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
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            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
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          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 


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