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AB-429 Groundwater wells: permits.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 03/02/2023 09:00 PM
AB429:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 02, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 429

Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett

February 06, 2023

An act to amend Section 591 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. add Article 5 (commencing with Section 13807) to Chapter 10 of Division 7 of the Water Code, relating to groundwater.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 429, as amended, Bennett. Energy: notification of redirection of moneys authorized for maintenance, safety, or reliability. Groundwater wells: permits.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt a model water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment ordinance implementing certain standards for water well construction, maintenance, and abandonment and requires each county, city, or water agency, where appropriate, not later than January 15, 1990, to adopt a water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment ordinance that meets or exceeds certain standards. Under existing law, if a county, city, or water agency, where appropriate, fails to adopt an ordinance establishing water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment standards, the model ordinance adopted by the state board is required to take effect on February 15, 1990, and is required to be enforced by the county or city and have the same force and effect as if adopted as a county or city ordinance.
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.
This bill would, if 1% of domestic wells go dry in a critically overdrafted basin, as specified, prohibit a county, city, or any other water well permitting agency from approving a permit for a new groundwater well or for an alteration to an existing well in a basin subject to the act and classified as a critically overdrafted basin unless specified conditions are met. Under the bill, these conditions would include a requirement that the county, city, or other water well permitting agency obtain a written verification from the groundwater sustainability agency that manages the basin or area of the basin where the well is proposed to be located determining that, among other things, the extraction by the proposed well would not be inconsistent with a sustainable groundwater management program, as provided, and that the proposed well would not decrease the likelihood of achieving a sustainability goal for the basin covered by such a plan. The bill would prescribe certain exemptions from these provisions. By imposing additional requirements on a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires electrical corporations and gas corporations to annually notify the commission, as part of an ongoing proceeding or in a report otherwise required to be submitted to the commission, of each time that capital or expense revenue authorized by the commission for maintenance, safety, or reliability was redirected by the electrical corporation or gas corporation to other purposes. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that the notification is also made available in a timely fashion to the Office of the Safety Advocate, the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission, and parties on the service list of any relevant proceeding.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those requirements.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Article 5 (commencing with Section 13807) is added to Chapter 10 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:
Article  5. Water Wells

13807.
 (a) This section shall apply only if 1 percent of domestic wells go dry in a critically overdrafted basin, as designated by the department in Bulletin 118, from the date of implementation of this section.
(b) In addition to meeting the other requirements of this chapter, a county, city, or any other water well permitting agency shall not approve a permit for a new groundwater well or for alteration of an existing well in a basin subject to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6) and classified as a critically overdrafted basin unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The county, city, or any other water well permitting agency obtains written verification from a groundwater sustainability agency managing the basin or area of the basin where the well is proposed to be located that groundwater extraction by the proposed well meets both of the following conditions:
(A) The proposed well would not be inconsistent with any sustainable groundwater management program established in any applicable groundwater sustainability plan adopted by that groundwater sustainability agency or an alternate plan approved or under review by the department.
(B) The proposed well would not decrease the likelihood of achieving a sustainability goal for the basin covered by such a plan.
(2) The county, city, or any other water permitting agency determines the extraction by the proposed well is not likely to interfere with the production and functioning of one or more existing nearby wells and is not likely to cause subsidence that would adversely impact or damage neighboring wells.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to all of the following:
(1) Permits for wells that will provide less than two acre-feet per year of groundwater for individual domestic users.
(2) Permits for wells that will exclusively provide groundwater to public water supply systems or state small water systems as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) Permits for wells in adjudicated basins identified in Section 10720.8.
(4) Maintenance of a well.
(5) Alterations to, replacement of, or maintenance of, a well pump.
(6) Replacement of an existing, currently permitted, well only if the following conditions are met:
(A) The new well will produce no more than the maximum capacity of the well being replaced.
(B) The original well is either decommissioned or will be used for storage.
(7) Extension of the well casing for an existing, currently permitted, well only if the new extension does not result in the well having the capacity to produce more than the capacity of the existing casing and well.
(8) Permits for wells that will replace existing, currently permitted wells with new wells that will produce an equivalent quantity of water as the capacity of the well being replaced when the existing well is being replaced because it has been acquired by eminent domain or acquired while under threat of condemnation.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution 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, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1.Section 591 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
591.

(a)The commission shall require each electrical corporation or gas corporation to annually notify the commission, as part of an ongoing proceeding or in a report otherwise required to be submitted to the commission, of each time since that notification was last provided that capital or expense revenue authorized by the commission for maintenance, safety, or reliability was redirected by the electrical corporation or gas corporation to other purposes.

(b)The commission shall ensure that the notification provided by each electrical corporation or gas corporation is also made available in a timely fashion to the Office of the Safety Advocate, the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission, and parties on the service list of any relevant proceeding.