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  








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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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