BILL NUMBER: AB 763 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 17, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 29, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Buchanan
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to add Section 64.5 to the Harbors and Navigation Code,
relating to aquatic invasive plants.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 763, Buchanan. Aquatic invasive plants: control and
eradication.
Existing law designates the Division of Boating and Waterways as
the lead agency of the state for the purpose of cooperating with
agencies of the United States and other public agencies in
controlling certain invasive plants in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, its tributaries, and the marsh, and authorizes the division to
furnish money, services, equipment, and other property for the
control of those invasive plants.
This bill would additionally designate the division as the lead
agency of the state for the purpose of cooperating with other state,
local, and federal agencies in identifying, detecting, controlling,
and administering programs to manage invasive aquatic plants, as
defined, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and
the Suisun Marsh. The bill would authorize the division, in
consultation with appropriate state, local, and federal agencies, and
upon concurrence from the Department of Fish and Wildlife following
the completion of a specified assessment described in the bill, to
take such action it determines is necessary to implement control and,
when feasible, eradication measures for those invasive aquatic
plants.
This bill would require the division to regularly consult with the
United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the University of California, and other members of
the scientific and research communities, and other state agencies
with authority over the control of invasive aquatic plants, to
determine which species of those plants should be given the highest
priority for management and to determine the best control, and, when
feasible, eradication measures. The bill would also require the
division, after consulting with those entities, if it identifies a
species of aquatic plant that may be invasive and need to be
controlled or eradicated, to notify the Department of Fish and
Wildlife of the potential threat from that aquatic plant.
The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, after
receipt of that notice, in consultation with other appropriate local,
state, and federal agencies, to conduct a risk assessment of that
aquatic plant species to determine whether the plant species presents
a threat to the environment, economy, or human health, as determined
after consideration of specified factors. The bill would require the
risk assessment to specify whether the aquatic plant under
consideration has been determined to be an invasive aquatic plant.
The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, within 60
days after completing that assessment, to report its findings to the
division so that the division may take any necessary action to
control and, when feasible, eradicate an invasive aquatic plant, as
authorized under the bill.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The spread of invasive aquatic plants is a continuing problem
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun
Marsh.
(b) Invasive aquatic plants impact the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh by creating navigational
obstructions and hazards for boats and other watercraft; impairing
recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, and hunting;
damaging water supply infrastructure and flood protection systems;
altering water quality; and degrading the physical and chemical
characteristics of fish and wildlife habitat.
(c) Coordinated, early-stage response to introductions of invasive
aquatic plants is critical to long-term control and management of
those invasive species to protect the state's environment, economy,
and human health from harmful impacts of those invasive species.
(d) Authorizing the Division of Boating and Waterways to cooperate
with other state, federal, and local agencies in the identification
and management of invasive aquatic plants in lieu of requiring that
the division undertake legislative action each time a new species of
invasive aquatic plant is identified, would enable the state to
manage and control invasive aquatic plants in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh in a more
cost-efficient and effective manner than is currently implemented.
SEC. 2. Section 64.5 is added to the Harbors and Navigation Code,
to read:
64.5. (a) The division is designated as the lead agency of the
state for the purpose of cooperating with other state, local, and
federal agencies in identifying, detecting, controlling, and
administering programs to manage invasive aquatic plants in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh.
The division, in consultation with appropriate state, local, and
federal agencies, may take such action it determines is necessary,
upon concurrence from the Department of Fish and Wildlife following
the completion of the risk assessment described in subdivision (c),
to implement control and, when feasible, eradication measures for
invasive aquatic plants. Any actions taken to control invasive
aquatic plants shall be in compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations and conducted in an environmentally sound manner.
(b) The division shall regularly consult with the United States
Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
University of California, and other members of the scientific and
research communities, as well as other state agencies with authority
over the control of invasive aquatic plants to determine which
species of those plants should be given the highest priority for
management and determine the best control and, when feasible,
eradication measures.
(c) (1) After consulting with the various entities as required in
subdivision (b), if the division identifies a species of aquatic
plant that may be invasive and need to be controlled or eradicated,
the division shall notify the Department of Fish and Wildlife of the
potential threat from that aquatic plant species. After receipt of
that notice, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in consultation
with other appropriate local, state, and federal agencies, including,
but not limited to, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the
Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control
Board, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, shall conduct a risk
assessment of the aquatic plant species identified by the division to
determine whether the plant species is invasive and presents a
threat to the environment, economy, or human health. In making that
determination, the Department of Fish and Wildlife shall take prompt
action to minimize detrimental impacts and costs of management, and
shall consider all of the following:
(A) Whether the aquatic plant species may obstruct navigation and
recreational uses of waterways.
(B) Whether the aquatic plant species may cause environmental
damage, including threats to the health and stability of fisheries,
impairment to birds' access to waterways and nesting, roosting, and
foraging areas, deterioration of water quality resulting from plant
decay, and harm to native plants.
(C) Whether the aquatic plant species may cause harm to the state'
s economy, infrastructure, or manmade facilities such as state water
storage facilities and pumping operations, by increasing flood risk,
threatening water supplies by blocking pumps, canals, and dams
necessitating early control efforts.
(2) Based on factors specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)
of paragraph (1) and any other environmental, economic, or human
health impacts, the risk assessment shall specify whether the plant
species under consideration has been determined to be an invasive
aquatic plant. Findings from the risk assessment shall be documented
in a way that clearly describes the severity and types of impacts
caused by a plant species determined to be an invasive aquatic plant.
(3) Within 60 days after completing the risk assessment required
by paragraph (1), the Department of Fish and Wildlife shall report
its findings to the division so that the division may take any
necessary action to control and, when feasible, eradicate an invasive
aquatic plant, as authorized under subdivision (a).
(d) For purposes of this section, "invasive aquatic plant" means
an aquatic plant or algae species, including its seeds, fragments,
and other biological materials capable of propagating that species,
whose proliferation or dominant colonization of an area causes or is
likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human
health.
(e) Aquatic plants shall be determined to be invasive through the
risk assessment required to be completed by the Department of Fish
and Wildlife in consultation with the division and other state,
local, and federal agencies pursuant to subdivision (c).