SECTIONS 75520-75524 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 75520-75524

75520. The provisions of Articles 1 (commencing with Section
75560), 2 (commencing with Section 75570), and 3 (commencing with
Section 75590) of Chapter 3 of this part apply only to districts in
which a ground water charge is levied or proposed to be levied.

75521. Ground water charges levied pursuant to this part are
declared to be in furtherance of district activities in the
protection and augmentation of the water supplies for users within
the district or a zone or zones thereof which are necessary for the
public health, welfare, and safety of the people of this state.

75522. The ground water charges are authorized to be levied upon
the production of ground water from all water-producing facilities,
whether public or private, within the district or a zone or zones
thereof for the benefit of all who rely directly or indirectly upon
the ground water supplies of the district or a zone or zones thereof
and water imported into the district or a zone or zones thereof.

75523. The proceeds of ground water charges levied and collected
upon the production of water from ground water supplies within the
district or a zone or zones thereof shall be used exclusively by the
board for the district purposes authorized by this division.

75524. Any person or operator who augments the water supplies for
use within the United Water Conservation District or a zone or zones
thereof, by importing water from sources outside the district, and
who stores that water in a basin within the district, may apply to
the Board of Directors of the United Water Conservation District for
a determination exempting that operator from the payment of any
groundwater charge based upon the extraction of that water. The
exemption shall be based upon the filing of an application for
exemption and submission to the board of reasonable evidence of the
following:
(a) The amount of water of acceptable quality imported into the
district and spread or injected into a basin within the district.
(b) The portion of that imported water that effectively recharges
the basin underlying the zone or zones into which it is injected or
percolates.
(c) The amount of water produced by the applicant from the zone or
zones overlying the areas effectively recharged by the importation
and spreading or injection of that water.
(d) Even if the applicant had not imported and stored the water,
it had a separate legal right and the ability to produce the quantity
of water for which it seeks exemption, in addition to all other
water produced by the applicant from the zone or zones involved.