BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2480 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2480 (Bloom) - As Amended April 5, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|9 - 6 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill declares it is state policy to recognize and define source watersheds as integral components of California's water system, and eligible for financing on an equivalent basis with other water infrastructure projects. Specifically, this bill: 1)Defines eligible maintenance and repair activities to include the following forest ecosystem management activities: a) Upland vegetation management to restore watershed productivity and resilience. AB 2480 Page 2 b) Wet and dry meadow restoration. c) Road removal and repair. d) Stream channel restoration. e) Conservation of private forests to preserve watershed integrity through permanent prevention of conversion and degradation, achieved through conservation easements. f) Other projects with a demonstrated likelihood of increasing conditions for water and snow attraction, retention, and release under changing climate conditions. 2)Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), in consultation with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), to develop investment plans that prioritize actions for restoration and conservation to improve watershed function in the watersheds that flow into the Shasta and Oroville Reservoirs by December 31, 2017. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Potential cost pressures in the hundreds of millions of dollars or more to finance watershed maintenance and repair on an equivalent basis with other water projects. Based on watershed restoration projects in Denver and New York, DWR estimates a per acre restoration cost of between $430 to $1,500. The Klamath-Cascade Range spans more than 10 million acres. If restoration costs are similar to projects in Denver and New York, costs may be somewhere in the $4.3 to $10 billion range, which the State Water Project would likely AB 2480 Page 3 be able to pass on to its ratepayers (GF or special fund). 2)Increased GF costs in the $800,000 to $1.2 million range for SWRCB to develop investment plans in the watersheds that flow into the Shasta and Oroville Reservoirs. 3)Unknown increased ongoing SWRCB costs to provide guidance and oversight on watershed funding applications. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill requires the state to recognize the role of source watersheds in the water system infrastructure and set the foundation for a comprehensive restoration plan with the potential of financing similar to that provided for the built infrastructure. 2)Background. A watershed is an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel. The word watershed is sometimes used interchangeably with drainage basin or catchment. Ridges and hills that separate two watersheds are called the drainage divide. The watershed consists of surface water, including lakes, streams, reservoirs, and wetlands and all the underlying groundwater. Watersheds are impacted by numerous stressors, including drought, climate change, forest conversion, invasive species, fire risks and fire suppression, neglect, and inadequate forest management. According to the author, enhancing the conditions of the watersheds increases water quality by reducing sediment, lowering temperatures, and may also AB 2480 Page 4 increase water quantity by as much as 5 to 20%. 3)Klamath-Region Watershed. The Klamath-Cascade watershed spans 10 million acres and serves as the headwaters of the Sacramento River and the source of much of the water that flows into the Delta. The Klamath-Cascade watershed receives 75% of the state's precipitation. According to the Pacific Forest Trust, ensuring continued healthy watershed function requires that 85% of the watershed remain intact as relatively natural forest. The Trust is working with private landowners in the region to conserve forests, and asserts that watershed protection through maintenance of healthy forests is the least costly and most effective approach to guaranteeing flows in the Sacramento River. This bill directs SWRCB to develop plans to maintain watersheds in the Klamath-Cascade Region that feed the Shasta and Oroville reservoirs, which, in turn, supply the State Water Project and Central Valley Project. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 2480 Page 5