Central Basin Basin Third Amended Judgment: I

I. DECLARATION AND DETERMINATION OF WATER RIGHTS OF PARTIES; RESTRICTION ON THE EXERCISE THEREOF.

A. Determination of Rights of Parties. 

(1) Each party, except defendants The City of Los Angeles and Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles, whose name is set forth in Appendix 2 and by this reference made a part hereof, and after whose name there appears under the column “Total Water Right” a figure other than “0,” is the owner of and has the right to extract annually groundwater from Central Basin for beneficial use in the quantity set forth after that party’s name under said column “Total Water Right” as of the close of the Administrative Year ending June 30, 2012 in accordance with the Watermaster Reports on file with this Court and the records of the Plaintiff. This tabulation does not take into account additions or subtractions from any Allowed Pumping Allocation of a producer for the 2012-2013 Administrative Year, nor other adjustments not representing change in fee title to water rights, such as leases of water rights, nor does it include the names of lessees of landowners where the lessees are exercising the water rights. The exercise of all water rights is subject, however, to the provisions of this Judgment as hereinafter contained. All of said rights are of the same legal force and effect and are without priority with reference to each other. Each party whose name is set forth in the tabulation in Appendix “2” of this Judgment, and after whose name there appears under the column “Total Water Right” the figure “0,” owns no rights to extract any groundwater from Central Basin, and has no right to extract any groundwater from Central Basin. 

(2) Defendant The City of Los Angeles is the owner of the right to extract fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet per annum of groundwater from Central Basin, but it has the right and ability to purchase or lease additional rights to extract groundwater and increase its Allowed Pumping Allocation. Defendant Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles has no right to extract groundwater from Central Basin except insofar as it has the right, power, duty or obligation on behalf of defendant The City of Los Angeles to exercise the water rights in Central Basin of defendant The City of Los Angeles. The exercise of said rights is subject, however, to the provisions of this Judgment hereafter contained, including but not limited to, sharing with other parties in any subsequent decreases or increases in the quantity of extractions permitted from Central Basin, pursuant to continuing jurisdiction of the Court, on the basis that fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet (and any increase in its Allowed Pumping Allocation) bears to the Allowed Pumping Allocations of the other parties. 

(3) No party to this action is the owner of or has any right to extract groundwater from Central Basin except as herein affirmatively determined. 

B. Parties Enjoined as to Quantities of Extractions. 

(1) Each party, other than The State of California and The City of Los Angeles and Department of Water and Power of The City of Los Angeles, is enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of Water greater than the party’s Allowed Pumping Allocation as hereinafter set forth next to the name of the party in the tabulation appearing in Appendix 2 at the end of this Judgment, subject to further provisions of this Judgment. Subject to such further provisions, the officials, agents and employees of The State of  California are enjoined and restrained in any such Administrative Year from extracting from Central Basin collectively any quantity of water greater than the Allowed Pumping Allocation of The State of California as hereinafter set forth next to the name of that party in the same tabulation. Each party adjudged and declared above not to be the owner of and not to have the right to extract groundwater from Central Basin is enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final from extracting any groundwater from Central Basin, except as may be hereinafter permitted to any such party under this Judgment. 

(2) The total extraction right for each party includes a party’s Allowed Pumping Allocation (to the extent not transferred by agreement or otherwise), any contractual right acquired through lease or other agreement to extract or use the rights of another party, and any right to extract Stored Water or Carryover as provided in this Judgment. No party may extract in excess of 140% of the sum of (i) the party’s Allowed Pumping Allocation and (ii) the party’s leased water, except upon prior approval by the applicable body of Watermaster as required pursuant to Section IV(J)as provided herein. Upon application, the body specified in Section IV(J) shall approve a party’s request to extract water in excess of such limit, provided there is no Material Physical Harm. Requests to extract water in excess of such limit shall be reviewed and either approved or denied within thirty (30) days of such request. 

(3) Defendant The City of Los Angeles is enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of water greater than fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet or its Allowed Pumping Allocation, as recognized by the Watermaster, if it acquires additional rights to pump groundwater through purchase or lease, subject to further provisions of this Judgment, including but not limited to, sharing with other parties in any subsequent decreases or increases in the quantity of extractions permitted from Central Basin by parties, pursuant to continuing jurisdiction of the Court, on the basis that fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet (or the adjusted Allowed Pumping Allocation if additional rights are acquired) bears to the Allowed Pumping Allocations of the other parties. Defendant Department of Water and Power of The City of Los Angeles is enjoined and restrained in any Administrative Year commencing after the date this Judgment becomes final from extracting from Central Basin any quantity of water other than such as it may extract on behalf of defendant The City of Los Angeles, and which extractions, along with any extractions by said City, shall not exceed that quantity permitted by this Judgment to that City in any Administrative Year. Whenever in this Judgment the term “Allowed Pumping Allocation” appears, it shall be deemed to mean as to defendant The City of Los Angeles the quantity of fifteen thousand (15,000) acre feet unless the City of Los Angeles has acquired through purchase or lease right to extract additional groundwater. The limit on extraction as provided in the preceding Section I(B)(1) shall also apply to The City of Los Angeles. 

(4) Any rights decreed and adjudicated herein may be transferred, assigned, licensed or leased by the owner thereof provided, however, that no such transfer shall be complete until compliance with the appropriate notice procedures established by Watermaster. 

(5) Unless a party elects otherwise, production of water from the Basin for the use or benefit of the parties hereto shall be counted against the party’s total extraction right in the following order: (i) Increased extractions by certain qualified water rights holders pursuant to Section IV(K), (ii) Exchange Pool production, (iii) production of Carryover water, (iv) production of leased water, (v) production of Allowed Pumping Allocation, (vi) production of Stored Water, (vii) production of Drought Carryover (according to Watermaster’s Rules), and (viii) production of water under an agreement with WRD during a period of emergency pursuant to Section III(B)(6). 

C. Parties Enjoined as to Export of Extractions. 

Except as expressly authorized herein, or upon further order of the Court, all parties are enjoined and restrained from transporting water extracted from the Central Basin outside the boundaries of the Central Basin Area. For purposes of this Section, water supplied by a Water Purveyor to its customers located within any of its service areas contiguous to the Central Basin or within WRD’s service area shall be exempt from the export prohibition of this Section provided that the Water Purveyor also provides water to a service area that overlies the Basin in whole or in part. The foregoing exemption is not made, nor is it related to, a determination of an underflow between the basins, a cost or benefit allocation, or any other factor relating to the allocation of the Replenishment Assessment by WRD. Further, this injunction and restriction does not apply to export of water that will take place pursuant to contractual obligations specifically identified on Appendix 4, nor does it apply to export of Stored Water not having its origin in Carryover Conversion. The export identified on Appendix 4 may continue to the extent that any such extraction does not violate any other provisions of this Judgment, provided however that no such export identified on Appendix 4 shall exceed 5,000 acre-feet in any Year.