(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the conservancy shall not take any action that does any of the following:

(1) Interferes or conflicts with the exercise of the powers or duties of any watermaster, public agency, or other body or entity responsible for groundwater or surface water management or groundwater replenishment as designated or established pursuant to any adjudication or statute.

(2) Interferes or conflicts with any provision of any judgment or court order issued, or rule or regulation adopted, pursuant to any adjudication affecting water or water management in the San Gabriel River watershed and basin.

(3) Impedes or adversely impacts any previously adopted Los Angeles County Drainage Area project, as described in the report of the Chief of Engineers dated June 30, 1992, including any supplement or addendum to that report as of September 1, 1999, or any maintenance agreement to operate the project.

(4) Results in the degradation of water quality, or interferes or conflicts with any action by a watermaster or public agency that is authorized pursuant to statute, any water right or adjudication including, but not limited to, any action relating to water conservation, groundwater recharge, conservation or storage of water, or both, the pumping of groundwater, water treatment, the regulation of spreading, injection, pumping, storage, or the use of water from local sources, stormwater flows and runoff, or from imported or reclaimed water that is undertaken in connection with the management of the San Gabriel River or any branch, stream, fork, or tributary thereof, a groundwater basin, or groundwater resource.

(5) Interferes with, obstructs, hinders, or delays the exercise of, any water right by the owner of a public water system, including, but not limited to, the construction, operation, maintenance, replacement, repair, location, or relocation of any well or water pumping, treatment, or storage facility, pipeline, or other facility or property necessary or useful to the operation of the public water system.

(b) The conservancy shall provide written notice to every water association in the jurisdiction of the conservancy of any proposed action, policy, or project that may affect any water right or water delivery system at least 45 calendar days prior to the date set for approval of any of those matters by the conservancy.

(c) As used in this section, “adjudication” means any final judgment or order entered in any judicial proceeding adjudicating or affecting water rights, surface water management, or groundwater management.

(d) The conservancy shall consult with other conservancies within the Resources Agency prior to implementing any project pursuant to this division in which there may be a jurisdictional overlap between those conservancies. Each of those conservancies shall make its best effort to resolve any issues regarding any project development that is carried out pursuant to this division in a mutually advantageous and environmentally beneficial manner. Any dispute between the conservancies shall be referred to the Resources Agency for resolution.

(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 788, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2000.)