YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK

CCA-SPONSORED LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO PRESERVE WATER MEASUREMENT AND TRAINING COURSES

by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur

On January 25, Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) introduced CCA-sponsored Senate Bill 880. If signed into law, SB 880 would indefinitely extend the availability of University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) water diversion monitoring and reporting courses which certify ranchers and other water rightsholders as “qualified individuals” for purposes of installing and maintaining water measurement devices required by state law

As many readers will recall, a 2015 budget trailer bill, SB 88, required all water rightsholders with diversions greater than 10 acre-feet of water per year to install measurement devices at their points of diversion (among other requirements). Implementing regulations enacted by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in 2016 required those devices to be installed by “qualified individuals,” who for diversions of 100 acre-feet or more per year were defined as professional engineers or certain licensed contractors. Unfortunately, hiring “qualified individuals” to travel to often-remote points of diversion to install measurement devices can be quite costly: estimates ranged from a minimum of about $1,800 per diversion up to $15,000 per diversion for some water rightsholders.

To minimize the financial impacts to ranchers while ensuring the accuracy of water measurement data transmitted to the SWRCB, CCA in 2017 worked with Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-O’Neals) to sponsor Assembly Bill 589. AB 589 enabled ranchers and other water rightsholders to take an instructional course in water measurement from UCCE and, upon subsequently passing a proficiency test, become a “qualified individual” for purposes of installing their own measurement device.

The training has been wildly successful, with 1,328 water diverters taking the course since it was first offered in 2018 – including in online courses which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those diverters have each enjoyed substantial savings over hiring an engineer or contractor to install a measurement device.

Indeed, even the SWRCB seems to recognize the value of these “AB 589 courses,” as the courses have substantially improved the rate of compliance with water measurement and reporting requirements instituted by SB 88 and its implementing regulations. Most of the SWRCB’s water rights enforcement staff have taken the measurement and reporting courses, and have noted that these courses have enabled state regulators to better understand the unique challenges facing many ranchers and other water rightsholders.

As a compromise to ensure that AB 589 was signed into law in 2017, a “sunset clause” was added to the bill which would see the program terminated effective January 1, 2023. If AB 589 were to sunset at the beginning of next year, it could have significant ramifications for diverters. For instance, ranchers with diversions greater than 100 acre-feet per year would be required to hire engineers or contractors to replace or repair existing measurement devices, or to calibrate their measurement devices as is required by regulation every five years.

Given the immense success of the program, CCA is seeking via SB 880 to remove that sunset provision from statute, continuing the training program – and the “qualified individual” status it confers upon course participants – indefinitely.

We thank Senator Laird and Assemblyman Bigelow, who is a co-author of SB 880 in the Assembly, for their leadership on this issue. SB 880 will receive its first legislative hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on Tuesday, March 8. CCA will keep you informed as the bill progresses through the legislative process and will continue to provide updates on CCA’s legislative priorities as the Legislative Session continues.

A Note on Water Use Reporting Due Dates

In addition to requiring water measurement at a point of diversion, 2015’s SB 88 required annual reporting of water diversion and use. Under the SWRCB’s regulations implementing SB 88, water diversion and use reports covered the calendar year (January 1 – December 31) and were due April 1 (for permits, licenses, registrations and certificates) or July 1 (for Statements of Diversion and Use for riparian and pre-1914 rights).

In 2021, another budget trailer bill, SB 155, changed those provisions in order to transition reporting to the water year (October 1 – September 30) and establish a uniform reporting deadline for all water rights of February 1.

As the SWRCB implements this transition, April 1 will be the reporting deadline this year for all water rights holders to report their diversion and use of water for the nine month “stub period” of Jan. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2021.

February 1, 2023 will be the deadline for all water rights holders to report their diversion and use for the water year beginning October 1, 2021 and ending September 30 of this year. Every February 1 thereafter will be the deadline for reporting diversion and use for the prior water year.

In February, Noah Lopez of the California Cattlemen’s Foundation’s Ranchers Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) hosted an educational webinar to go over these changes to the SWRCB’s water diversion and use reporting deadlines and to answer producer questions regarding the change. If you missed that update and are interested in watching a recording of the webinar, reach out the RTAP team at (916) 406-6902 or via email at rtap@wrstrat.com. RTAP provides free regulatory assistance for all cattle ranchers in California with support from the California Cattle Council