Cal. Code Regs. tit. 23 § 341

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 341 - Definitions

In addition to terms defined in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and in Bulletin 118, which definitions apply to these regulations, the following terms used in this Chapter have the following meanings:

(a) "Act" means the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 of Division 6 of the Water Code, beginning with Section 10720).

(b) "Administrative adjustment" means a basin or subbasin boundary adjustment by the Department that either (1) amends existing basin or subbasin boundary data files to accurately reflect an unambiguous written basin or subbasin boundary description as defined in Bulletin 118 or amended pursuant to this Part, or (2) restates the description of a basin or subbasin boundary to more precisely reflect a mapped basin or subbasin boundary consistent with the original description.

(c) "Affected agency" means a local agency, as defined in Water Code Section 10721(m), whose jurisdictional area would, as a result of a boundary modification, include more, fewer, or different basins or subbasins than without the modification.

(d) "Affected basin" means a basin or subbasin that is the subject of a boundary modification request and any basin or subbasin where the ability to achieve sustainable groundwater management could be significantly affected by groundwater use or management practices in another existing or proposed basin or subbasin. An adjacent basin or subbasin is presumed to be an affected basin for purposes of this Subchapter. The Department may determine a non-adjacent basin or subbasin is an affected basin if convincing evidence shows that the hydraulic connection to another basin or subbasin is likely to affect the ability of the non-adjacent basin or subbasin to achieve sustainable groundwater management over the planning and implementation horizon.

(e) "Affected system" means a public water system, as defined in Water Code Section 10721(r), whose service area would, as a result of a boundary modification, include more, fewer, or different basins or subbasins than without the modification.

(f) "Aquifer" refers to a three-dimensional body of porous and permeable sediment or sedimentary rock that contains sufficient saturated material to yield significant quantities of groundwater to wells and springs, as further defined or characterized in Bulletin 118.

(g) "Basin" is defined in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act as a groundwater basin or subbasin identified and defined in Bulletin 118. For purposes of this Chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, those terms are further defined as follows:

(1) The term "basin" shall refer to an area specifically defined as a basin or "groundwater basin" in Bulletin 118, and shall refer generally to an aquifer or stacked series of aquifers with reasonably well-defined boundaries in a lateral direction, based on features that significantly impede groundwater flow, and a definable bottom, as further defined or characterized in Bulletin 118.

(2) The term "subbasin" shall refer to an area specifically defined as a subbasin or "groundwater subbasin" in Bulletin 118, and shall refer generally to any subdivision of a basin based on geologic and hydrologic barriers or institutional boundaries, as further described or defined in Bulletin 118.

(h) "Basin consolidation" refers to any boundary modification that would reduce the number of subbasins within a basin or merge two or more adjacent basins but would change only shared boundaries and would not change the external boundary of any basin or subbasin.

(i) "Basin subdivision" refers to any boundary modification that would increase the number of subbasins within a basin or subbasin.

(j) "Boundary modification" means a change to the boundaries of an existing basin or subbasin or the establishment of a new subbasin.

(k) "Commission" means the California Water Commission.

(l) "County basin consolidation" means the consolidation of all contiguous basins or subbasins within a county into a single basin or subbasin whose boundaries do not extend beyond those of the county. If there are non-contiguous basins within a county, the consolidation applies separately to each basin or group of contiguous basins in the county. A county basin consolidation may redefine the shared boundaries of one or more adjacent basins or subbasins, but would not result in a net change in the amount of area included within a basin.

(m) "Department" means the Department of Water Resources.

(n) "External boundary modification" refers to any proposal that would modify the boundary between the groundwater basin and the area outside any basin.

(o) "GIS" means a Geographic Information System that collects, stores, analyzes, and displays spatial or geographically referenced data.

(p) "Hydrogeologic barrier" refers to any subsurface feature that significantly impedes groundwater flow.

(q) "Hydrogeologic conceptual model" means a description of the geologic and hydrologic framework governing the occurrence of groundwater and its flow through and across the boundaries of a basin and the general groundwater conditions in a basin or subbasin.

(r) "Internal boundary modification" refers to any boundary modification that would modify the location of a boundary between subbasins within a basin or the shared boundary between adjacent basins.

(s) "Professional engineer" means a professional engineer licensed pursuant to Business and Professions Code, Division 3, Chapter 7, Section 6700 et seq.

(t) "Professional geologist" means a professional geologist licensed pursuant to Business and Professions Code, Division 3, Chapter 12.5, Section 7800 et seq.

(u) "Qualified map" means a geologic map of a scale no smaller than 1:250,000 that is published by the U. S. Geological Survey or the California Geological Survey, or is a map published as part of a geologic investigation conducted by a state or federal agency, or is a geologic map prepared and signed by a professional geologist that is acceptable to the Department.

(v) "Requesting agency" means the local agency that requests a boundary modification as authorized by Water Code Section 10722.2.

(w) "Request manager" is an employee or authorized representative of a requesting agency who has been delegated responsibility for submitting the boundary modification request and serving as the point of contact between the requesting agency and the Department.

(x) "State" means the State of California.

(y) "Technical study" means a geologic or hydrologic report prepared and published by a state or federal agency, or a study published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, or a report prepared and signed by a professional geologist or by a professional engineer.

(z) "Written notice" means notification by electronic mail or U.S. Mail.

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 341

1. New article 2 (section 341) and section filed 11-6-2015 as an emergency and exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law pursuant to subdivision (b) of Water Code section 10722.2; operative 11-16-2015 and, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Water Code section 10722.2, shall remain in effect until revised by the Department of Water Resources (Register 2015, No. 45).

Note: Authority cited: Section 10722.2, Water Code. Reference: Division 3, Chapter 12.5, Section 7800 et seq., and Chapter 7, Section 6700 et seq., Business and Professions Code; Sections 25299.97 and 116275, Health and Safety Code; and Sections 10721, 10722.2 and 12924, Water Code.