(a) This Article shall only apply to those groundwater aquifers that have not been adjudicated by judicial decree, which are located outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the Mojave Water Agency and Public Water Districts within the Morongo Basin and which are situated in the unincorporated desert region of the County, generally described as that area of the County lying west of the Colorado River and the California-Nevada State line, north of the San Bernardino-Riverside County line, south of the San Bernardino-Inyo County line and east of Fort Irwin Military Reservation, the Mojave Water Agency, the Marine Air Ground Task Force Command Center, Twentynine Palms Water District and the City of Twentynine Palms. The area subject to this Article is more specifically identified on the attached Desert Groundwater Ordinance Map.
(b) This Article shall not apply to any well operated by any district or person where the district or person has performed both of the following:
(1) Adopted a groundwater management plan pursuant to Water Code §§ 10750 et seq. (“AB 3030 Plan”) which adheres to “groundwater safe yield” and “aquifer health” limitations, as those terms are defined in § 33.06553 of this Code or has otherwise developed and instituted a County-approved groundwater management, monitoring and mitigation plan associated with its extraction of water that is consistent with guidelines developed by the County; and
(2) Executed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) or other binding agreement with the County which:
(A) requires the parties to share groundwater monitoring information and data and to coordinate their efforts to monitor groundwater resources in the County; and
(B) ensures that the measures identified in the AB 3030 Plan or County-approved groundwater management, monitoring and mitigation plan are fully implemented and enforced. Such MOU or agreement must remain enforceable in order to provide for an exclusion from this Article.
(c) This Article shall not apply to the following:
(1) Groundwater wells subject to the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project;
(2) Groundwater wells within the jurisdictional boundary of the Mojave Water Agency, including public water agencies within the Morongo Basin;
(3) Groundwater well operations approved before the effective date of this Article as part of a currently valid and complied with Conditional Use Permit or well construction permit. Owner must provide evidence or certification the well was drilled prior to permit requirements or was permitted prior to the effective date of this ordinance;
(4) Groundwater wells used in conjunction with mining operations for which a currently valid and complied with mining reclamation plan has been established;
(5) Groundwater wells associated with an agricultural operation, where the cumulative extraction from all of the agricultural wells from such an operation is less than 1,100 acre-feet per year and where the water is used on site and allowed to percolate into the ground, resulting in some return flow to the underlying aquifer.
(6) Groundwater wells which replace abandoned wells if (i) proof of abandonment for the existing well is shown, (ii) the replacement well casing is not larger in diameter than the abandoned well, and/or (iii) the pumping capacity of the replacement well is no more than the pumping capacity of the abandoned well.
(7) Non-agricultural wells with casings smaller than ten inches in diameter or those to be pumped for less than 30 acre feet per year. Notwithstanding the foregoing exemption, this Article shall apply to a non-agricultural well that is proposed on a parcel on which other wells are located and where the total production of all wells on-site is greater than 50 acre feet per year. The term
PARCEL shall include all parcels within any one groundwater aquifer in which the same person or persons have a common ownership interest.
(8) Groundwater wells located on Federal lands unless otherwise specified by inter-agency agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing exclusion, this Article shall apply to groundwater wells located on privately held lands, which are within the boundaries of a National Park, Preserve or Monument or any other Federal designation.