(a) Upon a showing that the basin is in a condition of long-term overdraft, the court may, upon notice and hearing, issue a preliminary injunction.
(b) Bulletins and other reports of the department, and a report of a special master indicating that a condition of long-term overdraft exists in the basin, shall be admissible as evidence of a condition of long-term overdraft. This subdivision does not limit the admissibility of other relevant evidence.
(c) The preliminary injunction may include any of the following terms:
(1) A moratorium on new or increased appropriations of water.
(2) A limitation on, or reduction in, the diversion or extraction of water.
(3) An allocation among the parties establishing amounts of extraction allowed during the pendency of the comprehensive adjudication.
(4) Procedures for voluntary transfers.
(d) The court shall issue a preliminary injunction upon determining all of the following:
(1) The basin is in a condition of long-term overdraft.
(2) The basin has been designated as a probationary basin or the planning deadlines in subdivision (a) of Section 10720.7 of the Water Code are not being complied with.
(3) There is no interim plan in effect under Section 10735.8 of the Water Code.
(e) The court may provide a schedule for further reductions in extractions over a period of years if it finds that doing so appears reasonably necessary to achieve groundwater sustainability within the timelines provided in subdivision (b) of Section 10727.2 of the Water Code.
(f) The terms of a preliminary injunction shall not determine the rights in a final judgment of the comprehensive adjudication.
(g) A bond or undertaking shall not be required for the issuance of a preliminary injunction pursuant to this section.
(h) The court may appoint a watermaster to oversee enforcement of the preliminary injunction.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 672, Sec. 1. (AB 1390) Effective January 1, 2016.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018