Amended in Senate August 8, 2016

Amended in Senate August 1, 2016

Amended in Senate June 15, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 27, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1749

Introduced by Assembly Member Mathis

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Harper and Olsen)

(Coauthor: Senator Cannella)

February 2, 2016

An act to add begin delete and repeal Section 21080.06 of end delete begin insert Section 21168.11 to end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1749, as amended, Mathis. California Environmental Quality Act: begin delete exemption: end delete City of Porterville.

Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. The act also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. begin delete The act exempts from its requirements projects consisting of the construction or expansion of recycled water pipeline and directly related infrastructure within existing rights of way, and directly related groundwater replenishment, if the project does not affect wetlands or sensitive habitat, and where the construction impacts are fully mitigated, and undertaken for the purpose of mitigating drought conditions for which a state of emergency was proclaimed by the Governor on a certain date. The act provides that this exemption remains operative until the state of emergency has expired or until January 1, 2017, whichever occurs first. end delete begin insert end insert

begin delete

This bill, until January 1, 2021, would exempt from the act’s requirements a water treatment project determined by the City of Porterville as the best option based on a certain feasibility study, as provided.

end delete begin insert

This bill would require the lead agency, in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approvals for a certain water treatment project determined by the City of Porterville based on a certain feasibility study, as specified, to comply with specified procedures, including the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings and the certification of the record of proceedings within 5 days of the filing of a specified notice.

end insert

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Porterville.

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

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

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

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 21080.06 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

21080.06.  

(a) This division does not apply to a project that is
determined by the City of Porterville as the best option based on
a feasibility study conducted by the city seeking long-term
solutions to the lack of water in East Porterville. The project may
be one of the following:

(1) The construction of a series of satellite water treatment
facilities located adjacent to existing water distribution line.

(2) The construction of an advanced water recycling treatment
facility located either adjacent to the city’s existing wastewater
treatment facility or at a preferred location, as determined by the
results of the city’s feasibility study.

(3) Upgrades to the city’s existing wastewater treatment facility
to allow for tertiary treatment of the city’s wastewater.

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 21168.11 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 21168.11. end insert   

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:

(1) “Lead agency” means the City of Porterville.

(2) “Water treatment project” or “project” means a project
that is determined by the City of Porterville as the best option
based on a feasibility study conducted by the city seeking long-term
solutions to the lack of water in East Porterville. The project may
be one of the following:

(A) The construction of a series of satellite water treatment
facilities in the City of Porterville that are located adjacent to
existing water distribution lines.

(B) The construction of an advanced water recycling treatment
facility in the City of Porterville that is located either adjacent to
the city’s existing wastewater treatment facility or at a preferred
location, as determined by the results of the city’s feasibility study.

(C) Upgrades to the City of Porterville’s existing wastewater
treatment facility to allow for tertiary treatment of the city’s
wastewater.

(b) (1) The draft and final environmental impact report for the
project shall include a notice in not less than 12-point type stating
the following:

THIS EIR IS SUBJECT TO SECTION 21168.11 OF THE
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE, WHICH PROVIDES, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, THAT THE LEAD AGENCY NEED NOT
CONSIDER CERTAIN COMMENTS FILED AFTER THE CLOSE
OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT EIR.
THE APPROVAL OF THE PROJECT DESCRIBED IN THE EIR
IS SUBJECT TO THE PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN SECTION
21168.11 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE. A COPY OF
SECTION 21168.11 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS
INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX TO THIS EIR.

(2) The draft environmental impact report and final
environmental impact report shall contain, as an appendix, the
full text of this section.

(3) Within 10 days after the release of the draft environmental
impact report, the lead agency shall conduct an informational
workshop to inform the public of the key analyses and conclusions
of that report.

(4) Within 10 days before the close of the public comment
period, the lead agency shall hold a public hearing to receive
testimony on the draft environmental impact report. A transcript
of the hearing shall be included as an appendix to the final
environmental impact report.

(5) (A) Within five days following the close of the public
comment period, a commenter on the draft environmental impact
report may submit to the lead agency a written request for
nonbinding mediation. The lead agency shall participate in
nonbinding mediation with all commenters who submitted timely
comments on the draft environmental impact report and who
requested the mediation. Mediation conducted pursuant to this
paragraph shall end no later than 35 days after the close of the
public comment period.

(B) A request for mediation shall identify all areas of dispute
raised in the comment submitted by the commenter that are to be
mediated.

(C) The lead agency shall select one or more mediators who
shall be retired judges or recognized experts with at least five
years experience in land use and environmental law or science,
or mediation.

(D) A mediation session shall be conducted on each area of
dispute with the parties requesting mediation on that area of
dispute.

(E) The lead agency shall adopt, as a condition of approval,
any measures agreed upon by the lead agency and any commenter
who requested mediation. A commenter who agrees to a measure
pursuant to this subparagraph shall not raise the issue addressed
by that measure as a basis for an action or proceeding challenging
the lead agency’s decision to certify the environmental impact
report or to grant one or more initial project approvals.

(6) The lead agency need not consider written comments
submitted after the close of the public comment period, unless
those comments address any of the following:

(A) New issues raised in the response to comments by the lead
agency.

(B) New information released by the public agency subsequent
to the release of the draft environmental impact report, such as
new information set forth or embodied in a staff report, proposed
permit, proposed resolution, ordinance, or similar documents.

(C) Changes made to the project after the close of the public
comment period.

(D) Proposed conditions for approval, mitigation measures, or
proposed findings required by Section 21081 or a proposed
reporting and monitoring program required by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 21081.6, where the lead agency releases
those documents subsequent to the release of the draft
environmental impact report.

(E) New information that was not reasonably known and could
not have been reasonably known during the public comment period.

(7) The lead agency shall file the notice required by subdivision
(a) of Section 21152 within five days after the last initial project
approval.

(c) (1) The lead agency shall prepare and certify the record of
the proceedings in accordance with this subdivision and in
accordance with Rule 3.1365 of the California Rules of Court.

(2) No later than three business days following the date of the
release of the draft environmental impact report, the lead agency
shall make available to the public in a readily accessible electronic
format the draft environmental impact report and all other
documents submitted to or relied on by the lead agency in the
preparation of the draft environmental impact report. A document
prepared by the lead agency after the date of the release of the
draft environmental impact report that is a part of the record of
the proceedings shall be made available to the public in a readily
accessible electronic format within five business days after the
document is prepared or received by the lead agency.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), documents submitted to or
relied on by the lead agency that were not prepared specifically
for the project and are copyright protected are not required to be
made readily accessible in an electronic format. For those
copyright protected documents, the lead agency shall make an
index of these documents available in an electronic format no later
than the date of the release of the draft environmental impact
report, or within five business days if the document is received or
relied on by the lead agency after the release of the draft
environmental impact report. The index must specify the libraries
or lead agency offices in which hardcopies of the copyrighted
materials are available for public review.

(4) The lead agency shall encourage written comments on the
project to be submitted in a readily accessible electronic format,
and shall make any such comment available to the public in a
readily accessible electronic format within five days of its receipt.

(5) Within seven business days after the receipt of any comment
that is not in an electronic format, the lead agency shall convert
that comment into a readily accessible electronic format and make
it available to the public in that format.

(6) The lead agency shall indicate in the record of the
proceedings comments received that were not considered by the
lead agency pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) and need
not include the content of the comments as a part of the record.

(7) Within five days after the filing of the notice required by
subdivision (a) of Section 21152, the lead agency shall certify the
record of the proceedings for the approval or determination and
shall provide an electronic copy of the record to a party that has
submitted a written request for a copy. The lead agency may charge
and collect a reasonable fee from a party requesting a copy of the
record for the electronic copy, which shall not exceed the
reasonable cost of reproducing that copy.

(8) Within 10 days after being served with a complaint or a
petition for a writ of mandate, the lead agency shall lodge a copy
of the certified record of proceedings with the superior court.

(9) Any dispute over the content of the record of the proceedings
shall be resolved by the superior court. Unless the superior court
directs otherwise, a party disputing the content of the record shall
file a motion to augment the record at the time it files its initial
brief.

(10) The contents of the record of proceedings shall be as set
forth in subdivision (e) of Section 21167.6.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution because of the unprecedented drought conditions that
have resulted in more than 600 homes in the City of Porterville
without a functioning domestic water well.

SEC. 3.  

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

To ensure the expeditious construction of recycled water
treatment facilities and directly related pipelines to mitigate drought
conditions for which the Governor has declared a state of
emergency, it is necessary for this measure to take effect
immediately.