Amended in Senate August 15, 2016

Amended in Senate August 1, 2016

Amended in Senate June 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 31, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2480

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

February 19, 2016

An act to add Section 108.5 to the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2480, as amended, Bloom. Source watersheds: financing.

Existing law establishes various state water policies, including the policy that the Legislature consider other works as may be necessary to develop water to satisfy the requirements of the watershed in which water originates whenever the Legislature authorizes the construction or acquisition of a project that will develop water for use outside that watershed, as specified.

This bill would declare it to be state policy that source watersheds are recognized and defined as integral components of California’s water infrastructure. The bill would state the particular importance to maintaining the begin delete reliability end delete begin insert reliability, quantity, timing, and quality end insert of California’s begin insert environmental, drinking, and agricultural end insert water supply as climate change advances of begin delete the end delete source watersheds that supply the begin delete Shasta and Oroville reservoirs of the State Water Project. end delete begin insert majority of the state’s drinking and irrigated agricultural water. end insert The bill would begin delete require end delete begin insert state that end insert the maintenance and repair of begin delete these end delete begin insert source end insert watersheds begin delete to receive financing consideration on the same basis as other State Water Project end delete begin insert is eligible for the same forms of financing as other end insert water collection and treatment infrastructure and would specify that the maintenance and repair activities that are eligible are limited to specified forest ecosystem restoration and conservation activities.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 108.5 is added to the Water Code, to
read:

108.5.  

(a) It is hereby declared to be the established policy of
the state that source watersheds are recognized and defined as
integral components of California’s water infrastructure.

(b) (1)  begin delete The source watersheds that supply the Shasta and
Oroville reservoirs of the State Water Project end delete begin insert As climate change
advances, source watersheds that provide the majority of the state’s
drinking and irrigated agricultural water end insert are of particular
importance to maintaining the begin delete reliability of California’s water
supply as climate change advances. The maintenance and repair
of these watersheds shall receive financing consideration on the
same basis as other State Water Project water collection and
treatment infrastructure. end delete begin insert reliability, quantity, timing, and quality
of California’s environmental, drinking, and agricultural water
supply. end insert

begin delete

(2) Nothing in this section is intended to modify existing grant
programs or guidelines or constrain financing for source watersheds
supplying local, state, or federal water systems.

end delete begin insert

(2) Recognizing the critical role of source watersheds in
enhancing water supply reliability, the maintenance and repair of
source watersheds is eligible for the same forms of financing as
other water collection and treatment infrastructure.

end insert begin insert

(3) Nothing in this section is intended to constrain financing
for source watersheds supplying local, state, or federal water
systems.

end insert begin insert

(4) Nothing in this section is intended to supersede federal
eligibility requirements or alter any of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Funding criteria or guidelines established for a bond or
other measure enacted by the voters.

end insert begin insert

(B) Funding programs related to pollution control, cleanup, or
abatement.

end insert begin insert

(C) Funding programs for addressing public health emergencies.

end insert

(c) Eligible maintenance and repair activities pursuant to this
section are limited to the following forest ecosystem restoration
and conservation activities:

(1) Upland vegetation management to restore the watershed’s
productivity and resiliency.

(2) Wet and dry meadow restoration.

(3) Road removal and repair.

(4) Stream channel restoration.

(5) Conservation of private forests to preserve watershed
integrity through permanent prevention of land use conversion and
improved land management, achieved through, and secured with,
conservation easements.

(6) Other projects with a demonstrated likelihood of increasing
conditions for water and snow attraction, retention, and release
under changing climate conditions.