BILL NUMBER: AB 2529 CHAPTERED 09/23/04 CHAPTER 714 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kehoe (Coauthor: Assembly Member Koretz) FEBRUARY 20, 2004 An act to amend Section 30906 of, and to add Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 30920) to Division 20.4 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2529, Kehoe. Water quality: marine managed areas. Existing law, the Marine Managed Areas Improvement Act, establishes a program pursuant to which various geographic areas are classified as marine managed areas for the purposes of regulating activities within, and otherwise protecting, those areas. This bill would establish a program for marine managed areas pursuant to which the State Water Resources Control Board would award grants, upon the appropriation of funds for that purpose, to local public agencies and nonprofit organizations to restore and protect the water quality and environment of marine managed areas. The bill would require the state board to appoint a marine managed areas water quality task force for the purpose of recommending projects to fund in connection with that program. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 30906 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 30906. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in clean water projects that will do all of the following: (a) Assist small local communities in meeting water pollution control requirements. (b) Improve agricultural water quality and reduce pollutants in agricultural drainage water. (c) Implement urban stormwater treatment programs and reduce nonpoint sources of pollution. (d) Provide comprehensive capability to monitor and analyze water quality in groundwater basins throughout the state. (e) Improve water quality in coastal and marine waters, particularly those waters that affect marine protected areas and marine managed areas. SEC. 2. Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 30920) is added to Division 20.4 of the Public Resources Code, to read: CHAPTER 3.5. MARINE MANAGED AREAS PROGRAM 30920. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide authorization for projects that restore and protect the water quality and environment of marine managed areas, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 36602, including areas of special biological significance, as defined in the California Ocean Plan adopted pursuant to Section 13170.2 of the Water Code. (b) The board shall give priority to projects that treat or otherwise remove existing waste discharges, or prevent probable waste discharges, into areas of special biological significance. 30921. (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose, funds may be expended by the board, in consultation with the State Coastal Conservancy, the California Coastal Commission, and, as appropriate, the Department of Fish and Game, to award grants, not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per project, to local public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the purposes of this chapter. (b) The projects funded to carry out this chapter shall demonstrate the capability of contributing to sustained, long-term water quality or environmental restoration or protection benefits for a period of 20 years, address the causes of degradation rather than the symptoms, and be consistent with water quality control plans and resource protection plans prepared, implemented, or adopted by the board, the applicable regional board, the Department of Fish and Game, and the State Coastal Conservancy. (c) An applicant for funds to carry out this chapter shall be required to submit to the board a monitoring and reporting plan that does all of the following: (1) Identifies the sources of pollution to be prevented or reduced by the project. (2) Describes the baseline water quality or environmental quality to be addressed. (3) Describes the manner in which the project will be effective in preventing or reducing pollution and in demonstrating the desired environmental results. (4) Describes the monitoring program, including, but not limited to, the methodology, frequency, and duration of monitoring. (d) Upon completion of the project, a recipient of funds to carry out this chapter shall submit a report to the board that summarizes the completed activities and indicates whether the purposes of the project have been met. The report shall include information collected by the recipient in accordance with the project monitoring and reporting plan, including a determination of the effectiveness of the project in preventing or reducing pollution, and the results of the monitoring program. The board shall make the report available to the public, watershed groups, and federal, state, and local agencies. (e) The board may not award more than 25 percent of a grant to carry out this chapter in advance of the expenditure of funds by a grantee. (f) An applicant for funds to carry out this chapter shall inform the board of any necessary public agency approvals, entitlements, and permits that may be necessary to implement the project. The applicant shall certify to the board, at the appropriate time, that those approvals, entitlements, and permits have been granted. (g) Where recovery plans for coho salmon, steelhead trout, or other threatened or endangered coastal and marine aquatic species exist, projects funded to carry out this chapter shall be consistent with those plans and, to the extent feasible, shall seek to implement actions specified in those plans. (h) The board, in consultation with the California Coastal Commission, shall appoint a marine managed areas water quality task force comprised of individuals representing the breadth and diversity of coastal communities, interested nonprofit groups, and marine resource users. All proposals for grant funding to carry out this chapter shall be reviewed by the task force. The task force may recommend projects to the board for funding consideration. (i) The board shall provide opportunity for public review and comment in awarding funds to carry out this chapter.