BILL NUMBER: SB 57 CHAPTERED 09/30/00 CHAPTER 983 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 10, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Senator Hayden (Principal coauthor: Senator Murray) (Coauthors: Senators Alarcon and Johnston) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bock and Torlakson) DECEMBER 7, 1998 An act to add Division 20.7 (commencing with Section 30988) to the Public Resources Code, relating to ocean resources. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 57, Hayden. Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project. Under existing law, the Santa Monica Bay is included in the federal Clean Water Act National Estuary Program. This bill would create within the California Environmental Protection Agency the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, with specified objectives. The bill would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Secretary of the Resources Agency, and in coordination with the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, to make recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2001, as to the most efficient and environmentally sound measures to coordinate state policies to restore and enhance Santa Monica Bay. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Division 20.7 (commencing with Section 30988) is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: DIVISION 20.7. SANTA MONICA BAY RESTORATION 30988. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that Santa Monica Bay is a public trust for present and future generations of Californians, and an invaluable element in the ecosystem of southern California. (b) The biological health and recreational resources of Santa Monica Bay are threatened by the historical accumulation of DDT, PCBs and other toxic pollutants, oil spills, and industrial discharges, increasing with population pressures in the region. (c) Santa Monica Bay has been identified as a federal Superfund site, and designated under the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary Program. Since 1988, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has designated the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project as an agency to plan for the Santa Monica Bay's restoration. The State of California has expended millions of dollars for the administration of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, and the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act; Chapter 1.692 (commencing with Section 5096.300) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code) (Proposition 12 at the March 7, 2000, primary election) earmarks up to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) for Santa Monica Bay restoration projects, as identified by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project. (d) The purposes, role, structure, and jurisdiction of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project are not established in state law. (e) There is no lead agency designated and required to monitor, assess, or coordinate state programs affecting the beneficial uses or restoration and enhancement of the Santa Monica Bay, like the role of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission with respect to San Francisco Bay. There are several fragmented, overlapping agencies with jurisdiction over the Santa Monica Bay, but no requirement for coordination or planning of their activities. 30988.1. The Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Secretary of the Resources Agency, and in coordination with a designee of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, shall make recommendations to the Legislature as to the most efficient and environmentally sound measures to coordinate state policies to restore and enhance the Santa Monica Bay for future generations. Specifically, the parties, in consultation, shall consider whether long-standing environmental issues merit the development of a single lead agency and whether the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project is an institutional point of departure for such an agency. The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall make the recommendations to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2001. 30988.2. There is in the State Water Resources Control Board the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, an informational forum, planning body, and grant-making agency, the purpose of which shall be to assess the biological condition and state of Santa Monica Bay, including its public purposes such as recreation, aesthetic value, and environmental education, with the goal of preserving, restoring, and enhancing the ocean ecosystem and public interest values of the Santa Monica Bay for future generations. 30988.3. The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project may continue to operate within the funding sources provided by, and the organizational structure of, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. 30988.4. The project shall prioritize in its educational, monitoring, and bond proceeds expenditure decisions, proposals or projects designed to achieve bay restoration objectives including, but not limited to, all of the following: (a) The reduction or elimination of nonpoint source pollution. (b) The reduction or prevention of the threat of oil spills and leaks. (c) The reduction and prevention of beach erosion. (d) The reduction and prevention of public health threats from pollution. (e) The reduction and prevention of loss of wetlands. (f) Effective enforcement of appropriate environmental laws. (g) Public education and warnings of any dangers of consuming contaminated seafood. (h) Increased public education concerning the Santa Monica Bay in collaboration with universities and grades K-12 schools. (i) Assuring that ocean resources are accessible to all Californians regardless of socioeconomic status, and are preserved and enhanced for future generations.