BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 71
Author: V. Manuel Pérez (D) and Hueso (D)
Amended: 9/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 8-1, 6/11/13
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning,
Wolk
NOES: Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/30/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Salton Sea restoration
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Natural Resources Agency
(Agency) to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts in coordination
with the Salton Sea Authority (Authority), and authorizes the
Authority to lead a restoration funding and feasibility study.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, until January 1, 2013, established
the Salton Sea Restoration Council (Council) as a state agency
in the Agency to oversee the restoration of the Salton Sea.
This bill:
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1.Requires the Secretary of the Agency, in consultation and
coordination with the Authority, to lead Salton Sea
restoration efforts, and provides that such restoration
efforts must include: a) early start habitat demonstration
projects; b) biological investigations; c) investigations of
water quality, sedimentation and inflows; d) air quality
investigations in consultation and coordination with air
quality agencies; e) geotechnical investigations; and, f)
local financial assistance grant programs.
2.Provides that the Secretary and the Legislature must maintain
full authority and responsibility for any state obligation
under the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), and must
have final approval for any proposed restoration plan.
3.Authorizes the Department of Water Resources (DWR), to the
extent funding is available for this purpose, to undertake
Salton Sea restoration efforts, and requires DWR to disclose
specified information relating to the Salton Sea Species
Conservation Habitat Project.
4.Authorizes the Authority to undertake a restoration funding
and feasibility study, in consultation with the Agency, and
requires the study to include specified elements.
5.Requires the Secretary to seek input from the Authority with
regard to specific restoration components, including design
options and integration of habitat, public access and air
quality objectives, public access and recreation, economic
development opportunities, habitat locations, vector and
predator control, and feasible financial resources to fund
restoration.
6.States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
Salton Sea and its benefits and threats. States legislative
intent to permanently protect fish and wildlife dependent on
the Salton Sea, restore habitat, mitigate air quality impacts,
protect water quality, maintain the Salton Sea as a vital link
in the Pacific Flyway, preserve local tribal heritage and
cultural values, minimize noxious odors, coordinate with other
agencies with responsibilities under the QSA, and enhance
economic development opportunities.
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Background
Several laws have been passed that focus on the restoration of
the Salton Sea and the governance of any such effort. These laws
have been subsequently amended in an effort to achieve an
elusive agreement among numerous parties concerning funding,
governance, and the overall objectives of restoration.
The original Salton Sea Restoration Act (Act), adopted in 2003,
contains findings and legislative intent that the state
undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the
permanent protection of the wildlife dependent on that ecosystem
and that restoration be based on the preferred alternative
developed as a result of a restoration study and alternative
selection process. That law also provided that the preferred
alternative provide the maximum feasible attainment of specified
environmental objectives, including restoration of long-term
stable aquatic and shoreline habitat to historic levels and
diversity of fish and wildlife dependent on the Salton Sea,
elimination of air quality impacts from restoration projects,
and protection of water quality. Other laws passed in 2003 dealt
with the process of Salton Sea restoration and other aspects of
the Quantification Settlement Agreement that provided for the
transfer of Colorado River water from Imperial Irrigation
District to San Diego as part of an effort to contain
California's overall water use from that river to an amount set
by federal law.
The Act also requires the Secretary of the Resources Agency (now
the Natural Resources Agency), in consultation with the
Department of Fish and Game (now DFW), DWR, the Authority, air
quality districts, and the Salton Sea Advisory Committee to
undertake a restoration study to determine a preferred
alternative for restoration of the Salton Sea, to prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) analyzing the
alternatives, and to submit a preferred alternative to the
Legislature on or before December 31, 2006. The Agency
published a Final PEIR and submitted a preferred alternative,
with an estimated cost of nearly $9 billion, to the Legislature
in May 2007. The Legislature has not acted on the preferred
alternative proposed by the Resources Agency in 2007 but has
appropriated funding for the Species Conservation Habitat
Project, which is similar to the early start habitat projects
described as Phase 1 in the 2007 PEIR.
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The Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 51 (Ducheny,
Chapter 303, Statutes of 2010) which, among other things,
established the Council to serve as the state agency responsible
for overseeing restoration of the Salton Sea. SB 51 required the
Council to evaluate Salton Sea restoration plans, including the
$9 billion 2007 preferred alternative, and to report to the
Governor and the Legislature by June 30, 2013 with a recommended
restoration plan. The Governor's 2012 Reorganization Plan, as
modified by budget trailer bill SB 1018 (Leno, Chapter 39,
Statutes of 2012), eliminated the Council, effective December
31, 2012, before the Council ever actually met.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, less than
$150,000 in costs from the Salton Sea Restoration Fund (special)
for the agency to lead restoration efforts regarding the
restoration of the Salton Sea as the bill is largely consistent
with existing activities.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/13)
Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
Coachella Valley Water District
County of Imperial
County of Riverside
Defenders of Wildlife
Imperial Irrigation District
Indio Chamber of Commerce
Salton Sea Authority
Sierra Club California
Wilson Johnson Commercial Real Estate
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, the
elimination of the Council, as described earlier, has created a
void in determining how the state meets its obligations to
restore the Salton Sea pursuant to the Quantification Settlement
Agreement and other state laws. The author believes that this
bill creates a balanced approach with a defined lead role for
the Natural Resources Agency with a consultative role for local
interests and environmental stakeholders including the Salton
Sea Authority, a joint powers agency comprised of two counties,
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two water agencies, and one Native American tribe.
Sierra Club California describes the Salton Sea as "on the verge
of catastrophic change as the amount of water flow in the sea
will decrease significantly over the next 20 years." It is
concerned that the increase in salinity will affect fish and
wildlife habitat and that more exposed lakebed will result in
dust and particulates that will further compromise air quality
in that region.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/25/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lowenthal, Nazarian, Patterson, Vacancy
RM:nl 9/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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