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Ordinance No. 3303-A
Chapter
AN ORDINANCE TO PROTECT THE GROUNDWATER RESOURCES IN BUTTE COUNTY
1.01 PURPOSES
The People of the County hereby find and declare:
(a) The groundwater underlying Butte County provides the people and lands of Butte County
with water for agricultural, domestic, murucspal, and other purposes.
b) The groundwater underlying Butte County is a significant water resource which must be
reasonably and beneficially used and conserved for the benefit of the overlying land by
avoiding extractions which harm the Butte Basin aquifer, causing exceedance of the safe
yield or a condition of overdraft.
(c) It is essential for the protection of the health, welfare, and safety of the residents of the
County, and the public benefit of the State, that the groundwater resources of Butte
County be protected from harm resulting from both the extraction of groundwater for use
on lands outside the County and the substitution of goundwater for surface water
transferred outside the County.
(d) The County seeks to foster prudent water management practices to avoid significant
environmental, social, and economic impacts. It is therefore essential for the protection
of the County's important groundwater resources that the County require a permit to
extract groundwater for use outside the, County and for the substitution of groundwater
for surface water that has been used in the County and is now voluntarily transferred
outside the County, to protect against groundwater overdralt and to insure that the safe
yield of the groundwater aquifers and subbasins are not exceeded. This chapter is not
intended to regulate groundwater in any other way.
{e) In adopting this chapter, the County in no way intends to limit public entities'
management of groundwater in accordance with the Groundwater Management Act and
any other applicable laws.
2.01 DEFINITIONS
The definitions set out in this section shat! apply to this chapter.
{a} "Aquifer" means a geologic formation that stares, transmits and yields significant
quantities of water to wells and springs.
(b} "Association" means the Butte Basin Water Users Association.
{c) "Board" means the Board of Supervisors of Butte County.
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(d) "Commission" means the Butte County Water Commission, which shall be a nine {9)
person Commission appointed by the Board. The Commission shall include one member
from each Board distract and four members at large of which two (2) are landowners of
property served by district water and two (2} are iandowners served by private wells.
(e) "Count}' means the County of Butte.
{f) "District" means a district wholly or iri part located within the boundaries of the County,
which is a purveyor of water far agricultural, domestic, or municipal use.
(g) "Department" shall mean the Butte County Health Department.
(h) "Groundwater" means all water beneath the surface of the earth within the zone below
the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with water, but does not include
water which flows in known and definite channels.
(i) "Groundwater Management Act" means Water Code Sections 10750 et seq.
(j) "Hydraulic gradient" means the slope of the water table.
(k) "Hydrology" means the origin, distribution, and circulation of water through precipitation,
stream flow, infiltration, groundwater storage, and evaporation.
(1} "Overdraft" means the condition of an aquifer where the amount of water withdrawn by
pumping exceeds the amount of water replenishing the aquifer aver the water year and
also the point at which extractions from the aquifer exceed its safe yield plus any
temporary surplus.
(m) "Percolation" means the. movement of water through the soil to the groundwater table.
(n) "Permeability" means the capability of the soil or another geologic formation to transmit
water.
(o} "Piezometric surface" means the surface to which the water in a confined aquifer will rise.
(p) "Porosit}~' means voids or open spaces in alluvium and rocks that can be filled with water.
(q) "Recharge" means flow to groundwater storage from precipitation, irrigation, infiltration
from streams, spreading basins and other sources of water.
{r) "Safe Yield" means the maximum quantity of water which can be withdrawn annually
from an aquifer under a given set of conditions without causing overdraft or adverse
water quality conditions.
(s) "Saline Intrusion" means the movement of salt water into fresh water aquifers.
(t) "Specific Capacity' means the volume of water pumped from a well in gallons per minute
per fact of drawn down.
(u) "Spreading Water" means discharging native or imported water to a permeable area for
the purpose of allowing it to percolate to the zone of saturation. Spreading, artificial
recharge and replenishment all refer to operations used to place wa#er in a groundwater
table.
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(v) "Subbasin" means one of the four subbasins within County, including the East, Butte,
Palermo, Vuia, and West Butte subbasins defined by the California Department of Water
Resources.
(w) "Technical Advisory Committee" means a five (5) person committee nominated by the
Commission and appointed by the Board. They each must have substantial expertise in
water management or hydrology.
(x} "Transmissivity" means the rate of flow of water through an aquifer.
(y} "Water Table" means the surface or level where groundwater is encountered in a well in
an unconfined aquifer.
(z) "Water Year" means the year beginning February 1 and ending the last day of the
following January.
(aa} "Zone of Saturation" means the area below the water table in which the soil is completely
saturated with groundwater.
3.01 GROUNDWATER PLANNING PROCESS
The Association, unless otherwise designated by the Water Commission ,shall present the
reports described in this section to the Department by January 15 of each year. These reports shall guide
groundwater planning within County and shall be considered in accordance with section 4.05.
(a) A groundwater status report based upon the data gathered and analyzed pursuant to
section 3.02 .
(b) Using groundwater data for at least the prior twenty (20) years, a report that analyzes the
amount of groundwater pumping that can occur dunr~g the water year within each County
subbasin wrthvut exceeding the safe yield of each subbasin.
3.02 GROUNDWATER MONITORING
(a) The Water Commission through the Department, in cooperation with the Technical
Advisory Committee, the Assoc~atton, the California Department of Water Resources and
the Regional Water Quality Control Board, shall develop and coordinate acounty-wide
groundwater monitoring program.
(b) Specific monitoring wells shall be identified. Permission to enter the property on which
each well is located and to take groundwater level measurement shall be obtained
voluntarily from the well owner. If permission cannot be obtained, then another well shall
be selected.
(c} Groundwater level measurements shall betaken from all designated monitoring wells at
least fow (4) times per year, during the months of March, July, August, and November.
(d) Each district and city within the county shall be requested to submit copies of all its
groundwater monitoring reports to the Department as such reports are completed but not
later than December 1 of each year. The Department shall also encourage individuals to
voluntarily provide any available groundwater data.
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4.01. PERMIT REQUIltED FOR GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION FOR USE OUTSIDE
COUNTY
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It shall be unlawful to extract groundwater underlying County for use of that groundwater so
extracted, outside County without first obtaining a hermit as provided ~n this chapter, A permit is not
required pursuant to this section if the groundwater ~s used within the boundaries of either a district ar
on a contiguous parcel of any property owner which is in part located within County and in part iin
another county, where such extraction quantities and use are consistent with historical practices of the
district or the property owner. The groundwater extractor shall have the burden of supporting an
assertion of an historical practice with competent evidence.
4.02 PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTE PUMI'ING
It shall be unlawful to extract groundwater underlying County for use on a parcel or parcels of
land within the County in substitution for surface water which would otherwise be used to serve the
parcel or ~azcels and which surface water is proposed to be transferred for use outside County, without
first obtauung a permit as provided in this chapter.. A permit is not required pursuant to this section if
changed cropping patterns render the use of surface water infeasible or ~f the transferred surface water
is used within the boundaries of either a district or on a contiguous parcel of any property owner which
is in part located within County and in part in another county, where such quantity and use are consistent
with historical practices of the district ar the property owner. The transferor shall have the burden of
supporting an assertion of infeasibility or an historical practice with competent evidence. No permit is
required if surface water rights have been permanently relinquished by the property owner.
4.03 EXEMPTIONS
This chapter shall not apply to the temporary extraction of groundwater to prevent the flooding
of lands or to prevent the saturation of the root zone of farm land.
4.04 APPLICATION FOR A PERMIT
An application for a permit pursuant to this chapter shall be filed with the Department an forms
provided by the Department and shall contain all information required by the Department. The
Department shall require the following information in an application for a pernut under section 4.02.
(a) Name, address, telephone number, and fax number (if any) of the applicant.
(b) The amount of surface water available to the land and the amount proposed to be
transferred, the transfer period, the physical source of the surface water to be transferred,
the applicable surface water right held by the applicant, and the name, address, telephone
number, and fax number (if any} of the proposed transferee.
{c) A list of all parcels of land where surface water deliveries are to be reduced.
(d} A list of wells, including the maximum engineered pumping capacity of each well's pump
and motor, which aze proposed to participate in the groundwater substitute pumping
program and their location.
{e) A list of all wells located within the well spacing requirements of the wells listed under
subsection (d) of this section along with certifica#~on that the owners of such wells have
received notice of the application. The well spacing requirements are set forth in Section
23B-Sb of this code.
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{f) A map showing the location of all parcels and wells identified under subsections (c), (d)
and {e} of this section.
(g) A groundwater hydrology report laid for or otherwise provided by the applicant
identifying adverse impacts on wells hsted in subsection (e) and any other agricultural well
likely to experience significant adverse impacts. The report shall be prepared by a
qualified groundwater hydrologist or licensed professional civil or agricultural engineer.
(h) A description of the proposed monitoring program and the pumping curtailment.
(i) A description of the proposed mitigation program for any identified third party impacts,
which may specify a dollar amount held in a trust account to satisfy potential third party
claims.
(j) Such additional information as required by the Department.
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Concurrently, a request for environmental review shall be filed as required by applicable County CEQA
guidelines. The application for a permit and request for environmental review shall be accompanied by
the required fees established by the Board, which shall be reviewed by the Board not less than every two
(2) yeazs.
4.05. PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING
{a} Within ten (10) calendar days of filing of the permit application, the Department shall
provide public notice by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Butte
County, and posting at the courthouse at Oroville and the Department office in Chico that
an application has been filed, shall send a copy of the notice to all districts and cities
within the County and to any interested party who has made a written request to the
Department for such notice within the last 24 calendar months. The Department shall
review the application to determine whether it is complete for purposes of proceeding
under the County guidelines adopted pursuant to the California Environmental Quality
Act requirements.
(b) The Department shall review the most current reports provided pursuant to section 3.01.
The Department shall review the matter of the application with the Technical Advisory
Committee and may also review the matter of the application with the affected County
departments, with the staff of the State Department of Water Resources, with the staff
of the Regional Water Quality Control Board-Central Valley Region, and with any
interested district within whose boundary the proposed activity will occur. If the
applicant is applying to pump groundwater from withm the boundanes of a district or city
which has adopted a groundwater management plan pursuant to the Groundwater
Management Act, the De~aartment shall consider a groundwater management plan or any
other relevant information provided by the district or city. Any interested person or
agency may provide comments relevant to the matter of the extraction of groundwater.
Comments shall be submitted within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing the notice of
filing the permit application.
(c) The environmental review shall be undertaken in accordance with the California,
Environmental Quality Act and County guidelines. All casts of the environmental review
shall be the responsibility of applicant.
{d) Upon completion of the environmental review, the Department shall submit the following
documents to the Commission: the application, all comments received, the environmental
dacuinentation, the most current reports submitted pursuant to section 3.01, the retained
expert's report (if applicable), and the Department's written report.
4.06 PUBLIC REVIEW CONCERNING ISSUANCE OF PERMIT
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(a) Upon recent of the documents described in 4.05 (d), the Commission shall immediately
set a public review on the issuance of the permit which shall be noticed pursuant to
Government Code Section 6061 and may not be held within fifteen (15) days nor more
than thirty (30) days of the time that the Commission receives the report from the
Department.
(b) Formal rules of evidence shall not apply to the public review of the application, but the
Commission may establish such rules as will enable the expeditious presentation of the
matter and relevant information thereto. At the Commission review, the applicant shall
be entitled to present any oral or documentary evidence relevant to the application, and
the applicant shall have the burden of proof of establishing the facts necessary for the
Commission to make the required findings. The Commission may request any additional
information it deems necessary for its decision. The Commission shall also hear relevant
evidence presented by other interested persons and entities, the Department, other County
staff? the Association, and the public..The Commission shall consider all effects that the
granting of the permit application would have on the subbasin and affected aquifer
including, but not lunited to, the hydraulic gradient, hydrology, percolation, ~ermeabiliry,
piezometric surface, porosity, recharge, safe yield, salt water intrusion, specific capacity,
spreading water, transmissivity, water table and zone of saturation.
14.07 GRANTING OF PERMIT
A permit shall be granted pursuant to sections 4.01 and 4.02 only if the Commission finds and
determines that the extraction will not:
(a} cause or increase ari overdraft of the groundwater underlying the County;
(b) bring about or increase salt water intrusion;
(c) exceed the safe yield of the aquifer or subbasins underlying the County;
d) result in uncompensated injury to overlying groundwater users or other water users; or
~e) cause subsidence.
In granting a permit, the Commission shall impose .appropriate conditions upon the permit to
satisfy the above findings, and may impose other conditions that it deems necessary for the health: safety
and welfare of the people of the County. Conditions in the permit may include, but are not limited to,
requiring metering of the wells under the permit, both short-term and annual pumping limits, prescribed
groundwater levels at which groundwater pumping must cease, and additional requirements for
observation andlor monitoring wells.
In denying a permit, the Commission shall make specific findings in any of the subsections (a)
through (e) to support its decision.
The decision of the Commission relating to section 4.01 shall be made upon an affirmative vote
of six (6) members of the Commission and relating to section 4.02 shall be made upon an affirmative
vote of a majority of the quorum present. Such decisions may be appealed in accordance with sectior,
4.08 or 4.09.
4.08 APPEAL OF GRANTIlVG OR DENIAL OF A PERMIT
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The applicant ar any interested party or public entity may appeal the decision of the Commission
by filing a wntten request with the Clerk of the Board within fifteen (15} days of issuance of the decision.
The Clerk shall seta #~me for review by the Board within twenty {20) days of receipt of the request for
appeal. Notice of appeal shall be given to the Commission, the Perm~ttee, Appellant, as well as to the
districts and cities within the County, and to interested parties who have requested notice of such appeals
within the last 24 months. The Board shall hear the appeal as to thane disputed matters which were heard
by the Commission and which are specifically set'out in the appeal request. The standard of review shall
require that substantial evidence be presented to prevail on an issue. The appeal before the Board shall
not be conducted with formal rules of evidence but under such rules as set by the Board for the
expedi#ious presentation of the matter and relevant information pertaining thereto by the appellant and
by those opposed to the reversal of the Commission decision. The decision of a majority of the Board
shall be the final decision in the matter.
4.09 CHALLENGE TO APPROVED PERMIT
(a) Any interested party or public entity may challenge the continuation of the permit during
the term of the permit when any of the following information exists:
1) there is a violation of the conditions of the permit;
2) the permit was not issued in accordance with the procedural requirements of this
chapter;
3) extraction of groundwater pursuant to the permit:
a) causes or increases an overdraft in the basin, or
b brings about or increases salt water intrusion, or
c~ exceeds the safe yield of the subbasin(s), or
d} results in uncompensated injury to overlying groundwater users or other
water users, or
e) causes subsidence.
{b) A challenge pursuant to this section is commenced by filing a written request with the
Department which alleges any one of the above situations and generally described the
supporting facts for such allegation. If the Department determines that the supporting
facts make a primae facie showing of one of the above categories, the Department shall
within ten (10) days of receipt of such challenge, give nonce of the challenge to the
Commission, the Permittee, Appellant, to any interested party who filed a written request
for such notice within the fast 24 months, and also to districts and cities within the
County. A Commission review shall be held on the matter following the procedure set
out in gection 4.07. The Commission's decision may be to deny the challenge, grant the
challenge and terminate the permit, ar to establish modified conditions to the permit.
(c) The standard for review shall be substantial evidence.
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4.10 DURATION OF PERMIT
All permits shall be valid for a three (3) year term unless the Commission finds that a shorter term
is required by the findings in section 4.07 {a) through {e}. For purpose of calculation, the water year in
which the permit is ted sha11 not be counted iun deternuning the three year time period if less than four
months remains m e then water year. Provided, however, nothing contained in thss chapter nor in the
conditions of the permit shall be construed to give permittee an exclusive right to groundwater.
4.11 LIlVIITATION OF PERMIT
The permit process in this chapter is not to be construed as a grant of any right or entitlement but
rather the permit evidences that the health, welfare, and safety of the residents of the County will not be
harmed by the extraction of groundwater for use outside the County or the substitution of groundwater
for surface water that has been transferred outside County. The permit in no way exempts, supersedes,
or replaces any other provisions of federal, state, and local laws and regulations including but not limited
to Water Code Section 1220, the Groundwater Management Act, and any actions provided for in
California groundwater law, well drilling and maintenance m accordance with Chapter 23B of the Butte
County Code, ar building permit requirements.
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5.01 INSPECTION
The Department, with good cause, may at any and all reasonable times enter any and all places,
~roperry, enclosures and structures, where a well is located, for the purposes of making examinations and
investigations to determine whether any provision of this chapter is being violated.
6.01 CIVIL PENALTY
The County may elect to proceed with a civil action against a violator, including seeking
injunctive relief Any person who or entity which violates this chapter shall be subject to fines of u~ to
$5,000 per separate violation. A person or entity shall be deemed to have committed separate violations
for each and every day or portion thereof during which any such violation is committed, continued or
permitted as well as for each and every sepazate groundwater well with which any such violation is
committed, continued, or permitted.
17.01 REPEAL
Chapter 33 of the Butte County Code is hereby repealed.
118.01 SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter, as applied to any entity or
person, is for any reason held to be illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, or outside the 3unsdiction and/or the
police powers of the County, as determined by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall
not affect the validity of the chapter as to other entities or persons. l;f any section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional b~ the decision
of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
hereof. The People hereby declare that they would have passed this chapter and each section, subsection,
sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or mare sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, or outside the jurisdiction
and/or police powers of the County as to certain ent~tites or persons.
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9.01 AMENDMENT
The Board may amend this chapter or any of its provisions following a properly noticed public
hearing.
This ordinance (County initiative measure) is considered adopted on December 10, 199b, the
date the vote of the statewide general election held on November S, 1996 was declared (the day that the
Board of Supervisors accepted the official canvas of votes submitted to it by the County Clerk), and went
into effect ten days after that. (Elections Code Section 9122)
ATTEST:
JOHN S.1
and Clerk
By:
I gmaw~.~
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