BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 148 Page 1 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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 Page 4 REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Opposition None on file. None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916) 319-2096