Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed AB 133 on September 18, 2017, which, in part, extends the deadlines to submit forms to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to comply with CalCannabis’ water source identification requirements for cannabis cultivation licensing. Cannabis cultivators must identify their water source as part of their CalCannabis application to the California Department of Food and Agriculture to obtain a license to commercially cultivate cannabis. You may need to submit documentation of your water source to the State Water Board as described in this announcement, although not all water sources require completing additional forms, according to a press release.
This announcement is to provide updated deadlines and does not introduce new requirements. You do not need to re-file the forms listed below if you have already submitted documentation of your water source to the State Water Board.
Please review the following to determine if the new deadlines affect you. The deadlines are specific to cultivators who wish to submit their CalCannabis cultivation license application before January 1, 2019.
If you currently have a Small Irrigation Use Registration (SIUR), Permit, License, or plan on filing for an SIUR, the statutory deadlines below do not apply to you, but you will need to include appropriate documentation of your water right in your CalCannabis application.
If water is already being diverted under a riparian water right claim, an Initial Statement of Diversion and Use must be on file with the Division of Water Rights (Division) on or before October 31, 2017. The form is available here.
A pending application to appropriate water must be on file with the Division on or before October 31, 2017. The form is available here.
If you plan to divert and use water under a riparian right and no diversion has occurred in any calendar year between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017, then Form 19332.2 (b)(5) must be on file with the Division on or before October 31, 2017. The form is available here.
If your water diversion is from a spring that does NOT flow off the property on which it is located, and the aggregate diversions do not exceed 25 acre-feet in any year, then Form 19332.2 (b)(4) must be on file with the Division on or before January 1, 2019. The form is available here.
If your source is a groundwater well in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura counties that extracts more than 25 acre-feet in a year and a notice is on file with the State Water Board for the recordation of groundwater extractions and diversion, then Form 19332.2 (b)(4) must be on file with the Division on or before January 1, 2019. The form is available here.
If your diversion is regulated by a Watermaster appointed by the Department of Water Resources and included in annual reports filed with a court or the State Water Board by a Watermaster, then Form 19332.2 (b)(4) must be on file with the Division on or before January 1, 2019. The annual reports must identify the persons who divert water and describe the general purposes and the place, the use and the quantity of water that has been diverted from each source. The form is available here.
If your diversion is included in annual reports filed with the court or State Water Board by a Watermaster appointed by a court or filed pursuant to statute to administer a final judgment determining rights to water, then Form 19332.2 (b)(4) must be on file with the Division on or before January 1, 2019. The reports must identify the persons who have diverted water and give the general place of use and the quantity that has been diverted from each source. The form is available here.
The State Water Board is developing an online portal for cannabis cultivators to submit their Small Irrigation Use Registration (SIUR) filings, make payments and obtain water right registration certificates. The online portal will be available in late 2017. SIURs are a faster alternative to applying for and obtaining a traditional water right permit. SIURs will allow cannabis cultivators to store water off-stream in tanks or ponds; water storage is not permissible under riparian water right claims.
If you are unsure of your water source category, or need further assistance, please visit our Cannabis Cultivation Water Rights webpage or contact the Cannabis Registration Unit at (916) 319-9427.
