BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 267|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 267
Author: Rubio (D)
Amended: 4/13/11
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/12/11
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe,
Padilla, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Water supply planning: renewable energy plants
SOURCE : California Wind Energy Association
County of Kern
DIGEST : This bill revises the definition of project to
exclude a proposed photovoltaic or wind energy generation
facility approved on or after the effective date of this
bill that demands an amount of water equivalent to, or less
than, the amount of water required by a 250 dwelling unit
project.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires a city or county that determines a project is
subject to the California Environmental Quality Act
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(CEQA) to identify any public water system that may
supply water for the project and to request those public
water systems to prepare a specified water supply
assessment.
2. Requires the city or county, if no public water system
is identified, to prepare the water supply assessment.
3. Defines "project" for purposes of the above provisions
as, among other things, a proposed industrial,
manufacturing, or processing plant, or industrial park
planned to house more than 1,000 persons, occupying more
than 40 acres of land, or having more than 650,000
square feet of floor area.
This bill revises the definition of "project" to exclude a
proposed photovoltaic or wind energy generation facility
approved on or after the effective date of this bill that
demands an amount of water equivalent to, or less than, the
amount of water required by a 250 dwelling unit project.
Background
In 2001, the Legislature passed, and Governor Davis signed
SB 610 (Costa), and SB 221 (Kuehl), Chapter 642, Statutes
of 2001. Collectively, these two bills are also known as
the "show us the water" bills. The purpose of these bills,
as noted in the findings for SB 610, was "to strengthen the
process pursuant to which local agencies determine the
adequacy of existing and planned future water supplies to
meet existing and planned future demands on those water
supplies."
To assist local governments in deciding whether to approve
projects, SB 610 requires a "water supply assessment" (WSA)
whenever a city or county determines a proposed "project"
is subject to CEQA. The WSA must be included in any CEQA
document prepared for the project. In turn, a provision of
CEQA requires compliance with the SB 610 requirements.
Under Water Code Section 10912(a), a "project" requiring a
WSA is any of the following:
1. A proposed residential development of more than 500
dwelling units.
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2. A proposed shopping center or business establishment
employing more than 1,000 persons or having more than
500,000 square feet of floor space.
3. A proposed commercial office building employing more
than 1,000 persons or having more than 250,000 square
feet of floor space.
4. A proposed hotel or motel, or both, having more than 500
rooms.
5. A proposed industrial, manufacturing, or processing
plant, or industrial park planned to house more than
1,000 persons, occupying more than 40 acres of land, or
having more than 650,000 square feet of floor area.
6. A mixed-use project that includes one or more of the
projects specified in this subdivision.
7. A project that would demand an amount of water
equivalent to, or greater than, the amount of water
required by a 500 dwelling unit project.
The WSA is prepared by the public water system that may
provide water for the project, or, if the city or county
identifies no such public water system, the city or county
prepares the WSA.
The WSA is required to include a discussion regarding
whether the total projected water supplies (during normal,
single dry, and multiple dry water years) over the next
20-years will meet the projected water demand associated
with the proposed project, over and above that required for
existing and planned future uses. Further, when a water
supply for a proposed project includes groundwater, the WSA
must include additional information about the sufficiency
of the groundwater supply.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/2/11)
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California Wind Energy Association (co-source)
County of Kern (co-source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/2/11)
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "As
California moves toward requiring 33 percent of our energy
to be from renewable sources, we must do everything
possible to reach this important goal. SB 267 addresses a
recent court decision that has caused proposed renewable
energy facilities to evaluate project water needs beyond
what is currently required in CEQA, just because they will
occupy 40 acres or more. Wind and solar photovoltaic
renewal energy projects do not use significant water and
should not be required to study water use above and beyond
CEQA. To apply a requirement that is clearly intended for
large water users will stymie the state's ongoing efforts
to encourage renewable energy projects."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the Planning and
Conservation League and the Sierra Club, the "most
significant concern is the exemption of a renewable energy
project from the water supply assessment process.
Regardless of the possible noble intentions of a project,
it is unjust and a disservice to the existing community to
approve a project without assessing the impact to local
water supply. With California's water supply under intense
pressure from climate change, increasing population and
development, the water supply assessment process is the
best safeguard to ensure a community's vital water supply
is not exhausted due to poor planning."
CTW:kc 5/2/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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