BILL NUMBER: AB 1242	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gray

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to add Section 13145.5 to the Water Code, relating to water
quality.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1242, as introduced, Gray. Water quality: impacts on
groundwater basins: mitigation measures.
   Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board
and the 9 California regional water quality control boards as the
principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to
water quality. Existing law requires the State Water Resources
Control Board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality
control. Existing law requires each regional board to formulate and
adopt water quality control plans for all areas within the region and
prohibits a water quality control plan, or a revision of the plan,
adopted by a regional board, from becoming effective unless it is
approved by the state board.
   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.
   This bill would require the state board to take into consideration
any applicable groundwater sustainability plan or alternative in
formulating state policy for water quality control and adopting or
approving a water quality control plan that affects a groundwater
basin. This bill would require the state board to evaluate impacts on
groundwater basins, consider alternatives and mitigation measures to
avoid or mitigate any adverse impacts on groundwater quality or
supply, and avoid or mitigate those adverse impacts to the extent
feasible before adopting or approving water quality objectives or a
program of implementation that requires instream flows for protection
of instream beneficial uses.
   Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be
prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact
report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve
that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a
negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that
effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated
negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect
on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or
mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the
project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the
environment. CEQA authorizes a public agency to approve a project
that would result in significant effects on the environment that are
not feasible to mitigate by issuing a statement of overriding
consideration making a finding that specific overriding economic,
legal, social, technological, or other benefits of the project
outweigh the significant effect on the environment.
   This bill would require the state board to adopt and implement
mitigation measures to make any adverse impacts to the groundwater
basin that are less than significant. This bill would prohibit the
state board from adopting a statement of overriding consideration if
there is a significant adverse impact to a groundwater basin and
would prohibit the state board from adopting or approving a water
quality control plan if there is a significant adverse impact to the
groundwater basin.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 13145.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
   13145.5.  (a) In formulating state policy for water quality
control and adopting or approving a water quality control plan that
affects a groundwater basin, the state board shall take into
consideration any applicable groundwater sustainability plan or
alternative adopted or approved under Part 2.74 (commencing with
Section 10720) of Division 6.
   (b) (1) Before adopting or approving water quality objectives or a
program of implementation that requires instream flows for
protection of instream beneficial uses, the state board shall
evaluate impacts on groundwater basins, consider alternatives and
mitigation measures to avoid or mitigate any adverse impacts on
groundwater quality or supply, and avoid or mitigate those adverse
impacts to the extent feasible.
   (2) If the state board finds any adverse impacts to the
groundwater basin that are significant, as defined in Section 21068
of the Public Resources Code, the state board shall adopt and
implement mitigation measures to make any adverse impact less than
significant.
   (3) The state board shall not adopt a statement of overriding
consideration pursuant to Section 21081 of the Public Resources Code
if there is a significant adverse impact to a groundwater basin. The
state board shall not adopt or approve a water quality control plan
as required pursuant to Section 13245 if there is a significant
adverse impact to a groundwater basin.