California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 3 - State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards › Chapter 2 - Appropriation of Water › Article 23 - Stream Systems Declared to be Fully Appropriated › Section 871 - Revocation or Revision of a Declaration

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) The
				  board may, upon its own motion or upon petition of any interested person,
				  revoke or revise a declaration, as hereinafter provided.
(b) Upon recommendation of the Chief,
				  Division of Water Rights, and following notice and hearing, the board may adopt
				  an order revoking the fully-appropriated status of a stream system which has
				  previously been declared fully appropriated, or revising any condition
				  specified in a declaration upon which applications to appropriate
				  unappropriated water will be accepted for filing and registrations of small
				  domestic use appropriations will be accepted. The Chief's recommendation for
				  revocation or revision may be based upon any relevant factor, including but not
				  limited to a change in circumstances from those considered in a previous water
				  right decision determining that no water remains available for appropriation,
				  or upon reasonable cause derived from hydrologic data, water usage data, or
				  other relevant information acquired by the Division of Water Rights in the
				  course of any investigation conducted by it.
(c) Any person may petition the board to
				  revoke or revise the fully appropriated status of a stream system included in a
				  declaration. The Chief, Division of Water Rights, shall give notice of receipt
				  of any such petition to all persons known by the Chief to be interested in the
				  fully-appropriated status of the stream system.
(1) The petition shall include hydrologic
				  data, water usage data, or other relevant information based upon which the
				  Chief, Division of Water Rights, may determine that reasonable cause exists to
				  conduct a hearing on the question whether the fully appropriated status of the
				  stream system should be revoked or revised.
(2) The petition may also be accompanied,
				  depending upon the magnitude of the proposed appropriation, either (A) by a
				  proposed application to appropriate unappropriated water, or (B) by a proposed
				  registration of small domestic use, notwithstanding that the proposed
				  application or registration is unacceptable because it proposes appropriation
				  from a stream system declared to be fully appropriated and does not meet
				  existing conditions for acceptance. Any such proposed application or
				  registration should be complete pursuant to the law and the rules of the board,
				  including payment of the filing fee. The board may cancel the application for
				  failure to pay any annual fee for the application when due.
(3) A proposed application or registration
				  submitted pursuant to subsection (c)(2) will not be accepted but will be
				  retained by the board. Should the board thereafter act in response to the
				  petition to change the declaration in a manner which would make the proposed
				  application or registration acceptable, the proposed application or
				  registration will, if otherwise complete pursuant to the law and the rules of
				  the board, be accepted. A proposed application or registration accepted
				  pursuant to this subsection shall be assigned a priority superior to that
				  assigned to any subsequently retained or accepted application or registration,
				  respectively, proposing to appropriate from a source included in the earlier
				  proposed application or registration; provided that, in proceeding upon
				  competing applications accepted because of a change in the declaration pursuant
				  to this section, the board will implement all provisions of law governing
				  approval and rejection of applications including, but not limited to, Water
				  Code section
				  1255 relating
				  to public interest.
(4) If the
				  Chief determines that the petition shows reasonable cause to conduct a hearing
				  on the question whether the declaration should be changed, the Chief shall
				  notice a hearing on the issue. The board may thereafter adopt an order changing
				  the declaration or declining to do so.
(5) If the Chief determines that the petition
				  does not show reasonable cause to conduct a hearing on the question whether the
				  declaration should be changed, the Chief shall notify the petitioner, and all
				  persons given notice pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, of such
				  determination. The petitioner may, within 30 days of the date of the notice,
				  file a request that the board review the Chief's determination. Following
				  receipt of any such request timely filed, the board will review the Chief's
				  determination. The board's review shall be limited to the information provided
				  by petitioner to the Chief, pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section.
				  Following its review, the board may affirm the Chief's determination, direct
				  the Chief to reconsider the determination, or direct the Chief to notice a
				  hearing on the question whether the declaration should be
				  changed.