BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1797
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1797 (Bill Berryhill) - As Amended: April 7, 2010
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 7-5
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
produce a study on the costs and benefits of the "Delta
Corridors Plan." Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires DWR, in consultation with the Department of Fish and
Game (DFG), to submit a study to the Legislature, by January
1, 2012, on the costs and benefits of a specific alternative
system, known as the "Delta Corridors Plan," of conveying
water through the Delta.
2)Specifies that the study is to include consideration of the
"Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project."
3)Directs DWR to consult with the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) to identify the environmental and ecological costs and
benefits of the plan.
4)Appropriates $750,000 to pay for the study.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs of $750,000 per appropriation made by this bill
Proposition 84 bond fund).
2)Potential additional one-time costs in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars to cover costs to DWR and DFG in excess
of the appropriation made by this bill (General Fund or
special fund).
COMMENTS
AB 1797
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1)Rationale . Supporters contend it important DWR adequately
consider alternatives to the already identified "preferred
alternative" for Delta conveyance. These advocates claim a
previous study of the "Delta Corridors Plan" was inadequate
and DWR has predetermined the outcome of its consideration of
alternatives for conveyance of Delta water.
2)Background .
a) Water Package and the Delta Plan . Senate Bill 1
(Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009, Simitian) codified the
coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for
California while protecting, restoring, and enhancing the
Delta ecosystem. SB 1 calls for the Delta Stewardship
Council, created by SB 1, to adopt a "Delta Plan," a
comprehensive, long-term management plan for the Delta.
SB 1 also called for the council to consider a plan for
Delta water conveyance developed by the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan (BDCP)-a stakeholder-driven process to
develop a conservation plan upon which an official state
Delta plan could be built. SB 1 specifies the council is
to adopt the BDCP only if it has considered, among other
things, "a reasonable range of Delta conveyance
alternatives, including through-Delta, dual conveyance, and
isolated conveyance alternatives and including further
capacity and design options of a lined canal, an unlined
canal, and pipelines."
In November 2009, South Delta Water Agency (SDWA) released
a report, prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes, entitled "The
Delta Corridors Plan and Its Potential Benefits." The
report describes a particular type of through-Delta
alternative that isolates San Joaquin River outflows from
Sacramento River water by a series of barriers, gates, and
fish screens. BDCP previously considered, and has since
discarded, a plan similar to "Delta Corridors."
Currently, BDCP is focused on a tunnel-type "canal"
conveyance as part of its "preferred project alternative"
for Delta water conveyance. SDWA and other supporters of
this bill continue to press for consideration of the "Delta
Corridors Plan," claiming it would better achieves the
coequal Delta goals than would a canal-type system, and
AB 1797
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would do so at lower cost.
b) Proposition 84 Includes Planning Money. The Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control,
River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition
84) provided $5.4 billion in general obligation bonds. The
money is to fund safe drinking water, water quality and
supply, flood control, waterway and natural resource
protection, water pollution and contamination control,
state and local park improvements, public access to natural
resources, and water conservation efforts. Of the total,
$65 million is available to DWR for planning and
feasibility studies related to the existing and potential
future needs for California's water supply, conveyance and
flood control systems.
3)Support. Supporters include several local governments and
water agencies in the San Joaquin Valley, who contend it
important that DWR study the Delta Corridors Plan before
deciding on a plan for the Delta, especially a plan that
includes a peripheral canal.
4)Opposition . The bill is opposed by a number of water
agencies, including the Metropolitan Water of Southern
California, who claim this bill duplicates existing legal
requirements and, therefore is unnecessary and inappropriately
favors one specific alternative plan.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081