BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 965
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
AB 965
(Eduardo Garcia) - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: California and Mexico border: water resources
improvement
SUMMARY: Requires the California-Mexico Border Relations
Council (Border Relations Council) to establish the New River
Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway Development
Program (New River Program) to coordinate funding for, and the
implementation of, the recommendations from the New River
Strategic Plan. Provides the Border Relations Council with a
consultative and coordinating role on the development,
implementation and funding of specified border-related projects.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the statutory reference to the California Border
Environmental Cooperation Committee (Cal BECC).
2)Changes the definition of the California-Baja California
border region from the region "described in Chapter IV of the
US-Mexico Border XXI Program, Framework Document, published
October 1996" to the region "to the north and south of the
international border between California and Baja California
described in Article 4 of the La Paz Agreement, signed August
14, 1983, between the United States and Mexico."
3)Clarifies that Proposition 1 funds may be deposited into the
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California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection
Fund (Fund).
4)Requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to consult
with the Border Relations Council, instead of Cal BECC, when
awarding grants to remediate environmental, public health, or
natural resource concerns due to cross-border transmission of
environmental pollutants or toxics.
5)Provides that the Secretary for Environmental Protection, on
behalf of the Border Relations Council, instead of on behalf
of Cal BECC, shall accept donations for distribution to
governmental entities, community-based nonprofit
organizations, and educational institutions located in the
border region if the donations can be shown to contribute to
the protection of the environment, public health, or natural
resources of the California border region.
6)Requires the Border Relations Council to establish the New
River Program to coordinate funding for, and the
implementation of, the recommendations from the New River
Strategic Plan and the projects identified pursuant to the
statutory guidelines of the Fund.
7)Requires a state agency that funds the activities of the New
River Program to make all necessary efforts to integrate and
align its contractual and administrative requirements for
grants, loans, and other forms of financial support to meet
the goals of the Program.
8)Updates the definition of urban creek protection, restoration,
and enhancement to include the reduction of water quality
impairments and nonpoint source water pollution, and the
establishment of parkways for public use that benefit flood
control and water quality.
9)Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to consult
with the Border Relations Council to establish criteria to
fund projects that improve conditions for cross-border urban
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creeks.
10)Requires responsible agencies to consult with the Border
Relations Council when developing regulations or guidelines
for the expenditure of funds pursuant to Proposition 1 for,
and establishing criteria for, watershed restoration projects
in the border region.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Creates the Border Relations Council, consisting of the
Secretaries of the Resources Agency; Environmental
Protection; Health and Human Services; Business,
Transportation and Housing; and, Food and Agriculture; and
the Director of Emergency Services. Provides that the
Secretary for Environmental Protection serves as the
Council chair. (Government Code (GC) § 99522)
2) Requires the Border Relations Council to: Coordinate
activities of state agencies that are related to
cross-border programs; establish policies to coordinate the
collection and sharing of data related to cross-border
issues; identify and recommend to the Legislature changes
in law needed to coordinate border activities; and, submit
an annual report to the Legislature on border activities.
(GC § 99523)
3) Creates the Fund in the State Treasury to receive funds
appropriated in the annual Budget Act, and other sources,
such as from North American Development Bank, Border
Environment Cooperation Committee, United States
Environmental Protection Agency, and private businesses or
foundations. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 71101 (a))
4) Requires the money in the Fund to be available, upon
appropriation, to the Secretary of Environmental Protection
for allocation for projects that identify and resolve
environmental and public health problems at the California
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border region. (PRC § 71101 (b) and 71102)
5) Provides the California Border Environmental Cooperation
Committee (Cal BECC) when awarding grants from the Fund.
(PRC § 71103 (b))
6) Requires the Border Relations Council to develop a
strategic plan to guide the implementation of the New River
Improvement Project, as specified. (PRC § 71103.5 (c))
7) Authorizes the Director of Water Resources to establish
a program of flood damage reduction and urban creek
restoration known as the Urban Streams Restoration Program.
(Water Code (WC) § 7048 (a))
8) Authorizes, pursuant to the Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1),
$7,120,000,000 in bonds to be issued and sold to provide a
fund for specified purposes to address the varied
challenges facing California's water resources (WC § 79700,
et seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "California has
developed a Strategic Plan to begin a comprehensive cleanup and
restoration effort for the New River. Further statutory
clarification is needed to define how the strategic plan will be
implemented and funded by state agencies. Improved coordination
and a strategic funding will help remediate the health and
safety issues posed by the New River?
The Colorado Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board is also
moving forward on implementing several of the recommendations of
the Strategic Plan. Despite these promising steps, there is
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still a need for better coordination of state agency involvement
and funding for New River remediation. Current law does not
provide for coordinated efforts to help improve the conditions
to the river. "
California - Mexico Border Relations: The issues affecting the
U.S.- Mexico border region are complex and challenging.
Communities on both sides of the border face rapid population
growth, urbanization, industrial expansion, and increasing flows
of international trade, which in turn create challenges related
to the environment, public health, security, and land use.
California has attempted to address these cross-border issues
legislatively since the 1980s. Legislation enacted in 1982
established the Office of California-Mexico Affairs within the
Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency; however, in 2003, the
agency was abolished through Assembly Bill (AB) 1757, (Committee
on Budget, Chapter 229, Statutes of 2003), and the duties of the
agency were reassigned to other state entities. In 2004, the
California Research Bureau released a report listing
California-Mexico programs operating in more than 100 state
agencies (ISBN: 1-58703-195-7 in California Research
Bureau-California State Library). Currently, most of these
programs are defunct because no organizing entity existed to
coordinate interagency cooperation.
Border Relations Council: To improve statewide oversight and
coordination of the state's involvement with Mexico, the
Legislature enacted AB 3021 (Núñez, Chapter 621, Statutes of
2006), which created the Border Relations Council to serve as
the central organizing body overseeing and collaborating on
California-Mexico border issues. The Secretary for
Environmental Protection serves as the Council Chair. Currently
the Border Relations Council: coordinates cross-border programs,
initiatives, projects, and partnerships within California state
agencies; establishes California state agency policies for the
collection and sharing of cross-border data; identifies and
recommends changes in the law needed to achieve the goals of the
council; and, provides an annual report of activities to the
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Legislature.
The New River: The New River flows north from near Cerro
Prieto, Mexico, through the city of Mexicali, into the United
States through the city of Calexico, California, and discharges
into the Salton Sea. The river does not flow from a natural
source, but instead consists of urban runoff, untreated and
partially treated municipal wastes, untreated and partially
treated industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff. While
strides have been made over the decades to improve the quality
of the water in the New River, it is still often referred to as
one of the most severely polluted rivers of its size in the
United States.
Strategic plan for the New River: AB 1079 (V. M. Perez, Chapter
382, Statutes of 2009), required the Border Relations Council to
create a strategic plan to study, monitor, remediate, and
enhance the New River's water quality to protect human health
and to develop a river parkway suitable for public use and
enjoyment.
Pursuant to provisions in AB 1079, the Chair of the Council
appointed the New River Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to
oversee the development of the strategic plan and ensure
community involvement. The TAC began work in the summer of 2010
and continued with multiple internal and stakeholder
interactions through the fall of 2011. The Border Relations
Council released the Strategic Plan: New River Improvement
Project (New River Strategic Plan) in December of 2011. The New
River Strategic Plan includes more than a dozen specific
recommended solutions to continue to clean up the New River.
The Colorado Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board, the
main entity responsible for New River water quality on the U.S.
side of the border, has taken steps to comply with the
recommendations laid out in the New River Strategic Plan,
including working with dischargers on the American side to bring
them into compliance. However, California entities face
statutory authority, resource, and other limitations to
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achieving all of the recommendations, including that the water
crosses the border in an impaired state and that cross-border
issues are often federal in nature.
California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection
Fund (Fund): AB 2317 (Ducheny, Chapter 742, Statutes of 2000)
created the Fund, the money in which would be available, upon
appropriation, to assist local governments in implementing
projects to identify and resolve environmental and public health
problems that directly threaten California residents or
sensitive natural resources of the California border region; to
provide technical assistance and funds for equipment and labor
costs associated with emergency abatement of environmental and
public health problems imposed on residents of California due to
cross-border impacts of pollutants originating from Baja
California; and, to provide analytical and scientific equipment
and services needed by border area public agencies to identify
and monitor the sources of cross-border environmental pollutants
and toxics. While the Budget Act of 2000 appropriated $2.8
million to address environmental pollution at the Mexican
border, money was never allocated to the Fund.
Current statute requires CalEPA to consult with Cal BECC when
disbursing the funds from the Fund. Cal BECC was an
international organization created in November of 1993 to
promote environmental improvement in the U.S.-Mexico border
region; however, it no longer exists.
This bill deletes the requirement for CalEPA to consult with Cal
BECC and instead requires it to coordinate with the Border
Relations Council when awarding grants from the Fund to mitigate
cross-border transmission of environmental pollutants or toxics.
Additionally, it specifies that Proposition 1 funds may be
deposited in the Fund.
ESTM hearings on cross border river water quality: On March 19
and 20th, 2015, the California State Assembly Committee on
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials (ESTM) held a two-part
series of hearings in Southern California focusing on
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California's role in managing binational river water quality
issues and on ensuring that border communities, especially
disadvantaged communities, are not left behind in water quality
restoration efforts. The first hearing was held in Imperial
Beach and focused on the progress and challenges facing the
Tijuana River recovery strategy. The second hearing was held in
Calexico and focused on the New River restoration efforts.
Dozens of community members, local elected officials, members of
international bodies and officials from the states of Baja
California and California attended the hearings. Prioritization
of cross border water quality issues, dedicated funds for water
quality enhancement that can be used on both sides of the
border, and delineating an entity to coordinate and collaborate
on cross-border water quality issues were common themes of the
testimony presented at the New River hearing.
This bill incorporates the testimony that called for a
coordinating body, designated by AB 965 as the Border Relations
Council, to implement the New River Strategic Plan. In
addition, the bill designates the Border Relations Council as a
consultative body on the disbursement of funds from the Fund,
requires DWR to consult with the Border Relations Council on
cross-border urban creek projects, and requires responsible
agencies to consult with the Border Relations Council when
developing regulations and guidelines for the expenditure of
Proposition 1 funds that will be used for watershed restoration
in the border region. All of these provisions are designed to
create a more coordinated effort for implementing and funding
the improvement of the New River.
Related bills:
1) AB 1059 (Garcia). Requires the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment to update the California
Communities Environmental Health Screening tool by using
environmental data relating to known impacts on the
environmental quality of the communities in the
California-Mexico border region. This bill is scheduled to
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be heard in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials Committee on April 14, 2015.
2) AB 2317 (Ducheny), Chapter 742, Statutes of 2000.
Created the Fund, the money in which would be available,
upon appropriation, to assist with projects to mitigate
environmental and public health problems on the border.
3) SB 387 (Ducheny), Chapter 112, Statutes of 2005.
Authorized the City of Calexico to undertake a
comprehensive project for the cleanup and encasement of the
New River within its city limits as part of a pollution
cleanup measure and to protect human health.
4) AB 3021 (Núñez), Chapter 621, Statutes of 2006. Created
the Border Relations Council, consisting of specified state
officials, and required the council to, among other things,
coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to
cross-border programs, initiatives, projects, and
partnerships that exist within state government.
5) AB 1 (Evans), Chapter 1, Statutes of 2009-10 Fourth
Extraordinary Session. Appropriated $800,000 for the City
of Calexico for environmental review, engineering design,
and associated planning necessary to develop a river
parkway plan and river improvement project for the New
River.
6) AB 1079 (Victor M. Perez ) Chapter 382, Statutes of
2009. Required the Border Relations Council to develop a
strategic plan to guide the implementation of the New River
Improvement Project. Created the New River Improvement
Project Account in the Fund and denoted that moneys in the
account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would be
expended for activities related to the New River.
Double referral: This bill was double referred to the Assembly
Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Calexico Chamber of Commerce
Calexico New River Committee
City of Brawley
City of Calexico
Comite Civico Del Valle
County of Imperial Board of Supervisors
Imperial County Democratic Central Committee
Imperial Irrigation District
LabelGMOs.org
Neighborhood House of Calexico
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Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by:Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965