BILL NUMBER: SB 1540 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Sher
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Papan)
FEBRUARY 17, 2000
An act to amend Section 5093.69 of, and to add Chapter 1.45
(commencing with Section 5093.72) to Division 5 of, the Public
Resources Code, relating to rivers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1540, as introduced, Sher. California Dam Decommission, River
Restoration, and Public Safety Act of 2000.
The existing California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires the
Director of Fish and Game to conduct studies funded by the
Legislature and make recommendations relating to, among other things,
the restoration of salmon and steelhead habitat and the management
of fisheries.
This bill would require the Secretary of the Resources Agency to
conduct studies and make recommendations relating to the development
of a statewide inventory of existing dams and water diversions that
are suitable for decommission, demolition, and removal for the
purpose of restoring spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead in the
California Wild and Scenic Rivers System or within other rivers and
streams in the state.
The bill would enact the California Dam Decommission, River
Restoration, and Public Safety Act of 2000, which would require the
secretary, on or before January 1, 2002, to prepare and submit to the
Governor and the Legislature a report evaluating the suitability or
nonsuitability for decommission, demolition, removal, or modification
of dams, diversions, and other impoundment facilities for the
purpose of restoring spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead
fisheries within the system and within other rivers and streams in
California.
The bill would create the Dam Decommission Fund in the State
Treasury and would authorize the expenditure of moneys from the fund,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the aforementioned study,
and to provide for the decommissioning, demolition, removal, and
modification of dams, diversions, and other impoundment facilities
for the purpose of restoring spawning habitat for salmon and
steelhead fisheries as described above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 5093.69 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
5093.69. (a) The Resources Agency shall conduct studies
specifically funded by the Legislature relative to the condition of
the system and may make recommendations to the Legislature for
protection and enhancement of the system.
(b) The director secretary shall
conduct studies specifically funded by the Legislature and shall make
recommendations relating to all of the following:
(1) The restoration of salmon and steelhead habitat in the system,
including measures that can be taken to increase spawning
populations, and provide at least 100 miles of reopened spawning and
nursery areas each year until the year 1990
2010 .
(2) Enforcement requirements necessary to protect the system from
fish or wildlife degradation.
(3) Development of information or statistical data necessary to
provide the most beneficial management of the fisheries included
within the system.
(4) Identify and assess the feasibility of decommissioning,
removing, or modifying dams, diversions, and impoundment facilities
to restore fish habitat and free-flowing character of the system and
other rivers and streams in the state.
(5) Legislative action deemed necessary to protect the
fishery and wildlife values of the system.
SEC. 2. Chapter 1.45 (commencing with Section 5093.72) is added to
Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 1.45. CALIFORNIA DAM DECOMMISSION, RIVER RESTORATION,
AND PUBLIC SAFETY ACT OF 2000
5093.72. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Dam Decommission, River Restoration, and Public Safety Act
of 2000.
5093.73. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Select dams block the passage of adult salmonids to their
preferred spawning habitat and consequentially contribute to
increased salmon and steelhead mortality rates and the listing of
salmon and steelhead under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) and the California Endangered Species
Act (Ch. 1.5 (commencing with Sec. 2050), Div. 3, F. & G.C.).
(b) Many dams are not being used for their original purposes of
debris control, recreation, flood control, water supply, and
hydroelectric generation due to lack of maintenance, sediment
problems, and the destructive forces of nature. As such, these dams
are a public nuisance.
(c) Actions required by law to ensure fish passage, provide
downstream flows for healthy fisheries, and to reduce impacts on
newly listed endangered species may cost more to the dam operator
than the revenue produced by a dam facility.
(d) Many older dams may be unsafe and represent a public safety
hazard to boaters and swimmers due to lack of funds for maintenance
and demolition.
(e) Some privately owned dams in the state of California have been
abandoned and no state agency or individual party has taken
responsibility for the maintenance of those facilities.
5093.74. (a) On or before January 1, 2002, the Secretary of the
Resources Agency shall prepare and submit to the Governor and the
Legislature a report evaluating the suitability or nonsuitability for
decommission, demolition, removal, or modification of dams,
diversions, and other impoundment facilities for the purpose of
restoring spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead fisheries within
the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and other rivers and
streams in California.
(b) The report shall inventory existing dams, diversions, and
impoundment facilities throughout the state that are suitable for
decommissioning, demolition, removal, or modification to restore
spawning and riparian habitat for salmon and steelhead, and to
enhance the free-flowing character of the system and of other rivers
and streams. For purposes of this subdivision, dams, diversions, and
impoundments do not include facilities that are operated as
components of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, or
that provide essential flood control, water supply, or hydroelectric
benefits, but the secretary may identify and recommend structural and
operational modifications to those facilities that would aid in the
restoration of salmon and steelhead fisheries and their habitat.
(c) The report required to be prepared pursuant to this section
shall identify and discuss all of the following:
(1) The reasonably foreseeable potential uses of land and water
that would be enhanced, foreclosed, or curtailed if the dam and
diversion facilities were to be decommissioned, removed, relocated,
or modified.
(2) Whether certain dam and diversion facilities are deemed to be
uneconomic or of minimal economic or socioeconomic value relative to
the environmental and public safety consequences of their continued
operation.
(3) The beneficial uses, if any, currently provided by a dam or
diversion evaluated for decommission, removal, or modification, and
any alternative means for providing these beneficial uses if the dam
is decommissioned, removed, or modified.
(d) As part of the report prepared pursuant to this section, the
secretary shall provide cost estimates for completing work on those
dams, diversions, and impoundment facilities that are recommended for
demolition, removal, or modification.
5093.75. (a) The Dam Decommission Fund is hereby created in the
State Treasury. Moneys in the fund may be expended, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to complete the study required
pursuant to Section 5093.74, and to provide for the decommission,
demolition, removal, and modification of dams, diversions, and other
impoundment facilities for the purpose of restoring spawning habitat
for salmon and steelhead fisheries within the California Wild and
Scenic Rivers System, and other rivers and streams of California.
(b) Money may be deposited into the fund from gifts, donations,
proceeds from the sale of general obligation bonds, funds
appropriated by the Legislature, federal grants or loans, or other
sources, and shall be used for the purposes described in subdivision
(a).