CHAPTER 6. Fees [6300. - 6309.]

Cal. Water Code - WAT 6.
in effect

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6300. Section 6300.

(a) The application for a new dam or reservoir, or the enlargement, repair, alteration, or removal of an existing dam or reservoir, shall set forth the estimated cost, as defined in this article, of the new dam or reservoir, or the enlargement, repair, alteration, or removal of the existing dam or reservoir, and shall be accompanied by a filing fee based upon the estimated cost and according to the following schedule: (1) For the first one million dollars ($1,000,000), a fee of 3.25 percent of the estimated cost. (2) For the next four million dollars ($4,000,000), a fee of 2.5 percent. (3) For the next fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000), a fee of 2 percent. (4) For the next thirty million dollars ($30,000,000), a fee of 1.75 percent. (5) For the next one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000), a fee of 1.25 percent. (6) For the next three hundred fifty million dollars ($350,000,000), a fee of 0.75 percent. (7) For all costs in excess of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), a fee of 0.5 percent. (b) In no case, however, shall the minimum fee be less than one thousand dollars ($1,000). (c) The fee schedule in subdivision (a) applies to complete applications, as described in Section 311 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations, received after June 30, 2023. Any complete applications received on or before June 30, 2023, shall comply with the filing fee requirements of subdivision (a) as that subdivision read on January 1, 2023. (d) The estimated project cost may be amended by the dam owner and additional filing fees may be paid to the department up until the date that construction commences. (e) The department shall annually adjust the fee schedule in subdivision (a) to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for goods and services published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (f) The department shall adopt, by regulation, a process to adjust the fees to ensure the filing fees collected cover the department’s reasonable costs for application work, which may include, but is not limited to, design review and construction oversight. (g) The department may refund filing fees paid by an owner pursuant to this section if requested by the owner. The department may adopt, by regulation, a methodology for determining the criteria and process for filing fee refunds requested by an owner.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6301. Section 6301.

One filing fee only shall be collected for an enlargement to be effected by flashboards, sandbags, earthen levees, gates, or other works, devices, or obstructions which are, from time to time, to be removed and replaced or opened and shut and thereby operated so as to vary the surface elevation of the impounded water.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6302. Section 6302.

For the purposes of this part, the estimated cost of a new dam or reservoir, or the enlargement, repair, alteration, or removal of an existing dam or reservoir shall include all of the following: (a) The cost of all labor and materials entering into the construction of the dam and appurtenant works or reservoir (b) The cost of preliminary investigations and surveys. (c) The cost of the construction plant properly chargeable to the cost of the dam or reservoir. (d) The labor costs of the owner for preparing environmental documentation to meet the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code). (e) Any and all other items entering directly into the cost of the dam or reservoir.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6303. Section 6303.

The costs of right-of-way, detached powerhouses, electrical generating machinery, and roads and railroads affording access to the dam or reservoir shall not be included among the items used in the determination of cost.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6304. Section 6304.

An application shall not be considered by the department until at least 20 percent of the filing fee is received, unless the department, in its discretion, decides to consider the application. The application shall not be approved by the department until the filing fee is received in full.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6305. Section 6305.

In the event the actual cost exceeds the estimated cost by more than 15 percent, a further fee shall be required by the department and shall be 115 percent of the amount by which the original fee is less than it would have been had the cost it was based upon been the same as the actual cost. No further fee shall be required, however, if that fee is to be computed at less than five hundred dollars ($500).

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6306. Section 6306.

Applications for dams found by the department to have been less than 90 per cent constructed on August 14, 1929, shall be accompanied by fees as much less than provided for dams commenced after the date as the percentage of construction found by the department to have been completed on that date.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6307. Section 6307.

(a) (1) The department shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the department’s reasonable regulatory costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety, which may include, but is not limited to, the costs of reviewing an inundation map, the amounts necessary to repay budgetary loans, and a prudent reserve. (2) The revenue generated by the fees imposed under this section shall be adjusted periodically for cost-of-living increases. If the director determines that the revenue collected during the preceding fiscal year was greater or less than the cost to operate the program, the director shall adjust the fees to compensate for the overcollection or undercollection of revenue. The department shall provide a schedule of fees to the Legislature and to every dam owner that has a permit or has applied for a permit, when any adjustment is made to the fees under this section. (3) The schedule of fees adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be based, in part, on the height of the dam on a per foot basis. (b) A penalty plus interest, as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 6428, may be imposed for fees received more than 30 days after the July 1 required date of payment in any year. This penalty does not apply to any supplemental billing issued by the department. (c) For the purposes of this section, “height of the dam” means the vertical distance, to the nearest foot, from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse at the downstream toe of the barrier, as determined by the department, or from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the barrier, as determined by the department, if it is not across a stream channel or watercourse, to the maximum possible water storage elevation. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall limit the total annual fee per dam if both of the following apply: (1) The dam has a storage capacity of not more than 100 acre-feet. (2) The governing body of a private school or the governing board of a public school certifies that the dam is used as a subject of study by its students. (e) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall limit the total annual fee for dams or reservoirs located on farms or ranch properties to no more than 20 percent of the fees assessed pursuant to subdivision (a). (2) For purposes of this subdivision, “farm” has the same meaning as defined in Section 52262 of the Food and Agricultural Code. (f) (1) Privately owned dams with less than 100 acre-feet of storage capacity shall be assessed an annual fee in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). (2) As used in this subdivision, “privately owned” does not include dams owned by municipalities, water districts or companies, irrigation districts, private, investor owned or publicly owned utilities, or public agencies. (g) Any regulation promulgated pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 6308. Section 6308.

All fees, penalties, interest, fines, or charges collected by the department under this division shall be deposited in the Dam Safety Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury. The money in that fund shall be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration of the dam safety program.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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