BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 455
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 455 (Pavley)
As Amended August 22, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-3
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 10-5
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Brownley, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, |
| |Dickinson, Huffman, | |Bradford, |
| |Monning, Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Hill, Cedillo, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Grove, Halderman |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires timberland conversion projects to mitigate
environmental and greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts through
reforestation and other specified forest related activities.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits the approval of an application for conversion of
timberlands of three or more acres unless the Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) finds all of the
following:
a) The environmental impacts of the conversion on wildlife,
habitat values, and forest type are mitigated as required
by all applicable laws.
b) The mitigation occurs on nonfederal California
timberlands and, to the extent feasible, in proximity to
the proposed conversion and on land of similar forest type.
c) The mitigation fully mitigates the loss of carbon in
above-ground and below-ground biomass and the loss of
future ongoing carbon sequestration. The reduction of GHG
impacts must occur over the same time period and be
equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions and losses of
above-ground and below-ground biomass that result from the
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conversion.
2)Requires the Board to provide the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) an opportunity to review and comment on the application
for timberland conversion.
3)Requires an applicant for timberland conversion to meet all of
the following requirements:
a) Except as specified, all mitigation associated with the
conversion projects are to be on lands that secure the
mitigation with a permanent conservation easement and
include the reforestation of a previously forested area at
a minimum acreage ratio of 1:1.
b) As an option to the applicant, the reforestation
requirement may be met at a minimum acreage ratio of 2:1 on
land not subject to a conservation easement.
c) To the extent that the reforestation requirement does
not fully mitigate GHG impacts, the applicant is required
to take other mitigation activities as specified.
d) Except as specified, all actions necessary to complete
mitigation for GHG impacts are to be completed within two
years of the conversion to nonforest use. The mitigation
may be undertaken 1) by the applicant, 2) through
agreements with the state or third parties, or 3) through
direct payment to the Board.
e) The applicant is required to enter into an agreement
with the Board to ensure that the mitigation is completed.
The county may be included as a party to the agreement
depending on the circumstances.
4)Creates the Timberland Conversion Services Fund for money
received pursuant to mitigation agreements between timberland
converters and the state.
5)Allows a county to manage timberland conversion mitigation
moneys if the county adopts a timberland conversion and
mitigation ordinance that meets or exceeds the standards of
the bill.
6)Requires the Board to develop timberland conversion mitigation
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guidelines that are approved at a public hearing. The Board
is required to submit these guidelines to the State Air
Resources Board (ARB) at a public hearing and, to the extent
feasible, the guidelines are to be consistent with an existing
relevant GHG accounting method developed by ARB.
7)Authorizes the Board to collect a fee for conversion permits
to cover the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's (CAL
FIRE) costs and the costs of DFG for any review of the
timberland conversion application and to ensure compliance
with mitigation and monitoring requirements.
EXISTING LAW , pursuant to the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
(FPA):
1)Requires any person who intends to convert timberlands to
another use to file an application for conversion with the
Board. If the timberland conversion is proposed in a
timberland production zone, the application must provide
specific information regarding proposed alternate use. The
Board is required to approve the application for conversion
only if it finds that: 1) the conversion would be in the
public interest; 2) the conversion would not have a
substantial and unmitigated adverse effect upon the continued
timber-growing use or open-space use of other surrounding
lands zoned as timber production; and, 3) the soils, slopes,
and watershed conditions would be suitable for the uses
proposed if the conversion were approved. The existence of an
opportunity for an alternative use of the land or the
uneconomic character of the existing use shall not alone be
sufficient reason for conditionally approving an application
for conversion.
2)Authorizes the Board to exempt a person from the FPA's
conversion requirements whose activities are limited to the
one-time timberland conversion of less than three acres. A
person may not receive more than one exemption in a five-year
period. The Board must determine that the exemption is
consistent with the FPA.
FISCAL EFFECT :
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1)One-time costs to the Board, likely in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars, to develop timberland conversion
guidelines (special funds, reimbursed from revenue in the
Timberland Conversion Services Fund).
2)Annual costs of an unknown amount, but potentially in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars, to CAL FIRE and DFG to
review applications to convert three or more acres of
timberland to nontimber use (special funds). These costs
should be fully covered by the fee authority provided to the
Board.
3)Annual minor costs, no more than the low tens of thousands of
dollars, to the Board to administer monies in the Timberland
Conversion Services Fund (Timberland Conversion Services
Fund).
COMMENTS : California's forests provide a significant climate
service to the state, sequestering over five million metric tons
of carbon pollution annually. There has been, however,
increasing pressure for private timberland owners to find
economically attractive uses for their property. Timber
management has become less profitable for a number of reasons
and landowners often see increasing opportunities to develop
rural subdivisions or establish vineyards. As timberlands are
converted to other uses, much of the carbon stored in these
forests is emitted to the atmosphere and the ongoing carbon
sequestration benefits, as well as many other benefits (e.g.,
water quality protection, habitat, timber resources) are
diminished, if not entirely lost. From 1997 to 2012, 14,654
acres of timberlands in the state were converted to alternate
uses. Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Siskiyou, and Mendocino Counties
have been affected the most, with 2,564, 2,309, 2,274, 1,644,
and 1,013 acres converted, respectively.
According to the author, "there is no explicit provision in the
CEQA guidelines for mitigation of carbon emissions or lost
carbon sequestration potential from conversions of timberland to
non-timberland uses?This bill would clarify that the conversion
of projects larger than 3 acres must mitigate all of its
impacts."
Additionally, according to the cosponsors (The Nature
Conservancy and The Pacific Forest Trust), this bill "provides
an incentive to timberland owners to mitigate the impacts of
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conversion that does occur by creating a funding stream to pay
landowners to provide mitigation through activities such as
reforestation, changes in management and conservation. These
complementary actions will help California maintain its valuable
timberland, their public benefits and the jobs that depend on
these resources."
SB 466 (Steinberg) of 2007, which was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, was introduced to impose, among other
things, a menu of mitigation options on forestland conversions
with the mitigation lands being managed pursuant to the Forestry
Protocols of the Climate Action Registry.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0005347