BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 811 (Lara) - State Highway Route 710 expansion project:
mitigation.
Amended: May 6, 2013 Policy Vote: T&H 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 20, 2013 Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 811 would require the final environmental
document for the I-710 expansion project to include an
investment in mitigation measures for the affected communities
of at least 10 percent of the total project costs.
Fiscal Impact:
Estimated increased project costs, potentially in the range
of $250 million, for increased mitigation investments in the
I-710 corridor beyond what would otherwise be provided
(State Highway Account, Bond Funds).
Minor costs to Caltrans to report to the Legislature on the
identified mitigation measures to be included in the I-710
expansion project.
Background: The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
requires lead agencies, such as the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) for
each project it undertakes, unless the project is exempt from
CEQA requirements. The lead agency must develop the EIR before
it can move forward with a project, which is done through an
iterative public engagement process. Generally, an EIR
describes the proposed project, evaluates a range of reasonable
alternatives to the project, identifies and analyzes all
expected significant environmental impacts, and determines
feasible mitigation measures to reduce those impacts. At the
end of the process, the lead agency formally approves the
environmental review. The public has an opportunity to
challenge an EIR in court if it feels the process was inadequate
or the lead agency did not consider appropriate alternatives.
In this way, CEQA is intended to ensure better environmental
outcomes than otherwise would occur through project development.
SB 811 (Lara)
Page 1
The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) is a vital transportation artery,
linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to Southern
California and beyond. An essential component of the regional,
statewide, and national transportation system, it serves both
passenger and goods movement traffic that travels from the ports
to inland railroad facilities. The existing I-710 Corridor has
elevated levels of health risks related to high levels of diesel
particulate emissions, traffic congestion, high truck volumes,
high accident rates, and many design features in need of
modernization (the original freeway was built in the 1950s and
1960s). Caltrans, Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (LACMTA), and other regional partners
are preparing an EIR to analyze the range of possible
improvement alternatives to the I-710 corridor. The project
study area extends for 18 miles from the waterfront ports to the
Pomona Freeway, and encompasses 15 cities and unincorporated
areas adjacent to the freeway.
Caltrans indicates that the options currently under
consideration for the I-710 corridor project will cost between
$3 billion and $5 billion, and staff notes that the most likely
options are in the higher range. The project is in the early
stages of the environmental review process; Caltrans expects a
second draft EIR to be released sometime next year, and approval
of a final environmental document is at least four or five years
away. Construction is not anticipated to begin until at least
2020.
Proposed Law: SB 811 would require the final environmental
document approved by Caltrans for the I-710 project to include
an investment in mitigation measures for the affected
communities, including the Los Angeles River, of at least ten
percent of the total project costs. Caltrans would be required
to consult with interested community organizations and consider
alternatives to address the air quality, public health, and
mobility impacts the project will have on neighboring
communities. The bill would also require Caltrans to submit a
report to the Legislature at least 90 days prior to release of
the final environmental document that describes the identified
mitigation measures.
Staff Comments: This bill is intended to ensure that mitigation
measures identified in the final environmental document for the
SB 811 (Lara)
Page 2
I-710 project not only provide for mitigation of the impacts of
the proposed project, but also address the freeway's current
impacts on communities in the project area that have suffered
from adverse public health and environmental impacts for years.
Staff notes that requiring the mitigation investments to be at
least ten percent of the total project costs will result in
substantial increased state costs associated with the I-710
project. In addition, there is no known precedent of
identifying a specific percentage of mitigation investments
related to a project in statute. Mitigation is provided as part
of the environmental process under current law and there is no
way to accurately determine a specific percentage of project
costs as mitigation in advance since there is no direct
correlation between project costs and the impacts of a project.
While somewhat speculative at this early stage, Caltrans is
expected to perform approximately $250 million in mitigation
measures associated with the I-710 project. If project costs
are $5 billion, this bill would require mitigation investments
of at least $500 million, an increase of at least $250 million
beyond the currently expected mitigation costs.
Recommended Amendments: The bill includes codified legislative
findings and declarations. Staff recommends that page 3, lines
3-11 be removed and placed in an uncodified stand-alone section,
for purposes of clarity in the codes.