BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2422
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 2422 (T. Berryhill) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Model efficient landscape ordinance: scientific panel
SUMMARY : Prohibits the Department of Water Resources (DWR)
from updating the model water efficient landscape ordinance
until any proposed update has undergone an independent
peer-reviewed scientific study.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DWR to convene a scientific panel, on or before July
1, 2011, of up to five nationally-recognized experts on the
water needs of residential landscaping plants.
2)Prohibits DWR from updating the model efficient landscape
ordinance or adopting a rule, regulation, or guideline
relating to the model efficient landscape ordinance unless the
scientific panel determines that such update, etc., is
consistent with the latest peer-reviewed research on the water
needs of residential landscaping plants.
3)Removes DWR's discretion and requires DWR amend any proposed
update, rule, regulation, or guideline to "conform to the
panel's findings."
4)If peer-reviewed scientific research on water demand
management does not exist for the practice, method, equipment,
or approach proposed by the update, rule, regulation, or
guideline, DWR is required to conduct the peer-reviewed
research.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires DWR to adopt a model local efficient landscape
ordinance that conserves water through the appropriate use and
grouping of plants that are well-adapted to particular sites
and particular climate, soil or topographical conditions.
2)Requires local agencies to adopt, by January 1, 2010, a water
efficient landscape ordinance that is at least as effective as
the model ordinance or the model ordinance applies.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : September 10, 2009, DWR adopted a Model Water
Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Model Ordinance) with a formula
for the "maximum applied water allowance" on a subject parcel.
To determine whether a parcel fits within the allowance, plants
in the area to be irrigated are assigned multiplication factors
based on their listing as low, moderate, or high water users in
the University of California Cooperative Extension publication
Water Use Classification of Landscape Species (WUCOLS), which
was initiated and funded by the Department of Water Resources'
Water Conservation Office. The California Association of
Nurseries and Garden Centers, disagrees that the listing
conclusions in the WUCOLS are science-based and would like to
require any further modifications to the model ordinance to be
peer-reviewed prior to adoption.
As currently written, the bill requires peer review of any
update to the Model Ordinance or "a rule, regulation, or
guideline relating to urban residential water management." This
broad language extends beyond future updates to the Model
Ordinance and could result in peer review being required for
regulations, guidelines, etc. implementing the current Model
Ordinance as well as other proposed rules, regulations, and
guidelines generally relating to urban residential outdoor water
demand management. For example, the current WUCOLS lists many
hundreds of plants. Requiring DWR to do peer-reviewed research
on the evapotranspiration rate of every plant or plant group for
which no peer-reviewed research currently exists would be
prohibitively expensive.
The Committee staff recommends amendments which would narrow any
applicable peer review to future revisions in the Model
Ordinance which change criteria related to evapotranspiration
rates and plant water use factors, including those in the
WUCOLS. These are the areas where the sponsor has stated there
is a lack of scientific agreement. The peer review would
identify if peer-reviewed research existed which supported or
did not support the proposed change. DWR would consider the
review but still retain its discretion. DWR would not be
required to conduct independent peer reviewed research if none
existed.
Opponents of the legislation argue that the measures in the
Model Landscape Ordinance are not ones that are currently
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subject to scientific debate. They state DWR went through an
extensive fact finding and public comment when adopting the
Model Landscape Ordinance, as required by the Office of
Administrative Law, and that another layer of review is costly,
unnecessary, and sets a bad precedent of a party seeking
legislation whenever it is unhappy with the outcome of a public
process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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CA Assoc. of Nurseries & Garden Centers (sponsor)
ABC Nursery
Belmont Nursery
California Citrus Nursery Society
California Farm Bureau Federation
CCOF
Dave Wilson Nursery
Four Winds Growers
Hines Nurseries LLC
L.E. Cooke Co.
Performance Nursery Corp.
Monterey Bay Nursery
Rosendale Nursery
Univ. of Calif., Agriculture & Nat. Res.
Walter Andersen Nurseries
Some individuals
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Opposition
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096