Plain English Breakdown
The official summary mentions a state-mandated local program cost for agencies, but notes that no reimbursement is required for an unspecified reason.
AB-1413: Updates to Groundwater Management Plans and Court Rules
This law requires groundwater agencies to review their sustainable yield every seven years using the best available science, changes deadlines for filing court actions regarding plan validity, limits courts from setting water yields higher than approved plans in new cases, and mandates that certain lawsuits be combined with existing comprehensive adjudications.
What This Bill Does
- Requires groundwater sustainability agencies to review their sustainable yield at least once every seven years using the best available information and science.
- Mandates that agencies provide an opportunity for public review and comment before deciding whether to update a basin's sustainable yield.
- Allows agencies to file court actions to validate their plans within 180 days of adoption, rather than waiting until after 180 days have passed.
- Sets a deadline requiring legal challenges against agency decisions or determinations to be filed within 90 days of the action.
- Prohibits courts in adjudication cases filed after January 1, 2025, from establishing a safe yield that exceeds the sustainable yield found in a valid groundwater sustainability plan.
- Requires lawsuits challenging an agency's actions regarding plans to be consolidated with existing comprehensive adjudications for that basin.
- Requires courts hearing these combined cases to decide on the review of the sustainable yield determination before addressing other issues.
Who It Names or Affects
- Groundwater Sustainability Agencies responsible for managing local basins
- Courts handling water rights adjudication cases
- Parties involved in groundwater lawsuits or public comment periods
Terms To Know
- Sustainable Yield
- The amount of groundwater that can be pumped from a basin annually without causing long-term harm, as determined by the agency.
- Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA)
- A local group created to manage and protect water in a specific underground basin under state law.
- Comprehensive Groundwater Adjudication
- A court case that decides how much water each person or entity can take from an entire groundwater basin.
Limits and Unknowns
- The prohibition on courts setting higher yields does not apply to comprehensive adjudications where a final determination was made before January 1, 2026.
- Special filing rules for parties in existing cases only apply if the case was filed prior to January 1, 2025.