BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1495 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1495 (Wolk) As Amended August 22, 2012 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :35-0 WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Huffman, Bill Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Blumenfield, Campos, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Fong, Gatto, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |Roger Hernández, Hueso, | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | |Lara, Yamada | |Hall, Hill, Lara, | | | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Solorio, Wagner | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Specifies that certain Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton harbor-related leases and routine dredging activities are not subject to Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) review for consistency with the long-term management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan). Specifically, this bill exempts the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton from DSC Delta Plan consistency review with respect to: 1)Leases, with certain exceptions, where the lease has already undergone California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, if applicable, and are consistent with existing local zoning and permissible uses. 2)Dredging to maintain the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel at a depth of 40 feet in the sediment trap at the confluence of the San Joaquin River, between river mile 39.3 to river mile 40.2, and to maintain the remaining Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel at a depth of 35 feet plus two feet of overdredge from river mile 35 to river mile 43. 3)Dredging to maintain the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel at a depth of 30 feet plus two feet of overdredge from river mile SB 1495 Page 2 0.0 to river mile 30, and at a depth of 35 feet from river mile 35 to river mile 43. EXISTING LAW : 1)Adopts coequal goals for the Delta of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem and requires the DSC adopt and implement a Delta Plan that furthers the coequal goals. 2)Defines covered actions as those that will occur, in whole or in part, within the Delta or Suisun Marsh and are: a) Carried out, approved, or funded by the state or a local public agency; b) Covered by one or more provisions of the Delta Plan; and, c) Will have a significant impact on achievement of one or both of the coequal goals or the implementation of government-sponsored Delta flood control programs. 3)Sets forth specific exemptions from being considered a covered action including, but not limited to, state agency regulatory actions, routine State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project maintenance, regional transportation plans, and some existing approved activities in the Delta secondary zone. 4)Requires, once the Delta Plan is adopted, that a state or local agency that proposes to undertake a covered action prepare a written finding as to whether the action is consistent with the Delta Plan. Allows any party to appeal that finding of consistency to the DSC for a determination. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 (Delta Reform Act) creates the DSC and sets forth the requirements for the Delta Plan. On May 14, 2012, the DSC staff released the sixth and final staff draft of the Delta Plan (Final Draft). Chapter 2 of the Final Draft, entitled The Delta Plan, proposes a number of administrative exemptions that are SB 1495 Page 3 not considered covered actions based on a finding by the DSC that they will not have a significant impact on the achievement of the coequal goals. The language of this bill is identical to two of those administrative exemptions. However, the DSC has not yet adopted the Delta Plan and could conceivably change it. Also, once the Delta Plan is adopted, it is anticipated the DSC could add or remove exemptions in the future while this bill would make the exemptions statutory. So, while this bill would provide greater economic and legal certainty to the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton, it would limit DSC's authority on the narrow issue of their harbor leases and routine dredging. According to the author, the Sacramento and Stockton ports provide important hubs for goods movement within our region but the Delta Plan covered actions review process could add a new level of review and uncertainty for some port activities within the Delta. The author adds that this bill would narrowly exempt lease approvals and routine dredging of ship channels from the Delta Plan definition of covered actions in order to ensure that these time-sensitive port activities proceed without unnecessary delays. This bill passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee as a consent item once it was amended to clarify that the exemptions only apply to the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton and to technically define what levels of dredging for those Ports would be routine. Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN: 0004950