9.6.5.1.1. An evaluation of a 50-year water supply for the oil and gas project;

9.6.5.1.2.  An assessment of water supplies which addresses whether the total projected water supplies available during normal, single-dry and multiple-dry water years during a 50-year projection will meet the projected water demand associated with the proposed project, in addition to existing and planned use.

9.6.5.1.3. The applicant must identify any public water system or water company that may supply water for the project and request an assessment from each. The governing body of the water supplier must approve the assessment at a regular or special meeting. The public water system is to provide the assessment not later than 90 days after receiving a request from the applicant.

9.6.5.1.4. If there is no public water system, then the County shall prepare the assessment after consulting with any domestic water supplier whose service area includes the project site and any public water system adjacent to the project site.

9.6.5.1.5. The assessment must identify relevant, existing water supply entitlements, water rights, or water service contracts, and describe the quantities of water received in prior years. The identification shall be demonstrated by the applicant providing information related to all of the following:

(a) written contracts or other proof of entitlement to an identified water supply,
(b) copies of a capital outlay program for financing the delivery of a water supply that has been adopted by the public water system,
(c) federal, state, and local permits for construction of necessary infrastructure associated with delivering the water supply,
(d) any necessary regulatory approvals that are required in order to be able to convey or deliver the water supply.

 

9.6.5.2. If no water has been received in prior years under an existing entitlement, right, or contract, the assessment must identify other public water systems, water companies, or water service contract holders that receive a water supply or have existing entitlements, rights, or contracts, to the same source of water.

9.6.5.3. Supplies to Remedy Insufficiency: If the public water system’s total projected water supplies available during a 50-year projection are insufficient, then the applicant must identify plans to acquire additional supplies that may include, but are not limited to:
 

9.6.5.3.1. The estimated total costs, and the proposed method of financing the costs, associated with acquiring the additional water supplies for the oil or gas facility,

9.6.5.3.2. All federal, state, and local permits, approvals, or entitlements that are anticipated to be required in order to acquire and develop the additional water supplies, and

9.6.5.3.3. The estimated timeframes within which the public water system or water company expects to be able to acquire additional water supplies.

9.6.5.4. If a water supply for a proposed project includes groundwater, the following additional information shall be included in the water supply assessment:
 

9.6.5.4.1. A review of any information contained in a water management plan relevant to the identified water supply for the proposed project,

9.6.5.4.2. A description of any groundwater basin or basins from which the proposed project will be supplied,

(a) For those basins for which a court or the board has adjudicated the rights to pump groundwater, a copy of the order or decree adopted by the court or the board and a description of the amount of groundwater the public water system has the legal right to pump under the order or decree.

(b) For basins that have not been adjudicated, information as to whether the State Engineer has identified the basin or basins as over-drafted or has projected that the basin will become over-drafted if present management conditions continue, in the most current information of the State Engineer that characterizes the condition of the groundwater basin, and a detailed description by the public water system of the efforts being undertaken in the basin or basins to eliminate the long-term overdraft condition.

9.6.5.5.  A detailed description and analysis of the amount and location of groundwater pumped by the public water system for the past five years from any groundwater basin from which the proposed project will be supplied. The description and analysis shall be based on information that is reasonably available, including, but not limited to, historic use records.

9.6.5.6. A detailed description and analysis of the amount and location of groundwater that is projected to be pumped by the public water system, from any basin from which the proposed project will be supplied. The description and analysis shall be based on information that is reasonably available, including, but not limited to, historic use records.

9.6.5.7. An analysis of the sufficiency of the groundwater from the basin or basins from which the proposed project will be supplied to meet the projected water demand associated with the proposed project.

9.6.5.8. County’s Ability to Override Public Water Agency’s Determination: The County shall include an evaluation of the assessment in the EIR and in the Water Availability Report.

9.6.5.9. The County shall determine, based on the entire record, whether projected water supplies will be sufficient to satisfy the demands of the project, in addition to existing and planned future uses. If the County determines that water supplies will not be sufficient, the County shall include that determination in its findings for the Water Availability Report.

9.6.5.10. If the project has been the subject of an assessment that complies with the requirements of this Section, than [then] no additional water supply assessment shall be required for subsequent projects that were part of a larger oil and gas project for which water supplies were found sufficient. Exceptions are:
 

9.6.5.10.1. Changes in the oil and gas project that will substantially increase water demand,
9.6.5.10.2. Changes in circumstances that substantially affect the ability to provide a sufficient water supply, and
9.6.5.10.3. Significant new information as it becomes known.

9.6.5.11. The applicant shall make a cash, certified or bank check, or letter of credit, deposit, to cover all of the County’s expenses in reviewing the Water Availability Assessment, engaging consultants, and for a Hearing Officer to conduct the first public hearing on the Water Availability Assessment. The County will provide an estimate of the cost of conducting the study, which shall provide the basis for the initial deposit. The applicant shall make additional deposits if the initial deposit is inadequate to reimburse the County for the costs of the study, and the County shall refund any unexpended funds on deposit after the study is completed.

See SECTION 9: OIL AND GAS OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION for complete, detailed information.