BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 133
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 133 (Wolk) - As Amended: April 5, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 40-0
SUBJECT : Natural resources: Cache Creek Resource Management
Plan
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date for allowing the Cache Creek
Resources Management Plan (CCRMP), in conjunction with a site
specific plan, to serve as the functional equivalent of a mining
reclamation plan from December 31, 2012 to December 31, 2017.
EXISTING LAW : The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA):
1)Prohibits conducting surface mining operations without first
obtaining a permit, submitting a reclamation plan, and
providing financial assurances to a lead agency (i.e. city or
county). SMARA's requirements apply to anyone engaged in
surface mining operations in California that disturb more than
one acre or remove more than 1,000 cubic yards of material.
2)Defines "surface mining operations" as all, or any part of,
the process involved in mining of minerals on mined lands by
removing overburden and mining directly from the mineral
deposits, open-pit mining of minerals naturally exposed,
mining by the auger method, dredging and quarrying, or surface
work incident to an underground mine.
3)Requires the Department of Conservation (DOC) to review the
reclamation plan and authorizes it to submit comments to the
lead agency if it so chooses.
4)Identifies cities and counties as "lead agencies" and requires
them to adopt ordinances for land use permitting and
reclamation procedures. This provides the regulatory
framework under which local mining and reclamation activities
are conducted. The State Mining and Geology Board reviews
these lead agency ordinances to determine whether each
ordinance meets or exceeds the surface mining and reclamation
procedures established pursuant to SMARA.
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5)Establishes that until December 31, 2012, the CCRMP, in
conjunction with a site specific plan deemed consistent by the
lead agency with the CCRMP, shall be considered the functional
equivalent of a reclamation plan for the purposes of SMARA.
6)Requires the Board of Supervisors of Yolo County to first
adopt an ordinance governing in-stream noncommercial exaction
activities carried out pursuant to the CCRMP before the
exemption in #5 becomes effective.
THIS BILL:
1)Extends the sunset date for allowing the Cache Creek Resources
Management Plan (CCRMP), in conjunction with a site specific
plan, to serve as the functional equivalent of a mining
reclamation plan from December 31, 2012 to December 31, 2017.
2)Deletes the provision requiring the Board of Supervisors of
Yolo County to first adopt an ordinance governing in-stream
noncommercial exaction activities carried out pursuant to the
CCRMP before the functional equivalent provision becomes
effective.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
1)Background. Cache Creek is a tributary of the Sacramento
River that flows primarily through agricultural lands in Yolo
County. Due to its high quality aggregate and proximity to
the markets, Cache Creek has been a major focus of gravel and
aggregate miners since the highway boom of the 1950's.
In-stream mining has created a significant sediment deficit in
the tributary, removing more aggregate than has been annually
deposited. Although not the only cause, this deficit has
contributed to the lowering of the streambed, which has in
turn increased scour and flow velocity, resulting in a
generally imbalanced creek system.
Concerned over the noticeable degradation of Cache Creek, Yolo
County began to turn its attention towards taking better care
of the natural resource. In 1994, after 20 years of various
advisory committees, studies, and draft plans, the Yolo County
Board of Supervisors adopted a framework of goals and
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objectives for the CCRMP focusing on seven elements covering
agriculture, aggregate resources, riparian and wildlife
resources, water resources, floodway and channel stability,
open space and recreation, and the cultural landscape of the
Cache Creek area. The CCRMP is based on the key assumption
that Cache Creek must be viewed as a total system, as opposed
to a singular focus on the issue of mining. The actual plan
itself was adopted by Yolo County in 1996 and revised in 2002.
The CCRMP has been successful in shifting commercial mining
activities to off-channel mining while developing an
integrated approach to maintain sufficient capacity in the
creek to convey flood waters which is supported, to a certain
extent, by the private firms that conduct off-stream mining.
The CCRMP anticipates that sand and gravel will be removed
from the channel of the creek only for restoration projects or
channel maintenance activities in lower Cache Creek.
The author has explained that the reclamation plan
requirements under SMARA make restoration and channel
stabilization infeasible because of timing issues. Small
projects to mine sand and gravel to shore-up a bank or
re-align the river are planned and carried out in a short
period of time-usually between periods of seasonal high water.
SMARA's process would not allow for these activities within
that short a time frame. Treating the CCRMP, in conjunction
with a site specific plan, as the functional equivalent of a
reclamation plan, provides an expedited process for permitting
activities that would benefit the environment in the Cache
Creek area.
According to Yolo County, "this legislation Ýwhich extends the
December 31, 2012 sunset by five years] is vital to ensuring
that necessary environmental restoration and channel
stabilization projects in Lower Cache Creek can be completed
in a timely and efficient manner."
2)In-Stream Ordinance. Existing law requires the Board of
Supervisors of Yolo County to adopt an ordinance governing
in-stream noncommercial exaction activities before it can use
the CCRMP, in conjunction with a site specific plan, as the
functional equivalent of a reclamation plan for the purposes
of SMARA. On February 5, 2009, the State Mining and Geology
Board certified Yolo County's in-channel non-commercial gravel
extraction ordinance. As such, the provision requiring Yolo
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County to adopt the ordinance is no longer needed. This bill
deletes this provision.
3)Previous Legislation. AB 297 (Thompson), Chapter 869,
Statutes of 1999 originally authorized Yolo County to use,
until December 31, 2003, the CCRMP as an alternative to a
reclamation plan. AB 1984 (Wolk), Chapter 173, Statutes of
2004 extended this sunset for five years until December 31,
2008. AB 646 (Wolk), Chapter 604, Statutes of 2007 extended
the sunset for another five years until December 31, 2012.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Cache Creek Conservancy
California Construction and Industrial Materials Association
City of Woodland
Granite Construction Company
Sierra Club Yolano Group
Teichert Aggregates
Tuleyome
Water Resources Association of Yolo County
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Yolo County Flood Control District
Yolo County Resource Construction District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092