Amended in Assembly February 8, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1585


Introduced by Assembly Member Alejo

(Principal coauthor: Senator Cannella)

(Coauthor: Senator Monning)

January 6, 2016


An act relating to water resources,begin insert making an appropriation therefor,end insert and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1585, as amended, Alejo. Monterey County Water Resources Agency:begin delete water conveyance.end deletebegin insert Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio.end insert

Existing law establishes the Monterey County Water Resources Agency as a flood control and water agency within the County of Monterey. Existing law authorizes the agency to award a design-build contract for the combined design and construction of a project to connect Lake San Antonio, located in the County of Monterey, and Lake Nacimiento, located in the County of San Luis Obispo, with an underground tunnel or pipeline for the purpose of maximizing water storage, supply, and groundwater recharge.

This bill wouldbegin delete require no less thanend deletebegin insert appropriateend insert $25,000,000 from an unspecified sourcebegin delete to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature,end delete to the agency for the purpose of constructing a water conveyance tunnel between Lake Nacimiento and Lake Sanbegin delete Antonio,end deletebegin insert Antonio and spillway modifications at Lake San Antonio,end insert as specified.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Monterey County Water Resources Agency.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

2(a) Over the past four years, California has grappled with one
3of the worst ongoing droughts in the state’s history.

begin insert

4(b) The state is riddled with water supply and water quality
5challenges posed by the relentless drought and is now facing
6weather forecasts of one of the most powerful El Niño storms ever
7recorded.

end insert
begin insert

8(c) A major flood event in California has the potential to
9devastate communities and regional agriculture-based economies
10and seriously impact the state’s economy.

end insert
begin insert

11(d) In Monterey County alone, agriculture generates eight
12billion one hundred twenty million dollars ($8,120,000,000) into
13the local economy and supports more than 76,000 jobs. An
14additional 20,352 jobs are created as a direct result of the industry.

end insert
begin delete

15(b)

end delete

16begin insert(e)end insert The Monterey County Water Resources Agency manages
17Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio, two reservoirs that
18begin delete provide water supply,end deletebegin insert supply water for consumption and
19groundwater recharge and provideend insert
flood control,begin insert prevention of
20salt water intrusion,end insert
and recreation in the Salinas Valley.

begin delete

21(c)

end delete

22begin insert(end insertbegin insertf)end insert Lake Nacimiento’s watershed fillsbegin delete the Lake Nacimientoend deletebegin insert itsend insert
23 reservoir nearly three times faster than Lake San Antonio’s
24watershed fills begin delete that reservoir. The Monterey County Water
25Resources Agency often releases water from Lake Nacimiento
26because it reaches its capacity,end delete
begin insert its reservoir, often causing water
27in Lake Nacimiento to exceed capacity and overflow from the
28spillway to the ocean,end insert
even when Lake San Antonio still hasbegin delete excess
29storage available.end delete
begin insert available storage capacity.end insert

begin delete

30(d)

end delete

31begin insert(end insertbegin insertg)end insert The Monterey County Water Resources Agency is planning
32tobegin delete build a tunnel or pipeline between Lake Nacimiento and Lake
33San Antonio to redirect water from Lake Nacimiento that would
P3    1otherwise be released out to sea and use it to fill excess capacity
2in Lake San Antonio.end delete
begin insert correct these wasteful and potentially harmful
3consequences by constructing both of the following:end insert

begin insert

4(1) A tunnel or pipeline between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San
5Antonio that has the potential to reduce water overflow events by
660 percent.

end insert
begin insert

7(2) Spillway modifications at Lake San Antonio to increase
8storage by approximately 60,000 acre feet.

end insert
begin delete

9(e) The interlake tunnel project

end delete

10begin insert (h)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertThese two projectsend insert will mitigate the impact of the drought
11and improve the economic viability of the Salinas Valley, the
12environmental sustainability of the region, and agricultural
13production.

begin delete

14(f)

end delete

15begin insert(i)end insert The Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio region scores
1640 percent to 50 percent as a disadvantaged community under
17CalEnviroScreen.

begin delete

18(g) The state is riddled with water supply and water quality
19challenges posed by the relentless drought and is now facing
20weather forecasts of one of the most powerful El Niño storms ever
21recorded.

22(h) A major flood event in California has the potential to
23devastate communities, regional agriculture-based economies, and
24seriously impact the state’s economy.

25(i) In Monterey County alone, agriculture generates eight billion
26one hundred twenty million dollars ($8,120,000,000) into the local
27economy and supports more than 76,000 jobs. An additional 20,352
28jobs are created as a direct result of the prosperous industry.
29Flooding of our agricultural lands could put all of that into
30jeopardy.

end delete

31(j) Given the Salinas Valley’s economic contribution to the
32 state’s agricultural economy and the stress the El Niño storms will
33put on the region, the Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio
34areas are considered distressed communities and therefore are a
35priority for state funding.

36

SEC. 2.  

begin deleteUpon appropriation by the Legislature, no less than
37twenty-five end delete
begin insertTwenty-five end insertmillion dollars ($25,000,000) from ____
38begin delete shall be allocatedend deletebegin insert is hereby appropriatedend insert to the Monterey County
39Water Resources Agency for the purpose ofbegin delete constructing a water
40conveyance tunnel,end delete
begin insert constructing,end insert in accordance with the
P4    1design-build process authorized by Section 11.1 of the Monterey
2County Water Resources Agency Act (Chapter 1159 of the Statutes
3of 1990, as amended by Chapter 865 of the Statutes of 2014),
4begin delete between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio within zone 2cend delete
5begin insert both of the followingend insert in order to maximize water storage, water
6supply, and groundwater recharge at the lakes, within the Salinas
7River groundwater basin, and the Salinasbegin delete Valley.end deletebegin insert Valley:end insert

begin insert

8(a) A water conveyance tunnel between Lake Nacimiento and
9Lake San Antonio within zone 2c.

end insert
begin insert

10(b) Spillway modifications at Lake San Antonio to increase
11storage by approximately 60,000 acre feet.

end insert
12

SEC. 3.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
13is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
14within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
15Constitution because of the emergency circumstances of the
16ongoing drought and the benefitsbegin delete this project betweenend deletebegin insert these
17projects involvingend insert
Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio
18managed by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency will
19provide to the region.

20

SEC. 4.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
21immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
22the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
23immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

24In order to responsibly store water during California’s prolonged
25begin delete drought andend deletebegin insert drought,end insert to protect the Salinas Valley frombegin delete floodingend delete
26begin insert flooding, and to protect water supply, water quality, distressed
27communities, and urban and rural property and structuresend insert
during
28a historic El Niño weather pattern, it is necessary that this act take
29effect immediately.



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