BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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SENATE THIRD READING
SCR 90 (Hueso)
As Amended May 12, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
NATURAL RESOURCES 9-0
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Dahle, Bigelow, | | |
| |Garcia, Muratsuchi, | | |
| |Patterson, Skinner, | | |
| |Stone, Williams | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Declares the Legislature's commitment to work with the
Tijuana River Valley Recovery Team (Recovery Team) to protect
and preserve the Tijuana River Valley's (Valley) diverse and
unique ecological, recreational, and cultural resources.
Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes the following findings:
a) Originating in Mexico, the Tijuana River crosses the
international boundary into the United States near San
Ysidro, California, then flows westerly to discharge into
the Pacific Ocean at about 1.5 miles north of the Mexican
border where it forms the Tijuana River Estuary (Estuary),
partly located in the State of California and partly in
Mexico.
b) Parts of the Estuary are protected by the Department of
Parks and Recreation as the Border Field State Park.
c) The Estuary is also protected by the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, and is designated as a "Wetland of
International Importance" through the United Nations Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands.
d) The Estuary is one of only two coastal estuaries in
southern California large enough, and unimpeded by
development, to be resilient to climate change. It is also
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the only coastal lagoon in southern California that is
primarily under public ownership and not bisected by roads
and railroads, contributing to its economic resiliency and
value.
e) The City of San Diego declared the existence of a state
of emergency related to the potential for severe flooding
in the Valley, posing a possibility of peril to persons or
property.
f) Decades of scientific research prove that sediment,
trash, and high concentrations of other urban,
agricultural, and industrial pollutants carried in
stormwater runoff flowing into California from Mexico
currently threaten the Valley's environmental health and
viability.
g) In addition to the environmental impact caused by the
transport and deposition of trash and sediment, the
watershed is in danger of losing valuable ecological,
recreational, and economic resources.
h) The only way to effectively restore and protect
environmental and human health issues in the Valley is to
address transboundary flows of trash and sediment at the
source, requiring binational cooperation.
i) The Recovery Team is a collaboration of more than 30
federal, state, and local agencies and other interested
parties from both sides of the border focused on addressing
sediment, trash, and associated environmental issues
through the Tijuana River Valley Recovery Strategy
(Recovery Strategy).
j) The Recovery Strategy emphasizes binational
collaboration on wastewater improvements, trash control,
sediment and flood control, and ecosystem restoration.
2)Declares the Legislature's commitment to work with the
Recovery Team to protect the Valley's diverse and unique
ecological, recreational, cultural, and educational
opportunities and preserve this natural jewel located within a
binational metropolitan area.
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3)States the intent of the Legislature to encourage
collaboration with the Recovery Team to do both of the
following:
a) To protect and enhance our natural resources through
improved management of sediment and trash, flood control,
ecosystem management, and recreation and education; and,
b) To promote bilateral ties that will be beneficial to the
enhancement of one of California's most resilient
ecosystems.
4)Requires the Secretary of the Senate to transmit copies of the
resolution to the Secretary for United States Environmental
Protection Agency and to the author for appropriate
distribution.
EXISTING LAW : Creates the San Diego Regional Water Quality
Control Board, which comprises all basins draining into the
Pacific Ocean between the southern boundary of the Santa Ana
region and the California-Mexico boundary.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : The Tijuana River Watershed is an approximately
1,700-square mile area that straddles the United States and
Mexico international border. The watershed is a diverse and
complex drainage system ranging from 6,000-foot pine
forest-covered mountains to the tidal saltwater estuary at the
mouth of the Tijuana River. Nearly three-quarters of the
watershed is located in Mexico, but the watershed drains to the
Pacific Ocean through the eight-square mile valley located
adjacent to the border. The Valley is home to tidally flushed
wetland, riparian, and upland habitats supporting a broad range
of organisms, including threatened and endangered species. In
addition, a number of federally listed historical and
archaeological sites exist in the Valley, some dating back 8,000
years.
Unfortunately, the Valley is increasingly threatened by
stormwater flows that contain trash and high concentrations of
other urban, agricultural, and industrial pollutants in the
Tijuana River and its tributaries. Additionally, the soils in
the watershed are highly susceptible to erosion, especially when
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disturbed. Due to urbanization, even moderate storms can bring
significant flows of sediment downstream. As stormwater flows
to the ocean, the intermixed sediment, trash and other debris
are deposited in channels, among vegetation in the Valley
floodplain, and in the estuary. These conditions create an
environment where mosquitoes and other vectors can impact human
health and the environment. Also, storm flows transport exotic
invasive plant species that threaten native plant communities
and negatively affect habitat for native wildlife. The
interaction of sediment and trash deposits severely threatens
habitat, water quality and other resources in the region.
The "mission" of the Recovery Team is to bring together the
governmental, administrative, regulatory, and funding agencies
in tandem with advice from the scientific community, the
environmental community, and affected stakeholders to protect
the Valley from future accumulations of trash and sediment,
identify, remove, recycle or dispose of existing trash and
sediment, and restore the Tijuana River floodplain to a balanced
wetland ecosystem.
The Recovery Team's "vision" is a Valley free of historical
trash and sediment, protected from future deposits of trash and
sediment, restored to a sustained physical, chemical and
biological integrity, and performing its hydrologic functions,
while respecting the interests of current and future landowners
and users.
The Recovery Team has developed the Recovery Strategy, which has
two purposes. First, it is intended to be a concise summary of
the first phase of actions to clean up the Valley and restore
its beneficial uses. Second, it is intended to outline the
steps in a way that will allow stakeholders, policy makers, and
potential funding sources have a clear understanding of both the
problems and the solutions that will allow the Recovery Team to
achieve its vision and mission. Ultimately, members of the
Recovery Team will implement the strategy through enhanced
relationships and partnerships.
The Recovery Strategy acknowledges that resolution to the
sediment and trash problems will require partnerships between
the United States and Mexico to provide watershed-based
solutions. As such, one if its main goals is to develop this
partnership between the two countries.
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Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0004007