Barbed Wire - July 18, 2014

ACTION ALERT: Groundwater Management – RCRC Seeks County Input

The development of groundwater management legislation is the focus of discussions during the legislative summer recess.  The first meeting of interested stakeholders was held July 2, 2014, the second was held July 10, 2014, and the third on July 16, 2014.  Senator Fran Pavley, author of Senate Bill 1168, and Assembly Member Roger Dickinson, author of Assembly Bill 1739, intend to meld their two bills into one comprehensive bill for consideration when the Legislature returns in August.  The Administration is also very involved in ongoing discussions.

The second facilitated discussion focused on four specific questions relating to the following:

• High and Medium and Low and Very Low Priority sub-basins;
• Modification of sub-basin/basin boundaries;
• Land use/water use restrictions; and
• Local authorities for sustainable groundwater management.

The third stakeholder meeting focused on questions relating to the following:

• Evaluation of Plans;
• Implementation of audits;
• When the State should be authorized to intervene; and
• Additional features of an intervention process.

The agenda and discussion document from the July 10th meeting can be accessed here.  The discussion document from the July 16th meeting can be accessed here.  Please submit county responses to the posed questions to RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

State Water Board Approves Emergency Water Conservation Regulations

Early this week, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) approved an emergency regulation to ensure increased water conservation in urban settings by the water agencies and their customers.  The regulation is the first of its kind statewide, and infractions could bring a fine of $500 per day. 

During the course of the hearing many local water agencies expressed concern on a variety of issues, including the endowment of authority at the local level given the infraction is a criminal penalty, the fact that many local agencies have implemented emergency drought regulations that are comparable or superior to the proposed two-day per week watering (such as tiered pricing), and the argument that a number of local agencies have already made substantial progress in water use reduction.  As a result of public comment, the State Water Board made several changes, including clarifying language regarding local authority, prior to the adoption of the regulation.

The regulation will prohibit the following activities:

• Washing down driveways and sidewalks;
• Using a hose to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle;
• The watering of outdoor landscapes that cause excess runoff; and
• Using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated.

The regulation makes an exception for health and safety circumstances.  Violations of the prohibited activities are considered infractions, and local agencies could ask courts to fine water users up to $500 per day for failure to implement water conservation measures.  The regulation will go into effect on or about August 1, 2014, following submittal to the Office of Administrative Law.  The regulation will remain in effect for 270 days, unless extended by the State Water Board due to ongoing drought conditions.

Detailed information regarding the emergency regulations can be accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Nick Konovaloff at (916) 447-4806 or nkonovaloff@rcrcnet.org.

Report Highlights Issues with Existing Groundwater Management Plans

The California Water Foundation (CWF) released a report late last week evaluating California groundwater management planning.  The report assesses the current condition of groundwater management planning in the state, and makes recommendations to support sustainable management.

CWF reviewed 120 groundwater management plans adopted by local water agencies to manage their groundwater basins, and concludes that current state groundwater management laws are inadequate.  The report found significant limitations to the overall quality of groundwater management plans in all parts of the state, with many plans lacking basic basin management objectives or an implementation strategy for ensuring objectives will be met.  Additionally, 28 percent of the plans examined were written in 2002 or earlier, and have not been updated.

The CWF report can be accessed here.

DWR Releases List of Unmonitored Priority Groundwater Basins

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) recently released a list and maps of the high and medium groundwater basins in the state.  It is important to note that counties and groundwater management agencies in unmonitored basins may be ineligible for water grants and loans administered by the State.

A map showing unmonitored high and medium priority groundwater basins, as well as a list identifying the fully and partially unmonitored high and medium priority groundwater basins can be accessed here. 

In 2009, the State Legislature passed SBX7-6, which mandates a statewide groundwater elevation monitoring program to track seasonal and long-term trends in groundwater elevations in California's groundwater basins.  SBX7-6 provides that:

• Local parties may assume responsibility for monitoring and reporting groundwater elevations;
• DWR work cooperatively with local monitoring entities to achieve monitoring programs that demonstrate seasonal and long-term trends in groundwater elevations;
• DWR accept and review prospective monitoring entity submittals, then determine the designated monitoring entity, notify the monitoring entity and make that information available to the public;
• DWR perform groundwater elevation monitoring in basins where no local party has agreed to perform the monitoring functions; and
• If local parties (for example, counties) do not volunteer to perform the groundwater monitoring functions and DWR assumes those functions, then those parties become ineligible for water grants or loans from the state.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Nick Konovaloff at (916) 447-4806 or nkonovaloff@rcrcnet.org.

Federal PILT and Wildfire Provisions Update

This week, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Interior and Environment funding bill, readying the bill for a vote in the full House before the August recess.  The bill includes $442 million for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), and $4.1 billion for wildfire prevention and firefighting.  The wildfire funding constitutes 14 percent of all funding in the bill, including $470 million to pay for the anticipated shortfall in this year’s funding.  House Interior and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) said that a long-term solution to the chronic shortfall in wildfire funding needs to be found.  Proposed bills to allow a portion of wildfire funding to be paid from emergency appropriations similar to other natural disasters have stalled in the House and Senate despite bipartisan support, as well as the President’s.  The President requested $615 million for wildfires in his emergency supplemental request to address the immigration emergency.  However, the House is expected to dramatically scale back the emergency supplemental, possibly dropping wildfire funding from the proposal.  Meanwhile the Senate has seen no marked progress in recent weeks on any of its FY 2015 spending bills; however, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) said her committee may introduce a bill by the end of the month that would be a compromise between the various wildfire funding proposals.  The bill would focus on providing more accurate forecasting models for developing fire budgets rather than a strict focus on fighting and preventing wildfires, and would address forest-thinning operations and practices.

House Passes Highway Trust Fund Proposal, Senate Prepares to Take Action

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to authorize and fund the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).  The House bill would provide $10.8 billion through May 31, 2015, and would be offset through “pension smoothing,” an extension of expiring customs duties, and funding transfers from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.  Prior to the House taking action on their HTF proposal, President Obama issued a policy statement in support of their funding measure.  

On the Senate side, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) will likely push for three votes next week: one on the House-passed HTF bill, a second on the Senate Finance Committee bill (which is similar to the House proposal), and a third on Senator Boxer’s transportation spending bill that would extend the policy and spending programs through December 31, 2014.  It is unclear at this time if Senator Reid will get the unanimous consent he needs to move his three vote plan forward, as Senate Republicans might object to his proposal in an effort to force a vote on the House-passed HTF funding bill.  Additionally, it appears as through Senator Boxer’s HTF proposal has lost momentum, as Senate Republicans favor a longer term funding measure that would kick the can past the lame-duck session of Congress and into next year in hopes that they capture the Senate majority in the upcoming November elections. 

RCRC and our federal advocates continue to closely monitor and report out on Congressional action to restore solvency to the troubled HTF, and will continue to engage in MAP-21 reauthorization discussions and efforts to restore dedicated funding to critical rural transportation programs.

Waters of the U.S. Rule Continues to Roil Congress

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to define waters of the U.S. has been the subject of hearings in at least four different House committees, where witnesses for EPA and the Corps have been questioned by Members from both sides of the aisle on all aspects of the rule.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week approved H.R. 5078 to block the proposed rule from further consideration and called upon EPA and the Corps to adopt a more collaborative approach to drafting a rule.  Concurrently, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2015 Interior and Environment funding bill that includes a provision to halt the rule.  Last week, the full House approved a similar ban on funding for the rule in the appropriations bill that funds the Army Corps of Engineers.  The prospect of a similar provision to ban funding for the rule has helped bring the entire appropriations process to a standstill in the Senate, where a committee markup of the Energy and Water Development Appropriation was canceled, and a package of three unrelated funding bills was pulled from the Senate floor.

White House Announces Build America Investment Initiative

Yesterday, President Obama announced a major Build America initiative to increase infrastructure investment and economic growth.  The Build America initiative also establishes the Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) to be housed at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).  As envisioned, BATIC would provide local and state governments a one-stop shop for innovative financing resources and private sector partnership opportunities to support transportation infrastructure.  The Build America initiative also establishes the Build America Interagency Working Group, a joint effort between U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, to address barriers to private sector infrastructure investments in a variety of industries including water, energy, communications, and ports and harbors.  Lastly, as part of the Build America initiative the Treasury Department will host an infrastructure investment summit for federal, state and local officials on September 9, 2014 in an effort to discuss innovative infrastructure financing solutions and infrastructure investment opportunities. 

Detailed information on this Build America Investment Initiative is available on the White House Fact Sheet, accessed here.  RCRC will be taking a closer look at the Build America initiative over the coming weeks and provide additional information as it becomes available.

For additional information on federal issues, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at (916) 447-4806 or rechevarria@rcrcnet.org.

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Thursday, July 3, 2014 marked the last working day for the California State Assembly and Senate before their summer recess.  The California State Assembly and Senate are currently on summer recess, and will reconvene activities on Monday, August 4, 2014. 

For more information regarding state or federal legislative calendars, please contact the RCRC Governmental Affairs staff at (916) 447-4806.