BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1XXXXXXX|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1XXXXXXX
Author: Simitian (D) and Steinberg (D)
Amended: 11/3/09
Vote: 21
SENATE FLOOR : 29-5, 11/02/09
AYES: Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon, Cedillo, Cogdill,
Correa, Ducheny, Florez, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wright, Wyland
NOES: Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Corbett, Dutton, Hancock,
Oropeza, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-26, 11/03/09
SUBJECT : Water planning and development: Delta
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides for a comprehensive plan for
taking care of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta including
the establishment of a Delta Stewardship Council and the
Delta Independent Science Board. It expands the State
Water Resources Control Board's collection and reporting of
data concerning the Delta and establishment of a Delta
Watermaster. It also repeals the California Bay-Delta
Authority. It also appropriates $28,000,000 from 2006 bond
CONTINUED
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funds for the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration
Program, managed by the United States Bureau of
Reclamation.
Assembly Amendments delete contingency language relating to
SB 5XXXXXXX.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes more than 200 state
and local agencies with responsibilities and authority in
the Delta, including State Water Resource Control Board
(SWRCB), Delta Protection Commission (DPC), Department of
Water Resources (DWR), Department of Fish and Game (DFG),
and the California Bay-Delta Authority.
This bill replaces the existing Bay Delta Authority and
CalFed Program with a new governance structure, designed to
balance the needs of the environment, water users, and
Delta communities. It draws heavily on the work of the
Public Policy Institute of California, Delta Blue Ribbon
Task Force, and numerous legislative hearings. This bill
establishes the Delta the twin goals of ecosystem
restoration and water supply reliability, creates a new
Delta Stewardship Council to develop and implement a Delta
plan, creates a new Delta Conservancy to acquire lands and
to facilitate ecosystem restoration, and revises the
composition and duties of the Delta Protection Commission.
Specifically, the proposed agreement for Delta governance:
1. Reconstitutes and redefine role of the Delta Protection
Commission (DPC), narrow membership to focus on local
representation, and expands DPC role in economic
sustainability and advising the Delta Council.
A. Requires DPC to create a regional economic
sustainability plan, including creation of a Delta
Investment Fund in the State Treasury.
B. Requires DPC to submit recommendations regarding
potential expansion of or change to the Delta's
primary zone to the Legislature.
C. Requires the Delta Council to consider DPC
recommendations and adopt such recommendations, if
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in the Council's discretion they are feasible and
consistent with the Delta Plan objectives.
2. Creates a new Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
(Conservancy), to support efforts that advance
environmental protection and the economic well-being of
Delta residents.
A. Establishes and limit the Conservancy's powers
and duties, to focus its efforts on collaborative
projects in the Delta and Suisun Marsh.
B. Requires the Conservancy to develop a strategic
plan consistent with the Delta Plan and other
applicable regional plans affecting the Delta or
Suisun Marsh.
C. Establishes the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy Fund in the State Treasury.
3. Repeals the California Bay-Delta Authority Act.
4. Establishes new legal framework for Delta management,
emphasizing the coequal goals of "providing a more
reliable water supply for California and protecting,
restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem" as
foundation for state decisions as to Delta management.
A. Sets state policy and objectives for management
of the Delta.
B. Defines several important new legal terms
related to managing the Delta, including "co-equal
goals," adaptive management, ecosystem restoration,
new Delta governance entities, and "covered
actions" that are subject to appeal to the Delta
Council for a determination of consistency with the
Delta Plan.
C. Preserves existing law - explicitly - relating
to several legal issues, including:
(1)
Statutory protection for area-of-origin.
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(2)
Specified statutes establishing
environmental protection regulatory processes.
(3)
Water rights, including procedural and
substantive protections for water right holders,
such as the domestic use preference.
(4)
Scope of SWRCB authority and judicial
jurisdiction to regulate water rights.
(5)
State liability for flood protection in the
Delta or its watershed.
5. Requires the Delta Stewardship Council, DWR or DFG to
take certain "early actions," including certain Delta
ecosystem restoration projects such as "Two-Gates Fish
Protection Demonstration Project."
6. Requires SWRCB to develop new flow criteria for the
Delta ecosystem necessary to protect public trust
resources, to inform planning decisions in the Delta
Plan and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
A. Specifies informational process for developing
new flow criteria, pursuant to SWRCB regulations,
that includes opportunity for all interested
persons to participate.
B. Requires order approving moving the point of
diversion for the State Water Project (SWP) and the
federal Central Valley Project (CVP) to the
Sacramento River to include "appropriate" Delta
flow criteria.
C. Requires SWP/CVP water contractors to pay costs
of flow criteria analysis.
7. Creates Delta Stewardship Council (Council) as an
independent state agency.
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A. Establishes seven-member Council, with four
appointments by the Governor, two by the
Legislature, and the chair of the Delta Protection
Commission, with staggered terms.
B. Specifies authority of Council, including
appeals of state/local agency determinations of
consistency with Delta Plan, with specified
exemptions.
8. Creates Delta Watermaster as enforcement officer for
SWRCB in the Delta.
9. Creates Delta Independent Science Board (Science Board)
and Delta Science Program.
10.Requires Council to develop, adopt, and commence
implementation of the "Delta Plan" by January 1, 2012,
with a report to the Legislature by March 31, 2012.
A. Requires Delta Protection Commission (DPC) to
develop proposal to protect, enhance, and sustain
the unique cultural, historical, recreational,
agricultural, and economic values of the Delta as
an evolving place.
B. Requires Delta Plan to further the coequal goals
of Delta ecosystem restoration and a reliable water
supply.
11.Requires Delta Plan to promote statewide water
conservation, water use efficiency, and sustainable use
of water, as well as improvements to water
conveyance/storage and operation of both to achieve the
coequal goals.
12.Requires Delta Plan to 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
13.Requires Council to consider including the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan (BDCP) under certain circumstances,
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including:
A. Conditions BDCP incorporation into Delta Plan
and state funding for BDCP public benefits on
compliance with the Natural Community Conservation
Planning (NCCP) Act and California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
B. Requires certain analyses as part of CEQA
compliance for BDCP.
C. Requires DWR to consult with Council and Science
Board during development of BDCP.
D. Require BDCP to include transparent, real-time
operational decision making process in which
fishery agencies ensure applicable biological
performance measures are achieved in a timely
manner.
Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and
Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond
Act of 2006, an initiative bond act approved by the voters
at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election,
authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of
$5,388,000,000, of which $1,000,000,000 is made available
to the Department of Water Resources, upon appropriation
therefore, to meet the long term water needs of the state.
Eligible projects are required to implement integrated
regional water management plans and include fisheries
restoration and protection projects. A portion of these
funds may be expended directly or granted by the department
to address multiregional needs or issues of statewide
significance.
This bill appropriates $28,000,000 of these funds to the
department for the department to expend, as specified, on
the Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Program,
managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The
bill makes a statement of legislative intent to finance the
activities of the Delta Stewardship Council and the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy from funds made
available pursuant to the Disaster Preparedness and Flood
Prevention Bond Act of 2006 and the Safe Drinking Water,
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Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal
Bond Act of 2006.
California has not had a major comprehensive water
management program since the State Water Plan of the
1960's. Due to the drought that the State has been facing
over the years, legislative leaders and the Governor have
made the development of water planning solutions a major
issue of the 2009 legislative session.
For several years, the Delta has suffered a crisis:
ecosystem, water supply, levee stability, water quality,
policy, program, and litigation. In June 2004, a privately
owned levee failed and the State spent nearly $100 million
to fix it and save an island whose property value was far
less. In August 2005, the DFG reported a trend showing
severe decline in the Delta fishery. In 2006, the
Legislature reorganized Delta programs and funding under
the Resources Agency Secretary. In 2007, a federal judge,
acting under the federal Endangered Species Act, declared
illegal certain federal biological opinions about
near-extinct fish and restricted water exports from the
Delta, to the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Joaquin
Valley and Southern California. The Governor shortly
thereafter called the Legislature into an extraordinary
session on water.
Through this enduring Delta crisis, the Legislature and the
Governor initiated, in 2006, a process to develop a new
long-term vision for the Delta. SB 1574 (Kuehl) of 2006
required a cabinet committee to present recommendations for
a Delta vision. The Governor created a Delta Vision
Blue-Ribbon Task Force to advise the Cabinet Committee.
The Task Force produced an October 2008 Strategic Plan,
which the Cabinet Committee largely adopted and submitted
the recommendations to the Legislature on January 3, 2009.
The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force identified seven
goals which they felt virtually everyone could agree on to
bring forward a comprehensive water plan for the state:
1. Delta restoration must be founded on the co-equal goals
of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.
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2. Recognizes and enhances the unique cultural,
recreational, and agricultural values of the Delta as an
evolving place.
3. Restores the Delta ecosystem as the heart of a healthy
estuary.
4. Promotes statewide eater conservation, efficiency and
sustainable use.
5. Builds facilities to improve the existing water
conveyance system and expand statewide storage.
6. Reduces the risks to people, property and state
interests in the Delta by effective emergency
preparedness, appropriate land uses and strategic levee
investments.
7. Establishes a new governance structure with the
authority, responsibility, accountability, scientific
support and secure funding to achieve these goals.
The Governor and Senator Dianne Feinstein in July of 2009
reached an agreement to propose a $9.3 water bond.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Unable to verify at time of writing)
Unknown, because of the many changes in the compromise that
have been reached.
OPPOSITION : (Unable to verify at time of writing)
Unknown, because of the many changes in the compromise that
have been reached.
DLW:do 11/3/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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