Groundwater.

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 the State Water Resources Control Board to designate a basin as a probationary basin if the state board makes a certain determination and to develop an interim plan for the probationary basin. The act requires a local agency or groundwater sustainability agency to have 90 or 180 days, as prescribed, to remedy the deficiency if the board designates the basin as a probationary basin. This bill would specify that the board is authorized to designate a high- or medium-priority basin as a probationary basin. This bill would provide a local agency or groundwater sustainability agency 90 or 180 days, as prescribed, to remedy certain deficiencies that caused the board to designate the basin as a probationary basin. This bill would authorize the board to develop an interim plan for certain probationary basins one year after the designation of the basin as a probationary basin. Existing law authorizes a combination of local agencies to form a groundwater sustainability agency by a joint powers agreement, memorandum of agreement, or other legal agreement, and authorizes a water corporation regulated by the Public Utilities Commission to participate in a groundwater sustainability agency if the local agencies approve. This bill would authorize a mutual water company to participate in a groundwater sustainability agency and would provide that a water corporation or a mutual water company may participate through a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement. Existing law establishes a groundwater monitoring program pursuant to which specified entities, including a groundwater sustainability agency, may propose to be designated by the department as groundwater monitoring entities, as defined, for the purposes of monitoring and reporting with regard to groundwater elevations in all or part of a groundwater basin or subbasin. Existing law requires the department to identify the extent of monitoring of groundwater elevations that is being undertaken in groundwater basins and subbasins, and if the department determines that all or part of a basin or subbasin is not being monitored, to determine whether there is sufficient interest in establishing a groundwater management plan, an integrated regional water management plan, or a groundwater monitoring association. This bill, if the department determines that all or part of a basin or subbasin is not being monitored, would require the department to determine whether there is sufficient interest in establishing a groundwater sustainability plan. Existing law requires a local agency or combination of local agencies that elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for a basin to submit a prescribed notice of intent to the department that includes the proposed boundaries of the basin and requires the department to post the notice on its Internet Web site within 15 days of receipt. This bill would eliminate these provisions. Existing law requires a groundwater sustainability agency to inform the department of its election or formation and its intent to undertake sustainable groundwater management within 30 days of forming or electing to be a groundwater sustainability agency and requires the notice to include specified information such as the service area boundaries and requires the department to post the notice on its Internet Web site within 15 days of receipt. Existing law provides that the groundwater sustainability agency is presumed the exclusive groundwater sustainability agency 90 days following the posting of notice, provided that no other notice was submitted. This bill would require local agencies to seek to reach agreement to allow prompt designation of a groundwater sustainability agency. This bill would require a new notice to be submitted and the department to post notice if agreement is reached by the local agencies involving a material change from the information in the posted notice. This bill would require the department to post only complete notices it receives. Existing law requires the department to categorize each basin as high, medium, low, or very low priority and authorizes a local agency to request that the department revise the boundaries of a basin. Existing law provides that a local agency has 2 years from the date of a reprioritization that elevates a basin to a medium- or high-priority basin to either establish a groundwater sustainability agency or submit an alternative to the department and 5 years from the date of reprioritization to adopt a groundwater sustainability plan, as prescribed. This bill would extend the deadline for a basin that is elevated to a medium- or high-priority basin before January 31, 2017, and is not subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan to January 31, 2022. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would state that a guideline, criterion, bulletin, or other technical or procedural analysis or guidance prepared by the department as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, except as prescribed.