COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES, ENERGY & WATER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1041
(Reference to Senate engrossed bill)
Page 5, strike lines 29 through 40, insert:
"2. "groundwater savings certificate" means a certificate that demonstrates that the water for the proposed use of groundwater is physically available and that the proposed use of groundwater is consistent with the management goal and plan of the relevant active management area because all or a substantial portion of the groundwater that is or will be withdrawn from the active management area will be replenished within the same subbasin as the proposed point of withdrawal and upgradient of the proposed point of withdrawal as evidenced by the applicant's demonstration of all of the following:
(a) the land that is the subject of the application for a groundwater savings certificate is or will be enrolled as member land or member service area in a multi-county water conservation district established pursuant to title 48, chapter 22.
(b) all groundwater that is or will be replenished by the applicant or by the multi-county water conservation district on the applicant's behalf will be replenished within the same subbasin as the point of withdrawal and upgradient of the proposed point of withdrawal.
(c) The director has issued a decision pursuant to section 45-576.03 finding that the plan of operation for the multi-county water conservation district that the applicant is enrolled in pursuant to title 48, chapter 22 is consistent with achieving the management goal of the active management area where the proposed point of withdrawal will be located and the director's decision is in effect at the time the application for the groundwater savings certificate is submitted to the director.
(d) THE APPLICANT HAS DEMONSTRATED PURSUANT TO GROUNDWATER MODELS CONDUCTED BY THE DIRECTOR THAT ANY UNREPLENISHED GROUNDWATER THAT THE APPLICANT PROPOSES TO USE IS PHYSICALLY AVAILABLE PURSUANT TO section 45-576.10 AND THAT WELLS THAT ARE LOCATED OR HYPOTHETICALLY LOCATED ON THE LAND THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE APPLICATION FOR A GROUNDWATER SAVINGS CERTIFICATE OR WELLS THAT ARE LEGALLY AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE WATER SERVICE TO THAT LAND MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 45-576.10."
Reletter to conform
Page 6, between lines 8 and 9, insert:
"3. "Point of withdrawal" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-576.10.
4. "unreplenished groundwater" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-579.10.
Sec. 2. Title 45, chapter 2, article 9, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 45-576.10, to read:
45-576.10. Groundwater savings certificate; determinations; definitions
A. In determining whether to issue a groundwater savings certificate pursuant to section 45-576, the director shall do all of the following:
1. Determine the volume of unreplenished groundwater that is proposed to be used by the applicant for one hundred years from the date of submission of the application for a groundwater savings certificate.
2. Determine whether the volume of unreplenished groundwater that is proposed to be used is physically available at the point of withdrawal for one hundred years from the date of submission of the application for a groundwater savings certificate.
3. Find that the volume of unreplenished groundwater that is proposed to be used is physically available if the current groundwater model conducted by the director for the relevant active management area in which the point of withdrawal will be located shows that the depth-to-static water level, at the point of withdrawal only, will be, on the expiration of one hundred years of pumping the annual volume of unreplenished groundwater from the date of the submission of the application, equal to or less than the lesser of the following:
(a) The depth to bedrock below the point of withdrawal.
(b) If the point of withdrawal is in an active management area that is not the Pinal active management area, one THOUSAND feet below land surface.
(c) If the point of withdrawal is in the Pinal active management area, one thousand one hundred feet below land surface.
4. Issue a preliminary physical availability determination at the request of the applicant before applying for a groundwater savings certificate. The director may consider an alternative methodology proposed by the applicant to determine physical availability if a preliminary determination shows that the volume of unreplenished groundwater that is proposed to be used is not physically available.
5. Determine physical availability for purposes of this section within sixty days from the date an application for a groundwater savings certificate or a request for a preliminary determination is submitted to the director.
6. Issue a groundwater savings certificate for the volume of groundwater that is proposed to be used pursuant to section 45-576 if the volume of unreplenished groundwater that is proposed to be used is determined to be physically available in accordance with this section.
B. For the purposes of this section:
1. the director shall not require that the applicant conduct a hydrologic study to demonstrate physical availability.
2. all replenished groundwater shall be deemed physically available if the applicant or the multi-county water conservation district that the applicant is enrolled in pursuant to title 48, chapter 22 replenishes the groundwater within the same subbasin as the proposed point of withdrawal and upgradient of the proposed point of withdrawal.
c. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Point of withdrawal" means the well or wells that are proposed to be used to pump the volume of groundwater that is proposed to be used by the applicant.
2. "Replenished groundwater" means groundwater that is not unreplenished groundwater.
3. "Unreplenished groundwater" means, for groundwater withdrawn from within an active management area in which a multi-county water conservation district has been established pursuant to title 48, chapter 22, the difference between the annual volume of groundwater that a groundwater user withdraws from the active management area and the annual volume of groundwater that the groundwater user, or the multi-county water conservation district acting on the groundwater user's behalf, replenishes within the same subbasin as the proposed point of withdrawal and upgradient of the proposed point of withdrawal.
Sec. 3. Section 48-3701, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-3701. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Active management area" means an active management area established under title 45, chapter 2, article 2.
2. "Board" means the board of directors of a multi-county water conservation district.
3. "Contract replenishment obligation" means an amount of groundwater that the district contracts to replenish in a year on behalf of a municipal provider pursuant to a contract authorized under section 48-3772, subsection B, paragraph 9.
4. "Credits" means any groundwater in addition to the amount of groundwater that may be used at a member land or delivered within a member service area for use within the member service area pursuant to the applicable assured water supply rules adopted by the department of water resources.
5. "Declaration" means an instrument recorded against real property and conforming to the requirements prescribed by section 48-3774, subsection A, paragraph 5.
6. "District" means a multi-county water conservation district organized under the authority of this chapter.
7. "Excess groundwater" means an amount of groundwater equal to that amount of groundwater delivered to a member land in a calendar year or delivered within a member service area by the municipal provider for that member service area in a calendar year in excess of the amount of groundwater that may be used at the member land in that calendar year or that may be delivered by the municipal provider for use within the member service area in that calendar year and consistent with the applicable assured water supply rules adopted by the department of water resources for the active management area where the member land or the member service area is located.
8. "Excess groundwater increment" means the amount by which excess groundwater reported for a member service area under section 48-3775, subsection B in any year exceeds the maximum amount of excess groundwater reported for that member service area in any prior year.
9. "Groundwater replenishment obligation" means, for each active management area in which member lands or member service areas are or may be located, the total of the cumulative parcel replenishment obligation of all parcels of member land in that active management area for a particular calendar year plus the cumulative service area replenishment obligation of all member service areas in that active management area for a particular calendar year.
10. "Groundwater savings CERTIFICATE" has the meaning prescribed in section 45-576.
10. 11. "Member land" means any real property that meets the requirements of section 48-3774.
11. 12. "Member service area" means the service area of a municipal provider that qualifies as a member service area under section 48-3780, including any additions to or extensions of the service area.
12. 13. "Multi-county water conservation district" means a district composed of three or more counties that have joined together for the creation of a district.
13. 14. "Municipal provider" means a city, town or private water company or an irrigation district that supplies water for non-irrigation use.
14. 15. "Parcel of member land" means any portion of member land for which the tax assessor for the county in which the member land is located has issued a separate county parcel number.
15. 16. "Parcel replenishment obligation" means, with respect to any particular parcel of member land, an amount of groundwater that is equal to the amount of groundwater delivered to the parcel of member land in a calendar year multiplied by the percentage that the excess groundwater of the applicable member land for that year bears to the total amount of groundwater delivered to the applicable member land during that year.
16. 17. "Population" means the population determined in the most recent United States decennial census.
17. 18. "Private water company" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-402.
18. 19. "Projected replenishment obligation" means for each active management area, the district's total projected annual groundwater replenishment obligation for each of the one hundred years following submission of the district plan of operation.
19. 20. "Replenish" means to increase the amount of groundwater in an aquifer through water storage pursuant to title 45, chapter 3.1 for the purpose of meeting the obligations of article 4 of this chapter.
20. 21. "Reserve target" means the volume calculated for each active management area as prescribed by section 48-3772, subsection E.
21. 22. "Resolution" means a resolution adopted by the governing body of a city or town, by the board of directors of a private water company that is a corporation, by the general partners of a private water company that is a partnership or by the individual owners of a private water company that is individually owned.
22. 23. "Secretary" means the secretary of the interior of the United States of America.
23. 24. "Service area" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-402.
24. 25. "Service area replenishment obligation" means, with respect to any particular member service area, the excess groundwater of that member service area in a particular calendar year reduced by the replenishment credits, if any, applied by the municipal provider with respect to the member service area under section 48-3772, subsection H.
25. 26. "Water storage" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-802.01.
Sec. 4. Section 48-3771, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-3771. District replenishment obligations; replenishment location; source of replenishment; exception
A. For each subbasin in an active management area in which member lands or member service areas are or may be located, the district shall replenish groundwater in an amount equal to the groundwater replenishment obligation for that active management area subbasin. Except as provided in section 48-3781, subsection G, the district shall complete the replenishment of the groundwater replenishment obligation of that active management area subbasin applicable to a particular year within three full calendar years after the year that the district incurs the groundwater replenishment obligation. Replenishment of the groundwater replenishment obligation of a subbasin in an active management area applicable to a particular year is complete when the amount of water added to aquifers through water storage that has been credited directly to the district's conservation district account pursuant to title 45, chapter 3.1, plus long-term storage credits that have been transferred from the district's long-term storage account to its conservation district account pursuant to title 45, chapter 3.1, less the groundwater replenishment obligation of member lands and member service areas located in the active management area subbasin and applicable to previous years, less the contract replenishment obligations relative to municipal providers in the active management area subbasin for previous years and the year of the calculation, equals or exceeds the groundwater replenishment obligation of the active management area subbasin for that year.
B. With respect to the portion of the groundwater replenishment obligation attributable to a parcel of member land or a member service area, the district shall replenish groundwater upgradient of the well or wells that are used to serve the parcel of member land or member service area and in the active management area subbasin where the parcel of member land or the member service area is located in an amount equal to the groundwater replenishment obligation applicable to that parcel of member land or that member service area.
C. Except as provided by title 45, chapter 3.1, the district may replenish groundwater with central Arizona project water or water from any other lawfully available source except groundwater withdrawn from within an active management area.
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if a parcel of member land is included in the service area of a municipal provider that is not a member service area but that has been designated as having an assured water supply under section 45-576, the parcel of member land has no parcel replenishment obligation and the district has no groundwater replenishment obligation attributable to that parcel of member land for as long as the designation remains in effect.
E. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if a parcel of member land is included in the service area of a municipal provider that is a member service area and that has been designated as having an assured water supply under section 45-576, the parcel of member land has no further parcel replenishment obligation."
Renumber to conform
Amend title to conform