BILL NUMBER: SB 301 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Florez
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to add Division 26.7 (commencing with Section 79700) to the
Water Code, relating to financing a water supply reliability and
ecosystem recovery and restoration program, by providing the funds
necessary therefor through an election for the issuance and sale of
bonds of the State of California and for the handling and disposition
of those funds, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 301, as introduced, Florez. Water Supply Reliability and
Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009.
Under existing law, various measures have been approved by the
voters to provide funds for water protection, facilities, and
programs.
This bill would enact the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem
Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009, which, if approved by the
voters, would authorize, for the purposes of financing specified
water supply reliability and ecosystem recovery and restoration
programs, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $15,000,000,000
pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law. The bill would
provide for submission of the bond act to the voters at the next
statewide election.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 26.7 (commencing with Section 79700) is added
to the Water Code, to read:
DIVISION 26.7. The Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem
Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009
CHAPTER 1. SHORT TITLE
79700. This division shall be known and may be cited as the Water
Supply Reliability and Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Act of
2009.
CHAPTER 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS
79701. The people of California find and declare all of the
following:
(a) Safeguarding supplies of clean, safe drinking water to
California's homes, businesses, and farms is an essential
responsibility of government, and critical to protecting the quality
of life for Californians.
(b) Providing adequate supplies of clean, safe drinking water is
vital to keeping California's economy growing and strong.
(c) Encouraging water conservation and recycling are commonsense
methods to make more efficient use of existing water supplies.
(d) Protecting lakes, rivers, and streams from pollution, cleaning
up polluted groundwater supplies, and protecting water sources that
supply the entire state are crucial to providing a reliable supply of
drinking water and protecting the natural resources of California.
CHAPTER 3. DEFINITIONS
79702. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set
forth in this section govern the construction of this division, as
follows:
(a) "Bay Delta Conservation Plan" means the final plan, if any,
prepared pursuant to the Planning Agreement regarding the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan, dated October 6, 2006.
(b) "Bay-Delta Estuary" means the Delta, Suisun Bay, and Suisun
Marsh.
(c) "CALFED Bay-Delta Program" means the program described in the
Record of Decision dated August 28, 2000.
(d) "Commission" means the California Water Commission established
by Section 150.
(e) "Committee" means the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem
Recovery and Restoration Committee created by Section 79784.
(f) "Delta" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined in
Section 12220.
(g) "Delta conveyance facilities" means facilities that convey
water directly from the Sacramento River to the State Water Project
or the federal Central Valley Project pumping facilities in the south
Delta.
(h) "Department" means the Department of Water Resources.
(i) "Director" means the Director of Water Resources.
(j) "Disadvantaged community" has the meaning set forth in
subdivision (a) of Section 79505.5.
(k) "Economically distressed area" means a municipality with a
population of 20,000 persons or less, a rural county, or a reasonably
isolated and divisible segment of a larger municipality where the
segment of the population is 20,000 persons or less, with a financial
hardship, as determined by the department after considering factors
including, but not limited to, median income of the residents, rate
of unemployment, and low population density.
(l) "Fund" means the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem
Recovery and Restoration Fund of 2009 created by Section 79720.
(m) "Integrated regional water management plan" means a
comprehensive plan for a defined geographic area, the specific
development and content of which shall be defined by guidelines
adopted by the department. At a minimum, an integrated regional water
management plan describes the major water-related objectives and
conflicts within a region, considers a broad variety of water
management strategies, and identifies the appropriate combination of
water demand and supply management alternatives, water quality
protections, and environmental stewardship actions to provide
long-term, reliable, and high-quality water supplies and to protect
the environment.
(n) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization qualified to do
business in California and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of
Title 26 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
(o) "Public agency" means a state agency or department, district,
joint powers authority, city, county, city and county, or other
political subdivision of the state.
(p) "Sacramento hydrologic region" means ____.
(q) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency.
(r) "State General Obligation Bond Law" means the State General
Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of
Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
CHAPTER 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS
79710. An amount that equals not more than 1 percent of the funds
allocated for a grant program pursuant to this division may be used
to pay the administrative costs of that program.
79710.5. Up to 5 percent of funds allocated for each program
funded by this division may be used to finance planning and
monitoring necessary for the successful design, selection, and
implementation of the projects authorized under that program. This
section shall not otherwise restrict funds ordinarily used by an
agency for "preliminary plans," "working drawings," and "construction"
as defined in the annual Budget Act for a capital outlay project or
grant project. Water quality monitoring shall be integrated into the
surface water ambient monitoring program administered by the State
Water Resources Control Board.
79711. Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
development or implementation of programs or projects authorized or
funded under this division.
79712. (a) Prior to disbursing grants pursuant to this division,
each state agency that is required to administer a competitive grant
program under this division shall develop project solicitation and
evaluation guidelines. The guidelines may include a limitation on the
dollar amount of grants to be awarded.
(b) Prior to disbursing grants, the state agency shall conduct
three public meetings to consider public comments prior to finalizing
the guidelines. The state agency shall publish the draft
solicitation and evaluation guidelines on its Internet Web site at
least 30 days before the public meetings. One meeting shall be
conducted at a location in northern California, one meeting shall be
conducted at a location in the central valley, and one meeting shall
be conducted at a location in southern California. Upon adoption, the
state agency shall transmit copies of the guidelines to the fiscal
committees and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.
79713. It is the intent of the people that the investment of
public funds pursuant to this division should result in public
benefits.
79714. The State Auditor shall annually conduct a programmatic
review and an audit of expenditures from the fund. The State Auditor
shall report its findings annually on or before March 1 to the
commission, the Governor, and the Legislature, and shall make the
findings available to the public.
79715. Funds provided by this division shall not be used to
support or pay for the costs of environmental mitigation measures or
compliance obligations of any party except as part of the
environmental mitigation costs of projects financed by this division.
Funds provided by this division may be used for environmental
enhancements or other public benefits.
79716. (a) Funds provided by this division shall not be expended
to pay the costs of the design, construction, operation, or
maintenance of Delta conveyance facilities. Those costs shall be the
responsibility of the agencies that benefit from the design,
construction, operation, or maintenance of those facilities.
(b) (1) The Legislature may enact legislation necessary to
implement programs funded pursuant to this division.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Legislature may amend or
repeal this chapter only by a statute that is passed in each house by
rollcall vote entered into the journal, with two-thirds of the
membership concurring.
79717. This division does not authorize the State Water Resources
Control Board or any court to impose any fees or charges on water
users for the mitigation of impacts to water quality, fish and
wildlife, or other public trust or beneficial use.
79718. This division does not limit or otherwise affect the
application of Sections 10505, 10505.5, 11128, 11460, 11461, 11462,
11463 and Sections 12200 to 12220, inclusive. However, those sections
do not create any right, in areas outside of the Sacramento River
hydrologic region, to water originating within the Sacramento River
hydrologic region as a result of facilities constructed with the
proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this division. For
purposes of this division, the Sacramento hydrologic region does not
include the Delta.
79719. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this division,
consistent with the agreement described in State Water Resources
Control Board Order WR 2001-05, the United States, as operator of the
Central Valley Project, and the department, as operator of the State
Water Project, shall continue to operate in accordance with that
agreement for as long as required by the terms that agreement. For
the duration of that agreement and any extensions of that agreement,
the department shall be jointly responsible, with the United States,
for meeting the flow-related water quality objectives contained in
the 1995 Water Quality Control Plan for the Bay-Delta Estuary,
including any revisions to that plan, and the Revised Water Right
Decision 1641.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this division, if the State
Water Resources Control Board revises the Revised Water Right
Decision 1641 after the expiration of the agreement described in
subdivision (a), or any other water right decision that allocates
responsibility for meeting flow-related objectives in the Bay-Delta
Water Quality Control Plan, the responsibility for meeting the
modified flow-related objectives shall be based upon findings by the
State Water Resources Control Board or a court of competent
jurisdiction, that (1) the exercise of the water rights upon which
the obligation is imposed are a cause of the water quality concern or
harm to public trust or other beneficial use that is being
addressed, and (2) the obligation to be imposed is in proportion to
the finding of causation.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this division, to the extent
that the State Water Resources Control Board or a court of competent
jurisdiction imposes any obligation in accordance with subdivision
(b), based on a finding that multiple diversions each contribute
incrementally to impact fish and wildlife or any other public trust
or other beneficial uses in the Delta, the obligation imposed shall
be based on and be consistent with water right priorities and shall
not affect the application of Sections 10505 to 10506, inclusive,
Section 11128, Article 3 (commencing with Section 11460) of Chapter 3
of Part 3 of, and Part. 4.5 (commencing with Section 12200) of,
Division 6.
CHAPTER 5. WATER SUPPLY RELIABILITY AND ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY AND
RESTORATION FUND OF 2009
79720. The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this
division shall be deposited in the Water Supply Reliability and
Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Fund of 2009, which is hereby
created.
CHAPTER 6. WATER SUPPLY RELIABILITY
79721. The sum of one billion five hundred million dollars
($1,500,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, from the fund to the department for competitive grants
in accordance with Section 79722.
79722. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (g) or (h), the
department shall award grants under this chapter to eligible projects
that implement an adopted integrated regional water management plan.
(b) An urban water supplier that does not prepare, adopt, and
submit its urban water management plan in accordance with the Urban
Water Management Planning Act (Part 2.6 (commencing with Section
10610) of Division 6) is ineligible to receive funds made available
pursuant to Section 79721 until the urban water management plan is
prepared and submitted in accordance with the requirements of that
act.
(c) For the purpose of awarding a grant pursuant to this chapter,
the department shall require a local cost share of not less than 50
percent of the total costs of the projects. The department may waive
or reduce the cost-sharing requirement for projects that directly
benefit a disadvantaged community or an economically distressed area.
(d) Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Agricultural and urban water use efficiency implementation
projects, feasibility studies, technical assistance, education,
public outreach, and projects that result in water savings, increased
instream flow, improved water quality, or increased energy
efficiency.
(2) Recycling, reclamation, water treatment for the recovery of
water supplies, desalination, and associated facilities, including
distributions systems.
(3) Groundwater and surface storage projects, and conjunctive use
and reservoir reoperations projects.
(4) Groundwater contamination prevention, cleanup, and treatment,
and other water quality projects necessary to protect existing or
potential water supplies. The implementation of a project financed
pursuant to this paragraph does not relieve a responsible party or
liable person from that person's obligation under existing state or
federal law to clean up or remediate, or otherwise treat,
contaminated water.
(5) Projects that reduce contributions to climate change from
water management systems.
(6) Projects that enhance the adaptability to climate change of
water management systems.
(7) Other projects that meet the requirements of Section 75026 of
the Public Resources Code.
(e) Eligible applicants are public agencies, public utilities, and
mutual water companies. To be eligible for funding under Section
79721, projects proposed by public utilities that are regulated by
the Public Utilities Commission and projects proposed by mutual water
companies shall have a clear and definite public purpose and shall
benefit the customers of the respective water system.
(f) The funding provided in Section 79721 shall be allocated to
each hydrologic region as identified in the California Water Plan in
accordance with this subdivision. For the South Coast hydrologic
region, the department shall establish three funding areas that
reflect the watersheds of San Diego County (designated as the San
Diego subregion), the Santa Ana River watershed and southern Orange
County (designated as the Santa Ana subregion), and the Los Angeles
and Ventura County watersheds (designated as the Los Angeles
subregion), and shall allocate funds to those areas in accordance
with this subdivision. The North and South Lahontan hydrologic
regions shall be treated as one area for the purpose of allocating
funds. The department may recognize multiple integrated regional
water management plans in each of the areas allocated funding. Funds
made available by this chapter shall be allocated as follows:
(1) North Coast.......... $ 70,000,000
(2) Colorado River Basin. $ 72,000,000
(3) North/South Lahontan. $ 75,000,000
(4) Central Coast........ $ 82,000,000
(5) San Joaquin River.... $ 91,000,000
(6) Tulare/Kern.......... $ 93,000,000
(7) Sacramento River..... $103,000,000
(8) San Diego subregion.. $108,000,000
(9) Santa Ana subregion.. $146,000,000
(10) San Francisco Bay.... $150,000,000
(11) Los Angeles $210,000,000
subregion.................
(12) Interregional........ $300,000,000
(g) For purposes of paragraph (7) of subdivision (f), "Sacramento
River" does not include any portion of the Delta.
(h) Interregional funds may be expended directly or granted by the
department to address multiregional needs or state priorities,
including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Investing in new water technology development and deployment.
(2) Meeting state water recycling and water conservation goals.
(3) Adapting to climate change impacts.
(4) Reducing contributions to climate change.
(5) Other projects to improve statewide water management systems.
(6) Other projects and activities designed to meet the needs of
disadvantaged communities or economically distressed areas, including
technical and grant writing assistance.
(i) Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of the interregional funds
provided in subdivision (h) shall be expended for costs incurred in
connection with the provision of recreation and fish and wildlife
enhancement at state water projects. The funds shall be available to
meet the cost associated with the planning, construction, operation,
and maintenance for recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement.
79723. (a) The sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the fund to
the department for grants and expenditures for the planning, design,
and construction of local and regional conveyance projects that
support regional and interregional connectivity and water management.
Projects shall be consistent with an adopted integrated regional
water management plan and shall provide one or more of the following
benefits:
(1) Improvements in regional or interregional water supply and
water supply reliability.
(2) Mitigation of conditions of groundwater overdraft, saline
water intrusion, water quality degradation, or subsidence.
(3) Adaptation to the impacts of hydrologic changes.
(4) Improved water security from drought, natural disasters, or
other events that could interrupt imported water supplies.
(5) Providing safe drinking water for disadvantaged communities
and economically distressed areas.
(b) Not more than 10 percent of the funds provided by this section
shall be available for planning, investigations, studies, and
monitoring.
(c) The department shall require a cost share of not less than 50
percent of total project costs from nonstate sources. The department
may waive or reduce the cost share requirement for projects that
directly benefit disadvantaged communities or economically distressed
areas.
CHAPTER 7. DELTA SUSTAINABILITY AND CONVEYANCE
79730. (a) The Bay-Delta Estuary is a unique and irreplaceable
combination of environmental and economic resources. Current
management and use of the Delta is not sustainable, and results in a
high level of conflict among various interests. Future Delta
sustainability is threatened by changing hydrology due to climate
change, water diversions, flood risk, seismic events, nonnative
species, toxics, and other environmental problems. Future management
of the Delta must improve Delta ecosystem health and improve the
means of Delta water conveyance in order to protect drinking water
quality, improve water supply and water supply reliability, restore
ecosystem health, and preserve agricultural and recreational values
in the Delta, while providing to counties and watersheds of origin
assurances that their priority to water resources will be protected
and that programs or facilities implemented or constructed in the
Delta will not result in redirection of unmitigated, significant
adverse impacts to the counties and watershed of origin. Many sources
of funding will be needed to implement improved Delta management.
(b) This chapter provides state funding for public benefits, and
authorization for projects needed to assist in the Delta's
sustainability as a vital resource for fish, wildlife, water quality,
water supply, agriculture, and recreation.
(c) In implementing this chapter, the commission and the
department shall develop, in cooperation with the Department of Fish
and Game and the State Water Resources Control Board, a comprehensive
Delta sustainability program that includes both ecosystem and water
conveyance improvements, and that meets all of the following
criteria:
(1) Reduces impacts to native fish caused by the operation of the
export pumps and improves the operational flexibility and ability of
the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project to provide the
ecosystem and water supply benefits described by this subdivision.
(2) Provides conditions that will allow for habitat improvements
for fish and wildlife in the Delta, the recovery of listed species,
and sustainable ecosystem functions.
(3) Provides improved water supply reliability and conveyance for
the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project and for water
transfers.
(4) Reduces the quantity of bromide, total organic carbon, and
total dissolved solids in the water pumped at state and federal water
pumping facilities to protect the public health and improves the
ability to manage salinity.
(5) Reduces vulnerability to seismic events in or near the Delta
and provides flexibility to manage uncertainties associated with
climate change and future fishery needs.
(6) Promotes ecosystem restoration of the Delta.
(7) Facilitates wet year water storage for use in dry years.
(d) The Legislature may only amend or repeal this section by a
statute that is passed in each house by rollcall vote entered into
the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring.
79731. The sum of two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) is
available from the fund to the commission, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for grants and direct expenditure, as follows:
(a) Seven hundred million dollars ($700,000,000) for projects that
provide public benefits and support Delta sustainability options,
including projects that do any of the following:
(1) Ensure that urban and agricultural water supplies derived from
the Delta, including water supplies used within the Delta, are not
disrupted because of catastrophic failures of Delta levees resulting
from earthquakes, floods, land sinking, rising ocean levels, or other
forces.
(2) Improve the quality of drinking water derived from the Delta.
(3) Provide physical improvements or other actions to create
waterflow and water quality conditions within the Delta to provide
adequate habitat for native fish and wildlife.
(4) Protect transportation and other vital infrastructure in and
around the Delta.
(5) Facilitate other projects that provide public benefits and
support Delta sustainability options approved by the Legislature,
including costs associated with planning, monitoring, and design of
alternatives, and project modifications and adaptations necessary to
achieve the goals of this chapter.
(b) One billion three hundred million dollars ($1,300,000,000) for
projects to protect and enhance the sustainability of the Delta
ecosystem, including any of the following:
(1) Projects for the development and implementation of the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan, if that plan is finalized, that promote the
conservation, as that term is defined in Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, of covered
species, and for native fishery restoration projects. The projects
shall be implemented through a cooperative effort among regulatory
agencies, regulated and potentially regulated entities, and affected
parties, including state and federal water contractors. These funds
may be expended for the preparation of environmental documentation
and environmental compliance.
(2) Other projects to protect and restore native fish and wildlife
dependent on the Delta ecosystem, including the acquisition of water
rights and the removal or reduction of undesirable invasive species.
(3) Projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from exposed Delta
soils.
79732. The expenditure of any portion of the funds provided
pursuant to this chapter is contingent on the adoption and
implementation of a comprehensive plan for Delta sustainability to
implement the program described in subdivision (c) of Section 79730.
79733. The secretary shall adopt the plan described in Section
79732 and submit it to the commission. On or before April 1 of each
year following the submission of the plan, the secretary shall
evaluate the progress in implementing the plan, determine if adequate
progress is being made, and submit those findings to the commission
along with recommendations to improve the implementation of the plan.
CHAPTER 8. STATEWIDE WATER SYSTEM OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
79740. (a) Notwithstanding Section 162, the commission may make
the determinations, findings, and recommendations required of it by
this chapter independent of the views of the director. All final
actions by the commission in implementing this chapter shall be taken
by a majority of the members of the commission at a public meeting
noticed and held pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act
(Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(b) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the sum
of seven billion dollars ($7,000,000,000) is hereby continuously
appropriated from the fund to the commission, without regard to
fiscal year, for water storage projects for the sole purpose of
providing public benefits that improve the operation of the state
water system, are cost effective, and provide a net improvement in
ecosystem and water quality conditions, in accordance with this
chapter. Funds authorized for, or made available to, the commission
pursuant to this chapter shall be available and used only for the
purposes provided in this chapter, and shall not be subject to
appropriation or transfer by the Legislature or the Governor for any
other purpose.
(c) Projects shall be selected by the commission through a
competitive public process that ranks potential projects based on the
expected return for public investment as measured by the magnitude
of the public benefits provided, pursuant to criteria established
under this chapter.
(d) Any project constructed with funds provided by this chapter
shall be subject to Section 11590.
79741. Projects for which the public benefits are eligible for
funding under this chapter shall provide measurable improvements to
the Delta ecosystem or tributaries of the Delta, including, but not
limited to, increased instream flows, Delta flow requirements, and
water quality improvements. These projects shall consist of any of
the following:
(a) Surface storage projects identified in the CALFED Bay-Delta
Program Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000, which cumulatively
have an estimated annual yield of at least one million acre-feet of
water.
(b) Groundwater storage projects and groundwater contamination
prevention or remediation projects that provide water storage
benefits.
(c) Conjunctive use and
reservoir reoperation projects.
(d) Regional and local surface storage projects that improve the
operation of water systems in the state and provide public benefits.
79742. Funds allocated pursuant to this chapter may be expended
solely for the following public benefits associated with water
storage projects:
(a) Ecosystem improvements, including changing the timing of water
diversions, improvement in flow conditions, temperature, or other
benefits that contribute to restoration of aquatic ecosystems and
native fish and wildlife, including those ecosystems and fish and
wildlife in the Delta.
(b) Water quality improvements in the Delta, or in other river
systems, that provide significant public trust resources, or that
clean up and restore groundwater resources.
(c) Flood control benefits, including, but not limited to,
increases in flood reservation space in existing reservoirs by
exchange for existing or increased water storage capacity in response
to the effects of changing hydrology and decreasing snow pack on
California's water and flood management system.
79743. In consultation with the Department of Fish and Game, the
State Water Resources Control Board, and the department, the
commission shall develop and adopt, by regulation, methods for
quantification and management of public benefits described under
Section 79742 by December 15, 2010. The regulations shall include the
priorities and relative environmental value of ecosystem benefits as
provided by the Department of Fish and Game and the priorities and
relative environmental value of water quality benefits as provided by
the State Water Resources Control Board.
79744. (a) Except as provided under subdivision (c), funds
allocated pursuant to this chapter shall not be allocated for a
project until the commission approves the project based on the
commission's determination that all of the following have occurred:
(1) The commission has adopted the regulations specified in
Section 79743 and specifically quantified and made public the cost of
the public benefits associated with the project.
(2) The department has entered into a contract with each party who
will derive benefits, other than public benefits as defined in
Section 79742, from the project that ensures the party will pay its
share of the total costs of the project. The benefits available to a
party shall be consistent with that party's share of total project
costs.
(3) The department has entered into a contract with each public
agency identified in Section 79743 that administers the public
benefits, after that agency makes a finding that the public benefits
of the project for which that agency is responsible meet all the
requirements of this chapter, to assure that the public contribution
of funds pursuant to this chapter achieves the public benefits
identified for the project.
(4) The commission has held a public hearing for the purposes of
providing an opportunity for the public to review and comment on the
information required to be prepared pursuant to this subdivision.
(5) All of the following additional conditions are met:
(A) Feasibility studies have been completed.
(B) The director has found and determined that the project is
feasible, is consistent with all applicable laws and regulations, and
will advance the long-term objectives of restoring ecological health
and improving water management for beneficial uses of the Bay-Delta
system.
(C) All environmental documentation associated with the project
has been completed, and all other federal, state, and local
approvals, certifications, and agreements required to be completed
have been obtained.
(b) The commission shall submit to the Legislature its findings
for each of the criteria listed in subdivision (a) for a project
funded pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), funds may be made available
under this chapter for the completion of environmental documentation
and permitting of a project if all of the conditions of this section
have been met, with the exception of conditions pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
79745. (a) The public benefit cost share of a project funded
pursuant to this chapter, except for a project described in
subdivision (c) of Section 79741, shall be based on the direct
benefit received by the public for the project.
(b) A project shall not be funded unless it provides ecosystem
improvements, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 79742.
79746. (a) A project identified in subdivision (a) of Section
79741 is not eligible for funding under this chapter unless, by
January 1, 2014, both of the following conditions are met:
(1) All feasibility studies are complete and draft environmental
documentation is available for public review.
(2) The commission makes a finding that the project is feasible,
and will advance the long-term objectives of restoring ecological
health and improving water management for beneficial uses of the
Bay-Delta system.
(b) If compliance with subdivision (a) is delayed by litigation or
failure to promulgate regulations, the date in subdivision (a) shall
be extended by the commission for a time period that is equal to the
time period of the delay, and funding under this chapter that has
been dedicated to the project shall be encumbered until the time at
which the litigation is completed or the regulations have been
promulgated.
79747. Surface storage projects funded pursuant to this chapter
and described in subdivision (a) of Section 79741 may be made a unit
of the Central Valley Project as provided in Section 11290 and may be
financed, acquired, constructed, operated, and maintained pursuant
to Part 3 (commencing with Section 11100) of Division 6.
79748. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 79740 to 79747, inclusive,
upon a finding by the commission and the director that doing so is
feasible and capable of being consistent with all applicable laws and
regulations, the funds allocated for the design, acquisition, and
construction of surface storage projects identified in the CALFED
Bay-Delta Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000, shall be
provided for those purposes to local joint powers authorities formed
by irrigation districts, and other local water districts and local
governments within the applicable hydrologic region to design,
acquire, and construct those projects.
(b) The joint powers authorities described in subdivision (a) may
include in their membership governmental and nongovernmental partners
that are not located within their respective hydrologic regions in
financing the surface storage projects, including, as appropriate,
cost share participation or equity participation. The department
shall be an ex officio member of each joint powers authority subject
to this section, but the department shall not control the governance,
management, or operation of the surface water storage projects.
(c) A joint powers authority subject to this section shall own,
govern, manage, and operate a surface water storage project, subject
to the requirement that the ownership, governance, management, and
operation of the surface water storage project shall advance the
purposes set forth in this chapter.
CHAPTER 9. ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY AND RESTORATION
79749. The sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, for
expenditures and grants provided to irrigation districts, flood
control districts, local joint powers authorities, local governments,
and counties within the Delta, for the purpose of addressing water
supply reliability, water quality, and restoration activities, as may
be necessary within the Delta as a result of the implementation of
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 79721) and Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 79730). These activities may include any of the
following:
(a) Relocation of existing diversion points to locations where
fish impacts are lower and water quality is higher in order to
prevent impacts to native fishes directly through entrainment and
indirectly through effects on hydrology and the quality of return
water flow.
(b) Funding and implementing levee improvement projects,
especially in urban areas, while also expanding levee special
projects and subvention programs until a long-term levee strategy is
formulated.
(c) The development of a Delta economic plan to support increased
investment in agriculture, recreation, tourism, and other resilient
land uses.
(d) The establishment of a Delta investment fund to provide a
credit base for a broad-based and resilient Delta economy.
79750. The sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, for
expenditure in accordance with this chapter, for expenditures and
grants for ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration
projects, including, but not limited to, all of the following
watersheds:
(a) The San Joaquin River watershed.
(b) The Kern River and Tulare Basin watersheds.
(c) The Salton Sea and Colorado River watersheds.
(d) The Los Angeles River watershed.
(e) The San Gabriel River watershed.
(f) The Santa Ana River watershed.
(g) The Klamath River watershed, including the Trinity, Scott, and
Shasta Rivers and watersheds.
(h) North coast watersheds.
(i) San Francisco Bay watersheds.
(j) Central coast watersheds.
(k) South coast watersheds.
(l) Lake Tahoe Basin watershed.
(m) The Sacramento River watershed, excluding the Delta and
including the Yolo Bypass.
(n) San Diego County coastal watersheds.
(o) The Ventura River watershed.
(p) The Sierra Nevada Mountain watersheds.
(q) The Mojave River watershed.
79751. (a) Funds provided for the Sacramento River and San
Joaquin River watersheds under Section 79750 shall be available for
projects consistent with the ecosystem restoration program element of
the California Bay-Delta Program, or its successor, or the San
Joaquin River Parkway Master Plan.
(b) Funds provided for Salton Sea watershed projects under Section
79750 shall be available for Salton Sea restoration activities
identified for "Period I" in the Resources Agency report entitled
"Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative
Report and Funding Plan," dated May 2007.
(c) Funds provided for the Lake Tahoe Basin watershed under
Section 79750 shall be available for projects consistent with the
Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program.
(d) Funds provided for the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River
watersheds under Section 79750 shall be available pursuant to
Section 79508, and for projects identified in the Los Angeles River
Revitalization Master Plan.
79752. (a) The sum of two hundred fifty million dollars
($250,000,000) is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature
from the fund, to the Department of Fish and Game for expenditures
and grants to fund the Aquatic Invasives Management Plan and to
protect the Delta ecosystem and the state's water supply from
invasive species, including, but not limited to, Asiatic clams, zebra
mussels, quagga mussels, striped bass, and New Zealand mud snails.
(b) At least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of the funds
provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be available for grants to
public agencies, including water agencies, to pay for capital
expenditures associated with the control of invasive species,
including, but not limited to, chlorination facilities, habitat
modifications, and monitoring equipment. The Department of Fish and
Game shall administer the grant program.
(c) The Legislature, by statute, shall establish requirements for
both of the following:
(1) Repayment of grant funds made available pursuant to this
section in the event of cost recovery from parties responsible for
the introduction of invasive species that affect the Delta ecosystem
and the state's water supply.
(2) Recipients of grants to make reasonable efforts to recover
costs from parties described in paragraph (1).
79753. For restoration and ecosystem protection projects under
this chapter, the services of the California Conservation Corps or
community conservation corps shall be used whenever feasible.
79754. Funds provided under this chapter may be appropriated to
the Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Game, the Wildlife
Conservation Board, the California Conservation Corps, the Department
of Parks and Recreation, or to state conservancies for expenditures
and grants consistent with this chapter and other applicable laws.
79755. Of the funds made available pursuant to Section 79750, not
less than two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be
available to the State Coastal Conservancy for coastal watershed
projects within coastal counties and coastal watersheds. Of these
funds, not less that forty million dollars ($40,000,000) shall be
available for projects in the Santa Ana River Watershed.
79756. Of the funds provided in Section 79750, not less than one
hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be available to the
Wildlife Conservation Board for direct expenditure or grants for the
acquisition of water rights from willing sellers and the conveyance
of water for the benefit of migratory birds on wildlife refuges and
wildlife habitat areas subject to subdivision (d) of Section 3406 of
the federal Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law
102-575).
79757. Of the funds provided in Section 79750, not less than two
hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be available to the
Wildlife Conservation Board for direct expenditure or grants for the
protection or restoration of watershed lands that provide sources of
drinking water or rivers and streams that support species listed as
threatened or endangered under state or federal law.
79758. The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, to
the Wildlife Conservation Board, in consultation with the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection, for grants and direct expenditures
for watershed restoration in fire damaged areas, and for fuel load
reduction and other projects to reduce the potential for watershed
damage from wildfires to protect water quality, fish, and wildlife.
79759. The sum of one hundred fifty million dollars
($150,000,000) is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature
from the fund, to the Department of Fish and Game and the State
Coastal Conservancy for grants and expenditures for projects that
improve fish passage on rivers and streams, including barrier
removal, sediment management, and related watershed restoration.
79761. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms "restoration"
and "protection" have the meanings set forth in Section 75005 of the
Public Resources Code.
CHAPTER 10. GROUNDWATER PROTECTION AND WATER QUALITY
79775. (a) The sum of three hundred million dollars
($300,000,000) is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature
from the fund, for expenditures, grants, and loans for projects to
prevent or reduce the contamination of groundwater that serves as a
source of drinking water. Projects shall be consistent with an
adopted integrated regional water management plan. Except as provided
in subdivision (d), funds appropriated pursuant to this section
shall be available to the State Water Resources Control Board for
projects necessary to protect public health by preventing or reducing
the contamination of groundwater that serves as a major source of
drinking water for a community.
(b) Projects shall be prioritized based upon the following
criteria:
(1) The threat posed by groundwater contamination to the affected
community's overall drinking water supplies, including the need for
treatment of alternative supplies if groundwater is not available due
to contamination.
(2) The potential for groundwater contamination to spread and
reduce drinking water supply and water storage for nearby population
areas.
(3) The potential of the project, if fully implemented, to enhance
local water supply reliability.
(4) The potential of the project to increase opportunities for
groundwater recharge and optimization of groundwater supplies.
(c) The board shall give additional consideration to projects that
meet any of the following criteria:
(1) The project is implemented pursuant to a comprehensive
basinwide groundwater quality management and remediation plan or is
necessary to develop a comprehensive groundwater plan.
(2) Affected groundwater provides a local supply that, if
contaminated and not remediated, will require import of additional
water from outside the region.
(3) The project will serve an economically disadvantaged community
or an economically distressed area.
(4) The project addresses contamination at a site where the
responsible parties have not been identified, or where the
responsible parties are unwilling or unable to pay for cleanup.
(d) Of the amount made available by this section, up to one
hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be available for
projects that meet the requirement of this section and both of the
following criteria:
(1) The project is part of a basinwide management and remediation
plan for which federal funds have been allocated.
(2) The project addresses contamination at a site on the list
maintained by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to
Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code or a site listed on the
National Priorities List pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
9601 et seq.).
(e) Of the amount made available by this section, forty million
dollars ($40,000,000) shall be available to the State Department of
Public Health for grants and direct expenditures to finance emergency
and urgent actions on behalf of disadvantaged communities and
economically distressed areas to ensure that safe drinking water
supplies are available to all Californians.
(f) The Legislature, by statute, shall establish both of the
following:
(1) Requirements for repayment of grant funds in the event of cost
recovery from parties responsible for the groundwater contamination.
(2) Requirements for recipients of grants to make reasonable
efforts to recover costs from parties responsible for groundwater
contamination.
79776. The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, to
the State Water Resources Control Board for grants for small
community wastewater treatment projects to protect water quality that
meet all of the following criteria:
(a) The project is for the planning, design, permitting,
construction, or improvement of a wastewater treatment facility,
sewer system, or related infrastructure necessary to meet water
quality standards or prevent contamination of surface water or
groundwater resources.
(b) The project will serve a community with a population of 20,000
or less.
(c) The project meets other standards that may be established by
the State Water Resources Control Board with respect to the design,
construction, financing, and operation of the project.
79778. (a) The sum of three hundred million dollars
($300,000,000) is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature
from the fund, to the State Water Resources Control Board for
competitive grants and loans for stormwater management and water
quality projects pursuant to this section.
(b) Eligible projects shall assist in compliance with total
maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans and be consistent with
all applicable waste discharge permits.
(c) Eligible projects include facilities and infrastructure to
reduce, manage, and treat stormwater runoff, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(1) Detention and retention basins.
(2) Dry weather diversion facilities, trash filters, and screens.
(3) Treatment wetlands creation and enhancement.
(4) Stormwater runoff reduction projects, including permeable
surface installation, cisterns, and collection and treatment
facilities for groundwater recharge.
(5) Other stormwater management infrastructure for low-impact
development.
(d) The board shall require not less than a 50 percent local cost
share for grant funds, but may suspend or reduce the matching
requirements for disadvantaged communities and economically
distressed areas.
(e) The board shall award grants on a competitive basis,
considering the following criteria:
(1) Water quality benefits of the project, including the project's
ability to reduce impairment of the receiving water body.
(2) Cost effectiveness.
(3) Public health benefits of the project.
(f) Eligible recipients shall include local public agencies and
joint powers authorities.
79779. The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, to
the State Coastal Conservancy for projects that meet the requirements
of the California Ocean Protection Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 35650) of Division 26.5 of the Public Resources Code). The
conservancy shall allocate these funds to the Ocean Protection
Council for the purpose of making grants to public agencies for
projects to protect and improve water quality in areas of special
biological significance, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section
36700 of the Public Resources Code.
CHAPTER 11. WATER RECYCLING PROGRAM
79780. (a) The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000)
is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, to
the State Water Resources Control Board for grants and loans for
water recycling projects.
(b) Eligible applicants for grants and loans under this chapter
are public agencies, public utilities, and mutual water companies. To
be eligible for funding under this chapter, projects proposed by
public utilities that are regulated by the Public Utilities
Commission and mutual water companies shall have a clear and definite
public purpose and shall benefit the customers of those respective
water systems.
CHAPTER 12. FISCAL PROVISIONS
79782. (a) Bonds in the total amount of fifteen billion dollars
($15,000,000,000), not including the amount of any refunding bonds
issued in accordance with Section 79794, or so much thereof as is
necessary, may be issued and sold to provide a fund to be used for
carrying out the purposes expressed in this division and to reimburse
the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving Fund pursuant to
Section 16724.5 of the Government Code. The bonds, when sold, shall
be and constitute valid and binding obligations of the State of
California, and the full faith and credit of the State of California
is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of both the principal of,
and interest on, the bonds as the principal and interest become due
and payable.
(b) The Treasurer shall sell the bonds authorized by the committee
pursuant to this section. The bonds shall be sold upon the terms and
conditions specified in a resolution to be adopted by the committee
pursuant to Section 16731 of the Government Code.
79783. The bonds authorized by this division shall be prepared,
executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State
General Obligation Bond Law, and all of the provisions of that law
apply to the bonds and to this division and are hereby incorporated
in this division as though set forth in full in this division, except
Section 16727 of the Government Code shall not apply to the extent
that it is inconsistent with any other provision of this division.
79784. (a) Solely for the purpose of authorizing the issuance and
sale, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, of the
bonds authorized by this division, the Water Supply Reliability and
Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Committee is hereby created. For
purposes of this division, the Safe Drinking Water Finance Committee
is "the committee" as that term is used in the State General
Obligation Bond Law.
(b) The committee consists of the Director of Finance, the
Treasurer, the Controller, the Director of Water Resources, and the
Secretary for the Resources Agency. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any member may designate a deputy to act as that
member in his or her place for all purposes, as though the member
were personally present.
(c) The Treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the committee.
(d) A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a
quorum of the committee, and may act for the committee.
79785. The committee shall determine whether or not it is
necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this
division to carry out the actions specified in this division and, if
so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold. Successive issues of
bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out those actions
progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the bonds
authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.
79786. "Board," as defined in Section 16722 of the Government
Code for the purposes of compliance with the State General Obligation
Bond Law, means the department.
79787. There shall be collected each year and in the same manner
and at the same time as other state revenue is collected, in addition
to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount required
to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each year, and it
is the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in regard
to the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and every act
which is necessary to collect that additional sum.
79788. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the State
Treasury, for the purposes of this division, an amount that will
equal the total of the following:
(a) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and
interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this division, as the
principal and interest become due and payable.
(b) The sum that is necessary to carry out the provisions of
Section 79789, appropriated without regard to fiscal years.
79789. The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to
make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account in accordance
with Section 16312 of the Government Code for the purpose of carrying
out this division. The amount of the request shall not exceed the
amount of the unsold bonds that the committee has, by resolution,
authorized to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this division.
The board shall execute
those documents required by the Pooled Money Investment Board to
obtain and repay the loan. Any amounts loaned shall be deposited in
the fund to be allocated in accordance with this division.
79790. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, or
of the State General Obligation Bond Law, if the Treasurer sells
bonds that include a bond counsel opinion to the effect that the
interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income for federal tax
purposes under designated conditions, the Treasurer may maintain
separate accounts for the bond proceeds invested and for the
investment earnings on those proceeds, and may use or direct the use
of those proceeds or earnings to pay any rebate, penalty, or other
payment required under federal law or take any other action with
respect to the investment and use of those bond proceeds, as may be
required or desirable under federal law in order to maintain the
tax-exempt status of those bonds and to obtain any other advantage
under federal law on behalf of the funds of this state.
79791. For the purposes of carrying out this division, the
Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General
Fund of an amount or amounts not to exceed the amount of the unsold
bonds that have been authorized by the committee to be sold for the
purpose of carrying out this division. Any amounts withdrawn shall be
deposited in the fund. Any money made available under this section
shall be returned to the General Fund, with interest at the rate
earned by the money in the Pooled Money Investment Account, from
proceeds received from the sale of bonds for the purpose of carrying
out this division.
79792. All money deposited in the fund that is derived from
premiums and accrued interest on bonds sold pursuant to this division
shall be reserved in the fund and shall be available for transfer to
the General Fund as a credit to expenditures for bond interest.
79793. Pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of
Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the cost of
bond issuance shall be paid out of the bond proceeds. These costs
shall be shared proportionately by each program funded through this
division.
79794. The bonds issued and sold pursuant to this division may be
refunded in accordance with Article 6 (commencing with Section
16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, which is a part of the State General Obligation Bond
Law. Approval by the electors of the state for the issuance of the
bonds under this division shall include approval of the issuance of
any bonds issued to refund any bonds originally issued under this
division or any previously issued refunding bonds.
79795. The proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this
division are not "proceeds of taxes" as that term is used in Article
XIII B of the California Constitution, and the disbursement of these
proceeds is not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.
SEC. 2. Section 1 of this act shall take effect only upon the
approval by the voters of the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem
Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009, as set forth in that section.
SEC. 3. Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the voters at
the next statewide election in accordance with provisions of the
Government Code and the Elections Code governing the submission of a
statewide measure to the voters.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to finance a critical water supply reliability and
ecosystem recovery and restoration program as soon as possible, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.