Plain English Breakdown
The official text refers to definitions ('as defined') without providing them, so specific criteria for what counts as a small restoration use are unknown.
Water Rights for Small Restoration Use
AB-717 adds 'small restoration use' as a new category of water rights that people can obtain by registering with the State Water Resources Control Board.
What This Bill Does
- Allows any person to register and get a right to take water for small restoration uses, if defined in law.
- Lets applicants apply for a restoration management permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- Requires people who get a restoration management permit to include its conditions when they register their water use with the board.
- Stops new registrations on specific stream segments until the State Water Resources Control Board sets instream flow requirements, if the Director of Fish and Wildlife has proposed such requirements for that segment.
- Requires the board to consider any proposed streamflow requirements from the director before setting final rules.
Who It Names or Affects
- People who want to use water for small restoration projects
- The Department of Fish and Wildlife
- The State Water Resources Control Board
Terms To Know
- Appropriation right
- A legal permission granted by the state to take water from a source for a specific use.
- Small restoration use
- A new category of water use defined in law that allows people to register and obtain rights to appropriate water for restoration purposes.
- Instream flow requirements
- Rules set by the board about how much water must stay in a stream, which become part of general conditions for certain areas.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill states that 'small restoration use' is defined but does not provide the specific definition text.
- It is unclear exactly when or how this law takes effect because no effective date is listed in the provided material.
- The bill mentions a nonsubstantive change to an existing exemption for stream segments, but does not explain what that wording change involves.