BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 142 (Bigelow) - Wild and scenic rivers: Mokelumne River.
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|Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 142 would require the secretary of the Natural
Resources Agency (secretary) to study and report on the
suitability of designating the Mokelumne River, its tributaries,
or portions thereof, under the California Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act.
Fiscal
Impact: One-time costs of up to $250,000 to the General Fund
for the Natural Resources Agency to complete the required study.
Background: The California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (act) declares that
it is the policy of the state that certain rivers that possess
extraordinary scenic, recreational, fishery, or wildlife values
be preserved in their "free-flowing" state, together with their
immediate environments, for the benefit of the people of the
state. The act declares that such use of these rivers is the
highest and most beneficial use, and is a reasonable and
AB 142 (Bigelow) Page 1 of
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beneficial use of water.
Rivers or segments of rivers designed under the act (i.e. "the
system") are classified as one of the following:
Wild rivers, which are those rivers or segments of rivers that
are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by
trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and
waters unpolluted;
Scenic rivers, which are those rivers or segments of rivers
that are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds
still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped,
but accessible in places by roads; or
Recreational rivers, which are those rivers or segments of
rivers that are readily accessible by road or railroad, may
have some development along their shorelines, and may have
undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require the secretary to study the suitability
of designating the Mokelumne River, its tributaries, or portions
thereof, as additions to the system. The study would be required
to consider the following:
The potential effects of the proposed designation on the
ability of public agencies and utilities within the watershed
to meet current and future water requirements;
Any effects of climate change on river values;
The Mokelumne Watershed interregional Sustainability
Evaluation, Final Report dated June 12, 2015;
The instances where the a water diversion facility may be
constructed on a river or segment of a river that is part of a
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system;
The instances where the State Water Resources Control Board
has approved an application to appropriate water from a river
or segment of a river that is part of the system; and
Public input from abroad range of stakeholders.
The study would be required to include the secretary's
recommendations and to be submitted to the Governor and the
Legislature by December 31, 2017.
No dam, reservoir, diversion, or other water impoundment
facility may be constructed on any segment of the Mokelumne
River that is a potential addition to the system until the
completion of the study and report, or December 31, 2021,
whichever occurs first, unless the secretary determines that the
facility is needed to supply domestic water and that the
facility will not adversely affect the free-flowing condition
and natural character of the river and segment.
Related
Legislation: SB 1199 (Hancock), 2014) would have designated a
37-mile portion of the Mokelumne River in Calaveras and Amador
Counties in the Sierra Nevada as a wild and scenic river. SB
1199 was held in the Assembly Appropriation Committee on
suspense.
Staff
Comments: Supporters of the bill note that there are a number
of existing studies and reports that can contribute to the study
required by the bill. Specifically, the supporters note the US
Forest Service Final Environmental Impact Report for its North
Fork Mokelumne Wild and Scenic River study and sections of the
BLM Resource Management Plan that relate to Wild and Scenic
eligibility and suitability for the river.
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The Natural Resources Agency anticipates that the study required
by the bill will cost approximately $250,000 to the General
Fund. According to the agency, these costs take into account the
existing information. The agency notes that although there is a
fair amount of existing data, it will still require a
significant amount of workload to review and compile the
information. Also, there will are some areas that aren't covered
by existing documents that will require study.
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