Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1201

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

February 27, 2015

An act to begin delete amend Section 13000 of end delete begin insert add Section 85308.5 to end insert the Water Code, relating to begin delete water quality. end delete begin insert the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1201, as amended, Salas. begin delete Water quality. end delete begin insert Delta Stewardship Council. end insert

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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 establishes the Delta Stewardship Council as an independent agency of the state, and requires the council to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan), meeting specified requirements. The act also establishes the Delta Independent Science Board to provide oversight of the scientific research, monitoring, and assessment programs that support adaptive management of the Delta through periodic reviews.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the council, in the course of implementing the Delta Plan, to direct the board to conduct an assessment of stressors, in addition to the operations of the State Water Resources Development System and the federal Central Valley Project, on populations of native fish species in the Delta, the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and the tributaries to those rivers below the rim dams of the central valley, containing specified information, and to recommend changes in statute and actions that may be taken by state agencies to remedy the situation at the earliest possible time.

end insert begin delete

The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act establishes a statewide program for the control of the quality of all the waters in the state and makes certain legislative findings and declarations.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the legislative findings and declarations.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

In order to protect and preserve the existing
populations of native fish species that live and migrate through
the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Delta Stewardship
Council consider, in addition to measures addressing the impact
of the State Water Resources Development System (State Water
Project) and federal Central Valley Project operations, the
identification of effective and scientifically justified measures to
reduce or eliminate the impact of other significant stressors on
California’s native fish populations.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 85308.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 85308.5. end insert   

The council, in the course of implementing the Delta
Plan, shall direct the Delta Independent Science Board to conduct
an assessment of stressors, in addition to the operation of the State
Water Resources Development System and the federal Central
Valley Project, on populations of native fish species in the Delta,
the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and the tributaries to
those rivers below the rim dams of the central valley, and shall
recommend changes in statute and actions that may be taken by
state agencies to remedy the situation at the earliest possible time.
The assessment shall include, at a minimum, a description of those
stressors identified in the Delta Vision Strategic Plan, including
the impacts of invasive species and nonnative species, water quality
impairments, and predation on native species.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 13000 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

13000.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the people
of the state have a primary interest in the conservation, control,
and utilization of the water resources of the state, and that the
quality of all the waters of the state shall be protected for use and
enjoyment by the people of the state.

(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that activities and
factors which may affect the quality of the waters of the state shall
be regulated to attain the highest water quality that is reasonable,
considering all demands being made and to be made on those
waters and the total values involved, beneficial and detrimental,
economic and social, tangible and intangible.

(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the health,
safety, and welfare of the people of the state requires that there be
a statewide program for the control of the quality of all the waters
of the state; that the state must be prepared to exercise its full power
and jurisdiction to protect the quality of waters in the state from
degradation originating inside or outside the boundaries of the
state; that the waters of the state are increasingly influenced by
interbasin water development projects and other statewide
considerations; that factors of precipitation, topography, population,
recreation, agriculture, industry, and economic development vary
from region to region within the state; and that the statewide
program for water quality control can be most effectively
administered regionally, within a framework of statewide
coordination and policy.

end delete