BILL NUMBER: AB 224 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wolk
JANUARY 29, 2007
An act to add Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 10100) to Division
6 of the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 224, as amended, Wolk. Water supply planning.
Under existing law, various state and local agencies engage in
water resource planning.
This bill would enact the Climate Change and Water Resource
Protection Act of 2007. The bill would require the Department of
Water Resources, as part of its statewide water resource management
responsibilities, to include an analysis of the potential effects of
climate change, to the extent applicable, in reports or plans that
the department is required to prepare. The bill would prohibit the
department from approving a request for a specified grant, submitted
after January 1, 2009, unless certain requirements are met. The
department would be required, by July 1, 2008, to identify available
peer-reviewed information, or develop information, regarding climate
change and water resources for the state and each of the state's
hydrologic basins for specified uses. The bill would require an urban
water supplier and an agricultural water supplier to take certain
action relating to specified climate change information.
The bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board, in
consultation with other state agencies, to prepare a report that
quantifies the energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions
associated with water supply development. The state board would be
required to submit the report to the Governor and the Legislature,
and to make it available to the public, on or before January 1, 2009.
The bill would require the state board or a California regional
water quality board to consider, as appropriate, a reasonable range
of plausible hydrological, temperature, and sea-level rise scenarios
resulting from climate change for the purpose of preparing a state or
regional water quality control plan, as applicable.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Department of Water Resources issued a 2006 report on
climate change and California's water resources, concluding that
climate change is likely to have significant effects on the state's
water supply projects and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
(b) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission's Integrated Energy Policy Report (CEC-IEPR) produced in
2005 estimates that water-related energy use consumes 19 percent of
the state's electricity, 30 percent of its natural gas, and 88
billion gallons of diesel fuel every year.
(c) The CEC-IEPR also found that water supply and conveyance have
both the highest energy magnitude and the greatest variability in
energy intensity in the water use cycle.
(d) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires
the adoption of a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent
to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be
achieved by 2020. Existing law requires all state agencies to
consider and implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions.
(e) The CEC-IEPR concluded that, in many areas of the state,
recycled water is the least energy-intensive source of new water
supply. Increased use of recycled water statewide will reduce
California's energy consumption and help meet the state's goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as required by the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
(f) Increasing water conservation statewide will also reduce
California's energy consumption and help meet the state's goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emission, as required by the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
(g) California should improve its overall planning process to
ensure a safe, clean, and reliable water supply by more fully
considering the impacts of climate change and by identifying water
supply options that will help the state meet the requirements of the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
SEC. 2. Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 10100) is added to
Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:
PART 1.6. Climate Change and Water Resources
10100. This part shall be known and may be cited as the Climate
Change and Water Resource Protection Act of 2007.
10101. (a) The department, as part of its statewide water
resource management responsibilities, shall include an analysis of
the potential effects of climate change, to the extent applicable, in
all reports or plans that the department is required to prepare.
These reports or plans include all of the following:
(1) The biennial report on the overall delivery capability of the
State Water Project and the allocation of that capacity to each
contractor.
(2) The California Water Plan prepared pursuant to Part 1.5
(commencing with Section 10004).
(3) Reports related to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
(4) State Plan of Flood Control.
(5) Bulletin 118 and other bulletins issued by the department
concerning the statewide status of groundwater resources.
(b) On or before July 1, 2008, the department shall identify
available peer-reviewed information, including information produced
in response to Executive Order S-3-05, or develop information,
regarding climate change and water resources for the state and each
of the state's hydrologic basins for use by state and local agencies
in preparing plans described in Sections 10103 and 10104. To the
maximum extent practicable, the department shall make the information
available on its Internet Web site or through other readily
available means. In conjunction with the preparation of the
California Water Plan, the department shall work with the California
Environmental Protection Agency and the scientific community to
periodically update the climate change information, as appropriate.
(c) The department shall not approve any request for a grant
pursuant to Section 75026 of the Public Resources Code, submitted
after January 1, 2009, unless the integrated regional water
management plan that is the basis of the grant application includes
consideration of the information regarding climate change made
available in accordance with subdivision (b) or Section 10103 or
other relevant information if the supplier deems that information
reasonably reliable . If this information is not available, or
does not apply to a particular integrated regional water management
planning area, the grant applicant is not subject to the requirements
of this section.
10102. (a) In order to assist local and state agencies in
implementing the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and
Safety Code), the State Water Resources Control Board, in
consultation with the department, the State Air Resources Board, the
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the
Public Utilities Commission, shall prepare a report that quantifies
the energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions associated
with water supply development, including, but not limited to,
increasing the use of recycled water to offset the use of potable
water for nonpotable uses in the state and expanding reliance on
water conservation.
(b) In making the quantifications required by subdivision (a), the
board shall use the best scientific information available and
consult with all interested local agencies.
(c) The report shall quantify statewide energy savings and
greenhouse gas emission reductions by utilizing various scenarios
that assume the state will exceed its current use of recycled water
and will meet or exceed the state's goal for water recycling
established by Section 13577. The study shall consider energy savings
and greenhouse gas emission reductions in each region identified in
Section 13200 from all possible nonpotable uses of recycled water
referenced in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 60301) of Division 4
of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, including
agricultural, industrial, environmental, groundwater recharge,
commercial, and urban irrigation uses.
(d) In making the quantification related to water conservation,
the report shall quantify statewide energy savings and greenhouse gas
emission reductions assuming the maximum potential water use
efficiency identified in the department's Bulletin 160-05.
(e) The board shall submit the report required by subdivision (a)
to the Governor and the Legislature, and make the report available to
the public, on or before January 1, 2009. The report shall include
specific policy recommendations and administrative actions that will
assist the state in meeting the requirements of Section 38560.5 of
the Health and Safety Code to identify and implement specific
greenhouse gas emission reduction measures.
10103. For the purpose of preparing or revising a state water
quality control plan or a regional water quality control plan, the
State Water Resources Control Board or the regional water quality
control board shall consider, as appropriate, a reasonable range of
plausible hydrological, temperature, and sea-level rise scenarios
resulting from climate change.
10104. (a) On and after January 1, 2009, an urban water supplier
that is required to prepare a plan pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing
with Section 10610), or an agricultural water supplier that is
required to prepare a plan pursuant to Part 2.8 (commencing with
Section 10800), shall do both of the following:
(1) Request or otherwise obtain from the department the
information regarding climate change and water supply made available
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 10101.
(2) Identify, to the extent practicable, the possible effects of
climate change on its water supply projections based on the
information made available pursuant to subdivision (d)
(b) of Section 10101 or other relevant
information if the supplier deems that information reasonably
reliable.
(b) An urban water supplier shall consider the information
regarding climate change and water supply made available pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 10101 or other information if the
supplier deems that information reasonably reliable in
describing the reliability of its water supply pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 10631 and the reliability of water service
to its customers pursuant to Section 10635.
(c) An agricultural water supplier shall consider the information
regarding climate change and water supply made available pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 10101 or other relevant information
if the supplier deems that information reasonably reliable in
describing the quantity and source of water delivered to, and by, the
supplier.
(d) If the information described in subdivision (d) of Section
10101 is not available or does not apply to a supplier described in
subdivision (a), the supplier is not subject to the requirements of
this section.