Amended
IN
Assembly
April 20, 2023 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks |
February 16, 2023 |
Existing
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 on a project that the lead agency 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.
The board may adopt regulations for any of the following purposes:
(a)To prevent the waste, unreasonable use, unreasonable method of use, or unreasonable method of diversion of water.
(b)To promote water recycling or water conservation.
(c)To protect public trust resources.
(d)To require curtailment of diversions when water is not available under the diverter’s priority of right.
(e)In furtherance of any of the purposes of this section, to require reporting of diversion or use or the preparation of
monitoring reports.
(a)The board may implement regulations through orders curtailing the diversion or use of water under any claim of right.
(b)(1)The board shall provide notice and an opportunity to be heard, except where an opportunity to be heard before the issuance of an order would be impractical given the likelihood of harm to the purposes described in Section 1065, or other relevant circumstances.
(2)The opportunity to be heard may be tailored to the circumstances, may be a collective rather than individual process, and may be written or oral.
(3)If the board does not provide an opportunity to be heard before the issuance of an order, the board shall promptly provide the opportunity after the issuance of the order, such as through the petition for reconsideration process pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1120).
(a)A person or entity may be civilly liable for a violation of any regulation or order issued under this chapter in an amount not to exceed the sum of the following:
(1)One thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day in which the violation has occurred.
(2)Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each acre-foot of water diverted or used in violation of the applicable requirement.
(b)Civil liability may be imposed by the superior court. The Attorney General, upon the request of the board, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover those sums.
(c)Civil liability may be imposed administratively by the board pursuant to Section 1055.
A regulation or order issued by the board under this chapter or Section 1058.5 shall be exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
This chapter does not limit any authority held by the board under this code or any other law.
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