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Ordinance No. 3542
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte, State of
California, ordains as follows:
Section 1. Amendments to Butte Count Code Cha ter 33.
Initiative Ordinance No. 33x3-A, titled "An Ordinance to
Protect the Groundwater Resources in Butte County", codified as
Chapter 33 of the Butte County Cade, is amended as follows:
GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION
Sec. 33-1. 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, municipal, and other purposes.
b} The groundwater underlying Butte County is a significant
water resource which must be reasonably and beneficially
used and conserved far the benefit of the overlying land
by avoiding extractions which harm the Butte Basin
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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 ].ands outside the County and the substitution. of
groundwater 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. Yt 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 overdraft 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
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limit public entities' management of groundwater in
accordance with the Groundwater Management Act and any
other applicable laws.
f) Butte County is the county and watershed of origin for
much of the groundwater and surface water within the
County. The availability of groundwater underlying the
County far consumptive uses within the County is
inextricably linked to the use of surface water.
Increased groundwater pumping within the County which
directly results from a transfer of surface water from
the County causes a net loss of water resources for
consumptive purposes within the County and can have
significant adverse impacts on the health, weJ.fare, and
safety of the residents of the County. The County does
not intend that this Ordinance invade the province of the
Legislature by regulating surface water transfers. The
County intends to exercise its police power to require a
transferor who will pump amounts of groundwater or cause
amounts of groundwater to be pumped to mitigate the
potential adverse impacts from any additional groundwater
pumping related to the surface water transfer.
Sec. ~3-6. Permit required for groundwater substitute
Pumping.
Tt sha11 be unlawful to extract groundwater underlying
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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 parcels and which surface water
is proposed to be transferred for use outside county, without
first obtaining 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 if the transferred surface water is used within the
boundaries of either a district or on a contiguous parcel of
any property owner which is ixa, part located within county and
in part in another county, where such quantity and use are
consistent with historical practices of the district or the
property owner. The transferor shall have the burden of
supporting an assertion of infeasibility or an historical
practice with competent evidence.
Sec. 33-~.2. Appeal of granting or denial of a permit.
The applicant or any interested party or public entity
may appeal the decision of the Commission by filing a written
request with the Clerk of the Board within thirty (30) days of
issuance of the decision. The Clerk shall set a time 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 Permittee, 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
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last 24 months. The Board sha11 hear the appeal as to those
disputed matters which were heard by the Commission and which
are specifically set out in the appeal request. The standard
of review sha11 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 expeditious
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 sha11 be the final decision in the matter.
Sec 33-i3. 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} 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
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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 (1} of the above situations and generally described the
supporting facts for such allegation. ~f the department
determines that the supporting facts make a primae facie
showing of one (1) of the above categories, the department
sha11 within ten (10) days of the receipt such challenge, give
notice of the challenge to the commission, the permittee,
appellant, to any interested party who filed a written request
for such notice within the past twenty-four (2~) months, and
also to districts and cities within the county. A commission
review shall be held on the matter fallowing the procedure set
out in section 33-1.1. The commission's decision may be to
deny the challenge, grant the challenge and terminate the
permit, or to establish modified conditions to the permit.
(c) The standard for review sha11 be substantial
evidence.
(d) Any interested party or public entity may challenge
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the issuance of a permit by the Commission on the basis that
the permit was not issued in accordance with the procedural
requirements of this chapter by filing an appeal in the same
manner and within the same time period specified in Section
33-12. The requirements of Section 33-12 shall govern appeals
filed pursuant to this Subsection.
Sec. 33-].9. Severability
zf any provision of this Chapter or the application
thereof to any person or circumstances is for any reason held
to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
provision shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity
thereof shall not affect the remaining provisions or other
applications of the Chapter which can be given effect without
the invalid provision or application thereof.
Section 2. Authority and FindincLS.
This ordinance is enacted pursuant to Article I, Section 1 of
the Butte County Charter; Article XI, Section 7 of the California
Constitution and Butte County Code Section 33-1$.
Section 3. CEOA E~cemptian
The Board of Supervisors hereby finds that, regarding the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), there is no
possibility that the adoption of this ordinance may have a
significant adverse effect on the environment (CEQA Guideline
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15061(b)(3)) because this ordinance will reduce the passibility of
such effects by: increasing the number of proposed groundwater
extraction programs subject to permit requirements, and also
possibly mitigation requirements. Further, the enactment of this
ordinance is an action by a regulatory agency taken for the
protection and maintenance of the environment, in that it
strengthens an ordinance which provides for a regulatory process
designed to protect the environment. As such, the enactment of
this ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA
guideline 15308.
Section 4. Severability.
If any part of this ordinance shall be held void by a court of
:competent jurisdiction, such part shall be deemed severable, and
the invalidity thereof shall nat affect the remaining parts of this
lordinance.
ection 5. Effective Date• Publication.
This ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be in full
force and effect 30 days from the date of its passage. Within
fifteen days of the date of its passage, this ordinance shall be
published once with the names of the members of the Soard of
Supervisors voting for and against it in the Chico Enterprise, a:_
newspaper published in the County of Butte, State of California.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Butte, State of California, on the 10th day of August ,
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}.~99: ,. key the following vote
AYES : Supervisors Beefier, Houx, .Tosiassen, Davis and Chair Do3.an
NOES : None
ABSENT : None f~
NOT VOTING : None (~''~{
J BU~~1 Chair of the
utt .County Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
JOHN BLACKLOCK, Chief Admini 've
Officer and C1erl~e~ the Board
o~~ocaiv.ecaru
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