BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 267| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 CONTINUED SB 267 Page 2 (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. CONTINUED SB 267 Page 3 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) CONTINUED SB 267 Page 4 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 **** END **** CONTINUED SB 267 Page 5 CONTINUED