BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 935
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
935 (Salas)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |30-3 |(August 22, |
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: | |(August 25, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| |12-0 |2016) | | |
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(W., P., & W.)
Original Committee Reference: W., P., & W.
SUMMARY: This bill requires the Department of Water Resources
(DWR), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund a reverse
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flow pump-back project on the Friant-Kern Canal that
substantially conforms to the project description set forth by
the draft investment strategy released by the San Joaquin River
Restoration Program (SJRRP) in December 2014. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the DWR, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
grant up to $7 million for the Reverse Flow Pump-back
Facilities on the Friant-Kern Canal Restoration Project
(Project).
2)Limits the DWR's funding share of the Project to up to 80% of
the total.
3)Establishes prerequisites to funding, including:
a) All feasibility studies are complete and draft
environmental impact reports (EIRs) required pursuant to
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are
available for public review.
b) Financial commitments to the DWR director are equal to
or greater than 75% of the non-state cost share of the
project.
4)Requires the Project, if funded, to comply with any applicable
provisions of state and federal law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the DWR within the Natural Resources Agency, which
manages and undertakes planning with regard to water resources
in the state.
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2)Prohibits a public agency, under CEQA, from making a
discretionary decision to approve a project, including funding
a project, if there are potentially significant impacts on the
environment that could be reduced by feasible alternatives or
feasible mitigation measures.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: The Assembly version of this bill contained a general
requirement for the DWR to fund local and regional conveyance
projects. The Senate version of this bill deletes the general
requirement and instead, specifies funding of a project that
would help minimize water supply impacts to Friant Division
Long-Term Contractors from actions to help implement the SJRRP.
According to the author this bill would provide funding for the
planning, design, and construction of a Sustainable Water
Conveyance Project that would support regional and interregional
connectivity and deliver water to and from the California
Aqueduct. We need to develop and improve conveyance facilities
in order to optimize inter-regional water supplies, facilitate
the movement of water from east to west, and make additional
water available to places of need. This project would help
increase water availability and enable deliveries of surplus
water in wet years to recharge groundwater and banking
facilities.
The San Joaquin River is the second longest river in California
and historically supported large runs of salmon and other
cold-water fish. After Friant Dam was constructed by the United
States (U.S.) Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), parts of the San Joaquin River went completely
dry in most years. Environmental groups then brought litigation
citing, among other claims, the requirements in California law
that the owner of any dam must allow sufficient water to pass
through to keep fish in good condition below the dam. In 2006,
after 18 years of litigation, a federal court approved a
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settlement between the federal government, the environmental
plaintiffs, and the Friant Water Users Authority. The SJRRP
settlement had two objectives: a restoration program that would
provide the river with continuous flows to the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta and support naturally reproducing
populations of Chinook salmon, and a water management goal of
minimizing water supply impacts to San Joaquin River water
users.
Thereafter, Reclamation initiated an investment strategy in
support of the SJRRP water management goal in order to identify
projects that, in conjunction with other activities, could
cost-effectively reduce or avoid water supply impacts to the
Friant Contractors. Reclamation, in collaboration with the
Friant Contractors, identified, screened, developed, evaluated,
and ranked over 500 project concepts to form a list of
approximately 60 projects. Of these, 21 projects were further
evaluated as ready-to-implement priority projects. The results
were presented in a March 2015 report titled Water Management
Goal Investment Strategy Final Report (Final Report). The
Reverse Flow Pump-Back Facilities on the Friant-Kern Canal
project that would be funded through this bill was fourth among
the 21 projects evaluated in the Final Report.
Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River near Fresno, southward to
various Friant Contractors along the east side of the San
Joaquin Valley, terminating at the Kern River near Bakersfield.
Currently, the Friant-Kern Canal has limited pump-back
operational capacity which is used occasionally to deliver water
north from the Cross Valley Canal or water extracted from water
banks on the Kern River fan. This project would install
permanent pump-back facilities with higher capacities along the
southern portion of the Friant-Kern Canal. The Project would
allow water that was released for restoration flows on the San
Joaquin River, captured downstream, and conveyed via the Cross
Valley Canal, to be pumped back up the Friant-Kern Canal to a
number of Friant Contractors. The Final Report ranked this
project 4th of 21, with an estimated cost of $7.6 million that
included planning and environmental review, and a little over
two years to complete. The project has been estimated to convey
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approximately 15,000-30,000 acre-feet annually and is expected
to avoid 2,750 metric tons of carbon emissions over the life of
the project.
It is not clear what the source of funding will be for the
Project. This bill does not make an appropriation. If and when
there is an appropriation the source of funds for that
appropriation would be determined by the Legislature and the
Governor.
Analysis Prepared by:
Ryan Ojakian / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096
FN: 0004926