BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 148
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Date of Hearing: January 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
AB 148 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Salton Sea
SUMMARY : Makes technical and clarifying changes to provisions
of law enacted last year related to restoration of the Salton
Sea. Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies that nothing in specific provisions of existing law
authorizing the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
(Secretary), in consultation with the Salton Sea Authority
(SSA), to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts, alters any
state responsibility or authority under the Quantification
Settlement Agreement (QSA).
2)Clarifies that the SSA may undertake a feasibility study in
consultation with the Secretary.
3)Clarifies that studies and evaluations undertaken for purposes
of the feasibility study shall not delay the planning and
implementation of other ongoing and planned restoration or
mitigation projects, including, but not limited to, the Salton
Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project, or other measures
authorized pursuant to other existing state and federal
programs and agreements.
4)Revises a statement of legislative intent regarding
restoration of the Salton Sea to refer to the Legislature's
intent to protect, rather than permanently protect, fish and
wildlife dependent on the Salton Sea ecosystem.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Secretary, in consultation and coordination with
the SSA, to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts.
2)Authorizes the SSA to lead a funding and feasibility study in
consultation with the Natural Resources Agency
3)Requires the Secretary to seek input from the SSA with regard
to specified components of restoration of the Salton Sea.
AB 148
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill makes primarily technical and clarifying
amendments to provisions of existing law enacted last year by AB
71 (V. Manuel Perez). AB 71 required the Secretary, in
consultation and coordination with the SSA, to lead Salton Sea
restoration efforts, and authorized the SSA to lead a funding
and feasibility study in consultation with the Natural Resources
Agency. AB 71 filled the governance void created by
elimination of the Salton Sea Restoration Council in the 2012
Budget Act. According to the author, the technical corrections
in this bill are being taken at the request of the
Administration to clarify that AB 71 did not alter any state
responsibilities or authorities under the QSA.
The QSA is a collection of agreements between the Imperial
Irrigation District (IID), Metropolitan Water District, San
Diego County Water Authority, the Coachella Valley Water
District, and the state, that included approval of water
transfers from IID to San Diego, settled a number of claims to
the Colorado River, and provided a transition period for the
state to reduce its consumption of Colorado River water to its
4.4 million acre feet entitlement. Under the QSA, the amount of
water flowing into the Salton Sea will be significantly reduced
after 2017. In 2003, the Legislature approved a package of
implementing legislation related to the QSA and calling for
restoration of the Salton Sea.
The Salton Sea, California's largest lake, is located in a
low-lying trough or desert sink in Southern California, much of
which is below sea level. The current sea was formed in 1905
when the Colorado River flooded its banks at a faulty irrigation
diversion site. However, the sea bed has periodically filled
and receded numerous times, from prehistoric times through the
1800s. The present sea is fed primarily by agricultural runoff.
Since it has no natural outlet, it is becoming increasingly
saline and is considerably saltier than the ocean. The Salton
Sea is one of the most important wetland areas in California for
migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, since over 95% of
California's historical wetlands have been converted to other
land uses. The Salton Sea supports over 400 species of birds,
and is an internationally significant stopover site for hundreds
of thousands of birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway.
Recently, fishery resources in the sea have declined
AB 148
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significantly due to increasing salinity, evaporation and
declining water quality. It is generally recognized that
without restoration efforts the ecosystem of the Salton Sea will
collapse over the next decade or two. The shrinking Sea also
poses significant air quality concerns for residents in the
region.
Most recently, the state has begun moving forward with some
habitat restoration projects around the Salton Sea called for in
the recently approved state and federal Salton Sea Species
Conservation Habitat Project EIR/EIS. The IID also recently
released a report on the potential for renewable energy
development around the Sea to help fund restoration efforts.
The report notes significant revenue generation potential,
particularly for geothermal and mineral recovery, but also notes
there are significant challenges in realizing that potential,
including the need for financing and construction of an energy
transmission line to deliver energy generated at the Sea to
buyers in other regions.
One provision of this bill that could potentially be interpreted
as a policy change from last year's AB 71, instead in effect
establishes a savings clause that clarifies the intent of AB 71
was not to alter the state's responsibilities or authorities
under the QSA. The language of AB 71 that is being modified and
which took effect on January 1 of this year currently reads "the
secretary and the Legislature shall maintain full authority and
responsibility for any state obligation under the Quantification
Settlement Agreement. The secretary and the Legislature shall
have final approval for any proposed restoration plan." This
language is being modified in AB 148 to read instead "Nothing in
this article shall alter any state responsibility under the
Quantification Settlement Agreement or the state's authority to
carry out any responsibility under the Quantification Settlement
Agreement." According to the author, this rewording more
accurately reflects the intent of AB 71, which was not to alter
or affect the Legislature's or state's responsibilities or
authorities under the QSA. Additionally, with regard to the
approval of restoration plans, the Legislature retains its role
of establishing the policies guiding restoration plans, which it
has done by specifying in statute in Section 2942(a)(1) what the
restoration efforts are to include. That language is unchanged
by this bill. The Legislature also retains its discretion and
authority to approve any future state appropriations for funding
of restoration.
AB 148
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
None on file. None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096