BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 142
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
142 (Bigelow)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-3 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: |39-0 |(September 9, |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY: Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
(NRA) to conduct a study analyzing the suitability or
non-suitability of adding segments of the Mokelumne River and
its tributaries to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System (System).
This bill also specifies what must be considered during the
study, requires recommendations on the suitability or
nonsuitability of segments for addition to the System, and
creates interim protections while the study is being completed
and implemented or until December 31, 2021.
The Senate amendments:
1)Add intent language clarifying that entities responsible for
the Mokelumne Watershed Interregional Sustainability
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Evaluation Program are allowed to seek state funding for which
the feasibility studies and assessments.
2)Add intent language that declares until the completion of the
study and report and the implementation of any recommendation
to add segments to the wild and scenic rivers system, or until
December 31, 2021, whichever occurs first, state and local
government entities are allowed to participate in any
collaborative process convened by the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company to discuss a pumped storage project in the upper
Mokelumne River watershed, if the project is designed to avoid
harm to the free-flowing condition and natural character of
the segments of the river.
3)Require the study to consider feasibility specified studies
and assessments.
4)Extend deadline of the study and report by a year and ends
interim protections by December 31, 2021.
5)Require NRA to enter into a cost-sharing agreement with the
Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority and allows the state
to pay no more than 50% of the cost of the study and report.
6)Revise the segments of the Mokelumne River that are designated
for potential addition to the system.
7)Add the maintenance, repair, or operation by the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company of the Mokelumne River Project to
projects exempt from prohibition of state assistance for
projects that could have an adverse effect on the free-flowing
condition and natural character of the segments designated for
study.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the California Wild and Scenic Rivers
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Act (Act):
1)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 and enjoyment of the people of
the state. Declares that such use of these rivers is the
highest and most beneficial use and is a reasonable and
beneficial use of water.
2)Defines "free-flowing" as existing or flowing without
artificial impoundment, diversion, or other modification of
the river. (The presence of low dams, diversion works, and
other minor structures does not automatically bar a river's
inclusion within the System.)
3)Requires that those rivers or segments of rivers included in
the System be classified as one of the following:
a) 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;
b) 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
c) 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.
4)Designates several California rivers and segments thereof as
components of the System.
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5)Requires the NRA to be responsible for coordinating the
activities of state agencies whose activities affect the
rivers in the System with those of other state, local, and
federal agencies with jurisdiction over matters that may
affect the rivers.
6)Requires the NRA to study and submit to the Governor and
Legislature reports on the suitability or nonsuitability for
addition to the system when the Legislature designates
potential additions to the system. The reports shall include
the following:
a) Recommendations and proposals with respect to the
designation of a river or segment;
b) Maps and illustrations to show the area included within
the report;
c) Characteristics which do or do not make the area a
worthy addition to the system;
d) Status of land ownership and use;
e) Potential uses which will be enhanced, foreclosed, or
curtailed if included in the System.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
one-time costs of up to $125,000 to the General Fund for NRA to
complete the required study with 50% of the resources for the
study coming from the upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority.
COMMENTS: The Act was passed in 1972 to preserve designated
rivers possessing extraordinary scenic, recreation, fishery, or
wildlife values. With its initial passage, the System protected
segments of the Smith River and tributaries, Klamath River and
tributaries, Scott River, Salmon River, Trinity River, Eel
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River, Van Duzen River, and American River. The System was
subsequently expanded by the Legislature to include the East
Carson and West Walker rivers in 1989, the South Yuba River in
1999, the Albion River and Gualala Rivers in 2003, and Cache
Creek in 2005. In addition, segments of the McCloud River, Deer
Creek, and Mill Creek were protected under the Act in 1989 and
1995 respectively, although these segments were not formally
designated as components of the System.
The Act provides a number of legal protections for rivers
included within the System. The Act defines "free-flowing" as
"existing or flowing without artificial impoundment, diversion,
or other modification of the river." The existence of minor
structures, or even major dams located upstream or downstream of
a specific segment, does not preclude a river from designation.
Several rivers, such as the Klamath, Trinity, Eel, and lower
American, are included in the System despite substantial flow
modifications by existing upstream dams and impoundments.
No dam, reservoir, diversion, or other water impoundment
facility may be constructed on any river segment included in the
System. However, there are exemptions, which include temporary
flood storage facilities on the Eel River and temporary
recreational impoundments on river segments with a history of
such impoundments. NRA cannot authorize these temporary
recreational impoundments without first making a number of
findings.
Located in the Central Sierra, the Mokelumne is a hard-working
river with dams and diversions providing irrigation water for
agriculture in the Central Valley while also generating
hydro-electricity for more than 200,000 homes. The water
quality found in the North Fork and main stem of the Mokelumne
River has been found to be extremely high. The East Bay
Municipal Utilities District serves approximately 1.4 million
residents of the East Bay with drinking water from this river
segment.
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The river is home to diverse wildlife populations, rare
wildlife, and a trout fishery. It also features deep granite
canyons, the massive Devil's Nose and Calaveras Dome, cascading
waterfalls, dramatic gorges, and mature riparian forests that
afford increasingly rare opportunities to view isolated,
primitive mid-Sierra natural beauty. The river is enjoyed by
many for recreation such as swimming, whitewater kayaking and
rafting, and hiking.
While Public Resources Code Section 5093.547 does require the
NRA to study potential additions to the system, no study has
been conducted in over 20 years. AB 3101 (Sher) of 1986 and AB
653 (Sher) of 1993 required studies by the NRA, which included a
proposed designation, interim protections while the study was
conducted, and a due date for the study.
Rivers have been added to the system by the Legislature without
studies. The Legislature added the South Yuba River in 1999,
the Albion River and Gualala Rivers in 2003, and Cache Creek in
2005 to the System without a study.
Analysis Prepared by:
Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN:
0002344