Water rights: appropriation.

(1) Existing law authorizes any person to obtain a right to appropriate water for small domestic use or livestock stockpond use upon registering the use with the State Water Resources Control Board and upon thereafter applying the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence. For these purposes, existing law defines a small domestic use as a domestic use, as defined by board rule, including impoundment for incidental aesthetic, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes, not to exceed direct diversion of 4,500 gallons per day or diversion to storage of 10 acre-feet per annum. With regard to small domestic use, existing law prohibits more than one registration from being in effect at any time for any facility. Existing law allows a registrant to maintain more than one registration for livestock stockpond use if stockponds subject to registration do not exceed the ratio of one per 50 acres. Existing law provides for registration renewals of small domestic uses and livestock stockpond uses prior to the expiration of each 5-year period following completed registration. Existing law requires the board to establish reasonable general conditions applicable to appropriations for small domestic use or livestock stockpond use, and specifies minimum conditions for those appropriations. This bill would also authorize any person to obtain a right to appropriate water for a small irrigation use, as defined by the bill, upon registering the use with the board, as prescribed, and thereafter applying the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence. The bill would provide that the board is not required to adopt general conditions applicable to appropriations for small irrigation use until the board determines that funds are available for that purpose. The authority to register for small irrigation use would be effective only to the extent that the board has established the general conditions for the applicable category of small irrigation use. The bill would require the board, prior to adopting other general conditions for small irrigation use, and no later than June 30, 2012, to adopt general conditions for small irrigation use for facilities used for frost protection with respect to specified coastal streams, unless the board determines that sufficient funds are not available for that purpose. This bill would redefine small domestic use to mean a domestic use, as defined by board rule, or use for aesthetic, fire protection, recreational, or fish and wildlife purposes, not to exceed direct diversion of 4,500 gallons per day or diversion to storage of 10 acre-feet per annum. The bill would prohibit the filing of a small domestic use registration for a facility served by or used pursuant to a permit or license for domestic or municipal use. This bill would also allow a registrant for a small irrigation use to maintain more than one registration if a small irrigation use subject to registration does not exceed the ratio of one per 20 irrigated acres, and if the total water use on all registered acreage does not exceed 100 acre-feet per annum. This bill would also prohibit a registration with a source of supply on a stream system from taking effect unless the board finds that unappropriated water is available for the proposed appropriation. The bill would authorize the board, following a notice and hearing, to determine whether that stream system should be declared fully appropriated. The bill would make various conforming changes relating to registrations for small irrigation use. (2) Existing law exempts from the provisions described in (1) those stream segments for which the Director of Fish and Game establishes proposed streamflow requirements pursuant to specified existing law. This bill would provide that the exemption does not apply to a registration filed before the director establishes proposed streamflow requirements. The bill would require the renewal of a registration to include certain conditions determined by the department to be necessary. (3) Existing law requires a person who holds a permit or license to appropriate water, leases water pursuant to specified provisions of law, or files a specified application, registration, petition, or request relating to water use to pay fees imposed by the board. The board is required to adopt a fee schedule so that the total amount of fees collected equals that amount necessary to recover costs incurred in connection with the issuance, administration, review, monitoring, and enforcement of permits, licenses, certificates, and registrations to appropriate water, water leases, and orders approving changes in points of discharge, place of use, or purpose of use of treated wastewater. The board is required to set the amount of total revenue collected each year through the fees at an amount equal to the revenue levels set forth in the annual Budget Act for this activity. The revenue generated by those fees is required to be deposited in the Water Rights Fund. This bill would instead require the board to set the total revenue collected each year through the fees at an amount equal to amounts appropriated from the Water Rights Fund by the Legislature for water rights program activities, as specified. The bill would additionally apply the fee requirements to a registration of appropriation for small irrigation use.