BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2029
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2029 (Dahle, et al.)
As Amended August 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 1, 2016) |SENATE: | 39-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY: Extends the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project
(Pilot) from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2021, and expands it
by allowing larger trees to be harvested in forest land without
a timber harvest permit (THP).
The Senate amendments:
1)Remove authorization of construction or reconstruction of
temporary roads of 600 feet or less.
2)Shorten the sunset extension from January 1, 2023 to January
1, 2021.
3)Require, on or before December 31, 2017, Department of
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Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to review and submit a
report to the Legislature on the trends in the use of,
compliance with, and effectiveness of the exemptions from
THPs. Require the report to also include recommendations on
how to improve the use of those exemptions.
4)Specify that expansion of areas where pilot activities may
take place and the expansion in the size of trees that maybe
harvested do not take effect until CAL FIRE completes its
report or January 1, 2018, whichever occurs first.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
(FPA):
1)Prohibits timber operations unless a THP has been prepared by
a registered professional forester (Forester) and approved by
CAL FIRE.
2)Considers a THP the functional equivalent of an environmental
impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
3)Requires a THP to contain a description of the location of the
planned harvest, the harvest method, measures to avoid
excessive erosion, timeframe of operations, and other
information required by forest practice rules (FPR) adopted by
the Board.
4)Authorizes the Board to develop alternative stocking standards
for the average point count method and the average residual
basal area of stocking if those standards address the
variables in forest characteristics and achieve suitable
resource conservation.
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5)Requires any person who owns timberlands that are to be
devoted to uses other than the growing of timber to file a
timberland conversion permit with the Board. Prohibits the
Board from approving a timberland conversion permit unless the
Board makes written findings.
6)Exempts various tree removal activities from THPs, including
Christmas tree farms; rights-of-way for utility lines;
conversions of less than three acres; fire prevention;
defensible space; and dead, dying, and diseased trees.
Requires ministerial permits for certain exemptions, called a
notice of exemption (NOE), and subjects projects to inspection
by CAL FIRE.
7)Creates an exemption from THP known as the Pilot Exemption.
Limits harvesting under the exemption to the following:
a) Only trees less than 24 inches in stump diameter;
b) Tree harvesting must decrease fuel continuity and
increase quadratic mean diameter of the stand;
c) No new road construction or reconstruction;
d) No known sites of rare, threatened, or endangered plants
or animals will be disturbed, threatened, or damaged; and,
e) The activates are limited to the Sierra Nevada Region or
the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Modoc,
Sonoma, Siskiyou, or Trinity.
8)Requires CAL FIRE to maintain records regarding the use of
exemptions granted in order to evaluate the impact of the
exemptions on fuel reduction and natural resources in areas
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where an exemption has been used.
9)Requires CAL FIRE to conduct an onsite inspection to determine
compliance with the Pilot.
10)Sunsets the Pilot three years after the effective date of
regulations adopted by the Board (January 1, 2018).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: California has regulated forest practices on private
lands since at least 1945. The Legislature assessed the
effectiveness of this approach and concluded that the industry
could not be relied on to ensure proper water quality, forest
health, and adequate timber supply. In 1957, the state Senate
Interim Committee on Soil and Beach Erosion found that timber
harvesting and logging road construction contributed to stream
erosion and resultant impacts to fish populations. In 1962, the
Assembly Interim Committee on Natural Resources, Planning, and
Public Works concluded that timber regulations were inadequately
enforced, leading to deleterious effects on water quality,
fishing, and recreation. In 1967, after three years of study,
the Assembly Subcommittee on Forest Practices and Watershed
Management recommended that the basic state policy governing
forest practices should be broadened and strengthened. These
collective findings, coupled with a 1971 report that identified
logging as a primary factor in an 80% decline of salmon and
steelhead populations, motivated the Legislature to pass the FPA
in 1973. The FPA requires THPs, which are a complex
discretionary permit that acts as an EIR under CEQA.
AB 1492 (Budget Committee), Chapter 289, Statutes of 2012,
extended the life of THPs from three years to five years with an
option for a two-year extension. AB 1492 also shifted state
fees for a THP to an assessment on all lumber products to fund
agency review. However, a THP can still cost landowners tens of
thousands of dollars to prepare.
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Since 2015, there have been 27 Pilot projects treating the
forest to prevent fire with one violation for harvesting trees
over 24 inches. CAL FIRE has not yet evaluated whether the
Pilot has been effective at preventing fires. CAL FIRE has also
not been able to demonstrate that overall diameter is increasing
on areas using the exemption. As an exemption, CAL FIRE has no
ability to work with applicants to ensure projects are
strategically located to be most effective in fire prevention.
The exemption has also been used mostly by large timber
operators who are in a better positon to afford conducting a THP
than small land owners. Therefore, it is unclear what the value
of the Pilot has been. However, this bill requires an
evaluation of this exemption and recommendations to improve the
use of exemptions.
Analysis Prepared by:
Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN:
0004528