The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to the Department of Water Resources, among the 512 basins throughout the state, 21 are deemed critically overdrafted.
(b) In 2014, California adopted landmark legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6), to sustainably manage groundwater resources. The act will not be fully implemented for several years, allowing groundwater overdraft to continue in some regions.
(c) The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was a critical step toward achieving sustainability in the management of groundwater.
(d) Consistent with Section 113 and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, this article supports groundwater management by local agencies and is not a limitation on the authority of local agencies or the state under any other law.
(e) Greater transparency is needed to provide existing pumpers and water users in critically overdrafted basins with important information about the use of shared groundwater resources, specifically regarding applications for new well permits.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 538, Sec. 1. (SB 252) Effective January 1, 2018. Inoperative January 30, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2021, pursuant to Section 13808.8.)