BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 223 Hearing Date: April 28,
2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Galgiani | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Version: |April 20, 2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |Yes |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Katharine Moore |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Division of Boating and Waterways: oversight
committee: invasive aquatic plants
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
1.Since 1982, the Division of Boating and Waterways (division)
in the Department of Parks and Recreation is the lead agency
responsible for the control of certain aquatic invasive
species, including the water hyacinth, in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, its tributaries and the Suisun Marsh
(collectively the Delta region).
2.The division's Water Hyacinth Control Program (program) seeks
to keep waterways safe and navigable by controlling the spread
of water hyacinth in the Delta region. It operates under
permits and biological opinions from the Central Valley
Regional Water Quality Control Board, the US Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Additional
local permits may sometimes be necessary.
3.Water hyacinth is native to the Amazon and was first observed
in the Delta region in a Yolo County slough in 1904.
According to the division, water hyacinth is a free-floating
aquatic invasive plant that grows in wetlands, marshes,
shallow water bodies, slow moving waterways, lakes,
reservoirs, and rivers. In hot weather, a water hyacinth mat
can double in size in 10 days and become as much as six feet
thick. Water hyacinth mats can adversely affect the local
environment, obstruct waterways and navigational channels, and
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 2
of ?
block agricultural and municipal water intakes.
4.Recent news reports indicate the water hyacinth infestation
has had a significant negative impact in the Delta region in
the last few years. In late 2014, according to news reports,
the Port of Stockton restricted shipping times because large
mats of water hyacinth congested waterways. The division has
worked with stakeholders in removing water hyacinth in several
locations in the Delta region including the Stockton marina,
Whiskey Slough, the Port of Stockton and the Tracy Fish
Facility fish screen.
5.The program generally uses pesticide application and
mechanical removal to control the water hyacinth. The
predominant control mechanism is pesticide application.
Pesticides are applied during the growing season (roughly
March - October/November), although ambient conditions,
including the presence of endangered species and exceeding
certain water quality parameters, can affect whether
pesticides can be applied. The number of treatment sites and
the amount of acreage treated varies from year-to-year. While
this may reflect the size of the infestation, other factors,
such as those noted above, as well as regulatory delays and
staffing, can affect how much treatment occurs.
6.Earlier this decade, there were delays associated with the
division receiving the required then-annual permits. In 2011
and 2012, pesticide application did not start until September
and August, respectively. The division sought and received
federal permits good for five years. These were approved in
2013 and are valid through 2017.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would establish an oversight and advisory committee
through January 1, 2019 to oversee the division's activities to
manage, control or eradicate water hyacinth. Specifically, this
bill would:
require the division to establish and provide staff
support to the oversight and advisory committee, as
specified;
require that the oversight and advisory committee
include an "equitable number of representatives" affected
by invasive species in the Delta region from agriculture,
recreational boating, commercial shipping, business owners,
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 3
of ?
the California Invasive Plant Council, research
institutions, wildlife conservation, environment, resource
conservation districts, the general public and local
government;
require that the oversight and advisory committee meet
at least twice per year and communicate its findings to the
division which must post them on-line;
specify that the California Conservation Corps is one of
the state agencies authorized to cooperate in invasive
species control in the Delta, as specified; and
make relevant legislative findings and technical
corrections.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "[t]he Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is
an invaluable California natural resource. However, the health
of the Delta is being threatened by water hyacinth as it
obstructs waterways and marinas, consumes valuable water
resources, creates human health and safety hazards, and damages
cherished natural ecosystems by crowding out native plants and
wildlife."
The author continues, "Three years ago, the [necessary] permits
[for the program] were not obtained by [the division] on time
and pesticide spraying was delayed, which allowed water hyacinth
to grow and multiply into dense, unsafe mats that blanketed and
obstructed several areas of the Delta."
"The Senate Subcommittee on Invasive Species held an
informational hearing [?] in May of 2013. At this hearing, [the
division] insisted that permits would not be delayed again, and
this promise has been kept. However, the lasting effects of this
error, combined with mild winters, drought, and warmer waters,
have allowed water hyacinth to grow to unprecedented
quantities." Another follow-up oversight hearing was held in
March 2015 and, "[a]lthough the individual efforts of [division]
staff to improve relationships and accessibility with the public
are appreciated, there is a need to continue to oversee the
activities of [the division] in regards to management and
control of water hyacinth and other Delta weeds to ensure that
all resources are being used effectively and efficiently."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 4
of ?
None received
COMMENTS
There are other factors contributing to the infestation besides
permit delays . While there does appear to be an optimum time
for spraying pesticides, additional factors, such as the warmer
water, milder winter and drought, are likely to have contributed
to the spread and breadth of the water hyacinth infestation in
recent years. The Committee may choose to modify one of the
findings to reflect this [Amendment 1].
Monitoring the division's response to the infestation . The
oversight and advisory committee is specifically tasked with
monitoring the division's response to the water hyacinth
infestation. The oversight and advisory committee may also
provide findings and make recommendations to the division.
While an expansive interpretation of monitoring may include this
activity, the Committee may choose to make "evaluation" an
explicit part of the oversight and advisory committee's
activities in order for it to provide advice [Amendment 2].
Advisory committees are established with varying amounts of
specificity . There are numerous advisory committees established
via state law and resolution in departments and divisions under
the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Agency. While some,
such as the Salton Sea Advisory Committee or the Dungeness Crab
Task Force, are tasked with addressing numerous explicit
objectives, others, such as the Dusk Stamp Advisory Committee or
the Upland Game Bird Advisory Committee, are provided with more
general direction within a single focus area. Similarly, the
total membership and its organization are set in statute for
some advisory committees, and left to the discretion of the
department or division in others. This proposed oversight and
advisory committee appears to fall well within the range of the
existing advisory committee structures reviewed in the Harbors
and Navigation, Public Resources and Fish and Game Codes.
The 2015 division program is already underway . News reports
indicate that the division started spraying pesticides to
control water hyacinth last month. Additionally, AB 91
(Committee on Budget, c. 1, Statutes of 2015) accelerated the
appropriation of $4 million to the division for invasive species
control.
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 5
of ?
Size and scope of the division program . From 1983 - 2011 the
average area treated annually was about 1,200 acres. This
included as few as zero acres (due to a legal dispute in 2000)
to as many as 2,770 acres in 2004. In 2012 - 2014, 851, 2,185
and 2,600 acres, respectively, were treated. The current permits
allow treatment of up to 3,500 acres annually. Typically a few
hundred treatment sites are identified each year. Treatment is
prioritized and those sites are treated, often multiple times,
as possible.
Aquatic invasive species management in California . While the
division has responsibility for control of water hyacinth in the
Delta region, aquatic invasive species are actively managed by
numerous other local, state and federal agencies with
participation from various stakeholder groups. Other state
entities include the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the
Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Lands Commission,
the Department of Water Resources, the State Coastal
Conservancy, and the Water Boards.
The California Invasive Plant Council . The council is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission "is to protect
California's lands and waters from ecologically-damaging
invasive plants through science, education and policy."
According to its website it works closely with regulators and
other stakeholders and its membership includes public and
private land managers, ecological consultants and researchers,
planners, and concerned citizens.
Recent related legislation
AB 763 (Buchanan, c. 330, Statutes of 2013) expanded the
responsibilities of the division and the Department of Fish and
Wildlife with respect to evaluating, eradicating and controlling
invasive aquatic plants in the Delta, its tributaries and
Suisun Marsh.
AB 1540 (Buchanan, c. 188, Statutes of 2012) added South
American spongeplant to the list of invasive species of concern
in the Delta and related regions.
AB 2631 (Wolk, 2004) would have created an Invasive Species
Advisory Committee, as specified, to assist a statewide Invasive
Species Council composed of state agencies in developing a
statewide invasive species response plan. (vetoed)
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 6
of ?
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
on page 2, line 18, after "which" add ", in combination
with other factors,"
AMENDMENT 2
on page 2, line 23, after "to" add "evaluate and"
on page 4, line 3, after "to" add "evaluate and"
SUPPORT
Recreational Boaters of California
San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION
None Received
-- END --