BILL NUMBER: SB 187 CHAPTERED 09/27/08 CHAPTER 374 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2008 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 13, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 10, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 29, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 20, 2007 INTRODUCED BY Senator Ducheny (Coauthor: Assembly Member Garcia) FEBRUARY 6, 2007 An act to add Section 2932.3 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to the Salton Sea. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 187, Ducheny. Salton Sea Restoration Fund: restoration project. The Salton Sea Restoration Act establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund administered by the Director of Fish and Game for purposes related to restoring the Salton Sea. The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 provides $928,000,000 for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes, and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water, and other natural resources, including $47,000,000 for deposit into the fund. This bill would require that, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, those bond funds deposited in that fund be expended for a Salton Sea restoration project that is consistent with a preferred alternative that provides the maximum feasible attainment of specified environmental objectives. This bill would limit the activities and expenditures authorized by the bill to funding those activities identified in a specific preferred alternative report and funding plan for completion in the first 5 years of implementation. The bill would require the Resources Agency to act as the lead agency and work cooperatively with designated staff from the Department of Water Resources, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Fish and Game. The bill would require the agency to remain the lead agency for implementation, in partnership with one or more of its departments, unless and until legislation is enacted on or after January 1, 2009, establishing a new governance structure for restoration. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Salton Sea is an internationally significant resource and its restoration is essential to wildlife, the protection of public health and the quality of life in the surrounding communities. (b) The Salton Sea is considered a globally important bird area because of its astounding diversity of bird species, with more than 400 species, the second highest count in the nation, and the very large populations of some species that rely on it for habitat. (c) The restoration of the Salton Sea is essential to protect public health and agriculture from dangerous levels of dust pollution that would otherwise result from exposed seabed. (d) The Salton Sea also offers important opportunities for recreation, hunting, fishing, and economic development. (e) Pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 2081.7 and Section 2931 of the Fish and Game Code, the Secretary of the Resources Agency has undertaken a programmatic planning process to identify a preferred alternative for the restoration of the Salton Sea, the final recommendations from which are contained in the secretary's May 2007 report submitted to the Legislature. SEC. 2. Section 2932.3 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 2932.3. Any moneys made available by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 75050 of the Public Resources Code and deposited in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, for a restoration project at the Salton Sea that is consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 2931. The activities and expenditures authorized by this section shall be limited to funding those activities identified in the Resources Agency report entitled "Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan," and dated May 2007, for completion in the first five years of implementation identified in the report as "Period I." The activities specified for completion in Period I include, but are not limited to, a demonstration project, early start habitat, and additional biological, inflow, sediment quality, water quality, and air quality investigations. For purposes of carrying out these activities and expending the funds made available, the Resources Agency shall act as the lead agency and work cooperatively with designated staff from the Department of Water Resources, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the department. The Resources Agency shall remain the lead agency for implementation, in partnership with one or more of its departments, unless and until legislation is enacted on or after January 1, 2009, establishing a new governance structure for restoration of the Salton Sea. This section is not legislative approval or denial of the preferred alternative identified in the Secretary of the Resources Agency's recommendations contained in the "Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan," dated May 2007 and submitted to the Legislature.