BILL NUMBER: AB 39 PROPOSED
BILL TEXT
PROPOSED CONFERENCE REPORT SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
CONFERENCE REPORT NO. 1
PROPOSED IN CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
DECEMBER 1, 2008
An act relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
An act to add Part 4 (commencing with Section 85300)
to Division 35 of the Water Code, relating to the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 39, as amended, Huffman. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Delta: Delta Plan.
Existing law requires various state agencies to administer
programs relating to water supply, water quality, and flood
management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Existing law requires
the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to convene a committee
to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on or
before December 31, 2008, recommendations for implementing a
specified strategic plan relating to the sustainable management of
the Delta.
This bill would require the Delta Stewardship Council, created
pursuant to SB 12 of the 2009-10 Regular Session, on or before
January 1, 2012, to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a
comprehensive management plan for the Delta, meeting specified
requirements.
The provisions of the bill would only become operative if AB 49,
SB 12, SB 229, and SB 458 of the 2009-10 Regular Session of the
Legislature, relating to water use and resource management, are
enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010.
Existing law requires various state agencies to carry out
programs, projects, and activities on behalf of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh. Existing law requires the Secretary
of the Natural Resources Agency to convene a committee to develop and
submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on or before December
31, 2008, a Strategic Vision for a Sustainable Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta with specified components.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to establish a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Plan.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 4 (commencing with Section 85300)
is added to Division 35 of the Water Code , to
read:
PART 4. COMPREHENSIVE DELTA PLANNING
CHAPTER 1. THE DELTA PLAN
85300. (a) On or before January 1, 2012, the council shall
develop, adopt, and commence implementation of the Delta Plan
pursuant to this part that furthers the coequal goals. The Delta Plan
shall include subgoals and strategies to assist in guiding state and
local agency actions related to the Delta. In developing the Delta
Plan, the council shall consider each of the strategies and actions
set forth in the Strategic Plan and may include any of those
strategies or actions in the Delta Plan. The Delta Plan may also
identify specific actions that state or local agencies may take to
implement the subgoals and strategies.
(b) In developing the Delta Plan, the council shall consult with
federal, state, and local agencies with responsibilities in the
Delta. All state agencies with responsibilities in the Delta shall
cooperate with the council in developing the Delta Plan, upon request
of the council.
(c) The council shall review the Delta Plan at least once every
five years and may revise it as the council deems appropriate. The
council may request any state agency with responsibilities in the
Delta to make recommendations with respect to revision of the Delta
Plan.
(d) (1) The council shall develop the Delta Plan consistent with
all of the following:
(A) The federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
Sec. 1451 et seq.), or an equivalent compliance mechanism.
(B) Section 8 of the federal Reclamation Act of 1902.
(C) The federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(2) If the council adopts a Delta Plan pursuant to the federal
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1451 et seq.),
the council shall submit the Delta Plan for approval to the United
States Secretary of Commerce pursuant to that act, or to any other
federal official assigned responsibility for the Delta pursuant to a
federal statute enacted after January 1, 2010.
(e) The council shall report to the Legislature no later than
March 31, 2012, as to its adoption of the Delta Plan.
85301. (a) The commission shall develop, for consideration and
incorporation into the Delta Plan by the council, a proposal to
protect, enhance, and sustain the unique cultural, historical,
recreational, agricultural, and economic values of the Delta as an
evolving place, in a manner consistent with the coequal goals. For
the purpose of carrying out this subdivision, the commission may
include in the proposal the relevant strategies described in the
Strategic Plan.
(b) (1) The commission shall include in the proposal a plan to
establish state and federal designation of the Delta as a place of
special significance, which may include application for a federal
designation of the Delta as a National Heritage Area.
(2) The commission shall include in the proposal a regional
economic plan to support increased investment in agriculture,
recreation, tourism, and other resilient land uses in the Delta. The
regional economic plan shall include detailed recommendations for the
administration of the Delta Investment Fund created by Section
29778.5 of the Public Resources Code.
(c) For the purposes of assisting the commission in its
preparation of the proposal, both of the following actions shall be
undertaken:
(1) The Department of Parks and Recreation shall prepare a
proposal, for submission to the commission, to expand within the
Delta the network of state recreation areas, combining existing and
newly designated areas. The proposal may incorporate appropriate
aspects of any existing plans, including the Central Valley Vision
Implementation Plan adopted by the Department of Parks and
Recreation.
(2) The Department of Food and Agriculture shall prepare a
proposal, for submission to the commission, to establish market
incentives and infrastructure to protect and enhance the economic and
public values of Delta agriculture.
(d) The commission shall submit the proposal developed pursuant to
subdivision (a) to the council. The council shall consider the
proposal and may include any portion of the proposal in the Delta
Plan as it deems appropriate, to the extent that the proposal
furthers the coequal goals.
85302. (a) Implementation of the Delta Plan shall further the
restoration of the Delta ecosystem and a reliable water supply.
(b) The geographic scope of the ecosystem restoration projects and
programs identified in the Delta Plan shall be the Delta, except
that the Delta Plan may include recommended ecosystem projects
outside the Delta that will contribute to achievement of the coequal
goals.
(c) The Delta Plan shall include measures that promote all of the
following characteristics of a healthy Delta ecosystem:
(1) Viable populations of native resident and migratory species.
(2) Functional corridors for migratory species.
(3) Diverse and biologically appropriate habitats and ecosystem
processes.
(4) Reduced threats and stresses on the Delta ecosystem.
(5) Conditions conducive to meeting or exceeding the goals in
existing species recovery plans and state and federal goals with
respect to doubling salmon populations.
(d) The Delta Plan shall include measures to promote a more
reliable water supply that do all of the following:
(1) Assist in meeting the needs for reasonable and beneficial uses
of water.
(2) Sustain the economic vitality of the state.
(3) Improve water quality to protect human health and the
environment.
(e) The following subgoals and strategies for restoring a healthy
ecosystem shall be included in the Delta Plan:
(1) Restore large areas of interconnected habitats within the
Delta and its watershed by 2100.
(2) Establish migratory corridors for fish, birds, and other
animals along selected Delta river channels.
(3) Promote self-sustaining, diverse populations of native and
valued species by reducing the risk of take and harm from invasive
species.
(4) Restore Delta flows and channels to support a healthy estuary
and other ecosystems.
(5) Improve water quality to meet drinking water, agriculture, and
ecosystem long-term goals.
(6) Restore habitat necessary to avoid a net-loss of migratory
bird habitat.
(f) The council shall consider, for incorporation into the Delta
Plan, actions designed to implement the subgoals and strategies
described in subdivision (e).
(g) In carrying out this section, the council shall make use of
the best available science.
(h) The Delta Plan shall include recommendations regarding state
agency management of lands in the Delta.
85303. The Delta Plan shall promote statewide water conservation,
water use efficiency, and sustainable use of water.
85304. The Delta Plan shall promote options for new and improved
infrastructure relating to the water conveyance and storage systems
and for the operation of both to achieve the coequal goals.
85305. (a) The Delta Plan shall attempt to reduce risks to
people, property, and state interests in the Delta by promoting
effective emergency preparedness, appropriate land uses, and
strategic levee investments.
(b) The council may incorporate into the Delta Plan the emergency
preparedness and response strategies for the Delta developed by the
California Emergency Management Agency pursuant to Section 12994.5.
85306. The council, in consultation with the Central Valley Flood
Protection Board, shall recommend in the Delta Plan priorities for
state investments in levee operation, maintenance, and improvements
in the Delta, including both levees that are a part of the State Plan
of Flood Control and nonproject levees.
85307. (a) The Delta Plan may identify actions to be taken
outside of the Delta, if those actions are determined to
significantly reduce flood risks in the Delta.
(b) The Delta Plan may include local plans of flood protection.
(c) The council, in consultation with the Department of
Transportation, may address in the Delta Plan the effects of climate
change and sea level rise on the three state highways that cross the
Delta.
(d) The council, in consultation with the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities
Commission, may incorporate into the Delta Plan additional actions to
address the needs of Delta energy development, energy storage, and
energy distribution.
85308. The Delta Plan shall meet all of the following
requirements:
(a) Be based on the best available scientific information and the
independent science advice provided by the Delta Independent Science
Board.
(b) Include quantified or otherwise measurable targets associated
with achieving the objectives of the Delta Plan.
(c) Where appropriate, utilize monitoring, data collection, and
analysis of actions sufficient to determine progress toward meeting
the quantified targets.
(d) Describe the methods by which the council shall measure
progress toward achieving the coequal goals.
(e) Where appropriate, recommend integration of scientific and
monitoring results into ongoing Delta water management.
(f) Include a science-based, transparent, and formal adaptive
management strategy for ongoing ecosystem restoration and water
management decisions.
85309. The department, in consultation with the United States
Army Corps of Engineers and the Central Valley Flood Protection
Board, shall prepare a proposal to coordinate flood and water supply
operations of the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley
Project, and submit the proposal to the council for consideration for
incorporation into the Delta Plan. In drafting the proposal, the
department shall consider all related actions set forth in the
Strategic Plan.
CHAPTER 3. OTHER PLANS FOR THE DELTA
85350. The council may incorporate other completed plans related
to the Delta into the Delta Plan to the extent that the other plans
promote the coequal goals.
SEC. 2. This act shall only become operative if AB
49, SB 12, SB 229, and SB 458 of the 2009-10 Regular Session of the
Legislature, relating to water use and resource management, are
enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to establish a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Plan.