BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2598
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2598 (Brownley) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: sea level action
plans.
SUMMARY : Requires a trustee of legislatively granted public
trust lands to prepare a sea level action plan by July 1, 2011.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Vests within the State Lands Commission (Commission) exclusive
jurisdiction over all ungranted tidelands and submerged lands
owned by the state, and of the beds of navigable rivers,
streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits,
including tidelands and submerged lands or any interest
therein.
2)Grants to various local entities the right, title, and
interest of the state in and to certain tidelands and
submerged lands in trust for purposes of commerce, navigation,
and fisheries, or other public trust purposes. The Commission
monitors granted lands to ensure compliance with the terms and
conditions of a statutory grant, the California Constitution,
and the Public Trust Doctrine.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires, by July 1, 2011, a trustee of granted public trust
lands to prepare a sea level action plan (Plan). The Plan must
include all of the following:
a) An assessment of the impact of sea level rise on granted
public trust lands.
b) Maps showing the areas that may be affected by sea level
rise that may occur in 2050 and 2100 and the potential
impacts of a 100-year storm event.
c) An estimate of the financial cost of the impact of sea
level rise on granted public trust lands, including, but
not limited to, both the potential cost of repair of damage
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to and value of lost use of improvements and land and the
anticipated cost to prevent or mitigate potential damage.
d) Strategies to prevent or mitigate damage to existing
development and infrastructure.
e) Design standards that would avoid impacts to new
development and infrastructure.
f) Implementation measures and timetables.
2)Directs a trustee to conduct at least one public hearing on
the Plan and consult with its lessees, local, state, and
federal agencies, and other users of the granted public trust
lands.
3)Requires a copy of the Plan to be submitted to the Natural
Resources Agency (NRA), the Governor's Office of Planning and
Research or its successor, and Commission.
4)Authorizes the Commission to exempt a trustee from the
requirements of this bill if the Commission finds that none of
the trustee's public trust lands is subject to sea level rise
by 2100 or if the financial burden to prepare the Plan
substantially outweighs the benefit the Plan would have in
preventing the potential economic and environmental harms
associated with sea level rise on the trustee's granted public
trust lands.
5)Authorizes a trustee to levy service charges, fees, or
assessments sufficient to pay for the preparation of the Plan.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill : According to the author's office and the
State Controller, sponsor of this bill, this bill responds to
a December 2009 report prepared by Commission staff entitled
"A Report on Seal Level Rise Preparedness" (Report). The
Report included the results of a survey all of major public
trust land grantees and lessees of major facilities on state
lands along the coast and San Francisco Bay. Notably, the
Report found that "the majority of respondents have not yet
begun to comprehensively consider the impacts of sea level
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rise." Thus, the author's office believes that "Given the
unprecedented risks to homes, businesses, and commerce
identified in the [R]eport, it is imperative that the state
not delay in ensuring affected trustees of granted public
trust lands to immediately begin planning for that
eventuality."
2)California Climate Adaptation Strategy (CAS) : Last year, the
NRA published its CAS in response to an Executive Order
(S-13-08) on adapting to climate change. The CAS summarizes
anticipated climate change impacts and recommends near and
long-term strategies to increase the resilience and adaptive
capacity of the state to respond to these impacts. Based on a
review of the literature, the CAS found that sea levels have
risen 7-inches in the last century and are projected to rise
between 20-55 inches by the end of this century. The most
significant consequence of accelerated sea-level rise is an
increase in the frequency and intensity of coastal flooding
and erosion associated with extreme weather events and storm
surges. A 5-foot rise in the level of San Francisco Bay by
2100, for example, is projected to increase the amount of land
subject to flood-related risks by 33 percent.
The CAS also found that the state's infrastructure, including
ports and airports are particularly vulnerable to the impacts
of sea level rise. For example, all three major airports in
the San Francisco Bay Area (SF Bay), which are located near
sea level, are at an enhanced risk of inundation and flooding
from higher and more expansive storm surges. The CAS
indicates that docking facilities at the state's ports are
also at risk and estimates the total value of at-risk air and
seaport infrastructure in the multi-billion dollars.
Sea-level rise may also interrupt goods movement at ports,
reduce bridge clearance (reducing the size of ships able to
pass or restricting their movements to times of low tide), or
force ships to sit higher in the water, possibly resulting in
less efficient port operations.
Among other things, the CAS requires the Commission and
certain resources departments to prepare agency-specific
adaptation plans by September 2010. The individual Plans
required by this bill are intended to inform the development
of the Commission's adaptation plan.
3)Findings of the Commission's Report : The Legislature has
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granted public trust lands to 85 cities, counties, and harbor
districts. These lands include all of the state's major
ports. To inform its Report, the Commission surveyed its
major grantees and lessees of facilities along the coast.
The survey inquired about the life expectancy of existing
facilities, whether the respondent has considered the effect
of sea-level rise on its facilities, how its facilities would
be impacted by a rise of 16 and 55 inches, the cost impact of
associated damage, and whether adaptation strategies have been
considered. As indicated above, most respondents have made
little to no progress on incorporating sea level rise
considerations into its trust, planning, or regulatory
responsibilities. The Ports of Los Angeles and San Diego
reported that they will be developing adaptation plans or will
incorporate sea level rise in its design guidelines. The
Ports of San Francisco and Oakland, on the other hand, stated
that they believe that adaptation strategies must be
considered on a regional or state level, despite acknowledging
that their facilities will be impacted by sea level
rise-induced flooding.
The bill includes a provision that exempts a trustee from the
bill's requirements if the Commission finds that none of the
trustee's public trust lands is subject to sea level rise in
2100 or pursuant to a cost-benefit test. There are some
inland grantees like Lake County whose lands are not likely to
experience any sea level rise or others where only a small
portion of land may be subject to sea level rise and thus may
be exempt under the bill's cost-benefit test. It should be
noted that while the bill empowers the Commission to implement
these exemption provisions it does not assign it any oversight
or enforcement responsibilities over the preparation or review
of Plans. This should be addressed if the bill continues to
move.
4)Suggested amendments :
a) Plans should be prepared in coordination with CAS.
Given the publication of the CAS and on-going work by the
Climate Action Team and NRA to implement its
recommendations, the committee and author may wish to
consider amending page 3, line 13 of the bill to read:
(a) By July 1, 2011, a trustee of granted public trust
lands shall prepare a sea level action plan. This plan
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should be prepared in consideration of, and using relevant
information contained in, the Climate Adaptation Strategy
prepared by the Natural Resources Agency, the State Lands
Commission's Report on Sea Level Rise Preparedness, and any
other relevant resource.
b) The bill makes no mention of other public trust values
such as the preservation open space and habitat. The CAS
recommends that areas under the threat of development that
may also serve as opportunities for wetland restoration or
buffer zones should not be developed. Additionally, the
CAS suggests that "soft" protection measures should be
considered before constructing a seawall, for example, that
could impact beach nourishment and other littoral
processes. Accordingly, the committee and author may wish
to consider amending the bill on page 3, lines 27-30 to
read :
(4) Strategies to prevent or mitigate damage to
existing development and infrastructure, and to
protect and enhance undeveloped, vulnerable shoreline
areas containing critical habitat and opportunities
for habitat creation, including wetland restoration,
habitat migration, or the creation of buffer zones on
granted public trust lands. When developing these
strategies, especially along the coastline, a grantee
shall consider feasible, non-engineered measures such
as beach replenishment, coastal setback lines, or
managed retreat of structures.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coastkeeper Alliance
The Honorable John Chiang, California State Controller
California State Lands Commission
Opposition
Delta Counties Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Dan Chia / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092