BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 761
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
AB 761
(Levine) - As Amended April 21, 2015
SUBJECT: Carbon sequestration: working lands
SUMMARY: Declares that $50 million shall be available upon
appropriation by the Legislature to the Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to establish a grant program to fund projects
that increase carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions reduction on working lands. Specifically, this bill:
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding data
showing soil and vegetation management practices can enhance
soil carbon sequestration and produce environmental and
agricultural co-benefits, and the existence of specific
management strategies with potential to sequester carbon and
help meet state GHG emission reduction goals. Further finds
California's agricultural lands and rangelands account for
nearly 50% of the state's land area and hold potential to
sequester millions of tons of carbon, enhance agricultural
productivity, and increase resilience to climate change and
drought.
2)Declares that $50 million shall be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to CDFA to establish a grant
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program to fund voluntary projects that increase carbon
sequestration and GHG emissions reductions on working lands.
3)Provides that a project shall be eligible for grant funding if
the project is both on working lands and assists the state in
meeting its GHG emission reduction goals.
4)Requires CDFA to prioritize funding for projects that provide
the greatest level of the following benefits:
a) Demonstrate carbon farm planning;
b) Sequester carbon in agricultural soils;
c) Reduce irrigation demand;
d) Increase yield and productivity on working lands;
e) Enhance habitat;
f) Reduce water quality impacts from agricultural
lands.
5)Requires CDFA, in consultation with the Department of
Conservation (DOC), the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery, the State Air Resources Board (ARB), and the
Department of Water Resources (DWR), to develop and adopt
project solicitation and evaluation guidelines to implement
the grant program.
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6)Requires CDFA to quantify the benefits of each project funded
and post the evaluation information on their Internet Web
site.
7)Defines Carbon Farm Planning for purposes of this bill to mean
a landscape-level conservation planning process designed to
identify GHG emissions reducation and sequestration and
mitigation opportunities on working lands and to quantify
those GHG benefits using the United States Department of
Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other
quantification tools.
8)Defines Working Lands for purposes of this bill to mean
privately-owned agricultural lands, ranches, and rangelands.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires CDFA to establish and oversee an environmental
farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose
practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality,
and wildlife and their habitats.
2)Requires, pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions
Act (AB 32), ARB to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit
equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and
regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective GHG emission reductions.
3)Requires a 20% reduction in urban per capita water use by
2020, and requires agricultural water management plans and
efficient water management practices for agricultural water
suppliers.
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4)Authorizes the DOC's Division of Resource Conservation to work
with Resource Conservation Districts on soil and water
conservation objectives.
5)Requires generators of organic waste to arrange recycling
services for the organic waste material.
6)Proposition 1, the Water Bond approved by the voters in
November 2014, makes $7.5 billion in general obligation bond
funds available for, among other things, programs to increase
water conservation and efficiency, and for ecosystem and
watershed protection and restoration. $35 million is
authorized to be used by DWR for loans to local agencies to
aid in the acquisition and construction of agricultural water
conservation projects. Requires DWR to determine if there
will be a net saving of water as a result of each project and
if the project is determined by DWR to be cost effective.
FISCAL EFFECT: Specifies that $50 million shall be available
upon appropriation of the Legislature from an unspecified fund
source.
COMMENTS:
1) Author's Statement: This bill seeks to fund studies to
examine what agricultural practices will best enhance the
inherent carbon sequestration associated with working lands,
as well as reduce agricultural water needs through water
retention. AB 761 establishes a $50 million grant program to
fund pilot projects to expand use of composting and other
best agricultural management practices on working lands.
Research shows these practices are expected to increase soil
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carbon sequestration (reduce GHG emissions), improve water
retention, and make agricultural land more resilient to
climate change and drought. There is an opportunity based on
research conducted by the University of California at
Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in Marin and Yuba counties to see
great benefits from improved agricultural practices. This
bill is needed to explore if that opportunity exists in
settings outside of what was studied in Marin and Yuba
counties. That research specifically called for further
evaluation.
2) Marin Study highlights: A report published in 2014 on
research conducted by UC Berkeley over 7 years on 540 acres
in Marin County found that use of compost on rangeland could
sequester up to 3 year's worth of California's total annual
GHG emissions. This was based on a one-time only dusting of
compost. This and other studies show that a one-time dusting
of compost will allow the land to sequester carbon for at
least 30 years and maybe for as much as a century. The
research also indicated that water needs for rangeland can be
reduced by 25 percent while creating healthier rangeland that
has more native grasses. This bill seeks to determine
whether these remarkable results can be replicated on
rangeland and other agricultural settings throughout
California. The grant program could thus lead to a
significant increase in the capacity of the agricultural
sector to reduce overall GHG emissions. Additionally, these
practices hold promise to make agricultural lands more
drought resistant, and to reduce overall water irrigation
needs for agriculture.
3) Double-referral to Assembly Natural Resources Committee:
This bill was double-referred to the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee which heard this bill on April 13, 2015,
and passed it on a vote of 8-1.
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4) Potential water saving benefits in line with state goals:
The Assembly Natural Resources Committee analysis further
discusses the state's goals for GHG emissions reductions, and
the carbon sequestration potential of compost applications
and other working lands management practices. Of particular
interest to this committee, is the additional potential for
carbon farming and other management practices to increase
water retention. Specifically, this bill includes within the
categories of projects that would be eligible for grant
funding those that not only increase carbon sequestration and
GHG emissions reductions, but also produce the co-benefits of
reducing agricultural irrigation demand and making rangelands
more resilient to drought. As indicated above, the studies
in Marin and Yuba counties showed that applying compost to
rangelands improves soil water retention and can reduce water
needs by 25%. The Governor in his 2015-16 budget presents a
new "Healthy Soils" initiative, and similarly notes that
increasing carbon in soils has the benefit of increasing the
soil's water holding capacity.
The California Water Action Plan, developed by the California
Natural Resources Agency with CalEPA and CDFA, and approved
by the Governor in January 2014, states that water
conservation must become a way of life for all Californians,
and calls for expanding agricultural and urban water
conservation and efficiency. The Plan indicates that the
Administration will work with local and regional entities to
develop performance measures to evaluate agricultural water
management practices. The Plan further states that the
Administration will work with the Legislature to expand
funding for urban and agricultural water use efficiency, and
encourages the state to focus on multiple-benefit projects.
5) Prior and related legislation: AB 1826 (Chesbro), Chapter
727, Statutes of 2014, requires generators of specified
amounts of organic waste to arrange recycling services for
the organic waste matter.
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AB 2636 (Gatto), Chapter 825, Statutes of 2014, among other
things, required the proceeds of bonds authorized in
Proposition 1 to be issued and available for purposes of
loans for agricultural water conservation projects to be
transferred to the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving
Fund and used by DWR to acquire and construct agricultural
water conservation projects.
Support Arguments: Supporters emphasize that land managers of
working landscapes can dramatically increase carbon storage in
soils by employing a number of practices that are climate
beneficial, including compost application, riparian restoration,
no-till farming, windbreaks, agroforestry, and other practices.
They also note that in addition to increasing carbon
sequestration in soils and plant materials, these practices
offer additional water, habitat, and economic benefits for
farmers and other working land managers. They also emphasize
that if California is to meet its GHG reduction goals, it must
seek GHG reductions in all sectors. Working lands in California
have enormous untapped potential to contribute to achieving
these goals.
Opposition Arguments: The Center for Biological Diversity
opposed a prior version of this bill, unless amended because it
believed the bill assumes livestock rangelands are the best
possible end use of compost and would directly only fund
livestock rangelands. It should be noted that, as now amended,
this bill applies to voluntary projects on all privately owned
agricultural lands, not just rangelands, and includes a number
of types of eligible projects that may reduce GHG emissions and
sequester carbon, in addition to composting.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
Carbon Cycle Institute
Audubon California
California Cattlemen's Association
California Trout
Central Coast Forest Association (in concept)
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Opposition
Center for Biological Diversity (prior version; unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by:Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916)
319-2096
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