BILL NUMBER: AB 2529 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 714
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2004
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kehoe
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Koretz)
FEBRUARY 20, 2004
An act to amend Section 30906 of, and to add Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 30920) to Division 20.4 of, the Public
Resources Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2529, Kehoe. Water quality: marine managed areas.
Existing law, the Marine Managed Areas Improvement Act,
establishes a program pursuant to which various geographic areas are
classified as marine managed areas for the purposes of regulating
activities within, and otherwise protecting, those areas.
This bill would establish a program for marine managed areas
pursuant to which the State Water Resources Control Board would award
grants, upon the appropriation of funds for that purpose, to local
public agencies and nonprofit organizations to restore and protect
the water quality and environment of marine managed areas. The bill
would require the state board to appoint a marine managed areas water
quality task force for the purpose of recommending projects to fund
in connection with that program.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 30906 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
30906. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in clean
water projects that will do all of the following:
(a) Assist small local communities in meeting water pollution
control requirements.
(b) Improve agricultural water quality and reduce pollutants in
agricultural drainage water.
(c) Implement urban stormwater treatment programs and reduce
nonpoint sources of pollution.
(d) Provide comprehensive capability to monitor and analyze water
quality in groundwater basins throughout the state.
(e) Improve water quality in coastal and marine waters,
particularly those waters that affect marine protected areas and
marine managed areas.
SEC. 2. Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 30920) is added to
Division 20.4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 3.5. MARINE MANAGED AREAS PROGRAM
30920. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide
authorization for projects that restore and protect the water quality
and environment of marine managed areas, as defined in subdivision
(d) of Section 36602, including areas of special biological
significance, as defined in the California Ocean Plan adopted
pursuant to Section 13170.2 of the Water Code.
(b) The board shall give priority to projects that treat or
otherwise remove existing waste discharges, or prevent probable waste
discharges, into areas of special biological significance.
30921. (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature for that
purpose, funds may be expended by the board, in consultation with the
State Coastal Conservancy, the California Coastal Commission, and,
as appropriate, the Department of Fish and Game, to award grants, not
to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per project, to local
public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the purposes of this
chapter.
(b) The projects funded to carry out this chapter shall
demonstrate the capability of contributing to sustained, long-term
water quality or environmental restoration or protection benefits for
a period of 20 years, address the causes of degradation rather than
the symptoms, and be consistent with water quality control plans and
resource protection plans prepared, implemented, or adopted by the
board, the applicable regional board, the Department of Fish and
Game, and the State Coastal Conservancy.
(c) An applicant for funds to carry out this chapter shall be
required to submit to the board a monitoring and reporting plan that
does all of the following:
(1) Identifies the sources of pollution to be prevented or reduced
by the project.
(2) Describes the baseline water quality or environmental quality
to be addressed.
(3) Describes the manner in which the project will be effective in
preventing or reducing pollution and in demonstrating the desired
environmental results.
(4) Describes the monitoring program, including, but not limited
to, the methodology, frequency, and duration of monitoring.
(d) Upon completion of the project, a recipient of funds to carry
out this chapter shall submit a report to the board that summarizes
the completed activities and indicates whether the purposes of the
project have been met. The report shall include information
collected by the recipient in accordance with the project monitoring
and reporting plan, including a determination of the effectiveness of
the project in preventing or reducing pollution, and the results of
the monitoring program. The board shall make the report available to
the public, watershed groups, and federal, state, and local
agencies.
(e) The board may not award more than 25 percent of a grant to
carry out this chapter in advance of the expenditure of funds by a
grantee.
(f) An applicant for funds to carry out this chapter shall inform
the board of any necessary public agency approvals, entitlements, and
permits that may be necessary to implement the project. The
applicant shall certify to the board, at the appropriate time, that
those approvals, entitlements, and permits have been granted.
(g) Where recovery plans for coho salmon, steelhead trout, or
other threatened or endangered coastal and marine aquatic species
exist, projects funded to carry out this chapter shall be consistent
with those plans and, to the extent feasible, shall seek to implement
actions specified in those plans.
(h) The board, in consultation with the California Coastal
Commission, shall appoint a marine managed areas water quality task
force comprised of individuals representing the breadth and diversity
of coastal communities, interested nonprofit groups, and marine
resource users. All proposals for grant funding to carry out this
chapter shall be reviewed by the task force. The task force may
recommend projects to the board for funding consideration.
(i) The board shall provide opportunity for public review and
comment in awarding funds to carry out this chapter.