(a) (1) A permittee or licensee who proposes a temporary change shall submit to the board a petition to change the terms of the permit or license as required to accomplish the proposed temporary change. The petition for a temporary change shall be filed by the permittee or licensee. If the proposed temporary change is for the benefit of a contractor or user supplied directly or indirectly by the permittee or licensee, the permittee or licensee may authorize the contractor or user to participate as a copetitioner. The permittee or licensee shall identify any copetitioner in the petition.
(2) A contractor or user described in paragraph (1), whether or not designated as a copetitioner, and the person to whom the water is proposed to be transferred, shall be named as parties to the proceeding, with the same rights to receive notices, respond to board determinations, and petition for writ of mandate as the petitioner.
(b) A petition shall include both of the following:
(1) Reference to the permit or license that serves as the basis for the water transfer.
(2) A written description of the changes in water storage, timing, and point of diversion, place and purpose of use, timing and point of return flow, and water quality of instream flows that are likely to occur as a result of the proposed temporary change.
(c) A petitioner shall provide a copy of the petition to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the board of supervisors of the county or counties in which the petitioner currently stores or uses the water subject to the petition, and the board of supervisors of the county or counties to which the water is proposed to be transferred.
(d) Within 10 days of the date of submission of a petition to the board, the petitioner shall publish in not less than one newspaper of general circulation, in the county or counties in which the petitioner currently stores or uses the water subject to the petition, a notice of the petition and a brief description of the terms of the proposed temporary change. The board shall, in a timely manner, provide to the petitioner a list of water right holders of record on file with the board who may be affected by the transfer, and the petitioner shall provide written notice to those water right holders not later than 10 days after the date on which the petition is submitted. The board shall post the notice of petition on its Internet Web site not later than 10 days after the date on which the petition is submitted. The notice of the petition shall specify the date on which comments are due. The board may impose on the petitioner any other notice requirement it determines to be necessary.
(e) Within 10 days of the date of receipt of a petition, the board shall commence an investigation of the proposed temporary change. Pursuant to that investigation, the board shall determine if the water proposed to be transferred would have been consumptively used or stored pursuant to the petitioner’s permit or license in the absence of the proposed transfer or conserved pursuant to Section 1011. The board also shall evaluate the changes in water storage, timing and point of diversion, place and purpose of use, timing and point of return flow, water quality, and instream flows, and other changes that are likely to occur as a result of the proposed temporary change.
(f) Water users that may be affected by a proposed temporary change and any other interested party may file a written comment regarding a petition with the board. Comments shall be filed not later than 30 days after the date that the notice was published pursuant to subdivision (d). The board shall evaluate and take into consideration all comments that are filed in a timely manner.
(g) (1) Except as specified in paragraphs (2) and (3), the board shall render a decision on the petition not later than 35 days after the date that investigation commenced or the date that the notice was published, whichever is later. The board’s decision shall be in accordance with the substantive standards set forth in Section 1727. The board shall explain its decision in writing and shall send copies of the decision to the petitioner, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the board of supervisors of the county or counties described in subdivision (c), the proposed transferee, and any party who has filed a written comment in accordance with subdivision (f).
(2) If comments are filed in accordance with subdivision (f), or for any other good cause, the board may extend the date of its decision for up to 20 days.
(3) If the board or the petitioner determines that an additional extension of time for a decision is necessary for the board to make the findings required by Section 1727, or that a hearing is necessary for the board to make those findings, the board may extend the time for a decision with the consent of the petitioner. If the petitioner agrees to a hearing, the board shall identify the issues for which additional evidence is required and shall fix a time and place for the hearing. The board shall provide notice of the time, place, and subject matter of the hearing to the petitioner, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the board of supervisors of the county or counties described in subdivision (c), the water right holders of record identified pursuant to subdivision (d), the proposed transferee, and any party who has filed a written comment in accordance with subdivision (f).
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 683, Sec. 59. (SB 798) Effective January 1, 2016.)