Attachment D Memorandum: Summary of Declared Drought Emergencies in California

Proposition 1 Water Storage Investment Program Public Benefit Ratio Appeal February 2018

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MEMORANDUM

DATE: 14 July 2016 TO: Dr. Maureen Martin FROM: Jeremy Barroll SUBJECT: History of California Executive Orders Relating to Drought

1976-1977 Drought

In January 1977, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency due to drought and asked for federal assistance.

In March 1977, Governor Jerry Brown passed Executive Order B-27-77, which established a Drought Task Force to plan state efforts and inform the public of drought conditions.

1987-1992 Drought

In April 1988, Governor George Deukmejian declared a drought and directed the Department of Water Resources to compose a Drought Emergency Plan.

February 1991: Governor Pete Wilson passed Executive Order W-3-91, which formed the Drought Action Team and Directed the Department of Water Resources to commission a Drought Water Bank, which served to purchase water from agencies with surplus and sell it to areas of highest need, and also to advise local agencies on water conservation.

February 1993: Governor Pete Wilson declared drought officially over.

2007-2009 Drought

In June 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed Executive Order S-06-08, which called for the Department of Water Resources to expedite grants for local agencies’ conservation projects and water transfers to areas of more extreme shortage. The Order also launched a water conservation campaign and ordered the Climate Variability Advisory Committee to focus on modeling drought- related effects of climate change.

In June 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger issued an Emergency Proclamation for the Central Valley, which directed the Office of Emergency Services to coordinate groundwater well enhancements and water deliveries for residential use in the San Joaquin Valley.

In February 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency due to drought, and asked Californians to cut personal water use by 20%.

In June 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger passed Executive Order S-11-09, which called for the California Emergency Management Agency and Department of Social Services to devise a strategy to provide nutrition to those individuals displaced by the drought by July 15, and also suspended the one week waiting period for unemployment insurance for those drought-displaced individuals.

In July 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Fresno County, directing the Emergency Management Agency to lead other state agencies in providing food assistance for Fresno County.

2012- Drought

In May 2013, Governor Jerry brown passed Executive Order B-21-13, which directed the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board to expedite water transfers for the remainder of 2013 to encourage sales of surplus water to San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts.

In January 2014, Governor Jerry Brown declared a State of Emergency due to severe drought conditions.

In April 2014, Governor Brown issued a Proclamation of Continued State of Emergency which called for non-mandatory water use reductions, such as by reducing landscape irrigation.

In September 2014, Governor Brown passed Executive Order B-26-14, which directed the Department of Water Resources, State Water Resources Control Board and Office of Emergency Services to work with local water agencies to relieve shortages of residential water supply.

In December 2014, Governor Brown passed Executive Order B-28-14, which extended a waiver of the California Environmental Quality Act originally passed in Governor Brown’s January 2014 Drought Proclamation through May 2016.

In April 2015, Governor Brown passed Executive Order B-29-15 requiring mandatory water use reductions. This was accomplished by requiring cuts for public landscaping and large water using institutions (golf courses etc.), banning new landscape irrigation installation, requiring municipal agencies to implement conservation pricing, subsidizing water-saving technologies and implementing other measures to reduce the state’s overall urban water use by 25%. The Order also requires local water agencies and large agricultural users to report their water use more frequently.

In November 2015, Governor Brown passed Executive Order B-35-15, which extended the mandatory water use reduction requirements and prioritized State Water Resources Control Board approval of local agencies’ projects to capture high water flows, such groundwater recharge projects.

In May 2016, Governor Brown passed Executive Order B-37-16, which made the mandatory water use reduction of 25% permanent and directed the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board to strategize further water reduction targets. The order also makes permanent the requirement that local agencies report their water use monthly. Additionally, certain wasteful practices such as sidewalk hosing and runoff-causing landscape irrigation are permanently outlawed, while local agencies must prepare plans to handle droughts lasting five years.

References https://www.gov.ca.gov/s_executiveorders.php https://www.fema.gov/disaster/3023

http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/docs/2_drought-1987-92.pdf http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-17/news/mn-2129_1_drought-contingency-plan http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/docs/a9237_CalSignficantDroughts_v10_int.pdf