Bill > AB2260

This bill expands the ability to obtain water rights for restoration projects by creating a new category called "small restoration use," which is defined as a specific use of water for preserving and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat as part of a restoration project. It also allows the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue restoration management permits that can authorize the continued diversion and use of water if it results in a substantial net benefit to the environment compared to current conditions, and these permits can be renewed to ensure these benefits are maintained over time, though substantial diversions are limited to five years. Additionally, the bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board to prioritize processing registrations for small restoration uses when they are combined with requests to dedicate water for instream or wetland habitat benefits, and it clarifies that the existing rules for renewing registrations of small domestic, small irrigation, and livestock stockpond uses will also apply to these new small restoration uses.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2260