BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1363 (Monning) - Ocean Protection Council: Ocean
Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program
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|Version: April 26, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 7 - 2, |
| | E.Q. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1363 requires, to the extent that funding is
available, the Ocean Protection Council (OPC), in consultation
with the State Coastal Conservancy (conservancy) and other
relevant entities, to establish and administer the Ocean
Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program, and specifies
approaches that must be considered.
Fiscal
Impact: If funding is made available, this bill will result in
the following costs:
Unknown, but significant costs (special fund) to OPC, to
develop and administer the program.
Minor costs (special fund) to the conservancy for
consultation.
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Background:1) Ocean acidification is caused by a series of chemical reactions
that occur as the surface waters of the ocean absorb a portion
(about a third) of the extra carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by
human activities and emitted into the atmosphere. These
reactions result in seawater that is more corrosive, with a
lower pH ("acidification") and a lower concentration of
dissolved carbonate ions that many marine organisms use to grow
their shells and skeletons.
Ocean acidification and California. In January 2016, the Senate
Natural Resources and Water Committee convened an Informational
Hearing where scientists discussed aspects of the emerging
science of OA. In April 2016, the multi-year, multi-state West
Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel (OAH Panel)
released an extensive report that summarizes current knowledge
of the science (which is still in its infancy), research
priorities, and recommendations for actions that can
nevertheless be taken by management now.
According to the report, because of oceanographic circulation
dynamics in the North Pacific, California's coastal ecosystems
are particularly exposed to impacts of OA. And as with other
mitigation and adaptation aspects of carbon emissions, when it
comes to addressing OA, there is a cost to management inaction.
This is because OA impacts, and the difficulties of addressing
them, will only get worse in the foreseeable future.
Eelgrass refers to species of temperate seagrasses, which are a
group of flowering plants that grow submerged in marine,
brackish, and freshwaters. Two species, Zostera marina L. and Z.
pacifica S. Watson, are native to California, and a third,
introduced species, Z. japonica, is considered invasive and a
threat to tidelands where some commercial clam farms and
recreational clamming occur. Hereafter, "eelgrass" refers only
to the native species.
According to NOAA Fisheries "California Eelgrass Mitigation
Policy and Implementing Guidelines" (October 2014), the state
supports dynamic eelgrass habitats that range in extent from
less than 11,000 acres to possibly as much as 15,000 acres
statewide. This includes estimates for poorly documented beds
in smaller coastal systems as well as open coastal and insular
SB 1363 (Monning) Page 2 of
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areas. While among the most productive of habitats, the overall
low statewide abundance makes eelgrass one of the rarest
habitats in California. Collectively, just five systems -
Humboldt Bay, San Francisco Bay, San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, and
Tomales Bay - support over 80% of the known eelgrass in the
state. The uneven distribution of eelgrass resources increases
the risk to this habitat, and the narrow depth range within
which eelgrass can occur further places this habitat at risk in
the face of global climate change and sea level rise
predictions.
Due to recognition of cumulative threats to the extent and
quality of eelgrass beds, and their ecological importance as
foundational species that provide food and habitat structure to
many other species within sheltered bay and estuarine
communities, eelgrass is a species of conservation concern.
Therefore, there are many examples of where eelgrass beds have
been inventoried and mapped at fine geographic scales as parts
of environmental impact assessments and mitigation plans for
coastal developments. There are also many small-scale eelgrass
restoration efforts underway as part of local, state, federal,
and international projects, often in partnership with non-profit
organizations. Variable degrees of success have resulted from
these efforts in California and around the world.
Ecological research on seagrasses, including their responses to
changing ocean conditions, their ability to capture sediment and
sequester carbon, and their ability to modify local water
chemistry through photosynthesis and respiration, is still
growing, but the evidence to date suggests that some of these
ecological functions can vary substantially from place to place,
and over time. Further research is necessary to determine the
extent to which such complexity can be routinely understood
enough to be reasonably predictable.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
1)Makes findings and declarations about the productivity of
eelgrass ecosystems; the numerous ecosystem services provided
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by eelgrass, including hypoxia mitigation, carbon
sequestration, and mitigation against sea level rise.
2)Requires OPC, in consultation with the conservancy and other
relevant entities, to establish and administer the Ocean
Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program.
3)States that the program is intended to achieve the following
goals:
a) Developing demonstration projects to research how
important environmental and ecological factors interact
across space and time to influence how geographically
dispersed eelgrass beds function for carbon dioxide
removal and hypoxia reduction.
b) Generating an inventory of locations where
conservation or restoration of aquatic habitats,
including eelgrass, can be successfully applied to
mitigate ocean acidification and hypoxia.
c) Incorporating consideration of carbon dioxide
removal during the habitat restoration planning process
in order to fully account for the benefits of long-term
carbon storage of habitat restoration in addition to the
habitat value.
4)Requires OPC to consider approaches in the program to remove
carbon dioxide from seawater that provide multiple cobenefits,
including, but not limited to, providing essential fish and
bird habitat, improving water quality, and mitigating sea
level rise.
Related
Legislation: AB 2139 (Williams, 2016) requires the Ocean
Protection Council to facilitate research and compile data on
the causes and effects of ocean acidification and, no later than
January 1, 2018, and to adopt recommendations for further
legislative and executive actions to address ocean
acidification. AB 2139 is currently in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
Staff
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Comments:1) SB 1363, as an unfunded mandate, will require new, unspecified
funding to the Ocean Protection Trust Fund for full OPC
implementation. By the time SB 1363 comes into effect, current
funding for OPC programs through the Proposition 84 bond will
have expired. The question therefore arises as to the source of
funding for this program.
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