Earlier this week, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the Proposed Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Basin Boundary Emergency Regulations in a step toward meeting the first major SGMA deadline for DWR and providing the rules that establish an important process for local agencies to continue their implementation of this groundwater law.  

DWR is required to adopt emergency regulations by January 1, 2016 which outline the process that local agencies need to follow when requesting modifications to existing boundaries of groundwater basins and subbasins, or creating new subbasins.  The emergency regulations also identify the methodology and criteria that will be applied by DWR when reviewing and approving the boundary modification requests.  The SGMA used the existing groundwater basin and subbasin boundaries in California based on Bulletin 118, a comprehensive report on California groundwater resources that is periodically updated by DWR.

On July 17, 2015, DWR released an initial public draft of the emergency regulations, inviting public review and comment through September 4, 2015, and holding three additional public meetings around the state.  DWR reviewed and made revisions to the July 17, 2015 draft based on the public comments submitted and considered feedback from the California Water Commission throughout the emergency regulation development.

DWR will present the emergency regulations to the California Water Commission on October 21, 2015, and if approved, the regulations will be sent to the Office of Administrative Law for processing in order to take effect.

Additional information on the emergency regulations and California’s existing groundwater basins and subbasins can be accessed here.