Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 9, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 147

Introduced by Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez

(Principal coauthor: Senator Hueso)

January 18, 2013

An act begin delete to amend Section 2932 of the Fish and Game Code, and end delete to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 42750) to Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the environment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 147, as amended, V. Manuel Pérez. Environment: Salton Sea: dust mitigation.

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Existing law establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund that is administered by the Director of Fish and Game and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, used for the restoration of the Salton Sea.

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Existing law implements the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), which was entered into by various parties to budget their portions of California’s apportionment of Colorado River water and to provide a framework for conservation measures and water transfers for a period of up to 75 years. Existing law provides for a framework to mitigate the environmental impacts on the Salton Sea caused by the QSA water transfer. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into a joint powers agreement with specified local agencies to establish a joint powers authority for the purposes of providing for the payment of costs for environmental mitigation requirements.

This bill would require the State Air Resources Board, upon the execution of an agreement with the joint powers authority, to evaluate and determine with the air quality planning completed by the authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of the QSA. In the event that the state board concludes that additional mitigation measures are needed, the bill would require the state board to submit recommendation to the authority. begin delete The bill would authorize moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the state board for the above purposes. end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

(a)  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The Salton Sea is California’s largest lake, covering
begin insert approximately end insert 365 square miles, and it serves as an important stop
on the annual Pacific Flyway migratory route, supporting over 400
species of birds and representing over two-thirds of all birds in the
continental United States.

(2) The Salton Sea is located in the Imperial Valley and
Coachella Valley of southern California and rests in close
proximity to thousands of residents.

(3) In 2003, the Legislature enacted statutes (Chapters 611, 612,
and 613 of the Statutes of 2003) to facilitate the execution and
implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA)
and related agreements, including a transfer of conserved water
from the Imperial Irrigation District to the San Diego Water
Authority. As part of those statutes, the Legislature declared its
intent that the State of California undertake the restoration of the
Salton Sea ecosystem and the permanent protection of wildlife
dependent on the ecosystem.

(4) Implementation of the water transfer from the Imperial
Irrigation District to the San Diego Water Authority will reduce
agricultural drainage inflow to the Salton Sea, reducing the sea’s
depth and result in the exposure of currently submerged sea
lakebed.

(5) The exposure of previously submerged sea lakebed has the
potential to significantly increase fugitive dust emissions for
particulate matter of 10 or less microns in diameter (PM10) as
winds blow across exposed lakebed eroded fine-grained sediments
and salts, lofting them into the air.

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(6) At Owens Lake, a lake drained by the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, the cost of mitigation fugitive
dust emissions arising from the exposed lakebed has reached
$1,200,000,000.

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(6) Experience mitigating particulate matter emissions at other
exposed lakebeds has proved to be costly and has demonstrated
the need to have a proactive approach to mitigation that stresses
control measures over monitoring activities and includes a strong
adaptive management platform.

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(7) As part of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the
state entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (QSA-JPA) for
purposes of financing the mitigation of the environmental impacts
resulting from the QSA. The parties of the QSA-JPA include the
State of California acting by and through the Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial
Irrigation District, and the San Diego County Water Authority.

(8) Under the QSA-JPA, the nonstate member agencies are
liable for the cost of mitigating the environmental impacts of the
QSA up to the first $133 million. The QSA-JPA nonstate member
agencies have spent a considerable amount of time and resources
developing plans to meet this obligation.

(9) Under Section 9.2 of the QSA-JPA, the state agreed to “an
unconditional contractual obligation” to pay for the cost of
mitigating the environmental impact of the QSA above the first
$133 million in costs.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this measure,
to have the State Air Resources Board evaluate the air quality
begin delete planning completed end delete begin insert mitigation developed end insert by the Joint Powers
Authority established by QSA-JPA begin delete to determine if it is sufficient
to mitigate the air quality impacts of the QSA and ensure that when
the state assumes liability over mitigating the environmental
impacts of the QSA that the air quality mitigation work completed
by the authority continue uninterrupted end delete .

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SEC. 2.  

Section 2932 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
to read:

2932.  

There is hereby established the Salton Sea Restoration
Fund which shall be administered by the director. Money deposited
in the fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for the following purposes:

(a) Environmental and engineering studies related to the
restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife
dependent on the sea.

(b) (1) Air quality evaluations conducted by the State Air
Resources Board for purposes of providing the joint powers
authority established pursuant to Chapter 613 of the Statutes of
2003 with guidance on how to appropriately mitigate the air quality
impacts resulting from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, “Quantification
Settlement Agreement” has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 1 of Chapter 617 of the Statutes of 2002.

(c) Implementation of conservation measures necessary to
protect the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea,
including adaptive management measurements pursuant to Section
2081.7. These conservation measures shall be limited to the Salton
Sea and lower Colorado River ecosystems, including the Colorado
River Delta.

(d) Implementation of the preferred Salton Sea restoration
alternative.

(e) Administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related
to the development and selection of the preferred Salton Sea
restoration alternative.

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begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 42750) is added
to Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

 

Chapter  6. Salton Sea Dust Mitigation

 

42750.  

Unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this
chapter, the following terms mean the following:

(a) “Air districts” means the Imperial County Air Pollution
Control District and South Coast Air Quality Management District.

(b) “Authority” means the begin insert water transfer end insert joint powers authority
established pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to
Chapter 613 of the Statutes of 2003.

(c) “County” means either of the following:

(1) The County of Riverside.

(2) The County of Imperial.

(d) “Quantification Settlement Agreement” has the same
meaning as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1 of Chapter 617
of the Statutes of 2002.

(e) “Valley” means either of the following:

(1) The Imperial Valley.

(2) The Coachella Valley.

42751.  

(a) Upon the execution of an agreement between the
state board and the authority for purposes of compiling the air
quality mitigation planning completed by the authority, the state
board shall evaluate and determine if the air quality planning
completed by the authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality
impacts of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

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(b) In determining if the authority’s air quality planning is
adequate to mitigate the air quality impacts of the Quantification
Settlement Agreement, the state board shall evaluate all of the
following:

(1) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(2) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from factors other than the Quantification Settlement
Agreement.

(3) The profiled Salton Sea lake bed aerosols, given chemicals
that have historically drained into the sea from both agricultural
runoff and water coming from Mexico over the New River,
including Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or “DDT.”

(4) The prioritization of mitigation measures that can be
instituted at the sea to enable both valleys to meet National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, including
the applicability of measures used to mitigate ambient dust
pollution at Owens Lake.

(c) (1)

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begin insert (b) end insert  To the extent the state board concludes additional mitigation
planning needs to take place to mitigate the air quality impacts of
the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state board shall
submit recommendations to the authority.

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(2) To the extent the state board recommends to the authority
additional planning work that needs to be completed pursuant to
paragraph (1), the state board shall make recommendations in a
manner to minimize costs on the authority, including both of the
following:

end delete begin delete

(A) The appropriate agencies or departments with whom the
authority may work, including the air districts for purposes of
accessing work the air districts have already completed as part of
their state implementation plan planning activities.

end delete begin delete

(B) The appropriate number, model, and placement of air quality
monitors in the Salton Sea basin to ensure aerosols arising from
the sea are properly monitored.

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(d)

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begin insert ( end insert begin insert c) end insert  This section does not modify existing roles, responsibilities,
or liabilities of the State of California, the County of Imperial, the
County of Riverside, or any other governmental agency, under the
Quantification Settlement Agreement.

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(e) Moneys in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the state board
for purposes of this chapter.

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