BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 147
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Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 147 (V.M. Perez) - As Amended: April 22, 2013
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 15-0
Natural Resources 9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to evaluate and
make recommendations regarding Salton Sea dust mitigation
planning completed by the Quantification Settlement Agreement
Joint Powers Authority (QSA-JPA) and authorizes the use of
Salton Sea Restoration Funds, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for this purpose. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires ARB, upon execution of an agreement with the QSA-JPA,
to evaluate and determine if the air quality planning
completed by the QSA-JPA is sufficient to mitigate the air
quality impacts of the QSA.
2)Requires ARB, in making this determination, to evaluate:
a) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake
bed arising from the QSA.
b) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake
bed arising from factors other than the QSA.
c) The profiled 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.
d) The prioritization of mitigation measures that can be
instituted to enable Imperial and Coachella 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.
e) Requires ARB, if it concludes additional mitigation
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planning is necessary, to submit specified recommendations
to the QSA-JPA.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Increased one-time costs to the ARB in the $200,000 range and
ongoing costs in the $200,000 to $400,000 range. These costs
would likely either be reimbursed or paid out of the Salton
Sea Restoration Funds.
Estimates are based on ARB's experience in participating on
the Air Quality Committee of the Salton Sea Restoration
Project advising DWR and the Imperial Irrigation District of
the baseline air quality monitoring needs and potential air
quality impacts under various scenarios and on ARB's
experience in evaluating the history of Owens Lake dust
mitigation research, pilot testing, and implementation as part
of staff analysis of the appeals of Great Basin Unified Air
Pollution Control District control orders by the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The exposure of previously submerged Salton Sea
lakebed has the potential to significantly increase fugitive
dust emissions for particulate matter posing serious health
threats to the surrounding communities if actions are not
taken to mitigate air quality impacts under any restoration
scenarios.
2)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.
3) The Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA). The QSA was a
negotiated settlement between the Imperial Irrigation
District, The Metropolitan District of Southern California,
the Coachella Water District, the San Diego Water Authority
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and the state to settle claims to Colorado River water. The
QSA 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.
4)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.
5)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
first meeting.
This bill instead requires the Natural Resources Agency and
the Salton Sea Authority to update prior funding and
feasibility studies.
6)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)
AB 147
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319-2081