Resolution No. 2013-092RESOLUTION NO. 2013-92
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON SUPPORTING THE 2013 THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
TO THE CENTRAL BASIN GROUNDWATER ADJUDICATION TO
PROVIDE FOR STORAGE AND EXTRACTION OF GROUNDWATER
AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO CONDUCT ALL ACTIONS
NECESSARY OR ADVISABLE CONCERNING THE RELATED
LITIGATION
WHEREAS, the City of Vernon (the "City") operates a municipal
water distribution system serving a majority of the retail water users
located within the City; and
WHEREAS, the City overlies a groundwater basin commonly known
as the "Central Groundwater Basin," a subsurface water basin or
reservoir, from which the City derives a significant portion of its
water for delivery to its citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, the lack of a structured storage plan in the Central
Groundwater Basin has hindered the ability of the City and the region
to strategically plan for additional growth, as well as periods of
drought and water surpluses; and
WHEREAS, in light of these factors, it is imperative that the
City take prudent steps to access and make use of imported supplies of
water as and when they become available; and
WHEREAS, since 1965, rights to extract and use groundwater
within the Central Groundwater Basin have been governed by the terms of
the Judgment rendered by the Court in Central and West Basin Water
Replenishment District v. Charles E. Adams, et al, Los Angeles Superior
Court Case No. 786 656 (the "Central Basin Judgment"); this Judgment
did not establish a water storage plan; and
WHEREAS, there exists within the Central Groundwater Basin a
substantial amount of space that has not been optimally utilized for
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basin management and for storage of native and imported waters; and
such space can be prudently used for (i) more efficient procurement and
management of water imported to replenish supplies, and (ii) for the
reasonable storage and recovery of water for the benefit of individual
parties to the Central Basin Judgment, including the City of Vernon;
and
WHEREAS, on February 9, 2009, the City Council of the City of
Vernon adopted Resolution No. 9858 supporting the efforts of the
parties to the Central Basin Judgment to implement the Third Amended
Judgment and approving and authorizing the City's participation with
other cities and agencies in proceedings before the Court in the matter
of Central and West Basin Water Replenishment District v. Charles E.
Adams, et al., related to revising the Central Basin Judgment and plan
for groundwater storage; and
WHEREAS, the result of the 2009 efforts was a proposed
Judgment Amendment submitted to the Court, which was challenged on
jurisdictional grounds by several objecting parties, brought before the
Court of Appeal, and ultimately remanded to the Los Angeles Superior
Court for further proceedings; and
WHEREAS, the Central and West Basin Water Replenishment
District v. Charles E. Adams, et al. litigation remains pending before
the Los Angeles Superior Court and in 2012, several parties renewed the
process of negotiations aimed at revising the Central Basin Judgment
and plan for groundwater storage; and
WHEREAS, through a collaborative process over the past
several months, a significant portion of water rights holders.,
groundwater agencies and other interested parties have developed a
revised and agreed -upon framework that, if approved by the Court, could
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provide for better utilization of such storage space for the benefit of
the region, including an orderly process for the management thereof;
and
WHEREAS, these parties plan to present to the Court a
proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment, which would allow for storage and
extraction of water in the Central Groundwater Basin consistent with
the agreed -upon framework; and
WHEREAS, by memorandum dated November 5, 2013, the Director
of Community Services & Water has recommended that it is in the best
interests of the City and its citizens and businesses to support such
effort and to encourage the Court to so amend the Central Basin
Judgment.
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 above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 2: The City Council of the City of Vernon finds
that this action is exempt under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA), in accordance with Section 15061(b)(3), the general rule
that CEQA only applies to projects that may have an effect on the
environment.
SECTION 3: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
approves and authorizes the City's participation with other cities and
agencies in proceedings before the Los Angeles Superior Court relating
to the 2013 Third Amended Judgment in the matter of Central and West
Basin Water Replenishment District v. Charles E. Adams, et al, Los
Angeles Superior Court Case No. 786 656.
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SECTION 4: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
directs the Director of Community Services & Water, or his designee,
to advise the appropriate parties of the City's support regarding the
proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment.
SECTION 5: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
authorizes the City Attorney, or his designee, to review and execute
any documents necessary to implement and carry out the purposes of any
Court proceedings.related to the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment
in the above -referenced matter.
SECTION 6: The Interim City Clerk, or Deputy City Clerk, of
the City of Vernon shall certify to the passage, approval and adoption
of this resolution, and the Interim City Clerk, or Deputy City Clerk,
of the City of Vernon shall cause this resolution and the Interim City
Clerk's, or Deputy City Clerk's, certification to be entered in the
File of Resolutions of the Council of this City.
APPROVED ANU ADOPTED this 5th day of November, 2013.
Name: W. Michael McCormick
Title: Mayor
ATTEST:
`'bana Reed
Interim City Clerk / peptr
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Moussa, Deputy City Attorney
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
) ss
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
I Dana Reed , Interim City Clerk
the City of Vernon, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution,
being Resolution No. 2013-92, 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, November 5,2013, and thereafter was duly
signed by the Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Vernon.
Executed this 7 day of November, 2013, at Vernon, California.
(SEAL)
OJ
D a Reed
Interim City Clerk / -B__r ty y ^ul� �
1 y
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CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
DATE: November 7, 2013
TO: Kevin Wilson, Director of Community Services & Water
FROM: Deborah Juarez, Records Management Assistant
RE: Resolution No. 2013-92 — A Resolution of the City Cteil of the City of Vernon
Supporting the 2013 Third Amended Judgment to the Central Basin Groundwater
Adjudication to Provide for Storage and Extraction of Groundwater and Authorizing the
City to Conduct All Actions Necessary or Advisable Concerning the Related Litigation
Please find attached a copy of Resolution No. 2013-92 referenced above, which was approved by City
Council on November 5, 2013.
Thank you.
c: Scott Rigg
Resolution No. 2013-92
RECEIVED
OCT 2 9 2013
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
STAFF REPORT
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES AND
OCT 2 4 2013
CITY ADMINISTRATION
WATER
C-4a
DATE: November 5, 2013
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Samuel Kevin Wilson, Director of Community Services and Water
RE: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Vernon Supporting the 2013
Third Amended Judgment to the Central Basin Groundwater Adjudication
to provide for storage and extraction of groundwater and authorizing the
City to conduct all actions necessary or advisable concerning the related
litigation.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council:
' 1. Find that approval of the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment regarding Grodndwater
Storage in the Central Groundwater Basin, attached hereto, is exempt under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with Section 15061(b)(3), the general rule that CEQA only applies to
projects that may have an effect on the environment; and
2. Approve a Resolution supporting the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment regarding
Groundwater Storage and Extraction in the Central Water Basin and authorizing the City to review and
execute any documents necessary to implement and carry out the purposes of any Court proceedings
related to the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment.
3. Approve the City's execution of the 2013 Third Amended Judgment, in substantially the same
form as submitted herewith as Attachment A.
Backeround
The City of Vernon is a party to ongoing litigation regarding the facilitation and implementation
of groundwater storage and extraction in the Central Basin. This litigation dates back to the 1950's, when
vast urbanization of South East Los Angeles County resulted in greater demand being placed on
groundwater supplies. The resulting over -extraction of groundwater lowered the water table and
production wells began to dry -up. The original judgment in this matter, finalized in 1965, established
water rights based on limiting the pumping of water. The judgment did not establish a water storage plan.
Today, the Central Basin is one of the few groundwater basins in California that does not allow
groundwater storage and conjunctive use. The lack of a structured storage plan has hindered the ability of
the region to strategically plan for additional growth, as well as periods of drought and water surpluses.
The ability to secure imported water supplies decreased significantly over the years due to increased
competition for this water. This is a primary factor in the need to develop local water resources.
There is a general consensus among the affected agencies and jurisdictions that a water storage
plan, if designed and operated appropriately, would be a major benefit to the region's residents,
businesses, and institutions that depend on reliable water, delivered at cost-effective rates. It was
determined that the best method to establish a storage plan, through which stored water could be managed
and recovered with legal certainty, was to amend the 1965 Judgment.
The most recent Court -approved change in the Central Basin Judgment was the Second Amended
Judgment, entered on May 9, 1991. The Second Amended Judgment increased parties' ability to carry
over up to 20% of the adjudicated water rights, thus allowing water that was not produced in one year to
be produced in the following year. Since 1991, water rights holders have attempted to negotiate
provisions to allow for additional water storage in the Central Basin. Various efforts, including attempts
to litigate and legislate, were unsuccessful. In June 2007, the California Department of Water Resources
selected a mediator to attempt a negotiated resolution regarding storage rights, but these efforts were also
unsuccessful
In 2009, a number of parties (including the City of Vernon) moved the Court to amend the
Judgment to include a water storage plan. Several other cities objected to the proposed amendment,
arguing that the Court did not have jurisdiction over storage rights; the objecting parties won at the trial
court level, but the Court of Appeal reversed the decision and remanded the case back to the trial court for
further proceedings. In addition, cities relying heavily on leased water were concerned the Judgment
would result in an escalation of lease water costs with the carryover of water rights being originally
proposed at 100%.
In 2012, the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Cerritos, and Downey initiated the
process of revising the plan for groundwater storage, which resulted in a draft Third Amendment to the
Central Basin Judgment. In February 2013, the above -mentioned cities distributed the draft framework for
review and comment by the other parties to the litigation. This draft has been subject to an extensive
review process by the affected agencies and jurisdictions, including the City of Vernon, and has been
revised based on comments received during that process. The following are key elements of the proposed
groundwater storage plan framework, as fully set forth in the draft Third Amended Judgment:
1. Establishes available water storage in the Central Basin at 330,000 acre feet.
2. Increases the allowable carryover of unused water rights in a fiscal year from
20% to 60%. This increase will be increased at 10% intervals each year, over a
period of four years.
3. Allows the storage of water without fees or pre -approvals.
4. Provides for the extraction of stored water without fees or taxes.
5. Allows for the establishment of an Individual Storage Account in an amount up to
50% of water rights for each water rights holder, and access to a Community
Storage Pool for higher amounts.
6. Allows parties the ability to cumulatively store up to 200% of the party's annual
extraction rights in Individual and Community Storage Pool Accounts.
7. Allows for conversion of carryover to stored water by payment of replenishment
assessment.
8. Outlines the use of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
spreading grounds for individual storage projects.
9. Recognizes previously stored water by Cerritos, Downey, Lakewood and Long
Beach.
10. Provides a "leave behind" requirement for water stored in the Community Pool
for over 10 years; 5% loss of stored water per year based on the lowest quantity
held in storage during the 10 year period.
11. Creates a seven -member Water Rights Panel elected by water rights holders.
12. Selects the Water Replenishment District ("WRD") to function as record -keeper,
and provides the agency with space to capture water for replenishment purposes
(but does not grant WRD any rights to store water for its own account). The cost
for the record -keeping function is capped at an amount significantly less than the
expense currently incurred for Watermaster services, resulting in a significant
savings to all water producers.
13. Removes the California Department of Water Resources as Watermaster. Grants
the pumpers' Water Rights Panel responsibility over water rights and reporting
compliance to the Court.
14. Allows WRD to participate in the evaluation and approval of certain storage
projects that will involve construction of new facilities, excluding locations where
existing facilities are used.
15. Establishes guidelines for development of Large Storage Projects and Water
Rights Augmentation Projects, both of which are projects that require substantial
capital costs to implement, and are subject to CEQA guidelines. Requires such
projects to be reviewed by a Storage Panel consisting of the Water Rights Panel
and WRD Board. This bicameral panel shall approve these projects by majority
vote of each body.
16. Establishes a Regional Disadvantaged Communities Incentive Program by setting
aside23,000 acre feet of Community Storage Pool space for beneficial use by
such communities for the purposes of water system improvements and rate
stabilization.
17. Allows limited overextraction for certain public water systems that straddle the
Basin boundary where they do not fully extract West Basin rights.
18. Limits extractions over 140% of extraction rights (APA plus leases) in sensitive
areas of the basin to prevent material physical harm to other pumpers.
19. Eliminates mining of the basin by outside interests by restricting water;export to
existing contracts.
20. Prohibits the exporting of extracted water from the Central Basin to outside parties; with
the exception of water imported for the purpose of storage, and export of water that will
take place pursuant to existing contractual obligations.
Summary
The proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment creates a structured administrative process for
groundwater management that will reduce the region's dependence on imported water supplies. With a
functioning groundwater management process in place, the Central Basin may be eligible for additional
State and Federal funding for qualifying projects of regional significance. Moreover, the Third Amended
Judgment will benefit the City of Vernon (City) through the increased carryover from unused water rights
in a fiscal year, which would raise the current carryover limit of 20% to 60%. In addition, the Amended
Judgment would grant the City flexibility to store water in an Individual Storage Account in an amount up
to 140% of the City's adjudicated water rights. The increased carryover provision will also alleviate the
concern over losing unused water rights, and the ability to store and recover water will play a
considerable role in the City's water resource strategy as it relates to drought and water demand planning.
Thus, after a final quantitative review of the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment, it appears
the Amendment provides a well-defined structure that will promote the development of large storage
projects and water rights augmentation projects that will benefit the City of Vernon, and the region at
large.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact pertaining to the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment. Public
agencies are exempt from court filing fees under California Government Code Section 6103.
SKW/sr
Enclosures
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Attachment A
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WILLIAM F. KRUSE (CSB # 090231)
LAGERLOF, SENECAL, GOSNEY & KRUSE,LLP
301 N. Lake Avenue, loth Floor
Pasadena, CA 91101-4108
626/793-9400; FAX 626/793-5900
Attorneys for CITY OF LAKEWOOD,
CITY OF LONG BEACH
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CENTRAL AND WEST BASIN WATER
REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT, etc.,
Plaintiff,
VS.
CHARLES E. ADAMS, et al.,
Defendant
CITY OF LAKEWOOD, a municipal
corporation,
Cross -Complainant
VS.
CHARLES E. ADAMS, et al.,
Cross -Defendants.
Case No.: 786,656
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
(Declaring and establishing
water rights in Central Basin,
enjoining extractions
therefrom in excess of
specified quantities
and providing for the storage and
extraction of stored water.)
Assigned for all purposes to
Hon. Abraham Khan
Dept. 51
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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[INSERT TABLE OF CONTENTS]
The original judgment in this action was entered on or about August 27, 1965. Pursuant
to the reserved and continuing jurisdiction of the court under the Judgment herein, certain
amendments to said Judgment and temporary orders have heretofore been made and entered.
Continuing jurisdiction of the court for this action is currently assigned to HON.
The Motion of Plaintiff WATER REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA (which originally brought this action under its former name "Central and West
Basin Water Replenishment District"), and of defendants
("Moving
Parties") herein for further amendments to the Judgment, notice thereof and of the hearing
thereon having been duly and regularly given to all parties, came on for hearing in Department
51 of the above -entitled court on December 18, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. before said Hon. Abraham
Khan. This "Third Amended Judgment" incorporates amendments and orders heretofore made
to the extent presently operable and amendments pursuant to said last mentioned motion. To the
extent this Amended Judgment is a restatement of the Judgment as heretofore amended, it is for
convenience in incorporating all matters in one document, is not a read judication of such matters
and is not intended to reopen any such matters. As used hereinafter the word "Judgment" shall
include the original Judgment entered in this action as amended to date, including this Third
Amended Judgment.
There exists in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, an underground water
basin or reservoir known and hereinafter referred to as the "Central Basin" or "Basin" described
in Appendix "1" to this Judgment.
Within this Judgment, the following terms, words, phrases and clauses are used by the
Court with the following meanings:
"Adjudicated Storage Capacity" means 220,000 acre-feet of the Available Dewatered
Space which has been apportioned herein for Individual Storage Accounts and Community
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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Storage.
"Administrative Body" is defined in Section II(A).
"Administrative Year" means the twelve (12) month period beginning July 1 and ending
June 30.
"Allowed Pumping Allocation" is that quantity in acre feet which the Court adjudges to
be the maximum quantity which a party should be allowed to extract annually from Central
Basin as set forth in Part I hereof, which constitutes 80% of such party's Total Water Right.
"Allowed Pumping Allocation for a particular Administrative Year" and "Allowed
Pumping Allocation in the following Administrative Year" and similar clauses, mean the
Allowed Pumping Allocation as increased in a particular Administrative Year by any authorized
carryovers pursuant. to Section III(A) of this Judgment and as reduced by reason of any over -
extractions in a previous Administrative Year.
"Artificial Replenishment" is the replenishment of Central Basin achieved through the
spreading or injection of imported or recycled water for percolation thereof into Central Basin by
a governmental agency, including WRD.
"Artificial Replenishment Water" means water captured or procured by WRD to
replenish the Basin, either directly by percolating or injecting the water into the Basin, or
through in lieu replenishment by substituting surface water (or payment therefor) in lieu of
production and use of groundwater.
"Available Dewatered Space" means the total amount of space available to hold
groundwater within the Central Basin without causing Material Physical Harm, which space is
allocated between Adjudicated Storage Capacity and Basin Operating Reserve.
"Base Water Right" is the highest continuous extractions of water by a party from Central
Basin for a beneficial use in any period of five consecutive years after tho commencement of
overdraft in Central Basin and prior to the commencement of this action, as to which there has
been no cessation of use by that party during any subsequent period of five consecutive years.
As employed in the above definition, the words "extractions of water by a party" and "cessation
of use by that party" include such extractions and cessations by any predecessor or predecessors
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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in interest.
"Basin Operating Reserve" means a total of 110,000 acre feet of Available Dewatered
Space available for Basin operations as provided in Section IV(L). The Basin Operating Reserve
added to the Adjudicated Storage Capacity equals the amount of Available Dewatered Space.
"Calendar Year" is the twelve month period commencing January 1 of each year and
ending December 31 of each year.
"Carryover" is defined in Section III(A).
"Carryover Conversion" means the process of transferring water properly held as
Carryover into Stored Water, or the water so converted to Stored Water.
"Central Basin" is the underground basin or reservoir underlying the Central Basin Area,
the exterior boundaries of which Central Basin are the same as the exterior boundaries of Central
Basin Area.
"Central Basin Area" is the territory described in Appendix "1" to this Judgment and is a
segment of the territory comprising Plaintiff District.
"Central Basin Water Rights Panel" means the constituent body of Watermaster
consisting of seven (7) Parties elected from among parties holding Allowed Pumping Allocations
as provided in Section II(B).
"CEOA" refers to the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code
§§ 21000 et seq.
"Community Storage Pool" is defined in Section IV(E).
"Declared Water Emergency" means a period commencing with the adoption of a
resolution of the Board of Directors of WRD declaring that conditions within the Central Basin
relating to natural and imported supplies of water are such that, without implementation of the
water emergency provisions of this Judgment, the water resources of the Central Basin risk
degradation. Such Declaration may be made as provided in Section III(A)(3).
"Disadvantaged Community" means any area that is served by a Water Purveyor and that
consists of one or more contiguous census tracts which, based upon the most -recent United
States Census data, demonstrates a median household income which is less than eighty percent
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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(80%) of the median household income for all Census Tracts within the state of California. The
identification of Disadvantaged Communities shall be made by Watermaster following each
I decennial census.
"Extraction," "extractions," "extracting," "extracted," and other variations of the same
noun and verb, mean pumping, taking, diverting or withdrawing groundwater by any manner or
I means whatsoever from Central Basin.
"Imported Water" means water brought into Central Basin Area from a non -tributary
source by a party and any predecessors in interest, either through purchase directly from
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("MWD"), the Central Basin Municipal
Water District ("CBMWD"), or any other MWD member agency and additionally, as to the
Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles, water brought into the Central Basin
Area by that party by means of the Owens River Aqueduct. In the case of water imported for
storage by a party pursuant to this Judgment, "Imported Water" means water brought into the
Central Basin from any non -tributary source as one method for establishing storage in the
Central Basin.
"Imported Water Use Credit" is the annual amount, computed on a calendar year basis, of
Imported Water which any party and any predecessors in interest, who have timely made the
required filings under Water Code Section 1005.1, have imported into Central Basin Area in any
calendar year and subsequent to July 9, 1951, for beneficial use therein, but not exceeding the
amount by which that party and any predecessors in interest reduces his or their extractions of
groundwater from Central Basin in that calendar year from the level of his or their extractions in
the preceding calendar year, or in any prior calendar year not earlier than the calendar year 1950,
whichever is the greater.
"Individual Storage Allocation" is defined in Section IV(D).
"Majority Protest" means a written protest filed with the Administrative Body of
Watermaster within sixty (60) days following a protested event or decision, which evidences the
concurrence of a majority of the Allowed Pumping Allocations held within the Basin as of the
date thereof.
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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"Material Physical Harm" means material physical injury or a material diminution in the
quality or quantity of groundwater available within the Basin to support extraction of Total
Water Rights or Stored Water, that is demonstrated to be attributable to the placement, recharge,
injection, storage or recapture of Stored Water in the Central Basin, including, but not limited to,
degradation of water quality, liquefaction, land subsidence and other material physical injury
caused by elevated or lowered groundwater levels. Material Physical Harm does not include
"economic injury" that results from other than direct physical causes, including any adverse
effect on water rates, lease rates, or demand for water. Once fully mitigated, physical injury
shall no longer be considered to be material.
"Natural Replenishment" means and includes all processes other than "Artificial
Replenishment" by which water may become a part of the groundwater supply of Central Basin.
"Natural Safe Yield" is the maximum quantity of groundwater, not in excess of the long
term average annual quantity of Natural Replenishment, which may be extracted annually from
Central Basin without eventual depletion thereof or without otherwise causing eventual
permanent damage to Central Basin as a source of groundwater for beneficial use, said maximum
quantity being determined without reference to Artificial Replenishment.
"Outgoing Watermaster" is the State of California, Department of Water Resources, the
Watermaster appointed pursuant to the terms of the Judgment before this Third Amendment.
"Overdraft" is that condition of a groundwater basin resulting from extractions in any
given annual period or periods in excess of the long term average annual quantity of Natural
Replenishment, or in excess of that quantity Which may be extracted annually without otherwise
causing eventual permanent damage to the basin.
"Pgry' means a party to this action. Whenever the term "party" is used in connection
with a quantitative water right, or any quantitative right, privilege or obligation, or in connection
with the assessment for the budget of the Watermaster, it shall be deemed to refer collectively to
those parties to whom are attributed a Total Water Right in Part I of this Judgment.
"Person" or "persons' include individuals, partnerships, associations, governmental
agencies and corporations, and any and all types of entities.
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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"Recycled Water" means water that has been reclaimed through treatment appropriate for
its intended use in compliance with applicable regulations.
"Regional Disadvantaged Communities Incentive Program" means a program to be
developed by Watermaster in the manner provided in Section II(H) of this Judgment, and
approved by the Court, whereby a portion of the Community Storage Pool is made available to
or for the benefit of Disadvantaged Communities, on a priority basis within the Central Basin.
"Replenishment Assessment" means the replenishment assessment imposed by WRD
upon each acre-foot of groundwater extracted from the Central Basin pursuant to WRD's
enabling act, California Water Code §§ 60000 et seq.
"Small Water Producers Group" means a body consisting of parties holding no greater
than 5,000 acre-feet of Allowed Pumping Allocation, as set forth on Appendix 3 hereto and as
may be modified from time to time by the Group's own procedures and the requirements set
forth in Appendix 3.
"Storage Panel" or "Central Basin Storage Panel" means a bicameral constituent body of
Watermaster consisting of (i) the Central Basin Water Rights Panel and (ii) the Board of
Directors of WRD.
"Storage Project" means an activity pertaining to the placement, recharge, injection,
storage, transfer, or recapture of Stored Water within the Basin, but does not include actions by
WRD undertaken in connection with its replenishment activities.
"Stored Water" means water, including Recycled Water, held within Available
Dewatered Space as a result of spreading, injection, in -lieu delivery, or Carryover Conversion,
where there is an intention to subsequently withdraw the water for reasonable and beneficial use
pursuant to this Judgment.
"Total Water Right" is the quantity arrived at in the same manner as in the computation
of "Base Water Right," but including as if extracted in any particular year the Imported Water
Use Credit, if any, to which a particular party may be entitled.
"Water" includes only non -saline water, which is that having less than 1,000 parts of
chlorides to 1,000,000 parts of water.
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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"Water Augmentation Project" means pre -approved physical actions and management
activities that provide demonstrated appreciable increases in long-term annual groundwater yield
in the Basin that are initiated as provided in this Judgment after January 1, 2013.
"Water Purvevor I means a Party (and successors in interest) which sells water to the
public, whether a regulated public utility, mutual water, company or public entity.. As that term is
used in Section III(B)(6), "Water Purveyor," in addition to the foregoing, means a Party which
has a connection or connections for the taking of Imported Water through the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California ("MWD"), or through a MWD-member agency, or access
to such Imported Water through such connection, and which normally supplies at least a part of
its customers' water needs with such Imported Water.
"Watermaster" is defined in Part II and is comprised of (i) the Administrative Body, (ii)
the Central Basin Water Rights Panel, and (iii) the Central Basin Storage Panel. Watermaster,
and the various constituent bodies of Watermaster, as designated in this Judgment, exist as a
special master pursuant to this Judgment and Watermaster serves at the pleasure of the Court.
Nothing herein shall be construed as creating an independent designation of "Watermaster" as a
public agency subject to the provisions of CEQA, nor does membership or participation as the
designated Watermaster expand any statutory, constitutional, or other powers of the members
serving as part of the Watermaster.
"West Coast Basin" is the groundwater basin adjacent to the Central Basin which is the
subject of a separate adjudication of groundwater rights in California Water Service Company, et
al. v. City of Compton, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 506806.
"WRD" or "Water Replenishment District" is the plaintiff herein, the Water
Replenishment District of Southern California, a special district of the State of California, which
brought this action under its former name, "Central and West Basin Water Replenishment
District."
In those instances where any of the above -defined words, terms, phrases or clauses are
utilized in the definition of any of the other above -defined words, terms, phrases and clauses,
such use is with the same meaning as is above set forth.
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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NOW THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, DECLARED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED
I WITH RESPECT TO THE ACTION AND CROSS -ACTION AS FOLLOWS:
I. DECLARATION AND DETERMINATION OF WATER RIGHTS OF
PARTIES- RESTRICTION ON THE EXERCISE THEREOF.'
A. Determination of Rights of Parties.
(1) Each party, except defendants The City of Los Angeles and
Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles, whose name is set
forth in Appendix 2 and by this reference made a part hereof, and after whose
name there appears under the column "Total Water Right" a figure other than "0,"
is the owner of and has the right to extract annually groundwater from Central
Basin for beneficial use in the quantity set forth after that party's name under said
column "Total Water Right" as of the close of the Administrative Year ending
June 30, 2012 in accordance with the Watermaster Reports on file with this Court
and the records of the Plaintiff. This tabulation does not take into account
additions or subtractions from any Allowed Pumping Allocation of a producer for
the 2012-2013 Administrative Year, nor other adjustments not representing
change in fee title to water rights, such as leases of water rights, nor does .it
include the names of lessees of landowners where the lessees are exercising the
water rights. The exercise of all water rights is subject, however, to the
provisions of this Judgment as hereinafter contained. All of said rights are of the
same legal force and effect and are without priority with reference to each other.
Each party whose name is set forth in the tabulation in Appendix "2" of this
Judgment, and after whose name there appears under the column "Total Water
Right" the figure "0," owns no rights to extract any groundwater from Central
Headings in the Judgment are for purposes of reference and the language of said headings do not constitute, other
than for such purpose, a portion of this Judgment.
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Basin, and has no right to extract any groundwater from Central Basin.
(2) Defendant The City of Los Angeles is the owner of the right to
extract fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet per annum of groundwater from
Central Basin, but it has the right and ability to purchase or lease additional rights
to extract groundwater and increase its Allowed Pumping Allocation. Defendant
Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles has no right to extract
groundwater from Central Basin except insofar as it has the right, power, duty or
obligation on behalf of defendant The City of Los Angeles to exercise the water
rights in Central Basin of defendant The City of Los Angeles. The exercise of
said rights is subject, however, to the provisions of this Judgment hereafter
contained, including but not limited to, sharing with other parties in any
subsequent decreases or increases in the quantity of extractions permitted from
Central Basin, pursuant to continuing jurisdiction of the Court, on the basis that
fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet (and any increase in its Allowed Pumping
Allocation) bears to the Allowed Pumping Allocations of the other parties.
(3) No party to this action is the owner of or has any right to extract
groundwater from Central Basin except as herein affirmatively determined.
B. Parties Enjoined as to Quantities of Extractions.
(1) Each party, other than The State of California and The City of Los
Angeles and Department of Water and Power of The City of Los Angeles, is
enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date
this Judgment becomes final from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of
Water greater than the party's Allowed Pumping Allocation as hereinafter set
forth next to the name of the party in the tabulation appearing in Appendix 2 at
the end of this Judgment, subject to further provisions of this Judgment. Subject
to such further provisions, the officials, agents and employees of The State of
California are enjoined and restrained in any such Administrative Year from
extracting from Central Basin collectively any quantity of water greater than the
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Allowed Pumping Allocation of The State of California as hereinafter set forth
next to the name of that party in the same tabulation. Each party adjudged and
declared above not to be the owner of and -not to have the right to extract
groundwater from Central Basin is enjoined and restrained in any Administrative
Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final from extracting any
groundwater from Central Basin, except as may be hereinafter permitted to any
such party under this Judgment.
(2) The total extraction right for each party includes a party's Allowed
Pumping Allocation (to the extent not transferred by agreement or otherwise), any
contractual right acquired through lease or other agreement to extract or use the
rights of another party, and any right to extract Stored Water or Carryover as
provided in this Judgment. No party may extract in excess of 140% of the sum of
(i) the party's Allowed Pumping Allocation and (ii) the party's leased water,
except upon prior approval by the applicable body of Watermaster as required
pursuant to Section IV(J)as provided herein. Upon application, the body specified
in Section IV(J) shall approve a party's request to extract water in excess of such
limit, provided there is no Material Physical Harm. Requests to extract water in
excess of such limit shall be reviewed and either approved or denied within thirty
(30) days of such request.
(3) Defendant The City of Los Angeles is enjoined and restrained in
any Administrative Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final
from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of water greater than fifteen
thousand (15,000) acre feet or its Allowed. Pumping Allocation, as recognized by
the Watermaster, if it acquires additional rights to pump groundwater through
purchase or lease, subject to further provisions of this Judgment, including but not
limited to, sharing with other parties in any subsequent decreases or increases in
the quantity of extractions permitted from Central Basin by parties, pursuant to
continuing jurisdiction of the Court, on the basis that fifteen thousand (15,000)
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acre feet (or the adjusted Allowed Pumping Allocation if additional rights are
acquired) bears to the Allowed Pumping Allocations of the other parties.
Defendant Department of Water and Power of The City of Los Angeles is
enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date
this Judgment becomes final from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of
water other than such as it may extract on behalf of defendant The City of Los
Angeles, and which extractions, along with any extractions by said City, shall not
exceed that quantity permitted by this Judgment to that City in any Administrative
Year. Whenever in this Judgment the term "Allowed Pumping Allocation"
appears, it shall be deemed to mean as to defendant The City of Los Angeles the
quantity of fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet unless the City of Los Angeles has
acquired through purchase or lease right to extract additional groundwater. The
limit on extraction as provided in the preceding Section I(B)(1) shall also apply to
The City of Los Angeles.
(4) Any rights decreed and adjudicated herein may be transferred, I
assigned, licensed or leased by the owner thereof provided, however, that no such
transfer shall be complete until compliance with the appropriate notice procedures I
established by Watermaster.
(5) Unless a party elects otherwise, production of water from the Basin I
for the use or benefit of the parties hereto shall be counted against the party's total
extraction right in the following order: (i) Increased extractions by certain
qualified water rights holders pursuant to Section IV(K), (ii) Exchange Pool
production, (iii) production of Carryover water, (iv) production of leased water, ,
(v) production of Allowed Pumping Allocation, (vi) production of Stored Water,
(vii) production of Drought Carryover (according to Watermaster's Rules), and
(viii) production of water under an agreement with WRD during a period of
emergency pursuant to Section III(B)(6).
C. Parties Enjoined as to Export of Extractions. Except as expressly
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authorized herein, or upon further order of the Court, all parties are enjoined and
restrained from transporting water extracted from the Central Basin outside the
boundaries of the Central Basin Area. For purposes of this Section, water supplied by a
Water Purveyor to its customers located within any of its service areas contiguous to the
Central Basin or within WRD's service area shall be exempt from the export prohibition
of this Section provided that the Water Purveyor also provides water to a service area
that overlies the Basin in whole or in part. The foregoing exemption is not made, nor is
it related to, a determination of an underflow between the basins, a cost or benefit
allocation, or any other factor relating to the allocation of the Replenishment Assessment
by WRD. Further, this injunction and restriction does not apply to export of water that
will take place pursuant to contractual obligations specifically identified on Appendix 4,
nor does it apply to export of Stored Water not having its origin in Carryover
Conversion. The export identified on Appendix 4 may continue to the extent that any
such extraction does not violate any other provisions of this Judgment, provided however
that no such export identified on Appendix 4 shall exceed 5,000 acre-feet in any Year.
II. APPOINTMENT OF WATERMASTER; WATERMASTER ADMINISTRATION
PROVISIONS. The particular bodies specified below are, jointly, hereby appointed
Watermaster, for an indefinite term, but subject to removal by the Court, to administer this
Judgment. Such bodies, which together shall constitute the "Watermaster," shall have restricted
powers, duties and responsibilities as specified herein, it being the court's intention that
particular constituent bodies of Watermaster have only limited and specified powers over certain
aspects of the administration of this Judgment. The Outgoing Watermaster will exercise
reasonable diligence in the complete transition of Watermaster duties and responsibilities within
a reasonable time following entry of this order, and to make available to the new Watermaster all
records concerning Watermaster activities. The chair of the Central Basin Water Rights Panel
(defined below) shall thereafter represent the Watermaster before the Court.
A. The Administrative Body. Plaintiff Water Replenishment District of
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Southern California ("WRD") is appointed the Administrative Body of the Central Basin
Watermaster ("Administrative Body"). hi order to assist the Court in the administration
of the provisions of this Judgment and to keep the Water Rights Panel and the Court fully
advised in the premises, the Administrative Body shall have the following duties, powers
and responsibilities:
(1) To Require Reports, Information and Records. In consultation
with the Water Rights Panel, the Administrative Body shall require the parties to
furnish such reports, information and records as may be reasonably necessary to
determine compliance or lack of compliance by any party with the provisions of
this Judgment.
(2) Storage Projects. The Administrative Body shall exercise such
powers as may be specifically granted to it under this Judgment with regard to
Stored Water.
(3) Annual Report. The Administrative Body shall prepare, on or
before the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the preceding
Administrative Year, an annual report for the consideration of the Water Rights
Panel. The Chair of the Water Rights Panel shall submit to the Court either (1)
the annual report prepared by the Administrative Body, following the adoption by
the Water Rights Panel, or (2) an annual report separately prepared and adopted
by the Water Rights Panel. The annual report prepared by the Administrative
Body shall be limited to the following, unless otherwise required by the Court:
(a) Groundwater extractions
(b) Storage Accounts maintained by each party
(c) Status of the Regional Disadvantaged Community
Incentive Program, if approved by the Court
(d) Exchange Pool operation
(e) Use of Imported Water
(f) Violations of this Judgment and corrective action taken by
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bodies of Watermaster having jurisdiction as provided in this
Judgment
(g) Change of ownership of Total Water Rights
(h) Watermaster administration costs
(i) Water spread or imported into the Basin
(j) Water Augmentation Projects
(k) Whether the Administrative Body has become aware of the
development of a Material Physical Harm, or imminent threat of the
development of a material Physical Harm, as required pursuant to
Section IV(B) of this Judgment
(1) Other matters as agreed with the Water Rights Panel
(m) Recommendations, if any.
In consultation with the Water Rights Panel, the Administrative Body shall
provide reasonable notice to all parties of all material actions or determinations by
Watermaster or any constituent body thereof, and as otherwise provided by this
Third Amended Judgment.
(4) Annual Budget and Appeal Procedure in Relation Thereto. By
April 1 of each Administrative Year, the Administrative Body shall prepare a
proposed administrative budget for the subsequent year stating the anticipated
expense for performing the administrative functions specified in this Judgment
(the "Administrative Budget"). The Administrative Body shall mail a copy of the
proposed Administrative Budget to each of the Parties at least 60 days before the
beginning of each Administrative Year. The Administrative Budget mailed to the
Parties shall provide sufficient detail in the Administrative Budget to demonstrate
a separation in accounting between the Administrative Budget and WRD's
Replenishment Assessment and operating budget. For the first Administrative
Year of operation under this Third Amended Judgment, if the Administrative
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Body is unable to meet the above time requirement, the Administrative Body shall
mail said copies as soon as possible. The first year the Administrative Budget is
prepared, the amount of that budget shall not exceed an amount equal to fifty
percent (50%) of the 2012-2013 charge for Watermaster service for the Central
Basin collected from Parties by the California Department of Water Resources.
At all times, the Administrative Body shall maintain a separation in accounting
between the Administrative Budget and WRD's Replenishment Assessment and
operating budget. All increases in future budgets for the Administrative Body
above the amount set forth above shall be subject to approval by the Water Rights
Panel following a public meeting to be held prior to the beginning of the
Administrative Year, provided that the approved budget shall not be less than the
amount of the first -year budget for the Administrative Body, except upon further
order of the Court. Any administrative function by WRD already paid for by the
Replenishment Assessment shall not be added as an expense in the Administrative
Budget. Similarly, any expense paid for by the Administrative Budget shall not be
added to WRD's operating budget, or otherwise added to the calculation of the
Replenishment Assessment. While WRD may approve the proposed
Administrative Budget at the same meeting in which .WRD adopts its annual
Replenishment Assessment or annual budget, the Administrative Body's budget
shall be separate and distinct from the Replenishment Assessment imposed
pursuant to Water Code §60317 and WRD's operating budget.
If approval by the Water Rights Panel is required pursuant to the
foregoing, the Water Rights Panel shall act upon the proposed budget within 15
calendar days after the public meeting. If the Water Rights Panel does not
approve the budget prior to such deadline, the matter may be appealed to the
Court within sixty (60) days. If any Party hereto has any objection to the
Administrative Budget, it shall present the same in writing to Watermaster within
15 days after the date of mailing of said tentative budget by the Administrative
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Body. The Parties shall make the payments otherwise required of them to the
Administrative Body even though an appeal of such budget may be pending.
Upon any revision by the Court, the Administrative Body shall either remit to the
Parties their pro rata portions of any reduction in the budget, or shall credit their
accounts with respect to their budget assessments for the next ensuing
Administrative Year, as the Court shall direct.
The amount of the Administrative Budget to be assessed to each party
shall be determined as follows: If that portion of the final budget to be assessed to
the Parties is equal to or less than $20.00 per party then the cost shall be equally
apportioned among the Parties. If that portion of the final budget to be assessed to
Parties is greater than $20.00 per party then each Party shall be assessed a
minimum of $20.00. The amount of revenue expected to be received through the
foregoing minimum assessments shall be deducted from that portion of the final
budget to be assessed to the Parties and the balance shall be assessed to the Parties
having Allowed Pumping Allocation, such balance being divided among them
proportionately in accordance with their respective Allowed Pumping Allocation.
Payment of the assessment provided for herein, subject to adjustment by
the Court as provided, shall be made by each such party prior to beginning of the
Administrative Year to which the assessment relates, or within 40 days after the
mailing of the tentative budget, whichever is later. If such payment by any Party
is not made on or before said date, the Administrative Body shall add a penalty of
5% thereof to such party's statement. Payment required of any Party hereunder
may be enforced by execution issued out of the Court, or as may be provided by
order hereinafter made by the Court, or by other proceedings by the Watermaster
or by any Party on the Watermaster's behalf.
Any money unexpended at the end of any Administrative Year shall be
applied to the budget of the next succeeding Administrative Year. The
Administrative Body shall maintain no reserves.
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Notwithstanding the above, no part of the budget of the Administrative
Body shall be assessed to WRD or to any Party who has not extracted water from
Central Basin for a period of two successive Administrative Years prior to the
Administrative Year in which the tentative budget should be mailed by the
Administrative Body under the provisions of this subparagraph (4).
(5) Rules. The Administrative Body may adopt, and amend from time
to time, rules consistent with this Judgment as may be reasonably necessary to
carry out duties under the provisions of this Judgment within its particular area of
responsibility. The Body shall adopt its first set of rules and procedures within
three (3) months following entry of this Third Amended Judgment. The rules
shall be effective on such date after the mailing thereof to the Parties as is
specified by the Body, but not sooner than thirty (30) days after such mailing.
B. The Central Basin Water Rights Panel. The Central Basin Water Rights Panel of
the Central Basin Watermaster ("Water Rights Panel") shall consist of seven (7) members, each
of which is a Party. The term of each member of the Panel, with the exception of the seat held
by the Small Water Producers Group, as provided herein, shall be limited to four years. The
Court will make the initial appointments to the Central Basin Water Rights Panel upon motion
by Parties consistent with the categories set forth below at or about the time of entry of this Third
Amended Judgment, and shall establish a procedure for the staggered terms of such members.
Thereafter, elections of members of the Panel shall be held as provided herein. One (1) such
member of the Water Rights Panel shall be elected by vote of the Small Water Producers Group
conducted in accordance with its own procedures, provided such Group, as of the date of the
election, consists of at least five (5) members who are Water Purveyors. One (1) such member
of the Water Rights Panel shall be elected by vote of Parties with Allowed Pumping Allocation
of less than 5,000 acre-feet who are not members of the Small Water Producers Group or, if the
Small Water Producers Group does not then qualify as provided herein, then two (2) such
members shall be so selected. One (1) such member of the Water Rights Panel shall be elected
by vote of Parties with Allowed Pumping Allocation of at least 5,000 acre-feet but less than
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10,000 acre-feet. Three (3) such members of the Water Rights Panel shall be elected by vote of
Parties with Allowed Pumping Allocation of 10,000 acre-feet or greater. One (1) such member
of the Water Rights Panel shall be elected by a vote of all holders of Allowed Pumping
Allocations, with each such holder being entitled to one vote, such member to be elected by a
plurality of the votes cast, following a nomination procedure to be established in the Water
Rights Panel's rules. In the event of a tie, the court shall designate the seventh member. Except
as otherwise provided in this Section, each such rights holder shall have the right to cast a total
number of votes equal to the number of acre-feet of its Allowed Pumping Allocation (rounded to
the next highest whole number). With the exception of voting for the seventh member, Parties
shall be entitled to vote only for candidates within the category(ies) that represent that Party's
Allowed Pumping Allocation. For example, parties who are members of the Small Water
Producers Group are entitled to vote only for the Small Water Producer Group member and the
seventh member of the Water Rights Panel, and so on. Parties are not permitted to split votes.
The results of such election shall be reported to the Court for confirmation of each member's
appointment to the Water Rights Panel of Watermaster. The elected members of the Water
Rights Panel shall be those candidates receiving the highest vote total in their respective
categories. The Water Rights Panel shall hold its first meeting within thirty (30) days of the date
this Third Amended Judgment becomes final. The Water Rights Panel shall develop rules for
its operation consistent with this Judgment. The Water Rights Panel shall take action, including
the election of its Chair, by majority vote of its members. Election of the Chair shall occur every
two years, with no Party serving as Chair for consecutive terms. Members of the Water Rights
Panel shall serve without compensation. All references to Annual Pumping Allocation, as used
herein, are as determined by the last published Watermaster report.
(1) The Water Rights Panel shall have the following duties and
responsibilities:
(a) Enforcement of Adjudicated Rights. As against the other
bodies of Watermaster, the Water Rights Panel shall have exclusive
authority to move the Court to take such action as may be necessary to
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enforce the terms of the Judgment with regard to the extraction of
Allowed Pumping Allocation and the maintenance of adjudicated
groundwater extraction rights as provided in this Judgment.
(b) Requirement of Measuring Devices. The Water Rights
Panel shall require all parties owning or operating any facilities for the
extraction of groundwater from Central Basin to install and maintain at
all times in good working order at such party's own expense,
appropriate measuring devices at such times and as often as may be
reasonable under the circumstances and to calibrate or test such
devices.
(c) Inspections by Watermaster. The Water Rights Panel may
make inspections of groundwater production facilities, including
aquifer storage and recovery facilities, and measuring devices at such
times and as often as may be reasonable under the circumstances and
to calibrate or test such devices.
(d) Reports. Annually, the Water Rights Panel, in cooperation
with the Administrative Body, shall report to the Court, concerning
any or all of the following
(i) Groundwater extractions
(ii) Exchange Pool operation
(iii) Status of the Regional Disadvantaged Community
Incentive Program, if approved by the Court
(iv) Violations of this Judgment and corrective action
taken or sought
(v) Change of ownership of Total Water Rights
(vi) -Assessments made by the Water Rights Panel and
any costs incurred
(vii) Whether the Water Rights Panel has become
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aware of the development of a Material Physical Harm, or
imminent threat of the development of a Material Physical
Harm, as required pursuant to Section IV(B) of this
Judgment
(viii) Recommendations, if any.
As provided in Section II.A(3), the Water Rights Panel may adopt the
annual report prepared by the Administrative Body, and submit the same to the
Court, or the Water Rights Panel may prepare, adopt and submit to the Court a
separate report. The Chair of the Water Rights Panel shall be responsible for
reporting to the Court concerning adjudicated water rights issues in the Basin.
(2) Assessment. The Water Rights Panel shall assess holders of water
rights within the Central Basin an annual amount not to exceed $1.00 per acre-
foot of Allowed Pumping Allocation, by majority vote of the members of the
Water Rights Panel. The body may assess a higher amount, subject to being
overruled by Majority Protest. The assessment is intended to cover any costs
associated with reporting responsibilities, any Judgment enforcement action, and
the review of storage projects as a component of the "Storage Panel" as provided
below. It is anticipated that this body will rely on the Administrative Body's staff
for the functions related to the Administrative Body's responsibilities, but the
Water Rights Panel may engage its own staff if required in its reasonable
judgment. Assessments will constitute a lien on the water right assessed,
enforceable as provided in this Judgment.
(3) Rules. The Water Rights Panel may adopt and amend from time to
time, at an open meeting of that Panel, rules consistent with this Judgment as may
be reasonably necessary to carry out duties under the provisions of this Judgment
within its particular area of responsibility. The Panel shall adopt its first set of
rules and procedures within three (3) months following entry of this Third
Amended Judgment. The rules shall be effective on such date after the mailing
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thereof to the Parties as is specified by the Panel, but not sooner than thirty (30)
days after such mailing.
C. The Storage Panel. The Storage Panel of the Central Basin Watermaster
("Storage Panel") shall be a bicameral body consisting of (i) the Water Rights Panel and
(ii) the Board of Directors of WRD. Action by the Storage Panel shall require separate
action by a majority of each of its constituent bodies. The Storage Panel shall have the
duties and responsibilities specified with regard to the Provisions for the Storage and
Extraction of Stored Groundwater as set forth in Part IV and the other provisions of this
Judgment.
D. Use of Facilities and Data Collected by Other Governmental Agencies.
Where practicable, the three bodies constituting the Central Basin Watermaster should
not duplicate the collection of data relative to conditions of the Central Basin which is
then being collected by one or more governmental agencies, but where necessary each
such body may collect supplemental data. Where it appears more economical to do so,
the Watermaster and its constituent bodies are directed to use such facilities of other
governmental agencies as are available to it under either no cost or cost agreements with
respect to the receipt of reports, billings to parties, mailings to parties, and similar
matters.
E. Appeal from Watermaster Decisions. Appeals concerning the budget
proposed by the Administrative Body shall be governed by Section II(A)(4) of this
Judgment. Appeals concerning decisions by the Storage Panel shall be governed by
Section IV(P) of this Judgment. With respect to all other objections by a Party to any
action or decision by the Watermaster, such objections will be governed by this Section
II(E). Any party interested therein who objects to any rule, determination, order or
finding made by the Watermaster or any constituent body thereof, may object thereto in
writing delivered to the Administrative Body within 30 days after the date the
Watermaster, or any constituent body thereof, mails written notice of the making of such
rule, determination, order or finding. Within 30 days after such delivery the
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Watermaster, or the affected constituent body thereof, shall consider said objection and
shall amend or affirm his rule, determination, order or finding and shall give notice
thereof to all parties. Any such party may file with the Court within 60 days from the
date of said notice any objection to such rule, determination, order or finding of the
Watermaster, or any constituent body thereof, and bring the same on for hearing before
the Court at such time as the Court may direct, after first having served said objection
upon all other parties. The Court may affirm, modify, amend or overrule any such rule,
determination, order or finding of the Watermaster or its affected constituent body. Any
objection under this paragraph shall not stay the rule, determination, order or finding of
the Watermaster. However, the Court, by ex parte order, may provide for a stay thereof
on application of any interested party on or after the date that any such party delivers to
the Watermaster any written objection.
F. Effect of Non -Compliance by Watermaster With Time Provisions. Failure
of the Watermaster to perform any duty, power or responsibility set forth in this
Judgment within the time limitation herein set forth shall not deprive the Watermaster or
its applicable constituent body of authority to subsequently discharge such duty, power
or responsibility, except to the extent that any such failure by the Watermaster may have
rendered some otherwise required act by a party impossible.
G. Limitations on Administrative Body. WRD shall not acquire Central
Basin water rights, nor lease Central Basin water or water rights to or from any Party or
third party. However, the foregoing shall (i) not be interpreted to restrict WRD's ability
or authority to acquire water from any source for purposes of Artificial or Natural
Replenishment or for water quality activities, and (ii) not restrict WRD's authority under
California Water Code Section 60000 et seq. to develop reclaimed, recycled or
remediated water for groundwater replenishment activities.
H. Regional Disadvantaged Communities Incentive Program. The Water
Rights Panel, acting through the General Manager of WRD, shall develop a Regional
Disadvantaged Communities Incentive Program, pursuant to which a portion of the
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Community Storage Pool is reserved for the benefit of Disadvantaged Communities
within the Central Basin. Nothing in this Judgment, nor the establishment of such a
program, shall diminish the rights otherwise granted to Parties under this Judgment,
including but not limited to the right to place water in storage in the Community Storage
Pool. The Water Rights Panel shall meet within thirty (30) days of its formation to
identify and consider potential third -party independent consultants who may be retained
to design the program, including those recommended by the General Manager of WRD.
The Water Rights Panel shall select a consultant within thirty (30) days thereafter. In the
event the General Manager of WRD objects to the selected consultant, in writing, then
the Water Rights Panel and the General Manager of WRD shall exchange a list of no
more than two (2) consultants each for further consideration. If the Water Rights Panel
and the General Manager of WRD are unable to agree to a consultant within an
additional thirty (30) days, then the Chair of the Water Rights Panel shall file a request
with the Court for an order appointing a consultant. Upon selection of a third -party
independent consultant, whether through the Water Rights Panel process or the court
process identified herein, the consultant shall design a detailed program and deliver it to
the Water Rights Panel within ninety (90) days of the consultant's retention. All costs
associated with design of the program shall be paid for out of the Water Rights Panel's.
assessment, as provided in Section II.B(2). The Water Rights Panel shall present the
program to the Court for its review and approval within one year of entry of this Third
Amended Judgment. If approved by the Court, the Water Rights Panel, acting through
the General Manager of WRD, shall be responsible for administration of the Regional
Disadvantaged Communities Incentive Program, including insuring that any funds
generated through the program benefit Disadvantaged Communities. Any Storage Project
established pursuant to this Program shall have priority to use up to 23,000 acre-feet of
Available Storage within the Community Storage Pool, as further provided in Section
IV.E(2). Watermaster shall report to the Court concerning such program as a part of its
annual report.
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III. PROVISIONS FOR PHYSICAL SOLUTION TO MEET THE WATER
REQUIREMENTS IN CENTRAL BASIN. In order to provide flexibility to the injunction set
forth in Part I of the Judgment, and to assist in a physical solution to meet water requirements in
Central Basin, the injunction so set forth is subject to the following provisions.
A. Carryover of Portion of Allowed Pumping Allocation.
(1) Amount of Carryover. Each party adjudged to have a Total Water
Right or water rights and who, during a particular Administrative Year, does not
extract from Central Basin a total quantity equal to such party's Allowed Pumping
Allocation for the particular Administrative Year, less any allocated subscriptions
by such party to the Exchange Pool, or plus any allocated requests by such party
for purchase of Exchange Pool water, is permitted to carry over (the "One Year
Carryover") from such Administrative Year the right to extract from Central
Basin in the next succeeding Administrative Year so much of said total quantity
as it did not extract in the particular Administrative Year, not to exceed (i) the
Applicable Percentage of such party's Allowed Pumping Allocation for the
particular Administrative Year, or 20 acre feet, whichever of said percentage or
20 acre feet is the larger, less (ii) the total quantity of water then held in that
party's combined Individual and Community Storage accounts, as hereinafter
defined, but in no event less than 20% of the party's Allowed Pumping Allocation
for the particular Administrative Year. For purposes of this Section, the
"Applicable Percentage" shall be as follows for the years indicated:
For the Administrative Year in which this
Third Amended Judgment becomes final: 30%
For the next Administrative Year: 40%
For the next Administrative Year: 50%
For the next Administrative Year and years
following: 60%
(2) Conversion of Carryover to Stored Water. A party having
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Carryover may, from time to time, elect to convert all or part of such party's
Carryover to Stored Water as authorized herein ("Carryover Conversion") upon
payment of the Replenishment Assessment to WRD. Such Stored Water shall be
assigned to that party's Individual Storage Allocation, if available, and otherwise
to the Community Storage Pool.
(3) Declared Water Emergency. The Board of Directors of WRD
may, from time to time, declare a water emergency upon a determination that
conditions within the Central Basin relating to natural and imported water
supplies are such that, without implementation of the Declared Water Emergency
provisions of this subsection, the water resources of the Central Basin risk
degradation. hi making such declaration, the Board of Directors shall consider
any information and requests provided by water producers, purveyors and other
affected entities and shall, for that purpose, hold a public hearing in advance of
such declaration. A Declared Water Emergency shall extend to the end of the
Administrative Year during which such resolution is adopted, unless sooner ended
by similar resolution.
(4) Drought Car yover. Following the declaration of a Declared Water
Emergency and until the Declared Water Emergency ends either by expiration or
by resolution of the Board of Directors of WRD, each party adjudged to have a
Total Water Right or water rights and who, during a particular Administrative
Year, does not extract from Central Basin a total quantity equal to such party's
Allowed Pumping Allocation for the particular Administrative Year, less any
allocated subscriptions by such party to the Exchange Pool, or plus any allocated
requests by such party for purchase of Exchange Pool water, is permitted to cant'
over (the "Drought Carryover") from such Administrative Year the right to
extract from Central Basin so much of said total quantity as it did not extract
during the period of the Declared Water Emergency, to the extent such quantity
exceeds the One Year Carryover, not to exceed an additional 35% of such party's
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Allowed Pumping Allocation, or additional 35 acre feet, whichever of said 35%
or 35 acre feet is the larger, less the amount of such party's Stored Water.
Carryover amounts shall first be allocated to the One Year Carryover and any
remaining carryover amount for that year shall be allocated to the Drought
Carryover.
(5) Accumulated Drought Carryover. No further amounts shall be
added to the Drought Carryover following the end of the Declared Water
Emergency, provided however that in the event another Declared Water
Emergency is declared, additional Drought Carryover may be added, to the extent
such additional Drought Carryover would not cause the total Drought Carryover
to exceed the limits set forth above. The Drought Carryover shall be
supplemental to and shall not affect any previous drought carryover acquired by a
party pursuant to previous order of the court.
B. When Over -Extractions May be Permitted.
(1) Underestimation of Requirements for Water. Any party hereto
without Stored Water, having an Allowed Pumping Allocation, and not in
violation of any provision of this Judgment may extract in an Administrative Year
an additional quantity of water not to exceed: (a) 20% of such party's Allowed
Pumping Allocation or 20 acre feet, whichever is greater, and (b) any amount in
addition thereto which may be approved in advance by the Water Rights Panel of
Watermaster.
(2) Reductions in Allowed Pumping Allocations in Succeeding Years
to Compensate for Permissible Overextractions. Any such party's Allowed
Pumping Allocation for the following Administrative Year shall be reduced by
the amount over -extracted pursuant to paragraph 1 above, provided that if the
Water Rights Panel determines that such reduction in the party's Allowed
Pumping Allocation in one Administrative Year will impose upon such a party an
unreasonable hardship, the said reduction in said party's Allowed Pumping
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Allocation shall be prorated over a period of five (5) Administrative Years
succeeding that in which the excessive extractions by the party occurred.
Application for such relief to the Water Rights Panel must be made not later than
the 40th day after the end of the Administrative Year in which such excessive
pumping occurred. The Water Rights Panel shall grant such relief if such over -
extraction, or any portion thereof,_ occurred during a period of Declared Water
Emergency.
(3) Reductions in Allowed Pumping Allocations for the Next
Succeeding Administrative Year to Compensate for Overpumping. Whenever,
pursuant to Section HI(B)(1), a party over -extracts in excess of such party's
Allowed Pumping Allocation plus that party's available One -Year Carryover and
any Stored Water held by that party, and such excess has not been approved in
advance by the Water Rights Panel, then such party's Allowed Pumping
Allocation for the following Administrative Year shall be reduced by an amount
equivalent to its total over -extractions in the particular Administrative Year in
which it occurred.
(4) Reports of Certain Over -extractions to the Court. Whenever a
party over -extracts in excess of 20% of such party's Allowed Pumping Allocation
for the particular Administrative Year plus that party's available One -Year
Carryover and any Stored Water held by that party, without having obtained prior
approval of the Water Rights Panel, such shall constitute a violation of the
Judgment and the. Water Rights Panel shall make a written report to the Court for
such action as the Court may deem necessary. Such party shall be subject to such
injunctive and other processes and action as the Court might otherwise take with
regard to any other violation of such Judgment.
(5) Effect of Over -extractions on Rights. Any party who over -extracts I
from Central Basin in any Administrative Year shall not acquire any additional
rights by reason of such over -extractions; nor shall any required reductions in I
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extractions during any subsequent years reduce the Total Water Right or water
rights of any party to the extent said over -extractions are in compliance with
paragraph 1 above.
(6) Pumping Under Agreement With Plaintiff During Periods of
Emer eg ncv. Plaintiff WRD overlies Central Basin and engages in activities of
replenishing the groundwaters thereof. Plaintiff by resolution has appropriated
for use during emergencies the quantity of 17,000 acre feet of imported and
reclaimed water replenished by it into Central Basin, and pursuant to such
resolution Plaintiff reserves the right to use or cause the use of such quantity
during such emergency periods for the benefit of Water Purveyors.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Judgment,
parties who are Water Purveyors (including successors in interest) are
authorized to enter into agreements with Plaintiff for extraction of a
portion of Plaintiff's 17,000 acre-feet of appropriated water, in excess
of their respective Allowed Pumping Allocations for the particular
Administrative Year when the following conditions are met:
(i) Plaintiff is in receipt of a resolution of the Board of
Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California ("MWD") that there is an actual or immediately
threatened temporary shortage of MWD's imported water
supply compared to MWD's needs, or a temporary inability
to deliver MWD's imported water supply throughout its
area, which will be alleviated by overpumping from Central
Basin.
(ii) The Board of Directors of both Plaintiff and
Central Basin Municipal Water District by resolutions
concur in the resolution of MWD's Board of Directors, and
the Board of Directors of Plaintiff finds in its resolution
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that the average minimum elevation of water surface
among those wells in the Montebello Forebay of the
Central Basin designated as Los Angeles County Flood
Control District Wells Nos. 1601T, 1564P, 1615P, and
1626L, is at least 43.7 feet above sea level. This
computation shall be based upon the most recent "static
readings" taken, which shall have been taken not more than
four weeks prior. Should any of the wells designated above
become destroyed or otherwise be in a condition so that
readings cannot be made, or should the owner prevent their
use for such readings, the Board of Directors of the
Plaintiff may, upon appropriate engineering
recommendation, substitute such other well or wells as it
may deem appropriate.
(iii) In said resolution, Plaintiff's Board of Directors
sets a public hearing, and notice of the time, place and date
thereof (which may be continued from time to time without
further notice) is given by First Class Mail to the current
designees of the Parties, filed and served in accordance
with Section VI(C) of this Judgment. Said notice shall be
mailed at least five (5) days before the scheduled hearing
date.
(iv) At said public hearing, parties (including
successors in interest) are given full opportunity to be
heard, and at the conclusion thereof the Board of Directors
of Plaintiff by resolution decides to proceed with
agreements under this Section IH(B)(6).
(b) All such agreements shall be subject to the following
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requirements, and such others as Plaintiff's Board of Directors shall
require:
(i) They shall be of uniform content except as to
quantity involved, and any special provisions considered
necessary or desirable with respect to local hydrological
conditions or good hydrologic practice.
(ii) They shall be offered to all Water Purveyors,
excepting those which Plaintiff's Board of Directors
determines should not overpump because such
overpumping would occur in undesirable proximity to a sea
water barrier project designed to forestall sea water
intrusion, or within or in undesirable proximity to an area
within Central Basin wherein groundwater levels are at an
elevation where overpumping is under all the
circumstances then undesirable.
(iii) The maximum terms for the agreements shall be
four (4) months, which agreements shall commence on the
same date and end on the same date (and which may be
executed at any time within the four -month period), unless
an extension thereof is authorized by the Court, under Part
V of this Judgment.
(iv) They shall contain provisions requiring that the
Water Purveyor executing the agreement pay to the
Plaintiff a price in addition to the applicable replenishment
assessment determined on the following formula. The
normal price per acre-foot of Central Basin Municipal
Water District's (CBMWD) treated domestic and municipal
water, as "normal" price of such category of water is
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defined in Section III(C)(10) (price to be paid for Exchange
Pool Water) as of the beginning of the contract term less
the deductions set forth in said paragraph 10 for the
Administrative Year in which the contract term
commences. The agreement shall provide for adjustments
in the first of said components for any proportional period
of the contract term during which the CBMWD said normal
price is changed, and if the agreement straddles two
administrative years, the said deductions shall be adjusted
for any proportionate period of the contract term in which
the amount thereof or of either subcomponent changes for
purposes of said paragraph 10. Any price for a partial acre-
foot shall be computed pro rata. Payments shall be due and
payable on the principle that over extractions under the
agreement are of the last water pumped in the
Administrative Year, and shall be payable as the agreement
shall provide.
(v) They shall contain provisions that: (1) All of such
agreements (but not less than all) shall be subject to
termination by Plaintiff if, in the Judgment of Plaintiff's
Board of Directors, the conditions or threatened conditions
upon which they were based have abated to the extent over
extractions are no longer considered necessary; and (2) that
any individual agreement or agreements may be terminated
if the Plaintiff's Board of Directors finds that adverse
hydrologic circumstances have developed as a result of
over extractions by any Water Purveyor(s) which have
executed said agreements, or for any other reason that
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Plaintiff's Board of Directors finds good and sufficient.
(c) Other matters applicable to such agreements and
overpumping thereunder are as follows, without need for express
provisions in the agreements;
(i) The quantity of overpumping permitted shall be
additional to that which the Water Purveyor could
otherwise overpump under this Judgment.
(ii) The total quantity of permitted overpumping under
all said agreements during said four months shall not
exceed seventeen thousand (17,000) acre feet, but the
individual Water Purveyor shall not be responsible or
affected by any violation of this requirement. That total is
additional to over extractions otherwise permitted under
this Judgment.
(iii) Only one four month period may be utilized by
Plaintiff in entering into such agreements, as to any one
emergency or continuation thereof declared by MWD's
Board of Directors under Section III(B)(6)(a).
(iv) If any party claims it is being damaged or
threatened with damage by the over extractions by any
party to such an agreement, the first party or the. Water
Rights Panel may seek appropriate action of the Court for
termination of any such agreement upon notice of hearing
to the party complaining, to the party to said agreement, to
the plaintiff, and to any parties who have filed a request for
special notice. Any termination shall not affect the
obligation of the party to make payments under the
agreement for over extractions which did occur thereunder.
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(v) Plaintiff shall maintain separate accounting of the
proceeds from payments made pursuant to agreements
entered into under this Part. Said fund shall be utilized
solely for purposes of replenishment in replacement of
waters in Central Basin and West Basin. Plaintiff shall as
soon as practicable cause replenishment in Central Basin by
the amounts to be overproduced pursuant to this Paragraph
6, whether through spreading, injection, or in lieu
agreements.
(vi) Over extractions pursuant to the agreements shall
not be subject to the "make up" provisions of the Judgment
as amended, provided that if any party fails to make
payments as required by the agreement, Plaintiff may
require such "make up" under Section III(B)(3) of this
Judgment.
(vii) A Water Purveyor under any such
agreement may, and is encouraged to enter into appropriate
arrangements with customers who have water rights in
Central Basin under or pursuant to this Judgment whereby
the Water Purveyor will be assisted in meeting the
objectives of the agreement.
(7) Exemption for Extractors of Contaminated Groundwater. Any
party herein may petition WRD for a Non -consumptive Water Use Permit as part
of a project to remedy or ameliorate groundwater contamination. If the petition is
granted as set forth in this paragraph, the petitioner may extract the groundwater
as permitted hereinafter, without the production counting against the petitioner's
production rights.
(a) If the Board of WRD determines by Resolution that there is
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a problem of groundwater contamination that a proposed program will
remedy or ameliorate, an operator may make extractions of
groundwater to remedy or ameliorate that problem without the
production counting against the petitioner's production rights if the
water is not applied to beneficial surface use, its extractions are made
in compliance with all the terms and conditions of the Board
Resolution, and the Board has determined in the Resolution either of
the following:
(i) The groundwater to be extracted is unusable and
cannot be economically treated or blended for use with
other water.
(ii) The proposed program involves extraction of usable
water in the same quantity as will be returned to the
underground without degradation of quality.
(b) The Resolution may provide those terms and conditions the
Board deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, restrictions on
the quantity of the extractions to be so exempted, limitations on time,
periodic reviews, requirement of submission of test results from a
Board -approved laboratory, and any other relevant terms or conditions.
(c) Upon written notice to the operator involved, the Board
may rescind or modify its Resolution. The rescission or modification
of the Resolution shall apply to groundwater extractions occurring
more than ten (10) days after the rescission or modification. Notice of
rescission or modification shall be either mailed first class mail,
postage prepaid, at least two weeks prior to the meeting of the Board at
which the rescission or modification will be made to the address of
record of the operator or personally delivered two weeks prior to the
meeting.
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(d) The Board's decision to grant, deny, modify or revoke a
permit or to interrupt or stop a permitted project may be appealed to
this court within thirty days of the notice thereof to the applicant and
upon thirty days' notice to the designees of all parties herein.
(e) WRD shall monitor and periodically inspect the project for
compliance with the terms and conditions for any permit issued
pursuant to these provisions.
(f) No party shall recover costs from any other party herein in
connection with determinations made with respect to this Part.
(8) Where any Party has elected, as permitted by Section RI(A)(2), to
convert Carryover to Stored Water, any other Party which has not, within the
previous ten (10) years, been granted approval to extract Carryover Conversion
under this Section III(B)(8) more than five (5) times, may apply to the Storage
Panel for the right to extract all or a portion of that Carryover Conversion in the
year such Conversion occurs. The Storage Panel shall grant such request,
providing there is no Material Physical Harm, if it determines that leased
groundwater to meet the applicant's needs within the Basin cannot be obtained for
less than forty-five percent (45%) of MWD's Imported Water rate for delivery of
untreated water to the Central Basin spreading facilities (which rate is presently
MWD's "Full Service Untreated Volumetric Cost, Tier 1"), and that the applicant
will fully extract its Allowed Pumping Allocation, Carryover, and Stored Water,
if any, in addition to its permitted overextraction under Section HI(B)(1), prior to
accessing such Carryover Conversion.
Upon such approval, the applicant may thereafter extract such water as
provided herein. A Party so extracting groundwater shall fully restore such
extracted water (either through under -extraction of its rights or through importing
water) during the five-year period following the Year in which the extraction
under this Section occurs. Otherwise, the extracting Party shall pay to the Water
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Rights Panel an amount equal to 100% of MWD's Imported Water rate for
delivery of untreated water to the Central Basin spreading facilities (which rate is
presently MWD's "Full Service Untreated Volumetric Cost, Tier 1") whether or
not such water is available that year, for the -year during which is the fifth
anniversary of the year during which such Carryover Conversion extraction
occurs, multiplied by the amount of Carryover Conversion so extracted and not
restored during such five-year period. Payment shall be made within thirty (30)
days of demand by Watermaster. No Replenishment Assessment shall be due on
Carryover Conversion so extracted. However, the Party must deposit with the
Watermaster an amount equal to the Replenishment Assessment that would
otherwise be imposed by WRD upon such extraction. If the party restores the
water within the 5-year repayment period, then the Watermaster shall promptly
return the deposit to the Party, without interest. If the Party does not restore the
water within the 5-year repayment period, the deposit shall be credited towards
the Party's obligation to pay 100% of MWD's Imported Water rate as required
herein.
Should there be multiple requests to so extract Carryover Conversion in
the same year, the Storage Panel shall allocate such extraction right such that each
requesting party may extract a pro rata portion of the available Carryover
Conversion for that year. No party may extract in excess of 2,500 acre feet of
groundwater pursuant to this Section III(B)(8) in a single Year. Amounts paid to
Watermaster hereunder shall be used by WRD solely for purchase of water for
replenishment in the Basin. Watermaster, through the Storage Panel, shall give
reasonable notice to the Parties of any application to so extract Carryover
Conversion in such manner as the Storage Panel shall determine, including,
without limitation, notice by electronic mail or by website posting, at least ten
(10) days prior to consideration of any such application.
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C. Exchange Pool Provisions.
(1) Definitions.
For purposes of these Exchange Pool provisions, the following words and
terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Exchange Pool' is the arrangement hereinafter set forth
whereby certain of the parties, ("Bxchangees") may, notwithstanding
the other provisions of the Judgment, extract additional water from
Central Basin to meet their needs, and certain other of the parties
("Exchangors"), reduce their extractions below their Allowed Pumping
Allocations in order to permit such additional extractions by others.
(b) "Exchangor" is one who offers, voluntarily or otherwise,
pursuant to subsequent provisions, to reduce its extractions below its
Allowed Pumping Allocation in order to permit such additional
extractions by others.
(c) "Exchangee" is one who requests permission to extract
additional water from Central Basin.
(d) "Undue hardship" means unusual and severe economic or
operational hardship, other than that arising (i) by reason of any
differential in quality that might exist between water extracted from
Central Basin and water available for importation or (ii) by reason of
any difference in cost to a party in subscribing to the Exchange Pool
and reducing its extractions of water from Central Basin in an
equivalent amount as opposed to extracting any such quantity itself.
(2) Parties Who May Purchase Water Through the Exchange Pool.
Any party not having existing facilities for the taking of imported water as of the
beginning of any Administrative Year, and any party having such facilities as of
the beginning of any Administrative Year who is unable, without undue hardship,
to obtain, take, and put to beneficial use, through its distribution system or
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systems existing as of the beginning of the particular Administrative Year,
imported water in a quantity which, when added to its Allowed Pumping
Allocation for that particular Administrative Year, will meet its estimated needs
for that particular Administrative Year, may purchase water from the Exchange
Pool, subject to the limitations contained in this Section M(C) (Subpart "C"
hereinafter).
(3) Procedure for Purchasing Exchange Pool Water. Not later than
the 40th day following the commencement of each Administrative Year, each
such party desiring to purchase water from the Exchange Pool shall file with the
Watermaster a request to so purchase, setting forth the amount of water in acre
feet that such party estimates that it will require during the then current
Administrative Year in excess of the total of:
(a) Its Allowed Pumping Allocation for that particular
Administrative Year; and
(b) The imported water, if any, which it estimates it will be
able, without undue hardship, to obtain, take and put to beneficial use,
through its distribution system or systems existing as of the beginning
of that particular Administrative Year.
Any party who as of the beginning of any Administrative Year has
existing facilities for the taking of imported water and who makes a request to
purchase from the Exchange Pool must provide with such request substantiating
data and other proof which, together with any further data and other proof
requested by the Water Rights Panel, establishes that such party is unable without
undue hardship, to obtain, take and put to beneficial use through its said
distribution system or systems a sufficient quantity of imported water which,
when added to its said Allowed Pumping Allocation for the particular
Administrative Year, will meet its estimated needs. As to any such party, the
Water Rights Panel shall make a determination whether the party has so
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established such inability, which determination shall be subject to review by the
court under the procedure set forth in Part II of this Judgment. Any party making
a request to purchase from the Exchange Pool shall either furnish such
substantiating data and other proof, or a statement that such party had no existing
facilities for the taking of imported water as of the beginning of that
Administrative Year, and in either event a statement of the basis for the quantity
requested to be purchased.
(4) Subscriptions to Exchange Pool.
(a) Required Subscription. Each party having existing
facilities for the taking of imported water as of the beginning of any
Administrative Year hereby subscribed to the Exchange Pool for
purposes of meeting Category (a) requests thereon, as more
particularly defined in paragraph 5 of this Subpart C, twenty percent
(20%) of its Allowed Pumping Allocation, or the quantity of imported
water which it is able, without undue hardship, to obtain, take and put
to beneficial use through its distribution system or systems existing as
of the beginning of the particular Administrative Year in addition to
such party's own estimated needs for imported water during that
Administrative Year, whichever is the lesser. A party's subscription
under this subparagraph (a) and subparagraph (b) of this paragraph 4 is
sometimes hereinafter referred to as a "required subscription."
(b) Report to Watermaster Water Rights Panel by Parties with
Connections and Unable to Subscribe 20%. Any party having existing
facilities for the taking of imported water and estimating that it will be
unable, without undue hardship, in that Administrative Year to obtain,
take and put to beneficial use through its distribution system or
systems existing as of the beginning of that Administrative Year,
sufficient imported water to further reduce its extractions from the
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Central Basin by twenty percent (20%) of its Allowed Pumping
Allocation for purposes of providing water to the Exchange Pool must
furnish not later than the 40th day following the commencement of
such Administrative Year substantiating data and other proof which,
together with any further data and other proof requested by the Water
Rights Panel, establishes said inability or such party shall be deemed
to have subscribed twenty percent (20%) of its Allowed Pumping
Allocation for the purpose of providing water to the Exchange Pool.
As to any such party so contending such inability, the Water Rights
Panel shall make a determination whether the party has so established
such inability, which determination shall be subject to review by the
Court under the procedure set forth in Part lI of this Judgment.
(c) Voluntary Subscriptions. Any party, whether or not having
facilities for the taking of imported water, who desires to subscribe to
the Exchange Pool a quantity or further quantity of its Allowed
Pumping Allocation, may so notify the Water Rights Panel in writing
of the quantity of such offer on or prior to the 40th day following the
commencement of the particular Administrative Year. Such
subscriptions are referred to hereinafter as `voluntary subscriptions."
Any Exchangor who desires that any part of its otherwise required
subscription not needed to fill Category (a) requests shall be available
for Category (b) requests may so notify the Water Rights Panel in
writing on or prior to said 40th day. If all of that Exchangor's
otherwise required subscription is not needed in order to fill Category
(a) requests, the remainder of such required subscription not so used,
or such part thereof as such Exchangor may designate, shall be deemed
to be a voluntary subscription.
(5) Limitations on Purchases of Exchange Pool Water and Allocation
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of Requests to Purchase Exchange Pool Water Among Exchangors.
(a) Categories of Requests. Two categories of Exchange Pool
requests are established as follows:
(i) Category (a) requests. The quantity requested by
each Exchangee, whether or not that Exchangee has an
Allowed Pumping Allocation, which quantity is not in
excess of 150% of its Allowed Pumping Allocation, if any,
or 100 acre feet, whichever is greater. Requests or portions
thereof within the above criteria are sometimes hereinafter
referred to as "Category (a) requests."
(ii) Category (b) requests. The quantity requested by
each Exchangee having an Allowed Pumping Allocation to
the extent the request is in excess of 150% of that Allowed
Pumping Allocation or 100 acre feet, whichever is greater,
and the quantity requested by each Exchangee having no
Allowed Pumping Allocation to the extent the request is in
excess of 100 acre feet. Portions of requests within the
above criteria are sometimes hereinafter referred to as
"Category (b) requests."
(b) Filling of Category (a) Requests. All Exchange Pool
subscriptions, required and voluntary, shall be available to fill
Category (a) requests. Category (a) requests shall be filled first from
voluntary subscriptions, and if voluntary subscriptions should be
insufficient to fill all Category (a) requests required subscriptions shall
be then utilized to fill Category (a) requests. All Category (a) requests
shall be first filled before any Category (b) requests are filled.
(c) Filling of Category (b) Requests. To the extent that
voluntary subscriptions have not been utilized in filling Category (a)
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requests, Category (b) requests shall be filled only out of any
remaining voluntary subscriptions. Required subscriptions will then
be utilized for the filling of any remaining Category (b) requests.
(d) Allocation of Requests to Subscriptions When Available
Subscriptions Exceed Requests. In the event the quantity of
subscriptions available for any category of requests exceeds those
requests in that category, or exceeds the remainder of those requests, in
that category, such requests shall be filled out of such subscriptions
proportionately in relation to the quantity of each subscription.
(e) Allocation of Subscriptions to Category (b) Requests in the
Event of Shortage of Subscriptions. In the event available
subscriptions are insufficient to meet Category (b) requests, available
subscriptions shall be allocated to each request in the proportion that
the particular request bears to the total requests of the particular
category.
(6) Additional Voluntary Subscriptions. If subscriptions available to
meet the requests of Exchangees are insufficient to meet all requests, additional
voluntary subscriptions may be solicited and received from parties by the Water
Rights Panel. Such additional subscriptions shall be allocated first to Category (a)
requests to the extent unfilled, and next to Category (b) requests to the extent
unfilled. All allocations are to be otherwise in the same manner as earlier
provided in paragraph 5 (a)through 5 (e)inclusive.
(7) Effect if Category (a) Requests Exceed Available Subscriptions,
Both Required and Voluntary. In the event that the quantity of subscriptions
available to fill Category (a) requests is less than the total quantity of such
requests, the Exchangees may, nonetheless, extract the full amount of their
Category (a) requests otherwise approved by the Water Rights Panel as if
sufficient subscriptions were available. The amounts received by the Water
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Rights Panel on account of that portion of the approved requests in excess of the
total quantities available from Exchangors shall either be paid by the Water
Rights Panel to WRD in trust for the purpose of purchasing imported water and
spreading the same in Central Basin for replenishment thereof. Thereafter WRD
may, at any time, withdraw said funds or any part thereof so credited in trust for
the aforesaid purpose, or may by the 40th day of any Administrative Year utilize
all or any portion of said funds for the purchase of water available from
subscriptions by Exchangors in the event.the total quantity of such subscriptions
exceeds the total quantity of approved requests by parties to purchase Exchange
Pool water. To the extent that there is such an excess of available subscriptions
over requests and to the extent that the existing credit in favor of WRD is
sufficient to purchase such excess quantity at the price established for Exchange
Pool purchases during that Administrative Year, the money shall be paid to the
Exchangors in the same manner as if another party had made such purchase as an
Exchangee. WRD shall not extract any such Exchange Pool water so purchased.
(8) Additional Pumping by Exchangees Pursuant to Exchange Pool
Provisions. An Exchangee may extract from Central Basin in addition to its
Allowed Pumping Allocation for a particular Administrative Year that quantity of
water which it has requested to purchase from the Exchange Pool during that
Administrative Year and which has been allocated to it pursuant to the provisions
of paragraphs 5, 6 and 7. The first pumping by an Exchangee in any
Administrative Year shall be deemed to be pumping of the party's allocation of
Exchange Pool water.
(9) Reduction in Pumping by Exchangors. Each Exchangor shall in
each Administrative Year reduce its extractions of water from Central Basin
below its Allowed Pumping Allocation for the particular year in a quantity equal
to the quantity of Exchange Pool requests allocated to it pursuant to the provisions
of paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 7 of this Subpart C.
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(10) Price to be Paid for Exchange Pool Water. The price to be paid by
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Exchangees and to be paid to Exchangors per acre foot for required and voluntary
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subscriptions of Exchangors utilized to fill requests on the Exchange Pool by
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Exchangees shall be the dollar amount computed as follows by the Water Rights
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Panel for each Administrative Year. The "normal" price as of the beginning of
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the Administrative Year charged by Central Basin Municipal Water District
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(CBMWD) for treated MWD (Metropolitan Water District of Southern
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California) water used for domestic and municipal purposes shall be determined,
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and if on that date there are any changes scheduled during that Administrative
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Year in CBMWD's "normal" price for such category of water, the weighted daily
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"normal" CBMWD price shall be determined and used in lieu of the beginning
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such price; and there shall be deducted from such beginning or weighted price, as
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the case may be, the "incremental cost of pumping water in Central Basin" at the
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beginning of the Administrative Year and any then current rate or rates, of
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assessments levied on the pumping of groundwater in Central Basin by Plaintiff
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District and any other governmental agency. The "normal" price charged by
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CBMWD shall be the highest price of CBMWD for normal service excluding any
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surcharge or higher rate for emergency deliveries or otherwise failing to comply
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with CBMWD rates and regulations relating to earlier deliveries. The
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"incremental cost of pumping water in Central Basin" as of the beginning of the
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Administrative Year shall be deemed to be the Southern California Edison
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Company Schedule No. PA-1 rate per kilowatt-hour, including all adjustments
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and all uniform authorized additions to the basic rate, multiplied by 560 kilowatt-
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hours per acre-foot, rounded to the nearest dollar (which number of kilowatt-
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hours has been determined to represent the average energy consumption to pump
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an acre-foot of water in Central Basin). In applying said PA-1 rate the charge per
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kilowatt-hour under the schedule shall be employed and if there are any rate
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blocks then the last rate block shall be employed. Should a change occur in
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Edison schedule designations, the Water Rights Panel shall employ that
applicable to motors used for pumping water by municipal utilities.
(11) Carry-over of Exchange Pool Purchases by Exchangees. An
Exchangee who does not extract from Central Basin in a particular Administrative
Year a quantity of water equal to the total of (a) its Allowed Pumping Allocation
for that particular Administrative Year, reduced by any authorized amount of
carryover into the next succeeding Administrative Year pursuant to the provisions
of Section III(A) of this Judgment, and (b) the quantity that it purchased from the
Exchange Pool for that particular Administrative Year, may carry over into the
next succeeding Administrative Year the right to extract from Central Basin a
quantity equal to the difference between said total and the quantity actually
extracted in that Administrative Year, but not exceeding the quantity purchased
from the Exchange Pool for that Administrative Year. Any such carryover shall
be in addition to that provided in said Section III(A).
If the `Basinwide Average Exchange Pool Price" in the next succeeding
Administrative Year exceeds the "Exchange Pool Price" in the previous
Administrative Year any such Exchangee exercising such carryover rights
hereinabove provided shall pay to the Watermaster, forthwith upon the
determination of the "Exchange Pool Price" in said succeeding Administrative
Year, and as a condition to such carryover rights, an additional amount
determined by multiplying the number of acre feet of carryover by the difference
in "Exchange Pool Price" as between the two. Administrative Years. Such
additional payment shall be miscellaneous income to the Watermaster which shall
be applied by it against that share of the Watermaster's Administrative Body's
budget to be paid by the parties to this Agreement for the second Administrative
Year succeeding that in which the Exchange Pool water was so purchased. For
purposes of this paragraph, the term Basinwide Average Exchange Pool Price
means the average price per acre foot paid for Exchange Pool water produced
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within the Central Basin during the year for which such determination is to be
made, taking into account all Exchange Pool transactions consummated during
that year.
(12) Notification by Watermaster to Exchangors and Exchangees of
Exchange Pool Requests and Allocations Thereof and Price of Exchange Pool
Water. Not later than the 65th day after the commencement of each
Administrative Year, the Administrative Body of Watermaster shall determine
and notify A Exchangors and Exchangees of the total of the allocated requests for
Exchange Pool water and shall provide a schedule divided into categories of
requests showing the quantity allocated to each Exchangee and a schedule of the
allocation of the total Exchange Pool requirements among the Exchangors. Such
notification shall also advise Exchangors and Exchangees of the prices to be paid
to Exchangors for subscriptions utilized and the Exchange Pool Price for that
Administrative Year as determined by the Water Rights Panel. The.
determinations of the Watermaster in this regard shall be subject to review by the
Court in accordance with the procedure set forth in Part II of this Judgment.
(13) Payment by Exchangees. Each Exchangee shall, on or prior to last
day of the third month of each Administrative Year, pay to the Watermaster one -
quarter of said price per acre-foot multiplied by the number of acre feet of such
party's approved request and shall, on or before the last day of each of the next
succeeding three months, pay a like sum to the Watermaster. Such amounts must
be paid by each Exchangee regardless of whether or not it in fact extracts or uses
any of the water it has requested to purchase from the Exchange Pool.
(14) Payments to Exchangors. As soon as possible after receipt of
moneys from Exchangees, the Watermaster shall remit to the Exchangors their
pro rata portions of the amount so received in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 10 above.
(15) Delinquent Payments. Any amounts not paid on or prior to any
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due date above shall carry interest at the rate of 1% per month or any part of a
month. Any amounts required to be so paid may be enforced by the equitable
powers of the Court, including, but not limited to, the injunctive process of the
Court. In addition thereto, the Watermaster, as Trustee for the Exchangors and
acting through the Water Rights Panel, may enforce such payment by any
appropriate legal action, and shall be entitled to recover as additional damages
reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in connection therewith. If any Exchangee
shall fail to make any payments required of it on or before 30 days after the last
payment is due, including any accrued interest, said party shall thenceforward not
be entitled to purchase water from the Exchange Pool in any succeeding
Administrative Year except upon order of the Court, upon such conditions as the
Court may impose.
IV. PROVISIONS FOR THE STORAGE OF WATER AND THE EXTRACTION
OF STORED WATER.
A. Adjudication of Available Dewatered Space, Storage Capacity and
Storage Apportionment. There exists within the Basin a substantial amount of available
space which has not been optimally utilized for basin management and for storage of
native and imported waters. The Court finds and determines that (i) there is 330,000 acre
feet of Available Dewatered Space in the Basin; (ii) use of this Available Dewatered
Space will increase reasonable and beneficial use of the Basin by permitting the more
efficient procurement and management of Replenishment Water, conjunctive use, and for
direct and in -lieu recharge, thereby increasing the prudent storage and recovery of Stored
Water for later use by parties to this Judgment, conservation of water and reliability of
the water supply available to all Parties; and (iii) use of the Available Dewatered Space
pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Judgment will not result in Material Physical
Harm.
B. Avoidance of Material Physical Harm. It is essential that the use of the
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Available Dewatered Space be undertaken for the greatest public benefit pursuant to
uniform, certain, and transparent regulation that encourages the conservation of water
and reliability of the water supply, avoids Material Physical Harm, and promotes the
reasonable and beneficial use of water. Accordingly, in the event Watermaster becomes
aware of the development of a Material Physical Harm, or imminent threat of the
development of a Material Physical Halm, relating to the use of the Available Dewatered
Space, Watermaster shall, within thirty (30) days thereafter, notice a hearing before the
Court and concurrently file a report with the Court, served on all parties, which shall
explain the relevant facts then known to Watermaster relating to the Material Physical
Harm, or imminent threat thereof, including without limitation, the location of the
occurrence, the source or cause, existing and potential physical impacts or consequences
of the identified or threatened material Physical Harm, and any recommendations to
remediate the identified or threatened Material Physical Harm.
C. Apportionment of Available Dewatered Space. To fairly balance the
needs of the divergent interests of parties having water rights in the Basin, on the one
hand, and the replenishment functions of WRD on the other hand, and in consideration of
the shared desire and public purpose of removing impediments to the voluntary
conservation, storage, exchange and transfer of water, all of the Available Dewatered
Space is hereby adjudicated and apportioned into complimentary classifications of Stored
Water and a Basin Operating Reserve as set forth in this Part IV. The apportionment
contemplates flexible administration of storage capacity where use is apportioned among
competing needs, while allowing all Available Dewatered Space to be used from time to
time on a "space available" basis, subject to the priorities specified in this Judgment, and
as further defined in Section IV(I) of this Judgment. The Court further finds and
determines that, of the Available Dewatered Space, there is 220,000 acre-feet of storage
capacity in the Central Basin which is presently available ("Adjudicated Storage
Capacity"). The use of Adjudicated Storage Capacity as provided in this Judgment will
not adversely affect the efficient operation of the Basin or the recharge of water
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necessary for the production of the parties' respective Allowed Pumping Allocations.
The apportionment of Adjudicated Storage Capacity as provided herein will allow for
flexible administration of groundwater storage within the Basin. The Adjudicated
Storage Capacity is hereby assigned to Individual Storage Allocations and Community
Storage as provided herein, . provided however that if all space in a particular
classification is fully occupied then, on a "space available." basis, to available space
within the other classifications of Adjudicated Storage Capacity and, only then, to
available space within Basin Operating Reserve.
The Court further finds and determines that, out of the Available Dewatered
Space, there is 110,000 acre feet that should be set aside for use by WRD as a Basin
Operating Reserve, provided in Section IV(L), and subject to temporary occupancy by
Stored Water as permitted hereunder.
No storage of water shall occur in the Basin except in conformity with this
Judgment.
D. Individual Storage Allocation. Each Party having an adjudicated
groundwater extraction right hereunder shall have a priority right to store water in an
Individual Storage Account, through conversion of Carryover to Stored Water as
provided herein, or by any means authorized by this Judgment, up to a maximum of 50%
of such party's Allowed Pumping Allocation. The cumulative quantity of Adjudicated
Storage Capacity subject to individual storage allocation is 108,750 acre-feet. In
recognition of prior importation of water which was introduced into the Basin as Stored
Water, and which has not yet been extracted, the Court finds and determines that, as of
the date of this Order, the following Parties have occupied a portion of their respective
Individual Storage Allocations and have all associated rights therein, as follows:
City of Long Beach:
City of Lakewood:
City of Downey:
City of Cerritos
13,076.8 acre-feet
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E. Community Storage; Regional Disadvantaged Communities Incentive
Program. In addition to Individual Storage Allocation, a Party that has fully occupied its
Individual Storage allocation may, on a first in time, first in right basis (subject to the
limits expressed below) place water into storage in the "Community Storage Pool." The
cumulative quantity of Adjudicated Storage Capacity allocated to Community Storage
shall be 111,250 acre-feet. So long as there is available capacity in the Community
Storage Pool, any Party may store water in the Community Storage Pool through
conversion of Carryover to Stored Water as provided herein, or by any other means
authorized by this Judgment, provided such Party has first fully occupied that party's
available Individual Storage Allocation.
(1) Parties to this Judgment which, as of January 1, 2013, held
Allowed Pumping Allocation of not greater than 5,000 acre-feet shall have a first
priority right to occupy, in the aggregate, up to 10,000 acre-feet of storage space
within the Central Basin Community Storage Pool, on the basis of first in time,
first in right.
(2) Water stored pursuant to the Regional Disadvantaged.
Communities Incentive Program shall have a second priority right to occupy up to
23,000 acre-feet within the Community Storage Pool, on such terms as shall be
determined by the Court.
(3) Any further storage in excess of the maximum quantity of
Community Storage will be on a "space -available" interim basis. From time to
time, and on a "space -available" basis, the total quantity of water available for
storage is permitted to exceed Adjudicated Storage Capacity for the Community
Storage Pool on an interim basis. This interim storage may occur if storage
capacity exists as a result of unused Adjudicated Storage Capacity within other
classifications, or available space exists in the Basin Operating Reserve. Such
interim storage, however, is subject to priority rights to such Dewatered Space as
provided in this Judgment. A party that seeks to convert the water temporarily
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held in interim storage to a more firm right, may contract for the use of another
party's Individual Storage Allocation, or may add such water to the Community
Storage Pool once space therein becomes available.
(4) After a party occupies available storage capacity within the
Community Storage Pool and then withdraws water from the Community Storage
Pool, the storing party will be allowed a period of twenty-four (24) months to
refill the evacuated storage before the capacity will be determined excess and
available for use by other parties. Once the Basin's Community Storage Pool has
been filled for the first time, a party may exercise its twenty-four (24) month refill
priority only once, and then only provided there is then capacity available to
permit that party to refill the vacated space. Except to the extent Community
Storage space may be subject to such priority right to re -fill, all space therein shall
be occupied on a first in time, first in right basis.
(5) A party that has occupied storage in the Community Storage Pool
for ten (10) consecutive years shall be deemed to extract its Stored Water first in
subsequent years (notwithstanding the order of water production set forth in
Section I(B)(3)) until its entire Community Storage account has been extracted,
but thereafter may again make use of Community Storage on the same terms
available to other parties on a first in time, first in right, space -available basis.
(6) Any quantity of water held in the Community Storage Pool for a
term greater than ten (10) consecutive years shall be assessed an annual water loss
equal to 5% of the lowest quantity of water held within the party's Community
Storage Pool account at any time during the immediately preceding ten-year
period. The lowest quantity means the smallest amount of water held by the Party
in the Community Storage Pool during any of the preceding ten (10) years, with a
new loss calculation being undertaken every year. Water subject to the loss
assessment will be deemed dedicated to the Basin Operating Reserve in
furtherance of the physical solution without compensation. Water lost to the
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Basin shall constitute water replenished into the Central Basin for the benefit of
all parties
F. Limit on Storage. Irrespective of the category of storage utilized, each
party to this Judgment may not cumulatively have in storage at any time Stored Water
totaling more than two hundred percent (200%) of that party's Allowed Pumping
Allocation. Subject to the foregoing, the right to produce Stored Water may be freely
transferred to another party to this Judgment, or as otherwise permitted herein.
G. Extractions of Stored Water; Exemption from Replenishment Assessment.
The Court finds and declares that the extraction of Stored Water as petnutted hereunder
does not constitute "production of groundwater" within the meaning of Water Code
Section 60317 and that no Replenishment Assessment shall be levied on the extraction of
Stored Water. WRD has stipulated to the same. This determination reflects the practical
application of certain provisions of this Judgment concerning storage of water, including,
without limitation, understanding the following: (1) payment of the Replenishment
Assessment is required upon the conversion of Carryover Water into storage, and; (2)
developed water introduced into the Basin for storage by or on behalf of a Party through
spreading or injection need not be replenished by WRD and should not be subject to the
Replenishment Assessment.
H, Storage Procedure. The Administrative Body shall (i) prescribe forms and
procedures for the orderly reporting of Stored Water, (ii) maintain records of all water
stored in the Basin, and (iii) undertake monitoring and modeling of Stored Water as may
be reasonably required. As to any Storage Projects that will require review and approval
by the Storage Panel, the Administrative Body shall provide appropriate applications,
and shall work with project applicants to complete the application documents for
presentation to the Storage Panel. The Administrative Body shall be responsible for
conducting any groundwater modeling necessary to evaluate a proposed Storage Project.
The proponent of a proposed project will bear all costs associated with the review of the
application for approval of the project and all costs associated with its implementation.
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Nothing in this Judgment shall alter the applicant(s) duty to comply with CEQA or to
meet other legal requirements as to any proposed Storage Project. Within thirty (30)
days after final submission of the storage application documents, the Administrative
Body shall provide notice of the storage application (either by electronic mail or U.S.
postal mail), together with a copy of the application documents, to all parties possessing
an Allowed Pumping Allocation, and to any other person requesting notice thereof.
Following notice, any necessary hearings before the Storage Panel shall be conducted as
provided in Section IV(0) of this Judgment.
I. Loss of Stored Water/Relative Priority. To balance the need to protect
priority uses of storage and to encourage the full utilization of Adjudicated Storage
Capacity and Basin Operating Reserve where it can be accommodated without
interference with priority uses, and except as otherwise provided in this Judgment, no
water held in any authorized storage account will be deemed lost from that storage
account unless the cumulative quantity of water held as Stored Water plus the quantity of
water held within the Basin Operating Reserve exceeds 330,000 acre-feet. Where all
Adjudicated Storage Capacity and Basin Operating Reserve has been occupied, the first
Stored Water to be deemed lost shall be the last water stored as Community Storage.
Upon receipt of a bona fide request by another use entitled to priority hereunder,
Watermaster shall issue a notice requiring the other parties to evacuate their Stored
Water. Any Stored Water that is not evacuated shall be deemed dedicated to the Basin
Operating Reserve in furtherance of the physical solution without compensation and
accounted for accordingly.
J. Limits on Extraction. Anything in this Judgment to the contrary
notwithstanding, no party shall extract greater than 140% of the sum of (i) the party's
Allowed Pumping Allocation and (ii) the party's leased water, except upon prior
approval by the Water Rights Panel. For this purpose, a party's total extraction right for
a particular year shall include that party's Allowed Pumping Allocation and any
contractual right through lease or other means to utilize the adjudicated rights of another
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party. Where such proposed extraction would occur within the Central Basin Pressure
Area as defined by Watermaster consistent with historical records, the Water Rights
Panel shall submit such request for review by the Board of WRD. The Water Rights
Panel shall not approve any request for over -extraction within the Pressure Area without
a written finding by the Board of WRD that such over -extraction will not cause Material
Physical Harm. The role of the Board of WRD in this process shall not be read to
expand or restrict WRD's statutory authority. Consideration shall be on an expedited
basis.
K. Increased Extractions in the Central Basin for Certain Water Purvevors.
(1) This Court also maintains continuing jurisdiction over the West
Coast Basin, which bounds the Central Basin to the west.
(2) Certain Water Purveyors are parties to both this Amended
Judgment and the judgment governing the West Coast Basin and serve
communities overlying both the Central Basin and the West Coast Basin.
(3) Certain Water Purveyors may exceed their Allowed Pumping
Allocation in any Administrative Year, subject to all of the following conditions:
(a) The Water Purveyor is one of the following eligible Parties:
(i) City of Los Angeles
(ii) Golden State Water Company
(iii) California Water Service Company.
(b)
Increased extractions pursuant to this
Section
shall not
exceed
5,000 acre-feet per Water Purveyor
for the
particular
Administrative Year.
(c) Increased extractions pursuant to this Section shall not
exceed the Water Purveyor's unused "Adjudicated Rights" in the West
Coast Basin.
(d) Increased extractions pursuant to this Section shall not
result in Material Physical Harm.
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(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein permits extraction
of water within the Central Basin in excess of 140% of Allowed Pumping
Allocation for the particular Administrative Year, except as otherwise permitted
under this Judgment.
(5) Replenishment of any water extracted from the Central Basin
pursuant to this Section shall occur exclusively in the Central Basin.
(6) The benefits of this Section are made available only to the certain
Water Purveyors that serve communities overlying the Central Basin and
communities overlying the West Basin, in recognition of the management of
water resources by those Water Purveyors to serve such overlying communities.
It is not made, nor is it related to, a determination of an underflow between the
basins, a cost or benefit allocation, or any other factor relating to the allocation of
the Replenishment Assessment.
L. Special Provisions for Temporary Storage within Community Storage
Pool. The Central Basin Municipal Water District ("CBMWD") shall take such action as
may be necessary to reduce its Allowed Pumping Allocation to five (5) acre-feet or fewer
by December 31, 2018, and has agreed, by stipulation, not to acquire any additional
Central Basin water rights. Upon application by CBMWD, the Storage Panel may, after
making each of the findings required in this subsection, approve storage of water by
CBMWD within the Community Storage Pool subject to the stated conditions. The
Storage Panel may only authorize such storage after finding each of the following to be
true as of the date of such approval:
(1) CBMWD (a) then owns five (5) acre-feet or fewer of Allowed
Pumping Allocation, and (b) has not produced water utilizing any extraction
rights it holds within the Basin but has only engaged in the sale or leasing of those
rights to others.
(2) There is available space for Storage within the Community Storage
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Pool.
(3) CBMWD has identified a source of imported water that may be
brought into the Basin and stored underground.
(4) The water identified for storage (a) is unlikely to be acquired by
other parties through surface delivery for use within the Basin, and (b) was
offered to WRD to purchase for replenishment purposes at the same price that
CBMWD otherwise sells imported water to WRD and WRD declined to purchase
said water, within a reasonable period of time.
(5) There will be no Material Physical Harm associated with the
introduction of the water into storage, or its extraction, in the manner approved by
the Storage Panel.
The condition expressed in Section IV(L)(1)(a) above shall not be operative until
January 1, 2019, or upon reduction of CBMWD's Allowed Pumping Allocation
to five (5) acre-feet or fewer, whichever first occurs. CBMWD may not extract
the Stored Water, and may instead only transfer that Stored Water to a party
having extraction rights, or to WRD for replenishment purposes only. Such
Stored Water not so transferred within three (3) years following its storage may
be purchased by WRD, at its option, for replenishment purposes only, at a price
not exceeding the actual cost incurred by CBMWD in importing and storing the
water in the first instance, plus a reasonable administrative charge for overhead
not exceeding five percent (5%) of the price paid by CBMWD for the water with
no other fees or markups imposed by CBMWD. Except as otherwise permitted in
this Section, any such Stored Water held by CBMWD for a term greater than
three (3) years shall be assessed an annual water loss equal to 10% of the amount
of such Stored Water at the end of each year. Water subject to the loss
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assessment will be deemed dedicated to the Basin Operating Reserve in
furtherance of the physical solution without further compensation. The Storage
Panel shall grant CBMWD one or more extensions of such term, not exceeding
total extensions of three (3) additional years, following public hearing, if the
Storage Panel determines that the Stored Water has been actively marketed by
CBMWD for transfer to Parties on reasonable terms in the previous year. The
Storage Panel may impose such additional reasonable conditions as it determines
to be appropriate. Any review by the Storage Panel hereunder shall only occur at
a public hearing held following at least 15 days' (but not more than 30 days')
mailed notice to all Parties to this Judgment, at which hearing an opportunity for
public comment shall be afforded in advance of any such decision. However, the
Storage Panel may consider an application on shorter notice under exigent
circumstances, including the potential loss of the water proposed to be stored if
action is not taken sooner. CBMWD shall have the right to appeal any action or
inaction by the Storage Panel to this court. The storage and extraction of Stored
Water hereunder shall otherwise be subject to all other provisions of this
Judgment. The court finds and declares that this subsection constitutes a "court
order issued by a court having jurisdiction over the adjudication of groundwater
extraction rights within the groundwater basin where storage is sought" within the
meaning of Water Code §71610(b)(2)(B). Nothing in this provision impedes
CBMWD's ability to store water pursuant to a contract with an adjudicated
groundwater extraction rights holder as permitted by Water Code
§ 71610(b)(2)(A).
M. Basin Operating Reserve. It is in the public interest and in furtherance of
the physical solution for WRD to prudently exercise its statutory discretion to purchase,
spread, and inject Replenishment Water, to provide for in -lieu replenishment, and
otherwise to fulfill its replenishment function within the Basin as provided in Water
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Code Section 60000 et. seq. Hydrologic, regulatory and economic conditions now
prevailing within the State require that WRD be authorized to exercise reasonable
discretion and have flexibility in the accomplishment of its replenishment function.
Accordingly, WRD may pre -purchase or defer the purchase of Replenishment Water, and
may otherwise purchase and manage available sources of Replenishment Water under the
most favorable climatic and economic conditions as it may determine reasonable and
prudent under the circumstances. It is the intent of the parties to preserve space for such
replenishment activities, including capture of natural inflows during wet years, recapture
of water when possible, and artificial replenishment when water is available at
discounted rate, for the benefit of the Basin and the parties to the Judgment. The Basin
Operating Reserve is intended to allow WRD to meet its replenishment needs to make
APA available for extraction by all water rights holders. Accordingly, WRD shall have a
priority right to occupy up to 110,000 acre-feet of the Available Dewatered Space as the
"Basin Operating Reserve" for the acquisition and replenishment of water, or to ensure
space remains available in the Basin to capture natural inflows during wet years for the
benefit of the parties to the Judgment, to offset over -production. The priority right is not
intended to allow WRD to sell or lease stored water, storage, or water rights. To the extent
WRD does not require the use of all of such Basin Operating Reserve, that portion of the
Basin Operating Reserve that is not then being used shall be available to other Parties to
store water on a temporary and space -available basis. No Party may use any portion of
the Basin Operating Reserve for space -available storage unless that Party has already
maximized its allowed Storage pursuant to its Individual Storage Allocation and all
available Community Storage is already in use. WRD's failure to use any portion of its
Basin Operating Reserve shall not cause forfeiture or create a limitation of its right to
make use of the designated space in the future. WRD's first priority right to this
category of space shall be absolute. To the extent that there is a conflict between WRD
and a third party regarding the availability of and desire to use any portion of the space
available for replenishment up to the maximum limits set forth in this section, the
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interests of WRD will prevail. If a party other than WRD is using the Basin Operating
Reserve space on a "space available" basis and a conflict develops between WRD and
the storing party, the storing party will, upon notice from WRD, evacuate the Stored
Water within ninety (90) days thereafter. In such event, temporary occupancy within the
Basin Operating Reserve shall be first in time, first in right, and the last Party to store
water shall be required to evacuate first until adequate space shall be made available
within the Basin Operating Reserve to meet WRD's needs. The storing party or parties
assume all risks of waste, spill and loss regardless of the hardship. Stored Water that is
not evacuated following WRD's notice of intent to occupy the Basin Operating Reserve
will be deemed dedicated to the Basin Operating Reserve in furtherance of the physical
solution without compensation and accounted for accordingly. Nothing herein shall
permit WRD to limit or encumber, by contract or otherwise, its right to use the Basin
Operating Reserve for Replenishment purposes for any reason, or to make space therein
available to any person by any means. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent
excess space is available, water evacuated from the Basin Operating Reserve as provided
in this Section shall be deemed added to available space within the Individual Storage
Allocations and Community Storage Pool, subject to the priority rights otherwise
provided in this Judgment.
N. Water Augmentation. The parties, in coordination with WRD, may
undertake projects that add to the long-term reliable yield of the Basin. Innovations and
improvements in practices that increase the conservation and maximization of the
reasonable and beneficial use of water should be promoted. To the extent that Parties to
the Judgment, in coordination with WRD, implement a project that provides additional
long-term reliable water supply to the Central Basin, the annual extraction rights in the
Central Basin will be increased commensurately in an amount to be determined by the
Storage Panel to reflect the actual yield enhancement associated with the project.
Augmented supplies of water resulting from such a project may be extracted or stored as
permitted in this Judgment in the same manner as other water. Participation in any
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Water Rights Augmentation Project shall be voluntary. A party may elect to treat a
proposed project as a Water Augmentation Project (for the purpose of seeking an
increase in that party's Allowed Pumping Allocation) or may elect to treat such a project
as a Storage Project under the other provisions of this Judgment. The terms of
participation in any Water Augmentation Project will be at the full discretion of the
participating parties. All Water Augmentation Projects will be approved by the Storage
Panel
(1) Participating Parties. Parties who propose a Water Augmentation
Project ("Project Leads") may do so in their absolute discretion, upon such terms
as they may determine. All other parties to this Judgment will be offered an
opportunity to participate in the Water Augmentation Project on condition that
they share proportionally in common costs and benefits, and assume the
obligation to bear exclusively the cost of any improvements that are required to
accommodate their individual or particular needs. Notice shall be provided which
generally describes the project and the opportunity to participate with sufficient
time for deliberation and action by any of these parties who could potentially
participate. Disputes over the adequacy of notice shall be referred to the Storage
Panel, and then to the Court under its continuing jurisdiction. Parties who elect to
participate
("Project. Participants") may
do so provided
they
agree to
offer
customary
written and legally binding
assurances that
they
will bear
their
proportionate costs attributable to the Water Rights Augmentation Project, or
provide other valuable consideration deemed sufficient by the Project Leads and
the Project Participants.
(2) Determination of Additional Extraction Rights. The amount of
additional groundwater extraction as a result of a Water Augmentation project
will be determined by the Storage Panel, subject to review by the Court. The
determination will be based upon substantial evidence which supports the finding
that the Water Augmentation project will increase the long-term sustainable yield
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of the respective Basin by an amount at least equal to the proposed increase in
extraction rights.
(3) Increase in Extraction Rights. A party that elects to participate and
pays that party's full pro-rata share of costs associated with any Water
Augmentation Project and/or reaches an agreement with other participants based
upon other valuable consideration acceptable to the Project Leads and Project
Participants, will receive a commensurate increase in extraction rights. Non-
participating parties will not receive an increase or a decrease in extraction rights.
Any party that elects not to participate will not be required to pay any of the costs
attributable to the particular Water Augmentation Project, whether directly or
indirectly as a component of the WRD Replenishment Assessment.
(4) Because water made available for Water Rights Augmentation will
be produced annually, fluctuations in groundwater levels will be temporary,
nominal and managed within the Basin Operating Reserve.
(5) Availability of New Water. The amount of additional groundwater
extraction established as a result of a Water Augmentation Project shall be equal
to the quantity of new water in the Basin that is attributable to that Water
Augmentation Project. No extraction shall occur and no extraction right shall be
established until new water has been actually introduced into the Basin as a result
of the Project. Any approval for a Water Augmentation Project shall include
provisions (a) requiring regular monitoring to determine the actual amount of
such new water made available, (b) requiring make-up water or equivalent
payment therefor to the extent that actual water supply augmentation does not
meet projections, and (c) adjusting extraction rights attributable to the Water
Augmentation Project to match the actual water created. The right to extract
augmented water from the Basin resulting from a party's participation in a Water
Augmentation Project shall be accounted for separately and shall not be added to
a party's Allowed Pumping Allocation. No Replenishment Assessment shall be
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I levied against the extraction of augmented water.
2 (6) Limitation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, WRD will not obtain
3 any water rights or extraction rights under this Judgment by virtue of its
4 participation in a Water Augmentation Project. If WRD participates in a Water
5 Rights. Augmentation Project through funding or other investments, its allocation
6 of new water from the project shall be used to offset its replenishment
7 responsibilities.
8 O. Limits on Watermaster Review. It shall not be necessary for Watermaster,
9 or any constituent body thereof, to review or approve any of the following before the
10 affected Party may proceed: (i) exercise of adjudicated water rights consistent with this
11 Judgment, except for extraction above 140% of a Party's extraction right as set out in
12 Section IV(J) of this Judgment; (ii) replenishment of the Basin with Replenishment
13 Water by WRD consistent with Water Code Section 60000 et seq., including
14 replenishment of water produced by water rights holders through the exercise of
15 adjudicated water rights; (iii) WRD's operations within the Basin Operating Reserve; (iv)
16 Carryover Conversion or other means of the filling of the Individual Storage Accounts
17 and the Community Storage Pool, as provided in this Judgment, as long as existing water
18 production, spreading, or injection facilities are used; and (v) individual transfers of the
19 right to produce Stored Water as permitted in Section IV(F). All other Storage Projects
20 and all Water Augmentation Projects shall be subject to review and approval as provided
21 herein, including (i) material variances to substantive criteria governing projects exempt
22 from the review and approval process, (ii) modifications to previously approved Storage
23 Projects and agreements, (iii) a party's proposal for Carryover Conversion in quantities
24 greater than the express apportionment of Adjudicated Storage Capacity on a non-
25 priority, space -available, interim basis, and (iv) Storage, by means other than Carryover
26 Conversion, when new production, spreading, or injection facilities are proposed to be
27 utilized.
28 P. Hearing Process For Watermaster Review. The following procedures
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shall be followed by Watermaster where Watermaster review of storage or extraction of
Stored Water is required or permitted under this Judgment:
(1) No later than thirty (30) days after notice has been issued. for the
storage application, the matter shall be set for hearings before the Storage Panel.
A staff report shall be submitted by WRD staff in conjunction with the completed
storage application documents and the Water Rights Panel may prepare an
independent staff report, if it elects to do so.
(2) The Board of WRD and the Water Rights Panel (sitting jointly as
the Storage Panel) shall conduct a joint hearing concerning the storage
application.
(3) All Watermaster meetings shall be conducted in the manner
prescribed by the applicable Rules and Regulations. The Rules shall provide that
all meetings of Watermaster shall be open to water rights holders and that
reasonable notice shall be given of all meetings.
(4) The Board of WRD and the Water Rights Panel shall each adopt
written findings explaining its decision on the proposed Storage Project, although
if both entities reach the same decision on the Storage Project, they shall work
together to adopt a uniform set of findings.
(5) Unless both the Board of WRD and the Water Rights Panel
approve the Storage Project, the Storage Project application shall be deemed
denied (a "Project Denial"). If both the Board of WRD and the Water Rights
Panel approve the Storage Project, the Storage Project shall be deemed approved
(a "Project Approval").
Q. Trial Court Review
(1) The applicant may seek the Storage Panel's reconsideration of a
Project Denial. However, there shall be no process for mandatory reconsideration
or mediation of a Project Approval or a Project Denial either before the
Administrative Body, or before the Water Rights Panel.
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(2) Any Party may file an appeal from a Project Approval or Project
Denial with this Court, as further described in Section II(F).
(3) In order to (a) promote the full presentation of all relevant
evidence before the Storage Panel in connection with its consideration of any
proposed Storage Project, (b) achieve an expeditious resolution of any appeal to
the Court, and (c) accord the appropriate amount of deference to the expertise of
the Storage Panel, the appeal before the Court shall be based solely on the
administrative record, subject only to the limited exception in California Code of
Civil Procedure section 1094.5(e).
(4) If both the WRD Board and the Water Rights Panel each vote to
deny or approve a proposed Storage Project, it shall be an action by the Storage
Panel and that decision shall be accorded by the Court deference according to the
substantial evidence test. If one of the reviewing bodies votes to approve the
proposed Storage Project and the other reviewing body votes to deny the proposed
storage project, then the Court's review shall be de novo, although still restricted
to the administrative record. In the case of any de novo Trial Court review, the
findings made by the respective Watermaster bodies shall not be accorded any
weight independent of the evidence supporting them.
R. Space Available Storage, Relative Priority, and Dedication of "Spilled"
Water. To balance the need to protect priority uses of storage and to encourage the full
utilization of Available Dewatered Space within the Adjudicated Storage Capacity and
the Basin Operating Reserve, any Party may make interim, temporary use of then
currently unused Available Dewatered Space within any category of Adjudicated Storage
Capacity, and then if all Adjudicated Storage Capacity is being fully used for Stored
Water within the Basin Operating Reserve ("Space -Available Storage"), subject to the
following criteria:
(1) Any Party may engage in Space -Available Storage without prior
approval from Watermaster provided that the storing Party or Parties shall assume
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all risks of waste, spill, and loss regardless of the hardship. Whenever the Storage
Panel determines that a Party is making use of excess Available Dewatered Space
for Space -Available Storage, the Storage Panel shall issue written notice to the
Party infonning them of the risk of spill and loss.
(2) Whenever the Available Dewatered Space is needed to
accommodate the priority use within a respective category of Adjudicated Storage
Capacity, or WRD seeks to make use of its priority right to the Basin Operating
Reserve to fulfill its replenishment function, the Storage Panel shall issue a notice
to evacuate the respective category of Adjudicated Storage Capacity or Basin
Operating Reserve, as applicable, within the time -periods set forth within this
Amended Judgment. To the extent the Stored Water is not timely evacuated such
Stored Water will be placed into any other excess Available Dewatered Space,
first within the Adjudicated Storage Capacity, if available, and then if all
Adjudicated Storage Capacity is being fully used for Stored Water within the
Basin Operating Reserve. If no excess Available Dewatered Space is available
within the Basin Operating Reserve, then the Stored Water shall be deemed
spilled and will be deemed dedicated to the Basin Operating Reserve in
furtherance of the physical solution without compensation and accounted for
accordingly. A Party that seeks to convert the Stored Water temporarily held in
interim storage as Space -Available Storage to a more firm right, may in its
discretion, contract for the use of another Party's Individual Storage Allocation,
or may add such water to the Community Storage Pool once space therein
becomes available.
(3) No Stored Water will be deemed abandoned unless the cumulative
quantity of water held as Stored Water plus the quantity of water held in the Basin
Operating Reserve exceeds 330,000 (three hundred and thirty thousand) acre-feet
in the Central Basin.
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V. CONTINUING JURISDICTION OF THE COURT.
The Court hereby reserves continuing jurisdiction and upon application of any interested
party, or upon its own motion, may review and redetermine the following matters and any
I matters incident thereto:
A. Its determination of the permissible level of extractions from Central
Basin in relation to achieving a balanced basin and an economic utilization of Central
Basin for groundwater storage, taking into account any then anticipated artificial
replenishment of Central Basin by governmental agencies for the purpose of alleviating
what would otherwise be annual overdrafts upon Central Basin and all other relevant
factors.
B. Whether in accordance with applicable law any party has lost all or any
portion of his rights to extract groundwater from Central Basin and, if so, to ratably
adjust the Allowed Pumping Allocations of the other parties and ratably thereto any
remaining Allowed Pumping Allocation of such party.
C. To remove any Watermaster or constituent body appointed from time to
time and appoint a new Watermaster; and to review and revise the duties, powers and
responsibilities of the Watermaster or its constituent bodies and to make such other and
further provisions and orders of the Court that may be necessary or desirable for the
adequate administration and enforcement of the Judgment.
D. To revise the price to be paid by Exchangees and to Exchangors for
Exchange Pool purchases and subscriptions.
E. In case of emergency or necessity, to permit extractions from Central
Basin for such periods as the Court may determine: (i) ratably in excess of the Allowed
Pumping Allocations of the parties; or (ii) on a non -ratable basis by certain parties if
either compensation or other equitable adjustment for the benefit of the other parties is
provided. Such overextractions may be permitted not only for emergency and necessity'
arising within Central Basin area, but to assist the remainder of the areas within The
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in the event of temporary shortage or
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threatened temporary shortage of its imported water supply, or temporary inability to
deliver the same throughout its area, but only if the court is reasonably satisfied that no
party will be irreparably damaged thereby. Increased energy cost for pumping shall not
be deemed irreparable damage. Provided, however, that the provisions of this
subparagraph will apply only if the temporary shortage, threatened temporary shortage,
or temporary inability to deliver was either not reasonably avoidable by the Metropolitan
Water District, or if reasonably avoidable, good reason existed for not taking the steps
necessary to avoid it.
F. To review actions of the Watermaster.
G. To assist the remainder of the areas within The Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California within the parameter set forth in subparagraph (e) above.
H. To provide for such other matters as are not contemplated by the Judgment
and which might occur in the future, and which if not provided for would defeat any or
all of the purposes of this Judgment to assure a balanced Central Basin subject to the
requirements of Central Basin Area for water required for its needs, growth and
development.
The exercise of such continuing jurisdiction shall be after 30 days' notice to the parties,
with the exception of the exercise of such continuing jurisdiction in relation to subparagraphs E
and G above, which may be ex parte, in which event the matter shall be forthwith reviewed
either upon the Court's own motion or the motion of any party upon which 30 days' notice shall
be so given. Within ten (10) days of obtaining any ex parte order, the party so obtaining the
same shall mail notice thereof to the other parties. If any other party desires Court review
thereof, the party obtaining the ex parte order shall bear the reasonable expenses of mailing
notice of the proceedings, or may in lieu thereof undertake the mailing. Any contrary or
modified decision upon such review shall not prejudice any party who relied on said ex parte
I order.
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VI. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
A. Judgment Constitutes Inter Se Adjudication. This Judgment constitutes an
inter se adjudication of the respective rights of all parties, except as may be otherwise
specifically indicated in the listing of the water rights of the parties of this Judgment, or
in Appendix "2" hereof. All parties to this Judgment retain all rights not specifically
determined herein, including any right, by common law or otherwise, to seek
compensation for damages arising out
of any
act or omission
of any person. This
Judgment constitutes a "court order"
within
the meaning of
Water Code Section
71610(B)(2)(b).
B. Assignment Transfer, Etc., of Rights. Subject to the other provision of
this Judgment, and any rules and regulations of the Watermaster requiring reports
relative thereto, nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent any party hereto
from assigning, transferring, licensing or leasing all or any portion of such water rights as
it may have with the same force and effect as would otherwise be permissible under
applicable rules of law as exist from time to time.
C. Service Upon and Delivery to Parties of Various Papers. Service of the
Judgment on those parties who have executed that certain Stipulation and Agreement for
Judgment or who have filed a notice of election to be bound by the Exchange Pool
provisions shall be made by first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the designee
and at the address designated for that purpose in the executed and filed Counterpart of
the Stipulation and Agreement for Judgment or in the executed and filed "Notice of
Election to be Bound by Exchange Pool Provisions," as the case may be, or in any
substitute designation filed with the Court.
Each party who has not heretofore matte such a designation shall, within 30 days
after the Judgment shall have been served upon that party, file with the Court, with proof
of service of a copy upon the Watermaster, a written designation of the person to whom
and the address at which all future notices, determinations, requests, demands, objections,
reports and other papers and processes to be served upon that party or delivered to that
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party are to be so served or delivered.
A later substitute designation filed and served in the same manner by any party
shall be effective from the date of filing as to the then future notices, determinations,
requests, demands, objections, reports and other papers and processes to be served upon
or delivered to that party.
Delivery to or service upon any party by the Watermaster, by any other party, or
by the Court, or any item required to be served upon or delivered to a party under or
pursuant to the Judgment may be by deposit in the mail, first class, postage prepaid,
addressed to the designee and at the address in the latest designation filed by that party.
D. Judgment Does Not Affect Rights, Powers, Etc., of Plaintiff District.
Nothing herein constitutes a determination or adjudication which shall foreclose Plaintiff
District from exercising such rights, powers, privileges and prerogatives as it may now
have or may hereafter have by reason of provisions of law.
E. Continuation of Order under Interim Agreement. The order -of Court made
pursuant to the "Stipulation and Interim Agreement and Petition for Order" shall remain
in effect through the Administrative Year in which this Judgment shall become final
(subject to the reserved jurisdiction of the Court).
F. Effect of Extractions by Exchangees; Reductions in Extractions. With
regard to Exchange Pool purchases, the first extractions by each Exchangee shall be
deemed the extractions of the quantities of water which that party is entitled to extract'
pursuant to his allocation from the Exchange Pool for that Administrative Year. Each
Exchangee shall be deemed to have pumped his Exchange Pool request so allocated for
and on behalf of each Exchangor in proportion to each Exchangor's subscription to the
Exchange Pool which is utilized to meet Exchange Pool requests. No Exchangor shall
ever be deemed to have relinquished or lost any of its rights determined in this Judgment
by reason of allocated subscriptions to the Exchange Pool. Each Exchangee shall be
responsible as between Exchangors and that Exchangee, for any tax or assessment upon
the production of groundwater levied for replenishment purposes by WRD or by any
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other governmental agency with respect to water extracted by such Exchangee by reason
of Exchange Pool allocations and purchases. No Exchangor or Exchangee shall acquire
any additional rights, with respect to any party to this action, to extract waters from
Central Basin pursuant to Water Code Section 1005.1 by reason of the obligations
pursuant to and the operation of the Exchange Pool.
G. Judgment Binding on Successors, Etc. This Judgment and all provisions
thereof are applicable to and binding upon not only the parties to this action, but as well
to their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, assigns, lessees, licensees
and to the agents, employees and attorneys in fact of any such persons.
H. Costs. No party shall recover its costs herein as against any other party.
I. Intervention of Successors in Interest and New Parties. Any person who is
not a party (including but not limited to successors or parties who are bound by this
Judgment) and who proposes to produce water from the Basin, store water in the Basin,
or exercise water rights of a predecessor may seek to become a party to this Judgment
through a Stipulation in Intervention entered into with the Plaintiff. Plaintiff may
execute said Stipulation on behalf of the other parties herein, but such Stipulation shall
not preclude a party from opposing such intervention at the time of the court hearing
thereon. Said Stipulation for Intervention must thereupon be filed with the Court, which
will consider an order confirming said intervention following thirty (30) days' notice to
the parties. Thereafter, if approved by the Court, such intervenor shall be a party bound
by this Judgment and entitled to the rights and privileges accorded under the physical
solution herein.
J. Effect of this Amended Judgment on Orders Filed Herein. This Third
Amended Judgment shall not abrogate such rights of additional carryover of unused
water rights as may otherwise exist pursuant to orders herein filed June 2, 1977 and
September 29, 1977.
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THE CLERK WILL ENTER THIS THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT FORTHWITH.
I DATED:
Judge of the Superior Court
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APPENDIX 1
Description of Central Basin Area
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APPENDIX 2
[INSERT CURRENT VERSION OF WATER RIGHT HOLDERS]
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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Appendix 3
CENTRAL BASIN SMALL WATER PRODUCERS GROUP
As used in the Central Basin Judgment, the "Small Water Producers Group" shall refer to
a voluntary group consisting of parties to the Central Basin Judgment with an Annual Pumping
Allocation no greater than 5,000 acre-feet, acting jointly to represent its members with regards to
interests specific to them and their constituents and/or customers concerning the management of
the Central Basin and the administration and enforcement of this Judgment. Membership in the
Small Water Producers Group may be modified from time to time by affirmative vote of the
then -current composition of said Group, provided that each member thereof shall hold no greater
than 5,000 acre-feet of Allowed Pumping Allocation.
Any benefit or right attributed to the Group by the Judgment, including the reserved seat
on the Water Rights Panel, shall be valid and enforceable, so long as the Group's membership
consists of a minimum of 5 parties to the Central Basin Judgment who are Water Purveyors., .
As of the time of entry of this Third Amended Judgment, the Small Water Producers
Group consists of:
Bellflower -Somerset Mutual Water Company
La Habra Heights County Water District
Montebello Land and Water Company
City of Norwalk
Orchard Dale Water District
Pico Water District
Sativa -- Los Angeles County Water District
South Montebello Irrigation District
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Appendix 4
PERMITTED EXISTING EXPORTS
The Agreement among Rowland Water District, on the one hand, and La Habra Heights County
Water District and Orchard Dale Water District, on the other hand, allowing for maximum
production of 2,500 acre-feet per year.
The Agreement between Puente Basin Water Agency and California Domestic Water Company,
allowing for maximum production of 2,500 acre-feet per year.
THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT
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COMMUNITY SERVICES & WATER DEPARTMENT
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
A-6
TO: Mark Whitworth, City Administrator
FROM: Samuel Kevin Wilson*rector of Community Services and Water
DATE: October 22, 2013
SUBJECT: Authorization to have the City Attorney's office prepare a Resolution in Support
of the 2013 Third Amended Judgment to Perform Groundwater Storage in the
Central Water Basin.
The Department of Community Services and Water is seeking authorization to have the City
Attorney's office prepare a Resolution in Support of the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment to Perform
Groundwater Storage in the Central Water Basin.
Moreover, the proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment creates a structured administrative process for
groundwater management that will reduce the region's dependence on imported water supplies. With a
functioning groundwater management process in place, the Central Basin may be eligible for additional State
and Federal funding for qualifying projects of regional significance. Moreover, the Third Amended Judgment
will benefit the City of Vernon (City) through the increased carryover from unused water rights in a fiscal year,
which would raise the current carryover limit of 20% to 60%. In addition, the Amended Judgment would grant
the City flexibility to store water in an Individual Storage Account in an amount up to 140% of the City's
adjudicated water rights. The increased carryover provision will also alleviate the concern over losing unused
water rights, and the ability to store and recover water will play a considerable role in the City's water resource
strategy as it relates to drought and water demand Planning. Thus, after a final quantitative review of the
proposed 2013 Third Amended Judgment, it appears the Amendment provides a well-defined structure that will
promote the development of large storage projects and water rights augmentation projects that will benefit the
City of Vernon, and the region at large. Thank you.
SKW/sr
Enclosures
F:\S=\Sm WyD eme\Gmonda 3NJudgmem Amendment\MM Jud9 W AmendmentCity AdmimvnwrAm
Rigg, Scott
From:
Moussa, Zaynah
Sent:
Monday, October 21, 2013 5:33 PM
To:
Rigg, Scott
Cc:
Muro, Eva
Subject:
RE: Third Amended Judgment
Attachments:
Staff Report Central Basin 3rd Amended Judgment Revised (ZNM Edits).doc
Scott,
Attached is the draft Staff Report with just a few more suggested revisions, thanks again for all of your work on this; Eva
and I will put together the Resolution.
Also, as an FYI, the Court just set a November 6, 2013 deadline for parties to file any storage -related motions, with a
December 18, 2013 hearing date on the motions, so this should motivate the remaining feet -draggers.
Thanks,
Zaynah
From: Rigg, Scott
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 1:41 PM
To: Moussa, Zaynah
Cc: Rodriguez, Nicholas; Muro, Eva
Subject: Third Amended Judgment
Please find the draft Staff Report recommending support of the 2013 Third Judgment Amendment. Please make
modifications/changes as you see appropriate! Thank you!