BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1242
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1242 (Gray) - As Amended May 5, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to consider any applicable groundwater sustainability
plans (GSPs) or alternatives when formulating state policy or
adopting a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) that affects a
AB 1242
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groundwater basin. This bill also requires SWRCB to identify in
lieu fish recovery projects that may be undertaken before
adopting instream flow requirements for beneficial use.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Increased contract costs for the SWRCB to perform the duties
required in the bill of up to $21 million (GF or special
fund).
This estimate is based on contract costs of a minimum $600,000
(GF or special fund) related to changes in the setting of flow
requirements for each project evaluated. This amount is based
on contract costs to evaluate flow alternatives in a CEQA
analysis to establish San Joaquin River instream flows. Costs
may be higher to quantify the trade-off between any project
flow and non-flow alternatives.
To evaluate five alternative projects related to SWRCB's
current work setting flows for the San Joaquin River, the
additional costs would be $3 million in contract costs.
Further, the current Bay-Delta phase 1 San Joaquin River
instream flow effort is only one of several instream flow
efforts currently underway. Phase 2 (related to the instream
flows on the Sacramento River) and Phase 4 (development of
flow objectives for priority tributaries) would multiply the
fiscal effect by a factor of 7 because instream flows are
being developed for six other water bodies, for a total of $21
million.
2)Unknown, potentially significant, additional staff costs to
SWRCB (GF or special fund).
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, the SWRCB is considering a
proposal to develop new unimpaired flow requirements on the
Tuolumne, Merced, and Stanislaus Rivers. The proposed plan
would require an additional 350,000 acre feet of water
annually to be diverted from the rivers to flow out to the San
Francisco Bay Delta.
The author states, if adopted, the SWRCB proposal will
devastate the groundwater basins in the Valley by reducing
surface water recharge opportunities and eliminating surface
water deliveries to domestic and agricultural water users.
This bill requires SWRCB to identify in lieu fish recovery
projects that may be undertaken before adopting instream flow
requirements for beneficial use. This bill also requires
SWRCB to consider applicable groundwater sustainability plans
(GSPs) or alternatives when formulating state policy or
adopting a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) that affects a
groundwater basin
2)Background. The SWRCB and federal Central Valley Project and
others are required to help meet flow requirements in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). Until recently, the
tributaries to the San Joaquin River have not had the same
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requirements.
The Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers are tributaries to
the San Joaquin River. The SWRCB is now engaged in a process
to determine what level of flows should be required on the
tributaries.
The San Joaquin River flows northward to join the Sacramento
River in the Delta. The Delta's flow provides part of the
drinking water supply for two-thirds of the state's population
and water for a multitude of other urban uses as well as
supplying some of the state's most productive agricultural
areas both inside and outside of the Delta. The Delta is also
one of the largest ecosystems for fish and wildlife habitat
production in the United States, including commercial runs of
salmon.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081