Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: groundwater adjudication.

Assembly Member Papan's groundwater management legislation establishes new requirements for court proceedings involving groundwater rights to align with California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The bill modifies how courts handle groundwater adjudications to prevent interference with approved sustainability plans.

Under the legislation, courts cannot establish sustainable yield limits that exceed those set in valid groundwater sustainability plans. The bill requires consolidation of legal challenges to sustainability plans with ongoing basin adjudications and mandates that courts prioritize reviewing sustainable yield determinations before addressing other issues. For basins with comprehensive adjudications filed before 2025, parties have until March 2026 to challenge sustainability plan provisions.

The measure creates specific criteria for court approval of groundwater judgments, including a prohibition on allowing total pumping to exceed sustainable yields established in validated plans. Courts must also consider impacts on small farmers and disadvantaged communities when reviewing proposed judgments. The bill maintains existing requirements that judgments align with constitutional water rights provisions and treat all parties equitably.

To streamline proceedings, the legislation sets a 90-day deadline for filing legal challenges to groundwater sustainability agency actions and allows courts to stay challenges pending state agency review. These provisions aim to coordinate judicial oversight with the implementation of local sustainability plans while preserving stakeholders' ability to protect their water rights through the courts.