(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an agricultural water supplier shall prepare and adopt an agricultural water management plan in the manner set forth in this chapter on or before December 31, 2012, and shall update that plan on December 31, 2015.

(2) (A) The agricultural water management plan shall be updated on or before April 1, 2021, and thereafter on or before April 1 in the years ending in six and one. The plan shall satisfy the requirements of Section 10826.

(B) An agricultural water supplier shall submit its plan to the department no later than 30 days after the adoption of the plan. The plan shall be submitted electronically and shall include any standardized forms, tables, or displays specified by the department.

(b) (1) The department shall review each plan that is due pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). The department may coordinate its review with the Department of Food and Agriculture and the board.

(2) The department shall notify an agricultural water supplier that it is not in compliance with this part if the department determines that actions are required to comply with the requirements of this part or if a supplier fails to update a plan as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). The department shall identify the specific deficiencies and the supplier shall have 120 days to remedy an identified deficiency. The department may provide additional time to remedy a deficiency if it finds that a supplier is making substantial progress toward remedying the deficiency. An agricultural water supplier that fails to submit corrective actions or a completed plan shall not be in compliance with this part.

(3) If the department has not received a plan or the department has determined that the plan submitted does not comply with the requirements of this part, and a revised plan has not been submitted, the department may undertake the following actions:

(A) Contract with a state academic institution or qualified entity to prepare or complete an agricultural water management plan on behalf of the supplier. The costs and expenses related to preparation or completion of a plan, including the costs of the contract and contract administration, shall be recoverable by the department from the supplier.

(B) If a supplier does not provide data necessary for the preparation or completion of a plan to the department or the contracting entity as determined by the department in accordance with subparagraph (A), the department may assess a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), until data is made available.

(4) (A) A plan prepared or completed pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be deemed the adopted plan for the supplier.

(B) Any action to challenge or invalidate the adequacy of the plan prepared or completed pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be brought against the supplier for whom the plan was prepared.

(c) Every supplier that becomes an agricultural water supplier after December 31, 2012, shall prepare and adopt an agricultural water management plan within one year after the date it has become an agricultural water supplier.

(d) A water supplier that indirectly provides water to customers for agricultural purposes shall not prepare a plan pursuant to this part without the consent of each agricultural water supplier that directly provides that water to its customers.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 15, Sec. 13. (AB 1668) Effective January 1, 2019.)