BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1008| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1008 Author: Lara (D) Amended: 4/27/16 Vote: 21 SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/6/16 AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Leno NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson, Pavley SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: California Environmental Quality Act: Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System: exemption SOURCE: County of Los Angeles County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department DIGEST: This bill exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the design, site acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance of certain structures and equipment of the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS), consisting of long-term evolution (LTE) broadband mobile data system and a land mobile radio (LMR) system, if specified criteria are met. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Requires, under CEQA, lead agencies with the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed discretionary project to prepare a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report SB 1008 Page 2 (EIR) for this action, unless the project is exempt from CEQA. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §21000 et seq.) 2)Exempts from CEQA the design, site acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance of certain LA-RICS equipment and structures, if specified criteria are met. This provision sunsets January 1, 2017. (PRC §21080.25). This bill: 1)Exempts from CEQA the design, site acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance of certain structures and equipment of LA-RICS, consisting of LTE broadband mobile data system and an LMR system, if specified criteria are met. 2)Requires each LA-RICS project exempted from CEQA to meet specified criteria, including: a) The project site is publicly owned and already contains antennas and/or equipment enclosures. b) The construction and implementation at the project site does not substantially adversely impact wetlands, riparian areas, or habitat of significant value, and would not harm any protected species. c) The construction and implementation of the project at the site does not substantially adversely impact historical resources. d) Operation of the project does not exceed maximum permissible exposure standards established by the Federal Communications Commission. e) A new LTE antenna support structure or LMR antenna support structure complies with applicable height restrictions; and certain equipment may not exceed specified height limits. f) A new central system switch must be located within an existing enclosed structure at a publicly owned project site or housed at an existing private communications facility. SB 1008 Page 3 3)Specifies that this exemption does not apply if the project site is located on a school site, or cultural or sacred site. 4)Requires, prior to determining whether this exemption may apply to a project, the LA-RICS Joint Powers Authority (Authority) to: a) hold noticed public hearings in areas affected by the project to hear and respond to public comments; and, b) provide public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the project. 5)Requires, for an exempted project, the Authority to file a notice of exemption (NOE) with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk in the county in which the project is located as well as post the NOE on its Web site. 6)Requires the Authority to post on its Web site information related to environmental reviews of LA-RICS projects. 7)Requires the Authority and its member agencies to approve use agreements for the LA-RICS in an open and noticed public meeting. 8)Extends the sunset for this exemption from January 1, 2017 to January 1, 2020. Background 1)CEQA: Environmental review process. For general background information on the CEQA environmental review process, please refer to the Senate Environmental Committee analysis of this bill. 2)LA-RICS. According to the Authority: [LA-RICS] will provide improved radio and broadband communication for the public safety providers of the greater Los Angeles region. LA-RICS is comprised of two distinct, but compatible projects: a [LMR] communications and a [LTE] broadband communications system. Covering 88 cities and the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County within a 4.084 square mile area, LA-RICS will provide integrated communications for over 50 law enforcement agencies, 31 fire SB 1008 Page 4 departments as well as Emergency Medical Services (EMS), transportation, and education agencies. The LMR communication system will provide day-to-day voice and narrowband data radio communications service for individual public safety agencies, enable interoperability and interagency communications among member agencies and mutual aid providers, and support communications with regional, state, and federal agencies during disaster events?The LTE wireless network technology will provide day-to-day broadband data communications service for individual public safety agencies, provide emergency responders high speed access to lifesaving multimedia information, and support the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) initiative. Comments 1)Purpose of bill. According to the author: [LA-RICS] is the single greatest emergency preparedness and homeland security need in the Los Angeles region. The system will provide direct communication interoperability between law enforcement, fire, Federal, State and military agencies in major disasters, such as floods, fires, earthquakes, and terrorist incidents. The LA-RICS Project is especially critical given the tragic event of September 11th, which demonstrated the necessity of an interoperable communications system that would assist first-responders in saving lives. SB 1008 would extend the current CEQA exemption deadline for the LA-RICS project for three additional years, from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020. The extension of the current CEQA exemption is needed to continue to build out the LA-RICS LTE broadband system and LMR system, and would facilitate the timely environmental review and construction of sites that would be used for this important project. The Federal environmental review process, under the National Environmental Policy Act, for the LA-RICS Project sites, which is still required for the CEQA-exempt sites, has taken longer than previously anticipated. The proposed extension is especially essential for the continued build out of the LA-RICS system which is funded by SB 1008 Page 5 the critical Federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant awarded to the LA-RICS Authority by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Recently enacted Federal legislation provided a five-year extension for BTOP grant recipients, including LA-RICS, through Federal Fiscal Year 2020. The extension would allow much needed additional time for LA-RICS to construct additional sites to increase coverage and capacity of the LTE broadband system, and ensure that these sites are streamlined for environmental review, constructed and completed on time to enable first responders to communicate in all emergencies and major disasters. The exemption will not apply to undeveloped land or privately-owned land. It will only apply to sites on publicly-owned land where telecommunication infrastructure is already located such as on existing police, sheriff or fire station sites which already contain existing antenna support structure. Sites will not be located in environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, riparian areas, or habitat of significant value, and would not adversely affect historical resources. 2)AB 1486 (Lara) Letter to the Journal. On August 24, 2012, AB 1486 (Lara, Chapter 690, Statutes of 2012) was amended to exempt from CEQA certain LA-RICS projects and was passed by the Legislature on August 31, 2012. Because of AB 1486's rush through the legislative process, some requirements did not make it into the final version of the bill. However, in order to stay true to commitments made on AB 1486, the author wrote a Letter to the Journal on August 31, 2012, stating his intent that the bill includes additional, specified requirements in order for the LA-RICS exemption in AB 1486 to apply to a project. SB 1008 includes those requirements specified in the author's Letter to the Journal so as to ensure that the exemption more accurately reflects AB 1486 requirements in their entirety. 3)What is lost with a CEQA exemption? It is not unusual for certain interests to assert that a particular exemption will expedite construction of a particular type of project and reduce costs. This, however, frequently overlooks the benefits of adequate environmental review where lead and responsible SB 1008 Page 6 agencies are legally accountable for their actions to: Inform decisionmakers and the public about project impacts; Identify ways to avoid or significantly reduce environmental damage; Prevent environmental damage by requiring feasible alternatives or mitigation measures; Disclose to the public reasons why an agency approved a project if significant environmental effects are involved; Involve public agencies in the process; and, Increase public participation in the environmental review and the planning processes. If a project is exempt from CEQA, certain issues should be addressed. For example: How can decisionmakers and the public be aware of impacts, mitigation measures, and alternatives of a project because of the exemption? Is it appropriate for the public to live with the consequences when a project is exempt and impacts may not be mitigated and alternatives may not be considered regarding certain matters, such as air quality, water quality, and noise impacts? Because adverse project impacts do not disappear when they are not identified and mitigated, does an exemption result in a direct transfer of responsibility for mitigating impacts from the applicant to the public (i.e., taxpayers) if impacts are ultimately addressed after completion of the project? If taxpayers, rather than the project applicant, are ultimately responsible for mitigating certain impacts of such a project after project completion, what assessments or taxes will be increased to fund mitigation or pay for alternatives at a later date? It is also not unusual for certain interests to blame CEQA lawsuits. However, the total number of CEQA cases filed averages about 200 cases per year statewide and make up SB 1008 Page 7 approximately 0.02% of 1,100,000 civil cases filed annually in California. The California Attorney General's Office conducted a case study of CEQA challenges in the City and County of San Francisco from July 2011 through December 2011 and found that 18 lawsuits were filed out of 5,203 projects considered under CEQA. CEQA litigation is low considering the thousands of projects subject to CEQA each year as well as for the volume of civil litigation in general statewide. In addition, those citing CEQA and CEQA litigation as a problem do not indicate the result of that litigation. Were significant impacts that were not evaluated in the initial document ultimately addressed? What would have been the result if those impacts had not been mitigated (e.g., flooding, exposure of people to hazards, inadequate public services, congestion)? 1)LA-RICS past issues. LA-RICS has not been without its share of problems such as labor disputes, environmental concerns, and public protests. Some issues that have arisen over the last year include: a) By mid-February 2015, 13 of the 86 cities dropped out of LA-RICS, which leaves those remaining to carry a larger portion of the costs. Also, some cities refused to approve sites, which reduced the number of sites for the LTE network. b) In March 2015, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a halt to the construction of towers at county fire stations citing a lack of transparency and complaints that the project was moving forward without adequate notice to residents. Firefighters raised concern about radio frequency emissions causing the potential health hazards to them and neighboring residents. c) On April 1, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council members voted to stop build-out of the LTE system as well, citing potential financial burdens on the city. d) On April 3, 2015, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) suspended a $154 million grant to the Authority for LA-RICS, noting the project was SB 1008 Page 8 "severely behind schedule." Federal officials ordered communications project managers to "stop all work immediately" and directed LA-RICS authority to submit an amended LTE network plan by April 13, 2015 that was acceptable to the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and NTIA. The LTE network plan began with potentially 232 sites; when the suspension occurred, the number of sites had decreased to 177; the revised LTE network plan reduced the number to 82 sites. e) In November 2015, the Los Angeles City Council members unanimously voted to opt out of its membership to LA-RICS citing potential cost advantage of deploying a new city-owned LMR network. According to a city report, if the city had remained a member of LA-RICS after November 24, 2015, the city would have been liable for 29%-33% of all LA-RICS costs. f) The LA-RICS projects subject to this bill require an environmental review under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). According to the author, the federal environmental review process for the LA-RICS project sites has taken longer than previously expected - In fact, the closing date for the public review period for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the LA-RICS LMR project is April 5, 2016. The Authority complied with CEQA for the LMR sites that were not exempt pursuant to PRC Section 21080.25; and issued the Final EIR for the LA-RICS LMR System on March 21, 2016. The author states, "The Authority approved sites in the LTE project in 2014 and 2015 and determined that all LTE sites were exempt from review under CEQA pursuant to PRC §21080.25, the statutory CEQA exemption specifically adopted for LA-RICS." A question arises as to whether some of these issues could have been avoided or mitigated through the CEQA process such as providing transparency and a forum to address public concerns about health risks to firefighters and local residents, which as noted above, were serious enough concerns to make both the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors halt construction in March 2015. Also, considering that the NEPA review was completed in April 2016 for the LMR project and the CEQA review was completed a month earlier, a question arises as to how much SB 1008 Page 9 time the CEQA exemption actually saved. Related/Prior Legislation AB 1486 (Lara, Chapter 690, Statutes of 2012) exempted the design, site acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance of certain LA-RICS equipment, and sunsets January 1, 2017. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified5/9/16) County of Los Angeles (co-source) County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (co-source) California Ambulance Association California Chamber of Commerce California State Sheriffs' Association City of Los Angeles County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services County of Los Angeles Fire Department LA-RICS Authority OPPOSITION: (Verified5/9/16) California League of Conservation Voters Sierra Club California Prepared by:Joanne Roy / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108 5/11/16 15:58:22 **** END **** SB 1008 Page 10