BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 71
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                AB 71 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Amended:  March 18, 2013 


          Policy Committee:                              Natural  
          ResourcesVote:15-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:   
           No    Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          As proposed to be amended, this bill requires the Secretary of  
          the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation and coordination  
          with the Salton Sea Authority, to lead Salton Sea Restoration  
          efforts.  

          This bill also requires the Salton Sea Authority to undertake a  
          restoration funding and feasibility study in consultation with  
          the Agency and a specified technical advisory group.

           FISCAL EFFECT

           Minor, absorbable costs to the Natural Resources Agency for  
          overseeing the restoration effort.

           COMMENTS
            
           1)Purpose.  This bill creates a governance structure to replace  
            the former Salton Sea Restoration Council by designating the  
            Natural Resources Agency as the lead agency for restoration  
            efforts in coordination with the Salton Sea Authority
                
            The Salton Sea Authority is a local Joint Powers Authority  
            made up of the following five entities:  Riverside County,  
            Imperial County, Imperial Irrigation District (IID), Coachella  
            Valley Water District (CVWD), and the Torres Martinez Desert  
            Cahuilla Indians Tribe.

           2)Author's Amendments.   The author has proposed amendments to  
            remove the $2 million authorization to fund the restoration  








                                                                  AB 71
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            funding and feasibility study from the Salton Sea Restoration  
            Fund (SSRF) and will pursue funding in the Budget Act.  
                
           3) Background.  The Salton Sea, California's largest lake was  
            formed in 1905 when the Colorado River flooded its banks at a  
            faulty irrigation diversion site.  Restoration is necessary to  
            protect fish and wildlife habitat, preserve endangered species  
            and remediate the salinity caused by agricultural runoff.    
            Restoring the sea will help prevent future significant air  
            quality problems resulting from the shrinking sea.   

             The Salton Sea is one of the most important wetland areas in  
            the world for shorebirds migrating along the Pacific Flyway.

          4)  The Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA).  The QSA was a  
            negotiated settlement among the Imperial Irrigation District,  
            The Metropolitan District of Southern California, the  
            Coachella Water District, the San Diego Water Authority and  
            the state to settle claims to Colorado River water and  
            provided a path for the state to reduce its consumption of  
            Colorado River water to its 4.4 million acre foot entitlement.  
             In 2003, the Legislature enacted a package of QSA  
            implementing bills including a requirement to restore the  
            Salton Sea.  Under the QSA, the amount of water flowing into  
            the Sea will be significantly reduced in 2017.  Without  
            restoration efforts, the environmental consequences of the  
            reduced flows will be significant to fish, wildlife, habitat  
            and air quality.

           5)Restoration Studies and the Preferred Alternative.  The  
            Resources Agency prepared a restoration study and Programmatic  
            Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) analyzing alternatives and  
            identifying a preferred alternative in a May, 2007 Report to  
            the Legislature.   The estimated cost for restoration was  
            estimated to be $9 billion.  
             
           6)The Salton Sea Restoration Council.  The Salton Sea  
            Restoration Council was created in 2010 to serve as the state  
            agency responsible for overseeing restoration.   The Council  
            was tasked with reviewing the 2007 PEIR and making final  
            funding and restoration recommendations to the Legislature by  
            June 2013. 

            The Governor's 2012 Reorganization plan, as modified by the  
            Legislature, eliminated the Council before they held their  








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            first meeting.   

            This bill instead requires the Natural Resources Agency and  
            the Salton Sea Authority to update prior funding and  
            feasibility studies.

           7)The Salton Sea Restoration Fund (SSRF).   Currently, the  
            Department of Finance estimates that the SSRF has  
            approximately a $15 million balance.  The use of this fund for  
            the study would reduce the amount available for either  
            additional restoration work.  The governor's proposed budget  
            includes an increase of $12.1 million from Proposition 84  
            funds dedicated for Salton Sea restoration. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081