Water rights: small irrigation use: lake or streambed alteration agreements.

Existing law, the Water Rights Permitting Reform Act of 1988, authorizes a person to obtain a right to appropriate water for a small domestic use, small irrigation use, or livestock stockpond use upon first registering the use, as those uses are defined by the act, with the State Water Resources Control Board and thereafter applying the water to reasonable and beneficial use with due diligence. The act requires the registration of water use to be made upon a form prescribed by the board that requires, among other things, a certification that the registrant has contacted a representative of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and has agreed to comply with conditions set forth by the department. The act requires the board to establish reasonable general conditions to which all appropriations made pursuant to the act are required to be subject, including, among other things, that all conditions lawfully required by the department are conditions upon the appropriations. The act provides that the board is not required to adopt general conditions for small irrigation use until the board determines that funds are available for that purpose and that a registration for small irrigation use pursuant to the act is not authorized until the board establishes general conditions for small irrigation use to protect instream beneficial uses, as specified. This bill would require the board, on or before January 1, 2018, to adopt general conditions that would permit a registrant to construct a facility that would store water for small irrigation use during times of high streamflow in exchange for the registrant reducing diversions during periods of low streamflow, as specified. The bill would require the board, on or before June 30, 2019, to adopt general conditions and, if necessary, amend existing general conditions for the registration of small irrigation use for other purposes. Existing law exempts certain stream segments subject to certain minimum streamflow requirements from the provisions of the act upon proper registration. This bill would instead authorize the board to issue and renew registrations on those stream segments if the registration includes conditions consistent with the applicable streamflow requirements. Existing law prohibits an entity from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or from depositing certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, without first notifying the department of that activity and entering into a lake or streambed alteration agreement, if required by the department to protect fish and wildlife resources. Under existing law, it is unlawful for any person to violate these notification and agreement provisions and a person who violates them is also subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation. This bill would require the department, if an activity includes the diversion of water and the notification for the activity is accompanied with a proposed registration of water use, a renewal of registration, or an amended registration, to determine whether it is complete in the same manner as it determines whether a notification is complete and to propose any lawful conditions on the registration in a draft agreement. The bill would provide that lawful conditions on a registration that are included in a final lake or streambed alteration agreement are deemed conditions upon the appropriations of water under the registration. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that these provisions simplify and reduce the regulatory burden for activities that require both notification to the department of the activity and registration of the water use pursuant to the act. Because the violation of a lake or streambed alteration agreement is a crime, by including lawful conditions on a registration in a final lake or streambed alteration agreement, this 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.