Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater sustainability plans: domestic well impacts.

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 prescribes that a groundwater sustainability plan contain certain information, including, where appropriate and in collaboration with the appropriate local agencies, control of saline water intrusion, wellhead protection areas and recharge areas, a well abandonment and well destruction program, well construction policies, and impacts on groundwater dependent ecosystems. This bill would additionally require that a groundwater sustainability plan include measures to mitigate adverse impacts on domestic wells, as defined, including, but not limited to, compensating an owner of a domestic well or a user of water from a domestic well for increased energy costs associated with deeper groundwater pumping and increased costs to households associated with the delivery of water from an existing water supply system or alternative water supply. The bill would prohibit a mitigation measure from subjecting an owner of a domestic well or a user of water from a domestic well to an unreasonable financial burden or expense. By requiring local agencies that are groundwater sustainability agencies to include this additional information in their groundwater sustainability plans, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Insofar as this bill requires local agencies that are groundwater sustainability agencies to include in their mitigation measures compensation to owners of domestic water wells and users of water from domestic water wells for increased costs, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.