Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would establish the agencys initial boundaries. The bill would authorize the boundaries of the agency to be adjusted, as specified. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 10723 of the Water Code proposed by both this bill and SB 564 to become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would establish the agencys initial boundaries. The bill would authorize the boundaries of the agency to be adjusted, as specified. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 10723 of the Water Code proposed by both this bill and SB 564 to become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would require establish the agencys initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. boundaries. The bill would authorize the boundaries of the agency to be adjusted, as specified. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 10723 of the Water Code proposed by both this bill and SB 564 to become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would require the agencys initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. The bill would authorize the boundaries of the agency to be adjusted, as specified. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 10723 of the Water Code proposed by both this bill and SB 564 to become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would require the agencys initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would require the agencys initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. The act deems certain agencies created by statute to manage groundwater the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the act and authorizes these agencies to opt out of being the exclusive groundwater management agency.

This bill would create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency and would require the agencys initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing. The bill would require the agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the agency and would require the agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency. The bill would generally specify the powers and purposes of the agency. The bill would prescribe the composition of the 7-member board of directors of the agency and would require members and alternates to be chosen by prescribed certain member agencies, as specified. By imposing duties on the agency and the member agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would deem the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency the exclusive local agency with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

(1)Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to administer funding, from various sources, for flood risk reduction projects.

This bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to provide reimbursement to funding recipients that execute a funding agreement under the Urban Flood Risk Reduction Projects program for expenditures associated with continued funding of a project initiated under the Early Implementation Project program and incurred after July 1, 2014, and before the issuance of a funding commitment, or amendment or execution of the funding agreement, but no later than December 31, 2015.

(2)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1)Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to administer funding, from various sources, for flood risk reduction projects.

This bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to provide reimbursement to funding recipients that execute a funding agreement under the Urban Flood Risk Reduction Projects program for expenditures associated with continued funding of a project initiated under the Early Implementation Project program and incurred after July 1, 2014, and before the execution of the funding agreement, but no later than December 31, 2015.

(2)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 37

Author:

:

Vote:

PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT

SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 8/25/16 (pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10)

AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Fuller, Hertzberg, Jackson, Monning, Wolk

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/23/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency), specifies the board of directors composition of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

Assembly Amendments delete prior language regarding Proposition 1E funding and replace with the current language creating the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Enacts SGMA which, among other things:
   1. Requires that a groundwater sustainability plan be adopted for high and medium priority groundwater basins in California.
      1. Limited to “high & medium priority basins” – 127 out of 515 basins in the state.
      2. Adjudicated basins are exempt (except for minimal reporting), bringing the number to fewer than 100 affected basins.
      3. “Low & very low priority” basins are exempt, though they are encouraged to adopt plans.
   2. Establishes a timetable for adoption of groundwater sustainability plans.
      1. By 2017, local groundwater sustainability agencies must be identified.
      2. By 2020, overdrafted basins must be covered by a groundwater sustainability plan. Other high and medium priority basins not in overdraft must have plans by 2022.
      3. By 2040, each high and medium priority basin must achieve sustainability, though this can be extended by 10 years for good cause.
   3. Empowers local agencies to manage their basins sustainably.
      1. Gives local agencies new authority to adopt and enforce rules, require reporting, raise funds and build new water projects.
      2. Department of Water Resources (DWR) will provide technical assistance to local agencies.
   4. Establishes basic requirements for groundwater sustainability plans.
      1. Long-term planning and implementation horizon.
      2. Measurable objectives and interim milestones to achieve sustainability in 20 years.
      3. Most requirements similar to the current, voluntary groundwater plan requirements adopted 22 years ago.
      4. DWR will develop new regulations for updating basin boundaries and criteria to evaluate sustainability plans.
2. Creates 15 special act districts to manage groundwater, which are also deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA. These include districts include, for example:
   1. Alameda County Water District.
   2. Desert Water Agency.
   3. Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.
   4. Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.
   5. Ojai Groundwater Management Agency.
   6. Orange County Water District.

This bill:

1. Enacts the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act, which creates the Agency created in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare.
   1. The boundaries of the Agency generally comprise the south eastern portion of the Kings groundwater subbasin.
      1. The initial boundaries of the Agency may be changed upon a petition to the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing in the county in which the change is proposed.
      2. The boundaries of the Agency shall not be adjusted to include an area of the basin within the management area of another groundwater sustainability agency unless the Agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with that groundwater sustainability agency that permits the area to be included.
   2. The Agency shall be governed by a board of directors that shall consist of seven members, as follows:
      1. One member shall be chosen by Alta Irrigation District.
      2. One member shall be chosen by the County of Fresno.
      3. One member shall be chosen by the County of Tulare.
      4. One member shall be chosen by the cities from the members of the city councils of the cities whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency.
      5. One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing boards of the specified special districts that are not governed by the board of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency:
      6. One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the territory of the Agency.
      7. One member shall be chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests within the territory of the Agency. This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture within the territory of the agency. This member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be members of either organization.
   3. The board may adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
   4. The Agency shall enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency’s plan with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the Kings Subbasin as required by SGMA.
   5. The Agency may exclude from any of the requirements of the Act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater as specified by an ordinance adopted by the board.
   6. The Agency may collect data and conduct technical and other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of this Act.
   7. The Agency shall develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to SGMA to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
   8. The Agency may exercise any of the powers granted to groundwater sustainability agencies by SGMA.
   9. The Agency may impose fees, including groundwater extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs of a groundwater sustainability program.
2. Adds Kings River East to the list of special act districts which are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.
3. Includes chaptering instructions should both this bill and SB 564 (Cannella) pass.

Comments

Kings groundwater subbasin. The Kings subbasin has been designated by DWR as a high-priority basin. DWR has also identified it as being one of 21 basins in critical overdraft.

Why does agriculture get its own seat? It is not clear why private agricultural interests need additional representation on a board, considering that an irrigation district directly appoints one of the members and other irrigation districts have input on a second. In addition, while members of the public on the governing boards of some local governments may sometimes be appointed and may have backgrounds in the private sector, the selection from a list provided by private entities is unusual. At a minimum, it is a departure from the way most groundwater sustainability agencies are governed.

Related Legislation

SB 564 (Cannella) creates the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, also overlaying a portion of the Kings subbasin and located north east of the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there will be negligible state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs are not reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy fees sufficient to cover any costs.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/24/16)

Alta Irrigation District

Association of California Water Agencies

California Citrus Mutual

City of Dinuba

City of Orange Cove

City of Reedley

Community Water Center

Cutler Public Utility District

Gillette Citrus, Inc.

Hills Valley Irrigation District

Kings County Water District

Kings River Water District

London Community Services District

Orange Cove Irrigation District

Orosi Public Utility District

Peltzer Enterprises

Sultana Community Services District

Tulare County Board of Supervisors

Tulare County Farm Bureau

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/24/16)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources.”

“SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA [groundwater sustainability agency] through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member.”

“SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.”

“The GSA created under SB 37 would consist of seven members chosen by the following categories: 1) Alta Irrigation District; 2) Tulare County; 3) Fresno County; 4) Cities (Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley); 5) Water Districts (Hills Valley Irrigation District, Orange Cove Irrigation District, Tri-Valley Water District, and Kings River Water District); 6) Special Districts that provide drinking water (Cutler Public Utility District, East Orosi Community Services District, London Community Service District, Orosi Public Utilities District, and Sultana Community Services District); and 7) an agricultural representative.”

“SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/23/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough, Beth Gaines

Prepared by:

8/25/16 17:34:50

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER

Senator Fran Pavley, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: SB 37 Hearing Date: August 25, 2016

Subject: Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

Existing law:

1. Includes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA, among other things:
   1. Requires that a groundwater sustainability plan be adopted for high and medium priority groundwater basins in California.
      1. Limited to “high & medium priority basins” – 127 out of 515 basins in the state.
      2. Adjudicated basins are exempt (except for minimal reporting), bringing the number to fewer than 100 affected basins.
      3. “Low & very low priority” basins are exempt, though they are encouraged to adopt plans.
   2. Establishes a timetable for adoption of groundwater sustainability plans.
      1. By 2017, local groundwater sustainability agencies must be identified.
      2. By 2020, overdrafted basins must be covered by a groundwater sustainability plan. Other high and medium priority basins not in overdraft must have plans by 2022.
      3. By 2040, each high and medium priority basin must achieve sustainability, though this can be extended by 10 years for good cause.
   3. Empowers local agencies to manage their basins sustainably.
      1. Gives local agencies new authority to adopt and enforce rules, require reporting, raise funds and build new water projects.
      2. Department of Water Resources (DWR) will provide technical assistance to local agencies.
   4. Establishes basic requirements for groundwater sustainability plans.
      1. Long-term planning and implementation horizon.
      2. Measurable objectives and interim milestones to achieve sustainability in 20 years.
      3. Most requirements similar to the current, voluntary groundwater plan requirements adopted 22 years ago.
      4. DWR will develop new regulations for updating basin boundaries and criteria to evaluate sustainability plans.
2. Creates 15 special act districts to manage groundwater, which are also deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA. These include districts, for example:
   1. Alameda County Water District.
   2. Desert Water Agency.
   3. Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.
   4. Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.
   5. Ojai Groundwater Management Agency.
   6. Orange County Water District.

PROPOSED LAW

This bill would:

1. Enact the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act, which creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (agency) created in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare.
   1. The boundaries of the agency generally comprise the south eastern portion of the Kings groundwater subbasin.
      1. The initial boundaries of the agency may be changed upon a petition to the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing in the county in which the change is proposed.
      2. The boundaries of the agency shall not be adjusted to include an area of the basin within the management area of another groundwater sustainability agency unless the agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with that groundwater sustainability agency that permits the area to be included.
   2. The agency shall be governed by a board of directors that shall consist of seven members, as follows:
      1. One member shall be chosen by Alta Irrigation District.
      2. One member shall be chosen by the County of Fresno.
      3. One member shall be chosen by the County of Tulare.
      4. One member shall be chosen by the cities from the members of the city councils of the cities whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the agency.
      5. One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing boards of the specified special districts that are not governed by the board of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the agency.
      6. One member shall be chosen from the members of the governing boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the territory of the agency.
      7. One member shall be chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests within the territory of the agency. This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture within the territory of the agency. This member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be members of either organization.
   3. The board may adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the agency.
   4. The agency shall enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the agency’s plan with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the Kings Subbasin as required by SGMA.
   5. The agency may exclude from any of the requirements of the act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater as specified by an ordinance adopted by the board.
   6. The agency may collect data and conduct technical and other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of this act.
   7. The agency shall develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to SGMA to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the agency.
   8. The agency may exercise any of the powers granted to groundwater sustainability agencies by SGMA.
   9. The agency may impose fees, including groundwater extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs of a groundwater sustainability program.
2. Add Kings River East to the list of special act districts which are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.
3. Include chaptering instructions should both this bill and SB 564 (Cannella) pass.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

According to the author, “In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources.”

“SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member.”

“SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.”

“The GSA created under SB 37 would consist of seven members chosen by the following categories: 1) Alta Irrigation District; 2) Tulare County; 3) Fresno County; 4) Cities (Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley); 5) Water Districts (Hills Valley Irrigation District, Orange Cove Irrigation District, Tri-Valley Water District, and Kings River Water District); 6) Special Districts that provide drinking water (Cutler Public Utility District, East Orosi Community Services District, London Community Service District, Orosi Public Utilities District, and Sultana Community Services District); and 7) an agricultural representative.”

“SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None received

COMMENTS

Kings Groundwater Subbasin. The Kings subbasin has been designated by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) as a high-priority basin. DWR has also identified it as being one of 21 basins in critical overdraft.

Why Does Agriculture Get Its Own Seat? It is not clear why private agricultural interests need additional representation on a board, considering that an irrigation district directly appoints one of the members and other irrigation districts have input on a second. In addition, while members of the public on the governing boards of some local governments may sometimes be appointed and may have backgrounds in the private sector, the selection from a list provided by private entities is unusual. At a minimum, it is a departure from the way most GSAs are governed.

Related bills: SB 564 (Cannella) creates the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, also overlaying a portion of the Kings subbasin and located north east of the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency.

SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None

SUPPORT

Alta Irrigation District

Association of California Water Agencies

California Citrus Mutual

City of Dinuba

City of Orange Cove

City of Reedley

Community Water Center

Cutler Public Utility District

Gillette Citrus, Inc.

Hills Valley Irrigation District

Kings County Water District

Kings River Water District

London Community Services District

Orange Cove Irrigation District

Orosi Public Utility District

Peltzer Enterprises

Sultana Community Services District

Tulare County Board of Supervisors

Tulare County Farm Bureau

OPPOSITION

None Received

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 37

Author:(Vidak)

As Amended Ver:August 4, 2016

Majority vote

SENATE VOTE: 37-0

SUMMARY: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the Board composition of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Specifically, this bill:

1. Enacts the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act (Act) and creates a groundwater management agency in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency).
2. Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the SGMA.
3. Provides that the Agency is governed by a Board, consisting of seven members, as follows:
   1. One member chosen by Alta Irrigation District;
   2. One member chosen by the County of Fresno;
   3. One member chosen by the County of Tulare;
   4. One member chosen by the Cities. This member shall be chosen from members of the city councils of the cities whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency. This member shall be chosen at a public meeting where each city is represented by its mayor;
   5. One member chosen from the members of the governing board of the following special districts that are not governed by the boards of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency:
      1. Hills Valley Irrigation District;
      2. Orange Cove Irrigation District;
      3. Tri-Valley Water District; and,
      4. Kings River Water District.
   6. One member chosen from members of the governing boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the territory of the Agency; and,
   7. One member chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests within the territory of the Agency. This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture within the territory of the Agency. This member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be members of either organization.
4. Provides that the board members listed above in 3)a) through 3)c) shall be chosen by their respective governing boards from their board members whose districts or divisions overlie, at least in part, the territory of the Agency.
5. Provides that the board members listed above in 3)e) and 3)f) shall be chosen at a public meeting where each special district is represented by the president or chair of its governing board.
6. Requires an alternate for each board member, chosen in the same manner and by the same entity as the board member. The alternative member shall act in place of the board member he or she is an alternate for in case of that board member's absence or inability to act.
7. Provides that the board members shall serve a four-year term of office or until the member is no longer an eligible official of the member agency. Members may serve for more than one term of office. Provides that the member described in 3)g) above, shall serve a four-year term of office.
8. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to provide compensation to members of the board in an amount not to exceed $100 per day for each day's attendance at meetings of the board or for each day's service rendered as a member of the board by request of the board. Provides that the determination of whether a board member's activities on any specific day are compensable shall be made pursuant to existing law. Provides that reimbursement for expenses of members of the Board are subject to existing law.
9. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to increase the compensation received by members of the board above the amount of $100 per day and specifies that the increase shall not exceed an amount equal to 5%, for each calendar year following the operative date of the last adjustment, of the compensation that is received when the ordinance is adopted.
10. Prohibits a board member from being compensated for more than a total of 10 days in any calendar month.
11. Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
12. Specifies that an ordinance adopted by the board shall become effective 30 days from the date of its passage.
13. Requires all ordinances shall be adopted at noticed, public hearings by a majority vote of the Board, and requires notice of the hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. Requires the board to provide notice of the adoption of all ordinances.
14. Allows the Agency to contract with either county or Alta Irrigation District for staff and other services. Allows the Agency to hire contractors and consultants as it considers appropriate.
15. Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency's plan with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the King Subbasin, as required by the SGMA.
16. Allows the Agency to exclude from any of the requirements of this Act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater, as specified by an ordinance adopted by the Board.
17. Allows the Agency to collect data and conduct technical and other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of this Act. Requires all hydrological investigations and studies carried out by or on behalf of the Agency to be constructed by or under the supervision of licensed engineers or other persons qualified in groundwater geology or hydrology.
18. Allows the Agency to recommend and encourage water recycling and other water development projects, where those projects will enhance and contribute to the responsible management of groundwater resources, as part of its annual plan for implementation of groundwater management objectives.
19. Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan, pursuant to existing law, to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
20. Requires the Agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency, pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
21. Allows the Agency to exercise specified powers, pursuant to SGMA.
22. Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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, that include, but are not limited to, the preparation, adoption, and amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent reserve.
23. Declares that the availability of supplemental water to any operator shall not subject that operator to regulations that are more restrictive than those imposed on other operators.
24. Declares that no provision of this Act shall be construed as denying to the Counties, any City, or any other member agency any rights or powers that they already have or that they may be granted.
25. Specifies the initial boundaries of the Agency, for purposes of the Act, as follows:
    1. All land located within the exterior perimeter boundaries of Alta Irrigation District that is within the Counties of Fresno and Tulare;
    2. All land located in the incorporated City of Reedley;
    3. All land located in Kings River Water District plus parcel 350-150-16 within the County of Fresno, as that parcel existed as of January 1, 2016, and excluding the incorporated City of Sanger; and,
    4. Land that is east of Alta Irrigation District and east of the east line of Sections 13 and 24, Ti3S, R23E, between Alta Irrigation District and east line and the east line of the Bulletin 118 Kings Subbasin boundary, as described in the report by the Department of Water Resources titled, "California's Groundwater: Bulletin 118," updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised in accordance with Water Code Section 12924.
26. Requires the Agency's initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing, and requires the boundaries to be depicted on a map that shall be adopted by the boards of supervisors of those counties and thereafter recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county.
27. Allows the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to adjust the boundaries of the Agency in the same manner prescribed for establishment of the initial boundaries if the boundaries of the basin are revised, including the establishment of new subbasins.
28. Prohibits the boundaries of the Agency from being adjusted to include an area of the basin within the management area of another groundwater sustainability agency unless the agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with that groundwater sustainability agency that permits the area to be included.
29. Prohibits the boundaries of the Agency from being adjusted to include any part of a proposed management area, as defined in a notice of intent submitted, as specified, unless the Agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with all agencies listed in the notice of intent that permits the area to be included.
30. Provides that the Agency has the powers granted by this Act and the SGMA, for purposes of groundwater management within the boundaries of the Agency, together with any other powers as are reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Agency to implement the SGMA.
31. Defines the following terms:
    1. "Actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture" to mean that a person derives at least 75% of his or her annual income from production agriculture;
    2. "Agency" means the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency;
    3. "Alta" means the Alta Irrigation District;
    4. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation or structure that transmits water in sufficient quantities to supply pumping wells or springs;
    5. "Basin" to mean a groundwater basin or subbasin identified and defined in the Department of Water Resources' "California Groundwater: Bulletin 118" updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised, as specified;
    6. "Board" to mean the Board of Directors of the Agency;
    7. "Cities" to mean the Cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley;
    8. "Coordination agreement" to mean a legal agreement adopted between two or more groundwater sustainability agencies that provides the basis for coordinating multiple agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within a basin;
    9. "County" to mean either the County of Fresno or the County of Tulare, as the context requires. "Counties" to mean the County of Fresno and the County of Tulare;
    10. "Extraction" to mean the act of obtaining groundwater by pumping or other controlled means;
    11. "Groundwater" to mean 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;
    12. "Groundwater management activities" to mean programs, measures, or actions taken to preserve, protect, and enhance groundwater resources within the territory of the Agency;
    13. "Kings Subbasin" to mean the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Basin Kings Subbasin;
    14. "Member agency" to mean Alta, the counties, the cities, and the special districts entitled to representation on the Agency's Board of Directors, as specified;
    15. "Operator" to mean 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;
    16. "Person" has the same meaning as defined in Water Code Section 10735;
    17. "Plan" to mean a groundwater sustainability plan prepared by the Agency; and,
    18. "Supplemental water" to mean surface water or groundwater imported from outside the watershed or watersheds of the basin or aquifer and floodwaters that are conserved and saved within the watershed or watersheds that would otherwise have been lost or would not have reached the basin or aquifer.
32. Provides that in the event of any conflict between the Act and the provisions of SGMA, the provisions of SGMA shall prevail.
33. Contains chaptering out language to avoid conflicts with SB 564 (Cannella) of the current legislative session.
34. Makes findings and declarations.
35. States that no reimbursement is required by this Act because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to provide local groundwater agencies with the authority and the technical and financial assistance necessary to sustainably manage groundwater.
2. Requires, by January 31, 2020, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by Department of Water Resources (DWR) that have been designated in Bulletin 118, as may be updated or revised on or before January 1, 2017, as basins that are subject to critical conditions of overdraft, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
3. Requires, by January 31, 2022, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by DWR that are not subject to 2) above, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
4. Allows any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin, except as specified.
5. Requires the local agency or agencies to hold a public hearing in the county or counties overlying the basin, prior to electing to be a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), and to provide specified notice of that hearing, pursuant to existing law.
6. Requires a local agency or combination of local agencies that elects to be the GSA to submit a notice of intent to DWR, as specified.
7. Allows a combination of local agencies to form a GSA by using any of the following methods:
   1. A joint powers agreement (JPA); or,
   2. A memorandum of agreement or other local agreement.
8. Requires a groundwater sustainability plan to be developed and implemented for each medium- or high- priority basin by a GSA to meet the sustainability goal established, pursuant to SGMA.
9. Specifies that a GSP may be any of the following:
   1. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by one GSA;
   2. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by multiple GSAs; or,
   3. Multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs and coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement that covers the entire basins, as specified.
10. Allows the State Water Board, after notice and public hearing, to designate a basin as a probationary basin, if the board makes certain specified findings.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs are not reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy fees sufficient to cover any costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Local Groundwater Management and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Legislature passed SGMA (SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, Statutes of 2014; AB 1739 (Dickinson), Chapter 347, Statutes of 2014; and SB 1319 (Pavley), Chapter 348, Statutes of 2014), creating a statewide requirement to sustainably manage groundwater resources. The package of bills was signed by Governor Brown with the objective to ensure the long-term reliability of groundwater resources and connected surface water resources by requiring sustainable management. Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) must be formed by 2017, Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and sustainability must be reached by 2040. Prior to 2014, there was no statutory mandate to manage groundwater in California.

Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was managed at the local level. A local agency that provided water service was authorized to develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of "special act special districts" that addressed groundwater management – these local agencies were created via statute to establish unique governance structures and grant powers that were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular groundwater basin. The acts creating these special act districts are located in the Water Appendix.

Local Control and Governance Options under SGMA. SGMA requires local entities in medium- and high-priority basins to establish GSAs by June 2017, to avoid state intervention. GSAs must self-identify by June 30, 2017, to the DWR, and can include a city, a county, a special district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a legal agreement, like a JPA or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One agency can form a GSA for the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs should govern local groundwater resources to achieve sustainability goals.

All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020. The deadline is two years later (January 31, 2022) for other medium- or high-priority basins. The goal of the GSPs is to achieve operation within the basins’ sustainable yield within 20 years of plan implementation.

Because of the June 30, 2017, date to have GSAs in place, the timeline for local agencies to make decisions on management at the local level, and governance, is very short.

1. Bill Summary. This bill creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and requires the Agency to be the GSA under SGMA for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency, and would require the Agency to develop and implement a GSP to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency. This bill additionally specifies the powers and purposes of the Agency, and prescribes the composition of the seven-member board of directors of the Agency, including the terms, how the members are chosen, and their compensation and reimbursement. This bill also adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.

This bill is sponsored by Alta Irrigation District.

1. Author's Statement. According to the author, "In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources.

"SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member.

"SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.

"The GSA created under SB 37 would consist of seven members chosen by the following categories: 1) Alta Irrigation District; 2) Tulare County; 3) Fresno County; 4) Cities (Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley); 5) Water Districts (Hills Valley Irrigation District, Orange Cove Irrigation District, Tri-Valley Water District, and Kings River Water District); 6) Special Districts that provide drinking water (Cutler Public Utility District, East Orosi Community Services District, London Community Service District, Orosi Public Utilities District, and Sultana Community Services District); and 7) an agricultural representative.

"SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement."

1. Notice of Election to Serve as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. On March 28, 2016, Alta Irrigation District filed paperwork with the California Department of Water Resources on behalf of the to-be created Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in order to notify DWR that Kings River East would like to serve as the GSA for that portion of the Kings Sub-basin of the San Joaquin Valley Basin. The notice to DWR says that "all of those local agencies, acting as interested parties, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Kings River GSA,…. in the MOU, such interested parties commit to forming either a) a special act district, or b) a JPA to implement the GSA."

The notice to DWR also states:

"On March 17, 2016, the Kings River East held a public hearing to consider serving as the GSA. The signed MOUs state the intent of the parties to form the GSA. The Kings River East noticed the public hearing in a paper in Fresno County (Reedley Exponent) and a paper in Tulare County (Dinuba Sentinel) as required by Water Code Section 10723(b) and Government Code Section 6066.

"The District did not receive any written comments prior to the hearing. Furthermore, at that public hearing, the Kings River East did not receive any comments or conditions objecting to or criticizing the formation of the Kings River East GSA. Section 6 of the MOU, regarding the GSA Governing Body, specifies and describes the governance structure for the Kings River East GSA."

The notice to DWR also references this bill, the intent of which is to establish a special act district.

1. Policy Considerations. The Legislature may wish to consider the following:
   1. Ag Representative on Board. This bill allows for an agriculture "seat" on the Board of the Agency. That member is to be chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests, selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly.

The sponsor notes that this board makeup is modeled after the governing board of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, created by statute in 1982, which includes a member that represents production agriculture.

The Committee may wish to contemplate the inclusion of a seat on the Board that is not held by a member appointed by a public agency or combination of public agencies, given the requirements of SGMA on public water agencies.

• 1. Other Alternatives to Special Act District. The Legislature may wish to ask the author to discuss why other local management options (JPA, MOA, electing to have an existing district serve as the GSA) do not suffice.

1. Arguments in Support. According to the supporters, it is the intent of all the interested parties to work collaboratively to solve the groundwater issues in the region and to develop the governance structure that will facilitate implementing a groundwater sustainability plan.
2. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN: 0003953

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 37

Author:(Vidak)

As Amended Ver:August 18, 2016

Majority vote

SENATE VOTE: 37-0

SUMMARY: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the Board composition of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Specifically, this bill:

1. Enacts the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act (Act) and creates a groundwater management agency in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency).
2. Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the SGMA.
3. Provides that the Agency is governed by a Board, consisting of seven members, as follows:
   1. One member chosen by Alta Irrigation District;
   2. One member chosen by the County of Fresno;
   3. One member chosen by the County of Tulare;
   4. One member chosen by the Cities. This member shall be chosen from members of the city councils of the cities whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency. This member shall be chosen at a public meeting where each city is represented by its mayor;
   5. One member chosen from the members of the governing board of the following special districts that are not governed by the boards of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency:
      1. Hills Valley Irrigation District;
      2. Orange Cove Irrigation District;
      3. Tri-Valley Water District; and,
      4. Kings River Water District.
   6. One member chosen from members of the governing boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the territory of the Agency; and,
   7. One member chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests within the territory of the Agency. This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture within the territory of the Agency. This member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be members of either organization.
4. Provides that the board members listed above in 3)a) through 3)c) above, shall be chosen by their respective governing boards from their board members whose districts or divisions overlie, at least in part, the territory of the Agency.
5. Provides that the board members listed above in 3)e) and 3)f) above, shall be chosen at a public meeting where each special district is represented by the president or chair of its governing board.
6. Requires an alternate for each board member, chosen in the same manner and by the same entity as the board member. The alternative member shall act in place of the board member he or she is an alternate for in case of that board member's absence or inability to act.
7. Requires members and there alternates to be chosen on or before January 31, 2017.
8. Provides that the board members shall serve a four-year term of office or until the member is no longer an eligible official of the member agency. Members may serve for more than one term of office. Provides that the member described in 3)g) above, shall serve a four-year term of office.
9. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to provide compensation to members of the board in an amount not to exceed $100 per day for each day's attendance at meetings of the board or for each day's service rendered as a member of the board by request of the board. Provides that the determination of whether a board member's activities on any specific day are compensable shall be made pursuant to existing law. Provides that reimbursement for expenses of members of the Board is subject to existing law.
10. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to increase the compensation received by members of the board above the amount of $100 per day and specifies that the increase shall not exceed an amount equal to 5%, for each calendar year following the operative date of the last adjustment, of the compensation that is received when the ordinance is adopted.
11. Prohibits a board member from being compensated for more than a total of 10 days in any calendar month.
12. Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
13. Specifies that an ordinance adopted by the board shall become effective 30 days from the date of its passage.
14. Requires all ordinances shall be adopted at noticed, public hearings by a majority vote of the Board, and requires notice of the hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. Requires the board to provide notice of the adoption of all ordinances.
15. Allows the Agency to contract with either county or Alta Irrigation District for staff and other services. Allows the Agency to hire contractors and consultants as it considers appropriate.
16. Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency's plan with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the King Subbasin, as required by the SGMA.
17. Allows the Agency to exclude from any of the requirements of this Act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater, as specified by an ordinance adopted by the Board.
18. Allows the Agency to collect data and conduct technical and other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of this Act. Requires all hydrological investigations and studies carried out by or on behalf of the Agency to be constructed by or under the supervision of licensed engineers or other persons qualified in groundwater geology or hydrology.
19. Allows the Agency to recommend and encourage water recycling and other water development projects, where those projects will enhance and contribute to the responsible management of groundwater resources, as part of its annual plan for implementation of groundwater management objectives.
20. Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan, pursuant to existing law, to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
21. Requires the Agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency, pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
22. Allows the Agency to exercise specified powers, pursuant to SGMA.
23. Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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, that include, but are not limited to, the preparation, adoption, and amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent reserve.
24. Declares that the availability of supplemental water to any operator shall not subject that operator to regulations that are more restrictive than those imposed on other operators.
25. Declares that no provision of this Act shall be construed as denying to the Counties, any City, or any other member agency any rights or powers that they already have or that they may be granted.
26. Specifies the initial boundaries of the Agency, for purposes of the Act, as follows:
    1. All land located within the exterior perimeter boundaries of Alta Irrigation District that is within the Counties of Fresno and Tulare;
    2. All land located in the incorporated City of Reedley;
    3. All land located in Kings River Water District plus parcel 350-150-16 within the County of Fresno, as that parcel existed as of January 1, 2016, and excluding the incorporated City of Sanger; and,
    4. Land that is east of Alta Irrigation District and east of the east line of Sections 13 and 24, Ti3S, R23E, between Alta Irrigation District and east line and the east line of the Bulletin 118 Kings Subbasin boundary, as described in the report by the Department of Water Resources titled, "California's Groundwater: Bulletin 118," updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised in accordance with Water Code Section 12924.
27. Allows the initial boundaries of the Agency to be changed upon a petition to the Boards of Supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticed public hearing in which the change is proposed. Requires the boundaries to be depicted on a map that is maintained by the Boards of Supervisors of those counties and thereafter recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county.
28. Prohibits the boundaries of the Agency from being adjusted to include an area of the basin within the management area of another groundwater sustainability agency unless the agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with that groundwater sustainability agency that permits the area to be included.
29. Prohibits the boundaries of the Agency from being adjusted to include any part of a proposed management area, as defined in a notice of intent submitted, as specified, unless the Agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement with all agencies listed in the notice of intent that permits the area to be included.
30. Provides that the Agency has the powers granted by this Act and the SGMA, for purposes of groundwater management within the boundaries of the Agency, together with any other powers as are reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Agency to implement the SGMA.
31. Defines the following terms:
    1. "Actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture" to mean that a person derives at least 75% of his or her annual income from production agriculture;
    2. "Agency" means the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency;
    3. "Alta" means the Alta Irrigation District;
    4. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation or structure that transmits water in sufficient quantities to supply pumping wells or springs;
    5. "Basin" to mean a groundwater basin or subbasin identified and defined in the Department of Water Resources' "California Groundwater: Bulletin 118" updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised, as specified;
    6. "Board" to mean the Board of Directors of the Agency;
    7. "Cities" to mean the Cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley;
    8. "Coordination agreement" to mean a legal agreement adopted between two or more groundwater sustainability agencies that provides the basis for coordinating multiple agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within a basin;
    9. "County" to mean either the County of Fresno or the County of Tulare, as the context requires. "Counties" to mean the County of Fresno and the County of Tulare;
    10. "Extraction" to mean the act of obtaining groundwater by pumping or other controlled means;
    11. "Groundwater" to mean 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;
    12. "Groundwater management activities" to mean programs, measures, or actions taken to preserve, protect, and enhance groundwater resources within the territory of the Agency;
    13. "Kings Subbasin" to mean the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Basin Kings Subbasin;
    14. "Member agency" to mean Alta, the counties, the cities, and the special districts entitled to representation on the Agency's Board of Directors, as specified;
    15. "Operator" to mean 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;
    16. "Person" has the same meaning as defined in Water Code Section 10735;
    17. "Plan" to mean a groundwater sustainability plan prepared by the Agency; and,
    18. "Supplemental water" to mean surface water or groundwater imported from outside the watershed or watersheds of the basin or aquifer and floodwaters that are conserved and saved within the watershed or watersheds that would otherwise have been lost or would not have reached the basin or aquifer.
32. Provides that in the event of any conflict between the Act and the provisions of SGMA, the provisions of SGMA shall prevail.
33. Contains chaptering out language to avoid conflicts with SB 564 (Cannella) of the current legislative session.
34. Makes findings and declarations.
35. States that no reimbursement is required by this Act because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to provide local groundwater agencies with the authority and the technical and financial assistance necessary to sustainably manage groundwater.
2. Requires, by January 31, 2020, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by Department of Water Resources (DWR) that have been designated in Bulletin 118, as may be updated or revised on or before January 1, 2017, as basins that are subject to critical conditions of overdraft, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
3. Requires, by January 31, 2022, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by DWR that are not subject to 2) above, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
4. Allows any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin, except as specified.
5. Requires the local agency or agencies to hold a public hearing in the county or counties overlying the basin, prior to electing to be a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), and to provide specified notice of that hearing, pursuant to existing law.
6. Requires a local agency or combination of local agencies that elects to be the GSA to submit a notice of intent to DWR, as specified.
7. Allows a combination of local agencies to form a GSA by using any of the following methods:
   1. A joint powers agreement (JPA); or,
   2. A memorandum of agreement or other local agreement.
8. Requires a groundwater sustainability plan to be developed and implemented for each medium- or high- priority basin by a GSA to meet the sustainability goal established, pursuant to SGMA.
9. Specifies that a GSP may be any of the following:
   1. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by one GSA;
   2. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by multiple GSAs; or,
   3. Multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs and coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement that covers the entire basins, as specified.
10. Allows the State Water Board, after notice and public hearing, to designate a basin as a probationary basin, if the board makes certain specified findings.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs are not reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy fees sufficient to cover any costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Local Groundwater Management and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Legislature passed SGMA (SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, Statutes of 2014; AB 1739 (Dickinson), Chapter 347, Statutes of 2014; and SB 1319 (Pavley), Chapter 348, Statutes of 2014), creating a statewide requirement to sustainably manage groundwater resources. The package of bills was signed by Governor Brown with the objective to ensure the long-term reliability of groundwater resources and connected surface water resources by requiring sustainable management. Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) must be formed by 2017, Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and sustainability must be reached by 2040. Prior to 2014, there was no statutory mandate to manage groundwater in California.

Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was managed at the local level. A local agency that provided water service was authorized to develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of "special act special districts" that addressed groundwater management – these local agencies were created via statute to establish unique governance structures and grant powers that were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular groundwater basin. The acts creating these special act districts are located in the Water Appendix.

Local Control and Governance Options under SGMA. SGMA requires local entities in medium- and high-priority basins to establish GSAs by June 2017, to avoid state intervention. GSAs must self-identify by June 30, 2017, to the DWR, and can include a city, a county, a special district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a legal agreement, like a JPA or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One agency can form a GSA for the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs should govern local groundwater resources to achieve sustainability goals.

All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020. The deadline is two years later (January 31, 2022) for other medium- or high-priority basins. The goal of the GSPs is to achieve operation within the basins’ sustainable yield within 20 years of plan implementation.

Because of the June 30, 2017, date to have GSAs in place, the timeline for local agencies to make decisions on management at the local level, and governance, is very short.

1. Bill Summary. This bill creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and requires the Agency to be the GSA under SGMA for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency, and would require the Agency to develop and implement a GSP to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency. This bill additionally specifies the powers and purposes of the Agency, and prescribes the composition of the seven-member board of directors of the Agency, including the terms, how the members are chosen, and their compensation and reimbursement. This bill also adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.

This bill is sponsored by Alta Irrigation District.

1. Author's Statement. According to the author, "In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources.

"SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member.

"SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.

"The GSA created under SB 37 would consist of seven members chosen by the following categories: 1) Alta Irrigation District; 2) Tulare County; 3) Fresno County; 4) Cities (Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley); 5) Water Districts (Hills Valley Irrigation District, Orange Cove Irrigation District, Tri-Valley Water District, and Kings River Water District); 6) Special Districts that provide drinking water (Cutler Public Utility District, East Orosi Community Services District, London Community Service District, Orosi Public Utilities District, and Sultana Community Services District); and 7) an agricultural representative.

"SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement."

1. Notice of Election to Serve as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. On March 28, 2016, Alta Irrigation District filed paperwork with the California Department of Water Resources on behalf of the to-be created Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in order to notify DWR that Kings River East would like to serve as the GSA for that portion of the Kings Sub-basin of the San Joaquin Valley Basin. The notice to DWR says that "all of those local agencies, acting as interested parties, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Kings River GSA,…. in the MOU, such interested parties commit to forming either a) a special act district, or b) a JPA to implement the GSA."

The notice to DWR also states:

"On March 17, 2016, the Kings River East held a public hearing to consider serving as the GSA. The signed MOUs state the intent of the parties to form the GSA. The Kings River East noticed the public hearing in a paper in Fresno County (Reedley Exponent) and a paper in Tulare County (Dinuba Sentinel) as required by Water Code Section 10723(b) and Government Code Section 6066.

"The District did not receive any written comments prior to the hearing. Furthermore, at that public hearing, the Kings River East did not receive any comments or conditions objecting to or criticizing the formation of the Kings River East GSA. Section 6 of the MOU, regarding the GSA Governing Body, specifies and describes the governance structure for the Kings River East GSA."

The notice to DWR also references this bill, the intent of which is to establish a special act district.

1. Policy Considerations. The Legislature may wish to consider the following:
   1. Ag Representative on Board. This bill allows for an agriculture "seat" on the Board of the Agency. That member is to be chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests, selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly.

The sponsor notes that this board makeup is modeled after the governing board of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, created by statute in 1982, which includes a member that represents production agriculture.

The Committee may wish to contemplate the inclusion of a seat on the Board that is not held by a member appointed by a public agency or combination of public agencies, given the requirements of SGMA on public water agencies.

• 1. Other Alternatives to Special Act District. The Legislature may wish to ask the author to discuss why other local management options (JPA, MOA, electing to have an existing district serve as the GSA) do not suffice.

1. Arguments in Support. According to the supporters, it is the intent of all the interested parties to work collaboratively to solve the groundwater issues in the region and to develop the governance structure that will facilitate implementing a groundwater sustainability plan.
2. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN: 0004255

Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37

Author:(Vidak) – As Amended Ver:August 4, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY: This bill creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency) in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare, and specifies the boundaries, Board composition, powers and duties of the agency, and adds the Agency to the list of exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater. Specifically, this bill:

1. Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
2. Requires the Agency to be a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA), pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
3. Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
4. Provides that the Agency only has the powers granted by this Act and SGMA, for purposes
   of groundwater management within the boundaries of the Agency. Requires the Agency to abide by the rules and regulation promulgated by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to implement SGMA.
5. Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
6. Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency’s plan with other agencies or GSP’s within the Kings Subbasin, as required by SGMA.
7. Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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 that include, but are not limited to, the preparation, adoption, and amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, program administration, and a prudent reserve.
8. States that in the event of a conflict between the Agency's Act and SGMA, the provisions of SGMA prevail.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Negligible state fiscal impact. Although a state mandate, costs are not reimbursable because the Agency has authority to levy fees sufficient to cover any costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, “In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources. SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. This bill will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.”
2. Background. SGMA requires the development of a local process to sustainably manage groundwater. Specifically, in all SGMA regulated basins GSAs must be formed by June 30, 2017, GSPs for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and sustainability must be reached by 2040 (the timeline is two years later for all other basins).

Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was managed at the local level.
A local agency that provided water service was authorized to develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of “special act special districts” that addressed groundwater management – these local agencies were created via statute to establish unique governance structures and grant powers that were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular groundwater basin.

SGMA requires local entities in medium- and high-priority basins to establish GSAs by June 2017, to avoid state intervention. GSAs must self-identify, by June 30, 2017, to DWR, and can include a city, a county, a special district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a legal agreement, like a Joint Powers Authority or Memorandum of Agreement. One agency can form a GSA for the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs should govern local groundwater resources to achieve sustainability goals.

All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020. The Kings Subbasin that is the subject of this bill has been designated to be in a state of critical overdraft.

1. Related Legislation. SB 564 (Cannella), before this Committee today, creates the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
2. Prior Legislation. SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, and AB 1738 (Dickinson), Chapter 347, the Statutes of 2014, enacted SGMA.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE

Marc Levine, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37

Author:(Vidak) – As Amended Ver:June 21, 2016

SENATE VOTE: 37-0

SUBJECT: Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act

SUMMARY: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the boundaries, Board composition, powers and duties, and adds the Agency to the list of exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater. Specifically, this bill:

1. Creates a groundwater management agency in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency).
   1. Defines the boundaries of the Agency.
   2. Provides that the Agency is governed by a Board consisting of seven members, as specified.
2. Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
3. Requires the Agency to be a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA), pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
4. Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan (GSP), pursuant to existing law, to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
5. Provides that the Agency only has the powers granted by this Act and SGMA, for purposes
   of groundwater management within the boundaries of the Agency, together with any other powers as are reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Agency to implement SGMA. Requires the agency to abide by the rules and regulation promulgated by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to implement SGMA
6. Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
7. Permits the Agency to exclude from any of the requirements of the act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater as specified by an ordinance adopted by the board.
8. Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency’s plan with other agencies or GSP’s within the Kings Subbasin, as required by SGMA.
9. Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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, that include, but are not limited to, the preparation, adoption, and amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent reserve.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the DWR to evaluate groundwater basins and designate them as high, medium, low or very low, according to various factors including, but not limited to, level of dependence upon the basin by municipal and agricultural users.
2. Requires that local agencies in high- and medium-priority basins subject to SGMA form one or more GSAs by June 30, 2017.
3. Allows any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin, except as specified.
4. Requires that GSAs in basins with chronic overdraft develop and adopt a GSP for their basin by January 31, 2020.
5. Defines the Kings basin in the San Joaquin Valley to be in chronic overdraft.
6. Requires that GSAs in all other high- and medium-priority basins subject to SGMA develop and adopt a GSP by January 31, 2022.
7. Requires the DWR to draft and adopt emergency regulations for the evaluation of GSPs, the implementation of GSPs, and coordination agreements by June 1, 2016.
8. Provides GSAs with optional tools for reaching sustainability including, but not limited to, the ability to conduct investigations, collect fees, limit pumping, require measurement and reporting of groundwater extractions, monitor compliance, charge civil penalties for violations, and implement plans and programs to recharge a basin.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the boundaries, Board composition, powers and duties, and adds the Agency to the list of exclusive local agencies created to manage groundwater.

1. Author’s Statement: SGMA requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainably manage groundwater resources. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, memorandum of agreement, or a water corporation. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member. SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana. SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement.
2. Background: SGMA requires the development of a local process to sustainably manage groundwater. Specifically, in all SGMA regulated basins GSAs must be formed by June 30, 2017, GSPs for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and sustainability must be reached by 2040 (the timeline is two years later for all other basins).

Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was managed at the local level.
A local agency that provided water service was authorized to develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of “special act special districts” that addressed groundwater management – these local agencies were created via statute to establish unique governance structures and grant powers that were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular groundwater basin.

Local Control under SGMA: GSAs must self-identify by June 30, 2017, to the DWR, and can include a city, a county, a special district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a legal agreement, like a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One agency can form a GSA for the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs should govern local groundwater resources to achieve sustainability goals.

All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority, and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft, must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020. The Kings Subbasin that is the subject of this bill has been designated to be in a state of critical overdraft.

Kings River East GSA: On March 28, 2016, Alta Irrigation District filed paperwork with the DWR on behalf of the to-be created Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in order to notify the DWR that Kings River East would like to serve as the GSA for a portion of the Kings Subbasin of the San Joaquin Valley Basin. The notice to the DWR says that “all of those local agencies, acting as interested parties, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Kings River GSA,…. in the MOU, such interested parties commit to forming either (i) a special act district, or (ii) a joint powers authority to implement the GSA.”

The notice to the DWR also states:

“On March 17, 2016, the Kings River East held a public hearing to consider serving as the GSA. The signed MOUs state the intent of the parties to form the GSA. The District did not receive any written comments prior to the hearing. Furthermore, at that public hearing, the Kings River East did not receive any comments or conditions objecting to or criticizing the formation of the Kings River East GSA. Section 6 of the MOU, regarding the GSA Governing Body, specifies and describes the governance structure for the Kings River East GSA.”

The notice to the DWR also references this bill, the intent of which is to establish a special act district.

Powers and Duties: This bill specifies that Kings River East shall exercise powers granted by this act and SGMA that are reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to implement SGMA. The bill further specifies that the board may adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater and give the agency the ability to exclude groundwater extraction operators.

Chaptering Out: A portion of this bill amends the same code section as SB 564 (Cannela) West Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency. SB 564 will be heard in this committee at the same June 28, 2016 hearing as this bill. Committee staff suggests that these bills be amended to address their chaptering out conflicts.

1. Prior and Related Legislation:
   1. SB 564 (Cannela), would establish West Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
   2. SB 1168 (Pavley), Chapter 346, the Statutes of 2014, enacted SGMA.
   3. AB 1738 (Dickinson), Chapter 347, the Statutes of 2014, enacted SGMA.
2. Supporting Arguments: The Kings River East working group has engaged in a collaborative process to determine how irrigation districts, cities, counties, agricultural, and disadvantaged communities can come together to develop a GSA. Kings River East has proven its intent to work with its neighbors within the same groundwater basins though the signing of MOUs in order to comply with SGMA regulations including complimentary GSP’s. A one size fits all approach to SGMA will not be successful but the passage of this bill would signal the confidence that the state has in local agencies to create groundwater sustainability amongst the diverse conditions that exist in our aquifers.
3. Opposing Arguments: This bill proposes a new local agency with unknown powers, as a result, remaining sustainable groundwater agencies within the Kings Basin may be at a disadvantage when developing the basin-wide plan. If the new agency is granted specific or implied powers and authorities beyond and/or different than those of other agencies within the basin, coordination will be difficult and the potential for conflict increased. SGMA provides for a variety of alternatives for coordinated governance and management of groundwater within a basin. Alternatives to this agency should be thoroughly explored prior to the creation of a redundant sustainable groundwater agency in Kings Basin. Until alternatives are considered it is premature to establish a new special agency in order to achieve sustainability of groundwater resources within the East Kings area. The creation of this agency may potentially compromise the interests of other local agencies and key stakeholders in the area.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alta Irrigation District

Association of California Water Agencies

California Association of Realtors

California Citrus Mutual

City of Dinuba

City of Orange Cove

City of Reedley

Community Water Center

Cutler Public Utility District

Gillette Citrus, Inc.

Hills Valley Irrigation District

Kings County Water District

Kings River Water District

London Community Services District

Orange Cove Irrigation District

Orosi Public Utility District

Peltzer Enterprises

Sultana Community Services District

Tulare County Board of Supervisors

Tulare County Farm Bureau

Opposition

Fresno Irrigation District (To previous version)

Analysis Prepared by: Ryan Ojakian / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096

Date of Hearing: June 15, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37

Author:(Vidak) – As Amended Ver:May 31, 2016

SENATE VOTE: 37-0

SUBJECT: Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act.

SUMMARY: Creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, specifies the Board composition of the Agency, and adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Specifically, this bill:

1. Enacts the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency Act (Act) and creates a groundwater management agency in the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to be known as the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency).
2. Adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
3. Provides that the Agency is governed by a Board, consisting of seven members, as follows:
   1. One member chosen by Alta Irrigation District;
   2. One member chosen by the County of Fresno;
   3. One member chosen by the County of Tulare;
   4. One member chosen by the Cities. This member shall be chosen from members of the city councils of the cities whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency. This member shall be chosen at a public meeting where each city is represented by its mayor;
   5. One member chosen from the members of the governing board of the following special districts that are not governed by the boards of supervisors of either county, are engaged in water activities, and whose territory, at least in part, overlies the territory of the Agency:
      1. Hills Valley Irrigation District;
      2. Orange Cove Irrigation District;
      3. Tri-Valley Water District; and,
      4. Kings River Water District.
   6. One member chosen from members of the governing boards of special districts that provide drinking water within the territory of the Agency; and,
   7. One member chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests within the territory of the Agency. This member shall reside and be actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture within the territory of the Agency. This member shall be selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly, but the five nominees need not be members of either organization.
4. Provides that the board members listed above in 3a) through 3c) shall be chosen by their respective governing boards from their board members whose districts or divisions overlie, at least in part, the territory of the Agency.
5. Provides that the board members listed above in 3e) and 3f) shall be chosen at a public meeting where each special district is represented by the president or chair of its governing board.
6. Requires an alternate for each board member, chosen in the same manner and by the same entity as the board member. The alternative member shall act in place of the board member he or she is an alternate for in case of that board member’s absence or inability to act.
7. Provides that the board members shall serve a four-year term of office or until the member is no longer an eligible official of the member agency. Members may serve for more than one term of office. Provides that the member described in 2g) above, shall serve a four-year term of office.
8. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to provide compensation to members of the board in an amount not to exceed $100 per day for each day’s attendance at meetings of the board or for each day’s service rendered as a member of the board by request of the board. Provides that the determination of whether a board member’s activities on any specific day are compensable shall be made pursuant to existing law. Provides that reimbursement for expense of members of the Board are subject to existing law.
9. Allows the board to adopt an ordinance to increase the compensation received by members
   of the board above the amount of $100 per day and specifies that the increase shall not exceed an amount equal to 5%, for each calendar year following the operative date of the last adjustment, of the compensation that is received when the ordinance is adopted.
10. Prohibits a board member from being compensated for more than a total of 10 days in any calendar month.
11. Allows the board to adopt ordinances for the purpose of regulating, conserving, managing, and controlling the use and extraction of groundwater within the territory of the Agency.
12. Specifies that an ordinance adopted by the board shall become effective 30 days from the date of its passage.
13. Requires all ordinances shall be adopted at noticed, public hearings by a majority vote of the Board, and requires notice of the hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. Requires the board to provide notice of the adoption of all ordinances.
14. Allows the Agency to contract with either county or Alta Irrigation District for staff and other services. Allows the Agency to hire contractors and consultants as it considers appropriate.
15. Requires the Agency to enter into a coordination agreement with other local agencies for purposes of coordinating the Agency’s plan with other agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within the King Subbasin, as required by the SGMA.
16. Allows the Agency to exclude from any of the requirements of this Act, or the operation of any ordinance, any operator who annually extracts less than a minimum amount of groundwater, as specified by an ordinance adopted by the Board.
17. Allows the Agency to collect data and conduct technical and other investigations of all kinds in order to carry out the provisions of this Act. Requires all hydrological investigations and studies carried out by or on behalf of the Agency to be constructed by or under the supervision of licensed engineers or other persons qualified in groundwater geology or hydrology.
18. Allows the Agency to recommend and encourage water recycling and other water development projects, where those projects will enhance and contribute to the responsible management of groundwater resources, as part of its annual plan for implementation of groundwater management objectives.
19. Requires the Agency to develop and implement a groundwater sustainability plan, pursuant to existing law, to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the Agency.
20. Requires the Agency to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency, pursuant to existing law, for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency.
21. Allows the Agency to exercise specified powers, pursuant to SGMA.
22. Allows, pursuant to SGMA, the Agency to 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, that include, but are not limited to, the preparation, adoption, and amendments of a groundwater sustainability plan, investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent reserve.
23. Declares that the availability of supplemental water to any operator shall not subject that operator to regulations that are more restrictive than those imposed on other operators.
24. Declares that no provision of this Act shall be construed as denying to the Counties, any City, or any other member agency any rights or powers that they already have or that they may be granted.
25. Specifies the initial boundaries of the Agency, for purposes of the Act, as follows:
    1. All land located within the exterior perimeter boundaries of Alta Irrigation District that is within the Counties of Fresno and Tulare;
    2. All land located in the incorporated City of Reedley;
    3. All land located in Kings River Water District plus parcel 350-150-16 within the County of Fresno, as that parcel existed as of January 1, 2016, and excluding the incorporated City of Sanger; and,
    4. Land that is east of Alta Irrigation District and east of the east line of Sections 13 and 24, Ti3S, R23E, between Alta Irrigation District and east line and the east line of the Bulletin 118 Kings Subbasin boundary, as described in the report by the Department of Water Resources titled, “California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118,” updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised in accordance with Section 12924 of the Water Code.
26. Requires the Agency’s initial boundaries to be established by the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare after a noticedpublic hearing, and requires the boundaries to be depicted on a map that shall be adopted by the boards of supervisors of those counties and thereafter recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county.
27. Allows the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Fresno and Tulare to adjust the boundaries of the Agency in the same manner prescribed for establishment of the initial boundaries if the boundaries of the basin are revised, including the establishment of new subbasins.
28. Provides that the Agency has the powers granted by this Act and the SGMA, for purposes
    of groundwater management within the boundaries of the Agency, together with any other powers as are reasonably implied, necessary, and proper to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Agency to implement the SGMA.
29. Defines the following terms:
    1. “Actively and primarily engaged in production of agriculture” to mean that a person derives at least 75 percent of his or her annual income from production agriculture;
    2. “Agency” means the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency;
    3. “Alta” means the Alta Irrigation District;
    4. “Aquifer” means a geologic formation or structure that transmits water in sufficient quantities to supply pumping wells or springs;
    5. “Basin” to mean a groundwater basin or subbasin identified and defined in the Department of Water Resources’ “California Groundwater: Bulletin 118” updated in 2003, as it may be subsequently updated or revised, as specified;
    6. “Board” to mean the Board of Directors of the Agency;
    7. “Cities” to mean the Cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley;
    8. “Coordination agreement” to mean a legal agreement adopted between two or more groundwater sustainability agencies that provides the basis for coordinating multiple agencies or groundwater sustainability plans within a basin;
    9. “County” to mean either the County of Fresno or the County of Tulare, as the context requires. “Counties” to mean the County of Fresno and the County of Tulare;
    10. “Extraction” to mean the act of obtaining groundwater by pumping or other controlled means;
    11. “Groundwater” to mean 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;
    12. “Groundwater management activities” to mean programs, measures, or actions taken to preserve, protect, and enhance groundwater resources within the territory of the Agency;
    13. “Kings Subbasin” to mean the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Basin Kings Subbasin;
    14. “Member agency” to mean Alta, the counties, the cities, and the special districts entitled to representation on the Agency’s Board of Directors, as specified;
    15. “Operator” to mean 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;
    16. “Person” to include any state or local governmental agency, private corporation, firm, partnership, limited liability company, individual, group of individuals, or, to the extent authorized by law, any federal agency;
    17. “Plan” to mean a groundwater sustainability plan prepared by the Agency; and,
    18. “Supplemental water” to mean surface water or groundwater imported from outside the watershed or watersheds of the basin or aquifer and floodwaters that are conserved and saved within the watershed or watersheds that would otherwise have been lost or would not have reached the basin or aquifer.
30. Finds and declares the following:
    1. The Legislature finds and declares that the preservation of the groundwater resources within the territory of the Agency for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses is in the public interest and that the creation of the Agency, pursuant to the Act, is for the common benefit of water users;
    2. The Legislature further finds and declares that the groundwater management activities
       of the Agency benefit all operators of groundwater extraction facilities within the territory of the Agency; and,
    3. The Legislature further finds and declares that circumstances in the territory of the Agency to be formed hereby, which may not exist in other locations, justify the formation of the Agency and the grant of powers contained in this Act.
       
31. States that no reimbursement is required by this act because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to provide local groundwater agencies with the authority and the technical and financial assistance necessary to sustainably manage groundwater.
2. Requires, by January 31, 2020, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by DWR that have been designated in Bulletin 118, as may be updated or revised on or before January 1, 2017, as basins that are subject to critical conditions of overdraft, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
3. Requires, by January 31, 2022, all basins designed as high- or medium-priority basins by DWR that are not subject to 2), above, to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans.
4. Allows any local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin, except as specified.
5. Requires the local agency or agencies to hold a public hearing in the county or counties overlying the basin, prior to electing to be a GSA, and to provide specified notice of that hearing, pursuant to existing law.
6. Requires a local agency or combination of local agencies that elects to be the GSA to submit a notice of intent to DWR, as specified.
7. Allows a combination of local agencies to form a GSA by using any of the following methods:
   1. A joint powers agreement (JPA); or,
   2. A memorandum of agreement or other local agreement.
8. Requires a groundwater sustainability plan to be developed and implemented for each medium- or high- priority basin by a GSA to meet the sustainability goal established, pursuant to SGMA.
9. Specifies that a GSP may be any of the following:
   1. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by one GSA;
   2. A single plan covering the entire basin developed and implemented by multiple GSAs; or,
   3. Multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs and coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement that covers the entire basins, as specified.
10. Allows the State Water Board, after notice and public hearing, to designate a basin as a probationary basin, if the board makes certain specified findings.

FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS:

1. Local Groundwater Management and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Legislature passed SGMA (SB 1168 (Pavley), AB 1739 (Dickinson) and
   SB 1319 (Pavley), Statutes of 2014), creating a statewide requirement to sustainably manage groundwater resources. The package of bills was signed by Governor Brown with the objective to ensure the long-term reliability of groundwater resources and connected surface water resources by requiring sustainable management. Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) must by formed by 2017, Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) for critically overdrafted basins must be written by 2020, and sustainability must be reached by 2040. Prior to 2014, there was no statutory mandate to manage groundwater in California.

Prior to SGMA, there were several ways that groundwater was managed at the local level.
A local agency that provided water service was authorized to develop and implement a groundwater management plan, known as AB 3030 plans. The Legislature also created a number of “special act special districts” that addressed groundwater management – these local agencies were created via statute to establish unique governance structures and grant powers that were customized to the problems and solutions of a particular groundwater basin. The acts creating these special act districts are located in the Water Appendix.

Local Control and Governance Options under SGMA. SGMA requires local entities in medium- and high-priority basins to establish GSAs by June 2017, to avoid state intervention. GSAs must self-identify by June 30, 2017, to the Department of Water Resources (DWR), and can include a city, a county, a special district, or a combination of these agencies organized via a legal agreement, like a JPA or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One agency can form a GSA for the entire basin, or multiple agencies can form individual GSAs and coordinate for basin sustainability. There are multiple options for local agencies to manage groundwater under SGMA, including alternatives to forming a GSA and developing a GSP. SGMA does not specify exactly how GSAs should govern local groundwater resources to achieve sustainability goals.

All groundwater basins designated as medium- or high-priority and identified as subject to critical conditions of overdraft must be managed under one or more GSPs by January 31, 2020. The deadline is two years later (January 31, 2022) for other medium- or high-priority basins. The goal of the GSPs is to achieve operation within the basins’ sustainable yield within 20 years of plan implementation.

Because of the June 30, 2017, date to have GSAs in place, the timeline for local agencies to make decisions on management at the local level, and governance, is very short.

1. Bill Summary. This bill creates the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and requires the Agency to be the GSA under SGMA for that portion of the Kings Subbasin that lies within the boundaries of the Agency, and would require the Agency to develop and implement a GSP to achieve sustainable groundwater management within the territory of the
   
   Agency. The bill additionally specifies the powers and purposes of the Agency, and prescribes the composition of the seven-member board of directors of the Agency, including the terms, how the members are chosen, and their compensation and reimbursement. The bill also adds the Agency to the list of agencies created by statute to manage groundwater that are deemed the exclusive local agencies within their respective statutory boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA.

This bill is sponsored by Alta Irrigation District.

1. Author’s Statement. According to the author, “In 2014 the Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The legislation requires local agencies to manage groundwater basins in a sustainable manner and allows for state intervention when necessary to protect groundwater resources.

“SGMA provides local agencies the ability to develop plans and implement strategies to sustainability manage groundwater resources, prioritizes basins with the greatest need and sets a timeline for implementation. Establishing a sustainability agency as required by SGMA, authorizes any local agency or a combination of local agencies to elect to be a GSA through a joint powers agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The act leaves no room for a private, non-profit, or unelected member of the public to sit on a GSA as a voting member.

“SB 37 will create the Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency as a special act district. The GSA will cover an area in Fresno and Tulare counties east of the Kings River, including all of the cities of Dinuba, Orange Cove, and Reedley as well as the communities of Cutler, East Orosi, London, Orosi, and Sultana.

“The GSA created under SB 37 would consist of seven members chosen by the following categories: (1) Alta Irrigation District; (2) Tulare County; (3) Fresno County; (4) Cities (Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley); (5) Water Districts (Hills Valley Irrigation District,
Orange Cove Irrigation District, Tri-Valley Water District, and Kings River Water District); (6) Special Districts that provide drinking water (Cutler Public Utility District, East Orosi Community Services District, London Community Service District, Orosi Public Utilities District, and Sultana Community Services District), and, (7) an agricultural representative.

“SB 37 provides that the GSA shall only have the ability to carry out the powers provided in SGMA. Additionally, the creation of this district will not pose challenges to other GSAs in terms of coordination because of requirements under SGMA for multiple plans implemented by multiple GSAs within a basin to be coordinated pursuant to a single coordination agreement.”

1. Notice of Election to Serve as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. On March 28, 2016, Alta Irrigation District filed paperwork with the California Department of Water Resources on behalf of the to-be created Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in order to notify DWR that Kings River East would like to serve as the GSA for that portion of the Kings Sub-basin of the San Joaquin Valley Basin. The notice to DWR says that “all of those local agencies, acting as interested parties, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Kings River GSA,…. in the MOU, such interested parties commit to forming either (i) a special act district, or (ii) a joint powers authority to implement the GSA.”

The notice to DWR also states:

“On March 17, 2016, the Kings River East held a public hearing to consider serving as the GSA. The signed MOUs state the intent of the parties to form the GSA. The Kings River East noticed the public hearing in a paper in Fresno County (Reedley Exponent) and a paper in Tulare County (Dinuba Sentinel) as required by Water Code Section 10723 (b) and Government Code Section 6066.

“The District did not receive any written comments prior to the hearing. Furthermore, at that public hearing, the Kings River East did not receive any comments or conditions objecting to or criticizing the formation of the Kings River East GSA. Section 6 of the MOU, regarding the GSA Governing Body, specifies and describes the governance structure for the Kings River East GSA.”

The notice to DWR also references SB 37 (Vidak), the intent of which is to establish a special act district.

1. Policy Considerations. The Committee may wish to consider the following:
   1. Ag Representative on Board. This bill allows for an agriculture “seat” on the Board of the Agency. That member is to be chosen by the other six board members to represent agricultural interests, selected from a list of at least five nominations submitted from the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Tulare County Farm Bureau, acting jointly.

The sponsor notes that this board makeup is modeled after the governing board of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, created by statute in 1982, which includes a member that represents production agriculture.

The Committee may wish to contemplate the inclusion of a seat on the Board that is not held by a member appointed by a public agency or combination of public agencies, given the requirements of SGMA on public water agencies.

• 1. Other Alternatives to Special Act District. The Committee may wish to ask the author to discuss why other local management options (JPA, MOA, electing to have an existing district serve as the GSA) do not suffice.

1. Arguments in Support. According to the supporters, it is the intent of all the interested parties to work collaboratively to solve the groundwater issues in the region and to develop the governance structure that will facilitate implementing a groundwater sustainability plan.
2. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
3. Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alta Irrigation District

California Citrus Mutual

City of Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley

Community Water Center

County of Tulare

Cutler Public Utility District

Gillette Citrus Inc.

Kings County Water District

Kings River Water District

London Community Services District

Sultana Community Services District

Tulare County Farm Bureau

Orosi Public Utilities District

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 37

Author: Nielsen (R), et al.

Amended: 2/12/15

Vote: 27 - Urgency

SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 3/24/15

AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Fuller, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT: Water: floods

SOURCE: Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency

DIGEST: This bill authorizes the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to reimburse local project sponsors of flood projects funded under the Urban Flood Risk Reduction (UFRR) program for costs incurred after July 1, 2014, and before issuance of a funding commitment, or amendment or execution of the funding agreement, but no later than December 31, 2015.

ANALYSIS: Under existing law, DWR has provided funding under Proposition 1E to local flood project sponsors for projects that reduce urban flood risks. The funding guidelines provide that only work performed after a Funding Agreement is executed may be eligible for reimbursement.

However, if a project receives additional funding from a subsequent round of funding, the local flood project sponsor may reimbursed for expenditures incurred after July 1, 2014, and before issuance of a funding commitment, or amendment or execution of the funding agreement, but no later than October 1, 2015.

This bill extends the period in which a local flood project sponsor may be reimbursed for expenditures incurred after July 1, 2014, to before issuance of a funding commitment, or amendment or execution of the funding agreement, but no later than December 31, 2015.

Background

The Legislature appropriated $155 million in the 2014/15 budget for this program. The schedule for this next round of funding is:

January 21, 2015 UFRR Program Guidelines and Project Solicitation Package approved by the Director, finalized and released to the public.

March 9, 2015 Concept Proposals due (or postmarked) by 5:00 P.M.

May 15, 2015 State notifies local agencies of results of funding decisions.

Under that schedule, DWR would have four and a half months to complete the funding package before it’s reimbursement authority would end.

The proponents of this bill are concerned that DWR will miss the October 1, 2015 deadline.

Comments

Is this really a problem? It depends on your expectations of DWR. If you believe DWR will meet its May 15 date to award grants and would then work expeditiously to execute funding agreements before October 1, then no, it’s not a real problem. If, on the other hand, you think DWR is liable to run into some difficulty causing it to miss the October 1 funding deadline, then yes, it is a real problem.

What is the harm in passing this anyway? This bill was drafted fairly narrowly. Should the bill be enacted and it was later found to be unnecessary, there wouldn’t likely be any lingering consequence.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 4/15/15)

Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (source)

Association of California Water Agencies

California Association of Realtors

California Central Valley Flood Control Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/15/15)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Suspending work on the Feather River West Levee Project could cost the State and local sponsor tens of millions of dollars in construction contract claims, expired right-of-way agreements, extended overhead and increased financing costs. SB 37 facilitates construction moving forward without delay, avoids burdening the local sponsor with expenditures above the local project cost share, and avoids the negative consequences that would result from unforeseen delays in state contract approval of the final phase of the project. Without this certainty, ongoing construction operations may be forced to shut down, reducing public safety, cost effectiveness and eroding public trust.”

Prepared by: Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116

4/15/15 16:29:07

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER

Senator Fran Pavley, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: SB 37 Hearing Date: March 24, 2015

Subject: Water: floods

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

In 2006, the voters ratified the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, shown on the ballot as Proposition 1E (Prop. 1E). Prop. 1E authorized $4.090 B in general obligation bonds to fund infrastructure projects for flood protection and levee repair and improvement.

Among other things, Prop. 1E provided $3 B for:

• Evaluating, repairing, rehabilitating, reconstructing, or replacing levees, weirs, bypasses, and facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, (SPFC);

• Improving or adding facilities to the State Plan of Flood Control to increase levels of flood prevention for urban areas; and

• Reducing the risk of levee failure in the delta.

Two years later, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed the Central Valley Flood Protection Act of 2008 (SB 5, Machado). That act required The Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop, and the Central Valley Flood Protect Board to adopt, a plan for reducing the risk of flooding throughout the SPFC system, including recommended actions and projects. That plan, called the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP), was developed and adopted in 2012 and identified a total flood control funding need of $14 B to $17 B.

While the plan was being developed, DWR created a program for improving or repairing facilities of the SPFC called the “Early Implementation Program (EIP).” This program provided $936 M to various projects, including $182.4 M to the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA) for the Feather River West Levee Project.

Upon completion of the CVFPP, the DWR established the Urban Flood Risk Reduction (UFRR) Program to identify and fund projects to reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas. The Legislature appropriated $155 M in the 2014/15 budget for this program. The schedule for this next round of funding is:

January 21, 2015 UFRR Program Guidelines and Project Solicitation Package approved by the Director, finalized and released to the public.

March 9, 2015 Concept Proposals due (or postmarked) by 5:00.

May 15, 2015 State notifies Local Agencies of results of funding decisions.

SBFCA expects to receive additional funding through UFRR for the Feather River West Levee Project.

Under the UFRR funding guidelines “only work performed after a Funding Agreement is executed may be eligible for reimbursement. However, the DWR is authorized to provide reimbursement to funding recipients that execute a new funding agreement under the UFRR program, or that amend an existing funding agreement under the EIP program, for any expenditures associated with a project initiated under the EIP program if such expenditure was incurred after July 1, 2014 and before issuance of a funding commitment letter or funding agreement amendment, but in no case expenditures incurred later than October 1, 2015.” So, if SBFCA does receive additional funding for the Feather River West Levee Project, it could receive reimbursement for expenditures incurred after July 1, 2014 through October 1, 2015.

PROPOSED LAW

This bill would authorize DWR to provide reimbursement to funding recipients that execute a funding agreement under the UFRR program for expenditures associated with continued funding of a project initiated under the EIP program and incurred after July 1, 2014, and before issuance of a funding commitment, or amendment or execution of the funding agreement, but no later than December 31, 2015.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

According to the author, “Suspending work on the Feather River West Levee Project could cost the State and local sponsor tens of millions of dollars in construction contract claims, expired right-of-way agreements, extended overhead and increased financing costs. SB 37 facilitates construction moving forward without delay, avoids burdening the local sponsor with expenditures above the local project cost share, and avoids the negative consequences that would result from unforeseen delays in state contract approval of the final phase of the project. Without this certainty, ongoing construction operations may be forced to shut down, reducing public safety, cost effectiveness and eroding public trust.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None received

COMMENTS

Is this really a problem? It depends on your expectations of DWR. If you believe DWR will meet its May 15 date to award grants and would then work expeditiously to execute funding agreements before October 1, then no, it’s not a real problem. If, on the other hand, you think DWR is liable to run into some difficulty causing it to miss the October 1 funding deadline, then yes, it is a real problem.

What is the harm in passing this anyway? This bill was drafted fairly narrowly. Should the bill be enacted and it was later found to be unnecessary, there wouldn’t likely be any lingering consequence.

SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None

SUPPORT

Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (Sponsor)

California Central Valley flood Control Association

OPPOSITION: None Received