BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 565
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 565 (Monning) - As Introduced: February 16, 2011
SUBJECT : Conservation: State Coastal Conservancy
SUMMARY : Authorizes the State Coastal Conservancy
(Conservancy) to award a grant to a for-profit entity to
accomplish removal or alteration of a dam.
EXISTING LAW : Authorizes the Conservancy to undertake or award
grants for projects related to coastal watershed and coastal and
marine habitat water quality, sediment management, and living
marine resources protection and restoration.
THIS BILL : Authorizes the Conservancy to award a grant to a
for-profit entity to accomplish removal or alteration of a dam
if the Conservancy finds that the project is of regional or
statewide significance and that a grant to a public agency or
nonprofit organization would not achieve removal or alteration
of the dam.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)San Clemente Dam Problem. According to documents on the
Conservancy's website, the San Clemente Dam is a 90 year old,
106-foot high concrete dam located approximately 18.5 miles
from the Pacific Ocean on the Carmel River. California
American Water (CAW), a for-profit company, owns and operates
the dam. Currently, the reservoir is over 90 percent filled
with sediment and is no longer useful for supplying water to
the Monterey Peninsula's population.
In the early 1990s, the Division of the Safety of Dams in the
Department of Water Resources issued a safety order
determining that the San Clemente Dam structure could
potentially fail in the event of either the maximum credible
earthquake or probable maximum flood. The public safety risk
posed by the dam currently threatens 1,500 homes and other
buildings. If the dam were to fail, 2.1 million cubic yards
of sediment and over 40 million gallons of water would rush
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downstream, giving residents little time to evacuate.
According to the Planning and Conservation League, the San
Clemente Dam is also a barrier to threatened steelhead trout,
which have significant natural spawning habitat and natural
rearing habitat located above the dam. A steep 85-foot fish
ladder prevents many of the fish from accessing these critical
upstream areas and steelhead numbers have suffered as a
result.
2)River Reroute and Dam Removal Project. CAW's least costly
option to address the safety issues with the San Clemente Dam
is to buttress the dam-a cost of approximately $49 million. A
draft Environmental Impact Report highlighted four
alternatives to buttressing, including the rerouting of the
Carmel River and removal of the dam. This alternative would
provide a solution to the dam safety issues while also
benefiting the environment by, for example, providing
unimpaired access for steelhead trout to over 25 miles of
spawning and rearing habitat.
The Conservancy, CAW, and the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) have outlined key elements of the
implementation strategy for the river reroute and dam removal
project. Under this strategy, the Conservancy and CAW would
manage project planning and design; the Conservancy, with
assistance of NMFS, would coordinate with the regulatory
agencies to secure all permits and expeditious approval of the
project; CAW would manage the project construction; and upon
completion of the project, CAW would transfer the project area
lands, approximately 928 acres, to a public entity or
non-profit organization for watershed conservation and
compatible public access.
The total project cost is currently estimated at $83 million,
which factors in a 25% contingency and other costs. The
implementation agreement would have CAW pay $49 million, which
is the amount equivalent of buttressing the dam. The
Conservancy, with assistance from NMFS, is working to secure
the additional $34 million from federal, state, and private
foundation sources.
3)Grant Authority. The Conservancy has the authority under
existing law to make grants to public agencies and nonprofit
organizations for projects that restore and protect fish and
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wildlife habitat within coastal watersheds. A grant for the
rerouting of the Carmel River and removal of the San Clemente
Dam would be an ideal project for the Conservancy's grant
program because of the significance it would have on the
protection and restoration of steelhead trout habitat.
However, since existing law only authorizes the Conservancy to
make grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations,
and since CAW, a for-profit corporation, will be managing the
construction of the project, the Conservancy cannot award
grant funds to CAW. Without a Conservancy grant, the project
would likely not happen-- the dam would remain in place, the
steelhead trout protection and restoration project plans would
not be implemented, and the public would not receive the 928
acres of project land for conservation and public access.
The bill authorizes the Conservancy to award a grant to a
for-profit entity to accomplish removal or alteration of a
dam. With this authorization, the Conservancy can grant funds
to CAW and ultimately improve the coastal watershed in the
Monterey region
4)Suggested Amendments. The bill's legislative intent is to
allow the Conservancy to grant money to CAW for the San
Clemente Dam project. The bill, however, is not specific to
the San Clemente project-it will allow grants to any project
that removes or alters a dam in the coastal zone or coastal
watershed. The author and committee may wish to consider
amending the bill so it specifically applies to the San
Clemente Dam project.
AB 565
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Carmel River Watershed Conservancy
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Planning and Conservation League
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092