant Program and
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). These recently released documents and other information about
the SGWP Grant Program, can be found here.
The California Water Commission is responsible for implementing
Chapter 8 of the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure
Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1), and developing a
competitive process to allocate bond funds for qualified water
storage projects. Chapter 8 of Proposition 1 includes the $2.7
billion for public benefits of water storage projects that
improve the operation of the state water system, are cost
effective, and provide measurable benefits to the Delta ecosystem
or its tributaries.
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.
