Resolution No. 2012-069RESOLUTION NO. 2012-69
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON IN SUPPORT OF SB 1386 (LOWENTHAL) AMENDING
CALIFORNIA WATER CODE TO ELIMINATE DUPLICATION OF
AUTHORITY FOR GROUNDWATER STORAGE BY WATER
DISTRICTS
WHEREAS, the City of Vernon (the "City") is a municipal
corporation and a chartered city of the State of California organized
and existing under its Charter and the Constitution of the State of
California; and
WHEREAS, in the Central and West Basin areas of Los Angeles
County, there are three water districts, one which overlays both
Basins is a water replenishment district whose primary mission relates
to groundwater supplies and the other two are municipal water
districts whose primary mission relates to imported water supplies;
and
WHEREAS, for more than fifty (50) years and until quite
recently, the groundwater role of the Water Replenishment District and
the imported water role of Central Basin Municipal Water District and
the West Basin Municipal Water District (collectively the "Basins")
have been acknowledged and respected by all three districts; and
WHEREAS, historically, the many customers that the
respective districts have in common deal with the Water Replenishment
District on groundwater matters and the Municipal Water Districts on
imported water matters; and
WHEREAS, the Water Code provides virtually identical
authority over particular matters to different types of water
districts; and
WHEREAS, the authority to store water is an example of such
duplication; and
WHEREAS, in designing statutory authority for different
types of water districts, the Legislature did not anticipate that
different districts with overlapping boundaries would intentionally
perform the same functions in the same place; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, the Central Basin Water District
has inserted itself into the groundwater arena, first by purchasing
groundwater extraction rights it does not use, then by relying on
those rights to file or intervene in groundwater litigation, and then
by sponsoring unsuccessful legislation naming itself the groundwater
overseer of the Central Basin; and
WHEREAS, most recently, the Central Basin Municipal Water
District has embarked on the development of a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Report for groundwater storage,, an action opposed
by the vast majority, if not all, groundwater producers in both
Basins; and
WHEREAS, these incursions into the groundwater arena have.
resulted in enormous expenditures.of time and money by groundwater
producers in both Basins who, among other things, for example, must
bear the costs of both sides in the groundwater litigation; and
WHEREAS, SB 1386, introduced by Senator Alan Lowenthal and
co -sponsored by the Southeast Water Coalition, the Central Basin.Water
Association, and the West Basin Water Association, would clarify the
Water Code to eliminate the statutory language the Central Basin
Municipal Water District relies on to assert groundwater storage
authority and prohibit that District from performing related
groundwater storage functions other than acting as a supplier of water
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to its customers as a source of storage; and
WHEREAS, by memorandum dated April 25, 2012, the Director of
Community Services & Water has recommended that the City support
SB 1386 amending California Water Code Section 71610 to eliminate
duplication of groundwater storage functions by overlapping water
agencies.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF VERNON AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
finds and determines that the recitals contained hereinabove are true
and correct.
SECTION 2: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
states its support of SB 1386 and directs the City Clerk, or the City
Clerk's designee, to send a copy of this Resolution, to State Senator
Alan Lowenthal and to members of the City's legislation delegation.
SECTION 3: The City Clerk of the City of Vernon shall
certify to the passage, approval and adoption of this resolution, and
the City Clerk of the City of Vernon shall cause this resolution and
the City Clerk's certification to be entered in the File of
Resolutions of the Council of this City.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 15th day of May; 2012.
I
Willia4m�J Davis
Name:
Title:•-""ayor Pro-Tem
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
ss
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
I, Willard G. Yamaguchi, City Clerk of the City of Vernon, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution, being Resolution
No. 2012-69, was duly passed,.approved and adopted by the City Council
of the City of Vernon at a regular meeting of the City Council duly
held on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, and thereafter was duly signed by the
Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Vernon.
Executed this day of May, 2012, t Vernon, California.
/41
11
(SEAL)
ty Clerk
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OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
4305 Santa Fe Avenue, Vernon, California 90058
Telephone (323) 583-8811
May 17, 2012
The Honorable Alan S. Lowenthal
Paramount District Office
16401 Paramount Blvd.
Paramount, CA 90723
Re: Support of SB 1386 (Lowenthal) Amending California Water Code to Eliminate
Duplication of Authority for Groundwater Storage by Water Districts
Dear Senator Lowenthal:
Transmitted herewith is a copy of Resolution No. 2012-69 that was approved by City Council on
May 15, 2012.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please call Kevin Wilson at (323) 583-881 l Ext.
245.
very 1y yours,
IL4ARDY
City Clerk
WGY:dj
Enclosure
c: William "Bill" Davis
Richard Maisano
W. Michael McCormick
Scott Rigg
S. Kevin Wilson
Resolution No. 2012-69
Exclusively Industrial
Juarez, Debbie
From: Wilson, Kevin
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 3:53 PM
To: Juarez, Debbie
Subject: FW: Offices Directory I Senator Alan Lowenthal
Can you forward the resolution to the below individual.
-----Original Message -----
From: Rigg, Scott
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 1:59 PM
To: Wilson, Kevin
Subject: RE: Offices Directory I Senator Alan Lowenthal
Joshua.tooker(@sen.ca.sov
-----Original Message -----
From: Wilson, Kevin
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 10:28 AM
To: Rigg, Scott
Subject: FW: Offices Directory I Senator Alan Lowenthal
Who do we want the support SB 1386 Resolution sent to.
-----Original Message -----
From: Juarez, Debbie
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 5:06 PM
To: Wilson, Kevin
Subject: Offices Directory I Senator Alan Lowenthal
http://sd27.senate.ca.gov/offices
RE: Vernon in Support of SB 1386
Hi Kevin. Please let me know the office that you want the resolution sent to. Thank you.
1
RECEIVED
Miru APR 2 6 2012
�� 8 CITY AOMINISTRATION
RIS44TIYPhWWRgMEPT STAFF REPORT
COMMUNITY SERVICES & WATER DEPARTMENT
DATE: April 25, 2012
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Samuel Kevin Wilson, Director of Community Services & Water
RE: Resolution to Support SB 1386 — Proposed Amendment to Water Code to
Eliminate Duplication of Functions by Water Districts
The California Legislature (Legislature) granted municipal water districts the ability to acquire,
distribute and store water for beneficial use. Though this authority is not explicitly defined in the Water
Code, it creates a statutory conflict when .another district with the explicit authority to store water in
underground water basins overlaps'a municipal water district's service area. The Legislature created this
situation when it granted the Central Basin Municipal. Water District (CBMWD) and the Water
Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) virtually identical authority to manage and store
groundwater for beneficial use. SB 1386 (Senator Alan Lowenthal), if signed into law, would eliminate
this duplication.
In designing statutory authority for different types of water districts, the Legislature did not
anticipate that different districts with overlapping boundaries would attempt to perform the same
functions. Where the potential conflict has been apparent in a significant instance, the Legislature has
taken steps to clear up the conflict by explicitly providing that a particular function may be performed
only by a particular type of water district.
For more than 50 years and until recently, the "groundwater" role of the WRD and the "imported
water" role of the CBMWD and the West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD) have been
acknowledged and respected by the districts. Historically, customers of the respective districts have dealt
with the WRD on groundwater matters and CBMWD on imported water matters.
The CBMWD has, in recent time, become an integral player in the groundwater arena. This has been
accomplished by purchasing groundwater extraction rights it does not use and then relying on those rights .
to gain legal status to intervene as a party in a pending Central Basin judgment amendment relating to
groundwater storage. Moreover, the CBMWD has attempted to assert primacy as the groundwater storage
management agency for Central Water Basin. This attempt to become the groundwater storage manager
agency for the Central Water Basin has been met with significant opposition from water purveyors in the
region:
These actions have resulted in the enormous expenditure of time and money by West Basin and
Central Basin groundwater producers who must bear the cost of storage litigation defense by the WRD.
Regardless of where a producer stands on the question of storage, a groundwater producer pays the costs
resulting from the CBMWD's venture into the groundwater storage arena.
RECEIVED
APR 3 0 2012
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
COMMUNITY SERVICES & WATER DEPARTMENT
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: Mark Whitworth, City Administrator
FROM: Samuel Kevin Wilson; Director of Community Services and Water
DATE: April 25, 2012
SUBJECT: Resolution to Support SB 1386 Proposed Amendment to Water Code to Eliminate
Duplication of Functions by Water Districts
The California Legislature (Legislature) granted municipal water districts the ability to acquire, distribute
and store water for beneficial use. Though this authority is not explicitly defined in the Water Code, it creates a .
statutory conflict when another district with the explicit authority to store water in underground water basins
overlaps a municipal water district's service area. The Legislature created this situation when it granted the
Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD) and the Water Replenishment District of Southern
California (WRD) virtually identical authority to manage and store groundwater for beneficial use. SB 1386
(Senator Alan Lowenthal), if signed into law, would eliminate this duplication.
The CBMWD has, in recent time, become an integral player in the groundwater arena. This has been
accomplished by purchasing groundwater extraction rights it does not use and then relying on those rights to
gain legal status to intervene as a party in a pending Central Basin judgment amendment relating to groundwater
storage. Moreover, the CBMWD has attempted to assert primacy as the groundwater storage management
agency for Central Water Basin. This attempt to become the groundwater storage manager agency for the
Central Water Basin has been met with significant opposition from water purveyors in the region. These actions
have resulted in the enormous expenditure of time and money by West Basin and Central Basin groundwater
producers who must bear the cost of storage litigation defense by the WRD. The passage of SB 1386 would
correct this issue by prohibiting a municipal water district from groundwater storage activities if the district's
service area serves a population greater than 8 million and at least 80 percent of the municipal's service area is
included in the boundaries of a water replenishment district. SB 1386 as drafted impacts one municipal water
district in the state.
A Staff Report and Sample Resolution are herein attached recommending the City Council adopt a
Resolution in support of SB 1386 at the May 15, 2012 meeting. Thank you.
F:lSwu\SCWWyDxwm"B 13WCkyAd.SB 13MA.
RESOLUTION NO
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON IN SUPPORT OF SB 1386 (LOWENTHAL)
AMENDING CALIFORNIA WATER CODE TO ELIMINATE
DUPLICATION OF AUTHORITY FOR GROUNDWATER
STORAGE BY WATER DISTRICTS
WHEREAS, in the Central and West Basin areas of Los Angeles County there are three
water districts; and,
WHEREAS, overlying both Basins is a water replenishment district whose primary
mission relates to groundwater supplies; and,
WHEREAS, the other two are municipal water districts whose primary mission relates to
imported water supplies; and,
WHEREAS, for more than 50 years and until quite recently, the "groundwater" role of
the Water Replenishment District and the "imported water role" of Central Basin Municipal
Water District and the West Basin Municipal Water District have been acknowledged and
respected by all three districts; and,
WHEREAS, historically, the many customers that the respective districts have in
common dealt with the Water Replenishment District on groundwater matters and. the Municipal
Water Districts on imported water matters; and,
WHEREAS, the Water Code provides virtually identical authority over particular matters
to different types of water districts; and,
WEREAS, the authority to store water is an example of such duplication; and,
WHEREAS, in designing statutory authority for different types of water districts, the
Legislature doubtless did not anticipate that different districts with overlapping boundaries
would intentionally perform the same functions in the same place, and,
WHEREAS, in recent years, the Central Basin Municipal Water District has inserted
itself into the groundwater arena, first by purchasing groundwater extraction rights it does not
use, then by relying on those rights to file or intervene in groundwater litigation, and then by
sponsoring unsuccessful legislation naming itself the groundwater overseer of Central Basin;
and,
WHEREAS, most recently the Central Basin Municipal Water District has embarked on
the development of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for groundwater storage, an
action opposed by the vast majority if not all groundwater producers in both Basins; and,