BILL NUMBER: SB 457 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Sections 29735.5 and 29759 to, and to add Division
17.5 (commencing with Section 27000) to, the Public Resources Code,
relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 457, as introduced, Wolk. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Existing law requires various state agencies to carry out
programs, projects, and activities on behalf of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta.
The Johnston-Baker-Andal-Boatwright Delta Protection Act of 1992
creates the 23-member Delta Protection Commission and requires the
commission to prepare and adopt a comprehensive long-term resource
management plan for specified lands within the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. That act establishes a primary zone where further development
is barred and a secondary zone surrounding the Delta where
development may proceed under certain conditions.
The California Bay-Delta Authority Act establishes in the Natural
Resources Agency the California Bay-Delta Authority. The act requires
the authority and the implementing agencies to carry out programs,
projects, and activities necessary to implement the Bay-Delta
Program, defined to mean those projects, programs, commitments, and
other actions that address the goals and objectives of the CALFED
Bay-Delta Programmatic Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000, or
as it may be amended.
This bill would create a 7-member Delta Stewardship Council in the
Natural Resources Agency with specified powers and responsibilities
relating to the Delta, including approving the Delta Stewardship Plan
to guide and shape management of the Delta. The bill would require
the commission to present the council with a draft plan on or before
October 1, 2010. The bill would require the council to adopt the plan
on or before January 1, 2011. The bill would require the council to
review, and if necessary, amend the plan at least every 5 years.
The bill would establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy to undertake various activities related to the Delta and
would prescribe the management, powers, and duties of the
conservancy. The bill would create the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy Fund in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund would be
available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of the conservancy.
The bill would require the council by March 1, 2010, to appoint a
Delta Science and Engineering Board and create a Delta Science and
Engineering Program. The bill would state the intent of the
Legislature that the Delta Science and Engineering Program be a
replacement for, and a successor to, the CALFED Science Program, with
specified responsibilities, and that the Delta Science and
Engineering Board be a replacement for the CALFED Independent Science
Board.
The bill would require the commission to require all general plans
of cities and counties within the Delta, and the resource management
plan, to be consistent with the Delta Stewardship Plan, thereby
imposing a state-mandated local program on cities and counties. The
bill would require the commission to revise all of its plans and
policies to be consistent with the Delta Stewardship Plan, to review
and certify all city and county general plans for consistency with
the resource management plan and the Delta Stewardship Plan, to
exercise direct consistency determination authority over development
proposals in the primary zone, to review, hold public hearings and
receive testimony, and provide recommendations to the council on all
proposed projects subject to approval by the council, and develop a
regional economic development plan.
The bill would create the Delta Stewardship Fund and would require
the commission to deposit in the fund any moneys received from
federal, state, local, and private sources for Delta stewardship.
Moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, for
regional economic development consistent with the Delta Stewardship
Plan.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 17.5 (commencing with Section 27000) is added
to the Public Resources Code, to read:
DIVISION 17.5. Delta Governance
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
27000. The Legislature finds and declares that the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta is a natural resource of statewide, national, and
international significance, containing irreplaceable resources, and
it is the policy of the state to recognize, preserve, and protect
those resources of the Delta for the use and enjoyment of current and
future generations. In implementing that policy, the state shall act
pursuant to all of the following principles:
(a) A revitalized Delta ecosystem and a reliable water supply for
California are the primary, coequal goals for sustainable management
of the Delta.
(b) The Delta is a unique and valued area, warranting recognition
and special legal status from the state.
(c) The Delta ecosystem must function as an integral part of a
healthy estuary.
(d) California's water supply is limited and must be managed with
significantly higher efficiency to be adequate for the state's future
population, growing economy, and vital environment.
(e) The foundation for policymaking regarding California water
resources must be the longstanding principles of "reasonable use" and
"public trust"; these principles are particularly important and
applicable to the Delta. The goals of conservation, efficiency, and
sustainable use must drive state water policies.
(f) A revitalized Delta ecosystem will require reduced diversions
of water, or changes in patterns and timing of those diversions
upstream of the Delta, within the Delta, and exported from the Delta,
at critical times.
(g) New facilities for conveyance and storage, and better linkage
between the two, are needed to better manage California's water
resources for both the health of the estuary and the quality and
reliability of exported water.
(h) Major investments in the Delta and the statewide water
management system must integrate and be consistent with specific
policies in the Delta Vision. In particular, these strategic
investments must strengthen selected levees, improve floodplain
management, and improve water circulation and quality.
(i) The current boundaries and governance system of the Delta must
be changed. It is essential to have an independent body with
authority to achieve the coequal goals of ecosystem revitalization
and adequate water supply for California, while also recognizing the
importance of the Delta as a unique and valued area. This body must
have secure funding and the ability to approve spending, planning,
and water export levels.
(j) Discouraging inappropriate urbanization of the Delta is
critical both to preserve the Delta's unique character and to ensure
adequate public safety.
(k) Institutions and policies for the Delta should be designed for
resiliency and adaptation.
27001. The Legislature finds and declares that the Delta is in
crisis and existing Delta policies are not sustainable in the long
term, particularly in light of the threat of climate change and sea
level rise to state water supplies and water availability. Protecting
the public trust and improving the stewardship of the precious
resources of the Delta require fundamental reorganization of the
state's management of those resources.
27002. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Before California's statehood, the Delta had developed over
millions of years of sedimentary deposits from California's two great
rivers. When European settlers arrived, the Delta was a shallow
wetland with water covering the area for many months of the year.
Natural levees, created by deposits of sediment, allowed some islands
to emerge during the dry summer months. As with other river
estuaries, salinity would fluctuate, depending on the season and the
amount of precipitation in any one year.
(b) Not long after statehood, settlers began building larger
levees to keep water off certain islands for the entire year. In this
way, they gained a property interest in the created island. Into the
20th century, numerous islands and a maze of Delta channels emerged,
along with a robust agricultural economy relying on the fertile peat
soils that had been deposited over millions of years. Cultivation of
these peat soils, however, caused oxidation and subsidence, leading
to some areas of the Delta lying as deep as 30 feet below the
adjacent water level.
(c) In 1933, the Legislature adopted the California Water Plan,
which envisioned a set of northern California reservoirs to hold
water in the Sacramento River watershed for subsequent transfer
across the Delta into the San Joaquin Valley. The 1933 plan also
envisioned a reservoir on the main stem of the San Joaquin River,
which would hold back water that otherwise flowed to the Delta and
transfer that water south into the Tulare Lake and Kern River basins.
Because California did not have the resources to finance the plan at
that time, the federal government agreed to implement the plan
through the United States Bureau of Reclamation, which constructed
the Central Valley Project.
(d) In 1959, the Legislature approved construction of a State
Water Project, again drawing water from a northern California
reservoir across the Delta to serve agricultural uses in the Tulare
Lake and Kern River basins as well as urban uses in southern
California and the San Francisco Bay area. In 1960, California voters
approved the issuance of one billion seven hundred fifty million
dollars ($1,750,000,000) in bonds to pay for the State Water Project,
which began exporting water from the Delta in 1968.
27003. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) As demands on the Delta's resources have expanded, the Delta
has suffered conflict and deterioration. As water quality and the
fishery have declined, litigation over water quality standards and
fishery protection has raged for several decades, ultimately leading
to a 1994 agreement between the state and the federal government on
Delta water quality standards. Thereafter, the two governments
developed the CALFED Bay-Delta Program to improve conditions for four
critical issues: water supply, ecosystem restoration, water quality,
and levee system integrity. The two governments signed a Record of
Decision to establish a 30-year Delta improvement program on August
28, 2000.
(b) Since the 2000 CALFED Record of Decision, water project
pumping has increased to record high levels and certain fish
populations have declined to record low levels, with the Delta smelt
approaching extinction. Studies of the Delta's ecosystem crisis have
indicated that the recent decline has been caused by three categories
of problems for the Delta: water project operations, toxic
contaminants, and invasive species. All three of these categories of
problems have worsened in recent years, arising out of the growth and
development of the Central Valley economy.
(c) Recent years also have demonstrated the fragility of the Delta
levee system. After a 2004 levee failure on a clear summer day, not
during a flood event, the state has focused increased attention on
the conditions of the Delta's levees, which are mostly owned by
private parties or local reclamation districts. Continued farming on
peat soils has led to greater subsidence to levels far below adjacent
water levels in some parts of the Delta. These conditions put
greater hydraulic pressure on Delta levees and increase the risk of
levee failure. The Department of Water Resources has identified a
possible risk scenario where an earthquake could lead to mass levee
failure and the creation of a deep, saline water body where deeply
subsided islands formerly stood. This type of mass levee failure
would interrupt water exports from the Delta, as saline water
approached the water project pumping facilities in the south Delta.
(d) Finally, increasing urbanization on the fringes of the Delta
has led to greater stress on the Delta's resources. In 1992, the
Legislature passed the Delta Protection Act of 1992 (Division 19.5
(commencing with Section 29700)), which established a primary zone
where further development is barred and a secondary zone surrounding
the Delta where development may proceed under certain conditions. The
Delta Protection Commission, created by the Delta Protection Act of
1992, has succeeded in large part due to the leadership of local
officials who represent those who live and work in the Delta.
CHAPTER 2. DEFINITIONS
27050. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set
forth in this chapter govern the construction of this division.
27052. "Commission" means the Delta Protection Commission
established in the Delta Protection Act of 1992 (Division 19.5
(commencing with Section 29700)).
27054. "Conservancy" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy established in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 27200).
27056. "Council" means the Delta Stewardship Council established
in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 27100).
27058. "Delta" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary, as
defined in Section 12220 of the Water Code.
27060. "Delta Vision" means the report titled "Delta Vision: Our
Vision for the California Delta" as adopted by the Blue Ribbon Task
Force on November 30, 2007.
27062. "Plan" means the Delta Stewardship Plan adopted pursuant
to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 27400).
27064. "State Water Project" means the State Water Resources
Development System.
CHAPTER 3. DELTA STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
27100. (a) There is hereby created the Delta Stewardship Council
in the Natural Resources Agency, consisting of seven members
appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation, that
shall have the responsibility for the stewardship of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and all its natural resources. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the membership include diverse
expertise and perspectives, policy and resource experts, strategic
problem solvers, and individuals having successfully resolved
multi-interest conflicts.
(b) The council shall do all of the following:
(1) Approve the Delta Stewardship Plan.
(2) Determine whether a project proposed by or approved by a state
agency or local government that may impact the Delta is consistent
with the plan.
(3) Assume responsibility for any conservation or habitat
management plan developed for the Delta by the state or federal
government.
(4) Ensure federal and state consistency with the plan.
(5) Be designated a trustee agency pursuant to the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000).
(6) Determine the consistency of major water, road, railroad,
utility, and levee infrastructure projects in the Delta with the plan
and communicate that determination to the responsible agencies.
(7) Assess policies applied outside the Delta that are critical to
meeting Delta Vision goals and convey the results of that assessment
to the responsible agency.
(8) Work with the Delta Science and Engineering Program and the
Delta Science and Engineering Board on adopting sound principles of
adaptive management.
(9) Receive and allocate funds to advance policies and programs
related to the Delta.
(10) Include issues of environmental justice in the plan and in
future Delta decisionmaking.
(11) Adopt procedures for use of alternative approaches to dispute
resolution, such as joint fact finding and arbitration to reduce
reliance on litigation and the courts.
(12) Have the power to sue to ensure compliance with the plan.
(13) Establish policies and procedures that ensure that day-to-day
operation of water export systems is consistent with the plan.
27101. Each member shall serve for five years. The length of the
initial terms of office shall be staggered.
CHAPTER 4. SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA CONSERVANCY
Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions
27200. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Board" means the governing board of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy.
(b) "Fund" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Fund
created pursuant to Section 27223.
(c) "Local public agency" means a city, county, district, or joint
powers authority.
(d) "Nonprofit organization" means a private, nonprofit
organization that qualifies for exempt status under Section 501(c)(3)
of Title 26 of the United States Code, and that has among its
principal charitable purposes preservation of land for scientific,
recreational, scenic, or open-space opportunities; protection of the
natural environment, or preservation or enhancement of wildlife;
preservation of cultural and historical resources; or, efforts to
provide for the enjoyment of public lands.
(e) "Tribal organization" means an Indian tribe, band, nation, or
other organized group or community, or a tribal agency authorized by
a tribe, which is recognized as eligible for special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians because of their
status as Indians and is identified on pages 52829 to 52835,
inclusive, of Number 250 of Volume 53 (December 29, 1988) of the
Federal Register, as that list may be updated or amended from time to
time.
Article 2. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
27210. There is in the Natural Resources Agency the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, which is created as a state
agency to do all of the following, working in collaboration and
cooperation with local governments and interested parties:
(a) Monitor projects within the watershed of the Delta that
provide substantial benefits to the ecosystem or recreation capacity
of the Delta.
(b) Provide stewardship of the Delta by establishing and meeting
natural resource goals through both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem
protection and restoration efforts.
(c) Coordinate with other Delta governance entities.
27212. The board shall consist of nine voting members and seven
nonvoting members, appointed or designated as follows:
(a) The nine voting members of the board shall consist of all of
the following:
(1) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, or his or her
designee.
(2) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee.
(3) The chairperson of the Delta Protection Commission, or his or
her designee.
(4) Two public members appointed by the Governor.
(5) Two public members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(6) Two public members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(7) One public member appointed by the Governor, one public member
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one public member
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall be locally elected
officials from within the five Delta-region counties. The three other
public members shall represent statewide interests, with one member
residing in the Delta and one member residing in southern California,
and each shall have expertise in natural sciences, water and flood
management, or conservation sufficient to contribute to the goals of
the conservancy.
(b) The seven nonvoting members shall consist of the following:
(1) A designee of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission for coordination purposes.
(2) Three Members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules, and three Members of the Assembly, appointed by the
Speaker of the Assembly, shall meet with the conservancy and
participate in its activities to the extent that this participation
is not incompatible with their positions as Members of the
Legislature. At least two of the Members of the Senate and two
Members of the Assembly shall represent a district that encompasses a
portion of the Delta.
27213. The members appointed by the Governor shall serve at his
or her pleasure. The locally elected public members shall serve for a
term of four years, with a two-term limit. The state interest public
members shall serve for a term of four years, with a two-term limit.
27214. The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall select
one of the public members to serve as chairperson of the board. A
majority of the membership of the board constitutes a quorum.
27215. The board shall appoint an executive officer of the
conservancy.
Article 3. Powers, Duties, and Limitations
27220. The conservancy's jurisdiction is limited to the Delta.
27221. The conservancy may do all of the following:
(a) Fund or undertake pilot projects based on the research of
Delta science and engineering advisory groups.
(b) Develop, plan, and conduct environmental reviews, and
implement, monitor, and manage projects, or provide grants or loans
to others for these activities.
(c) Acquire water or water rights.
27222. (a) The conservancy may pursue and accept funds from
various sources, including, but not limited to, federal, state, and
local funds or grants, private philanthropy, gifts, donations,
bequests, devises, subventions, grants, rents, royalties, or other
assistance and funds from public and private sources.
(b) The conservancy may accept fees levied by others, which shall
not be subject to appropriation.
(c) The conservancy may create and manage endowments.
(d) All funds received by the conservancy shall be deposited in
the fund for expenditure for the purposes of this chapter.
27223. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Fund is
hereby created in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only for the
purposes of this division.
27224. (a) The conservancy may create or participate in a joint
powers authority or a supporting nonprofit organization to further
the goals of the conservancy, including long-term land management and
stewardship, interagency relations, and revenue generation.
(b) The conservancy may establish a supporting nonprofit
organization to assist with conservancy operations.
(c) The conservancy may engage in partnerships with nonprofit
organizations, local public agencies, and landowners.
(d) The conservancy may provide grants and loans to state
agencies, local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and tribal
organizations to further the goals of the conservancy.
27225. (a) The conservancy shall implement and manage the habitat
restoration and protection elements of the Bay Delta Conservation
Plan.
(b) The conservancy may acquire, accept, and hold interests in
real property and improve, lease, or transfer interests in real
property. Priority shall be given to property interests within or
adjacent to the highest priority ecosystem restoration areas, as
identified by local, regional, and state habitat restoration plans.
27226. (a) The conservancy shall hold public hearings.
(b) The conservancy shall create and maintain a strategic plan.
(c) The conservancy shall periodically report to the Legislature
and the public.
Article 4. Programs
27230. Within two years of hiring an executive director, the
board shall create and adopt a strategic plan for the implementation
of programs to achieve the goals of the conservancy. The plan shall
describe its interaction with local, regional, state, and federal
land use, water and flood management, and habitat conservation and
protection efforts within and adjacent to the Delta and shall be
consistent with the Delta plan when completed.
27231. The programs of the conservancy shall include all of the
following:
(a) Protection of agriculture and working landscapes.
(b) Increased recreation and public access in the Delta, including
linkages to areas outside the delta.
(c) Tourism and economic vitality in the Delta.
(d) Habitat enhancement and restoration, monitoring of restored
lands, and ongoing adaptive management of conservancy lands and
habitat projects in response to monitoring.
(e) Creation of a streamlined habitat permit program.
(f) Facilitation of safe harbor agreements for adjacent
landowners, watershed planning and projects, including floodplains
and river parkways, and legacy community support and community
waterfronts.
(g) Consideration of carbon sequestration and a response to the
effects of climate change.
(h) Environmental education and historic and cultural resource
protection.
(i) Cooperative relationship with local and state land use
authorities to assist with implementation of local general plans and
state plans.
(j) Cooperation with a science advisory board on research, and
with the California Delta Ecosystem and Water Council and other Delta
governing entities.
(k) Assistance for local entities in implementation of the Habitat
Conservation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan.
27232. The programs of the conservancy shall be based on
strategies that include all of the following:
(a) Scientific investigation to balance the Delta's unique
ecological needs with water supply reliability.
(b) Recommendations for adaptive management strategies to achieve
a resilient Delta ecosystem with consideration of climate change, sea
level rise, habitat shifting, and potential levee failure.
(c) Emphasis on public outreach with regular opportunities for
public participation and input, coordinated with efforts of the
California Delta Ecosystem and Water Council and other Delta
governing entities.
27233. (a) The conservancy shall establish the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy Advisory Council.
(b) The council shall be composed of 14 members as follows:
(1) Five representatives of local government from jurisdictions
including the five Delta counties.
(2) Three representative of public water agencies that rely, at
least in part, on water for use within or exported from the Delta
watershed.
(3) Three representatives of federal and state entities with land
interests in the Delta, including those focused on tourism and
economic enhancement, recreation, agricultural, and ecosystem
protections.
(4) Three representatives from the environmental and environmental
justice communities.
(c) The committee shall do both of the following:
(1) Provide information and expertise for the conservancy's
efforts to adaptively manage the Delta's natural resources and its
other programs.
(2) Facilitate public participation in the conservancy's
implementation of its programs.
CHAPTER 5. DELTA SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRAM
27300. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that California
should maintain a strong and consistent investment in science and
engineering important to the Delta. There should be a more direct
link between scientific investigation and real-world management and
policy. To achieve this, the council will need both a permanent
science and engineering staff and an independent Delta Science and
Engineering Board that reviews council actions.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Delta Science and
Engineering Program should be a replacement for, and a successor to,
the successful CALFED Science Program, and that the Delta Science
and Engineering Board should be a replacement for the CALFED
Independent Science Board.
(c) The council, by March 1, 2010, shall appoint a Delta Science
and Engineering Board, consisting of between 12 and 20 individuals
with natural science, social science, engineering, and policy
expertise. Members may serve a maximum of two five-year terms. Lead
scientists appointed by the council shall have a rotating appointment
of three years. Lead scientists shall be formally engaged by an
agency other than the state.
(d) The council, by March 1, 2010, shall create a Delta Science
and Engineering Program.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the program do all of
the following:
(1) Research critical scientific issues of both the physical Delta
and elsewhere in the state relevant to Delta management.
(2) Organize, assess, and synthesize the best available science
for policymakers and the council.
(3) Review all major projects undertaken to advance the goals of
the Delta Vision.
(4) Conduct independent science and engineering reviews of the
work of government agencies or consultant work upon the request of
the council, the conservancy, or other state agencies.
(5) Establish communication channels to effectively transmit
science and engineering results to broader and more diverse
audiences.
(6) Develop discussion papers and interactive lectures.
CHAPTER 6. DELTA STEWARDSHIP PLAN
27400. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Delta Stewardship Plan is intended to guide and shape
management of the Delta to ensure its revitalization and create a
statewide reliable water delivery system.
(b) The current lack of a legally binding, cohesive plan has
caused agencies and Delta stakeholders to work in a vacuum,
developing policies and programs that lack context. The CALFED Record
of Decision included most elements of such a plan but failed to be
implemented for three reasons: those in charge had no authority to
ensure its implementation, those who were implementing it had no
accountability, and, in the end, there was no money.
(c) In addition, all parties recognize that the management of the
Delta is rife with uncertainty. Any functional governance structure
must be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. A
governance structure built around a plan can achieve this flexibility
by incorporating periodic revisions and grounding management
directions in adaptive management principles. Importantly, management
and scientific understanding must evolve together. Management
decisions and plan provisions must incorporate the best available
science, and be formulated in such a way that scientific knowledge
can be generated through direct observation of the Delta's response
to various actions.
(d) The plan is intended to achieve the coequal goals of the Delta
Vision. It should build upon and integrate other plans, modifying
and extending them as needed to meet its responsibilities.
(e) Existing policies and programs in the Delta lack cohesion and
integration. The aim of this proposed plan is to remedy those two
faults. The plan should be developed and adopted by the council
before January 1, 2011.
(f) All state, regional, and local agencies with planning
responsibilities should be required to carry out their actions in
conformity with the plan, while providing the flexibility needed to
meet the Delta's management challenges. Approving a plan governing
the Delta thereby ensures
consistency among existing state, federal, regional, and local
agencies and provides the flexibility needed to meet the Delta's
management challenges.
(g) Local governments and other state and federal agencies should
continue planning, decisionmaking, and operations consistent with the
plan.
27401. The Legislature further finds and declares that the plan
should do all of the following:
(a) Incorporate any species protection requirements that impact
Delta resources.
(b) Incorporate requirements for water flow and water quality in
the Delta that achieve the coequal goals.
(c) Define state land use interests in the Delta, especially those
that impact the ecosystem, water supply reliability, and flood
concerns. The commission and local governments should provide the
oversight to protect those interests in consistency with the plan. In
the case that these state interests extend from the Delta into
adjacent areas, the commission should work with relevant local
governments to address the linkages.
(d) Provide principles and procedures for adaptive management.
(e) Provide for the modeling, data collection, management,
monitoring, analysis, and interpretation to support policy
decisionmaking.
(f) Ensure flexibility and resiliency in managing the Delta.
(g) Incorporate the recommendations of the Delta Vision Strategic
Plan.
(h) Include an accurate up-to-date assessment of water supply
availability.
(i) Articulate a detailed financing plan that identifies costs,
benefits, and revenue sources.
(j) Serve as a foundational document for a programmatic
environmental impact statement or environmental impact report, as
well as any projects undertaken requiring permits pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000)) or the federal National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).
27402. (a) The commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify and address, by December 31, 2010, any
inconsistencies in the water quality plans adopted by the State Water
Resources Control Board and the plan.
(2) Present the council with a draft plan no later than October 1,
2010.
(b) The council shall review, and, if necessary, amend the plan at
least every five years.
(c) The Delta Science and Engineering Board, with the support of
the Delta Science and Engineering Program, shall develop a
science-based adaptive management program to provide for continued
study of, and adaptation to, actions implemented by state, federal,
and local agencies in the Delta.
27403. The commission shall develop the plan in accordance with
all of the following:
(a) The plan shall be consistent with the procedural and
substantive requirements of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1451 et seq.).
(b) The commission shall coordinate with stakeholders as well as
state, federal, and local agencies.
(c) The commission shall start by assessing existing plans and
planning efforts and use elements which are consistent with the goals
of the Delta Vision.
(d) The commission shall encourage the participation of local,
state, and federal agencies to help to better integrate their
responsibilities and capacities into the plan.
(e) The commission shall ensure that the plan recognizes and
addresses the uncertainty involved in Delta decisionmaking and design
an adaptive management plan to ensure that ongoing Delta management
builds knowledge about the ecosystem and provides information for
improved decisionmaking. The adaptive management plan should build
upon the work of the CALFED Science Program to do all of the
following:
(1) Synthesize existing knowledge about the Delta as a physical
system.
(2) State hypotheses about the effects of management actions
recommended in the plan on the ecosystem, water supply, and other
values.
(3) Recommend to the council additional management actions
expected to yield desired ecosystem or water supply outcomes or
designed to generate useful knowledge about the Delta.
(4) Design monitoring programs to systematically gather needed
data.
(5) Identify and put in place the processes by which the data will
be synthesized, hypotheses evaluated, and new management actions
recommended.
(6) On the five-year cycles on which the plan is reviewed and
updated, the results should be integrated into a report on the
knowledge of the Delta, an assessment of the success of current
policies and management, and the identification, assessment, and
recommendation of possible changes in policies or management.
27404. (a) The council shall adopt the plan on or before January
1, 2011.
(b) Until the plan is adopted pursuant to this division, the Delta
Vision strategic plan shall serve as the interim plan for the Delta.
CHAPTER 7. DELTA STEWARDSHIP FUND
27500. The Delta Stewardship Fund is hereby created in the State
Treasury. The commission shall deposit in the fund any moneys
received from federal, state, local, and private sources for Delta
stewardship. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for regional economic development
consistent with the plan.
SEC. 2. Section 29735.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
29735.5. The commission shall request federal agencies,
including, but not limited to, the United States Army Corps of
Engineers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the
United States Bureau of Reclamation to participate in nonvoting
liaison capacities with the commission to better assess and
coordinate flood protection, water supply, and ecosystem protection
issues.
SEC. 3. Section 29759 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
29759. (a) The commission shall require all general plans of
cities and counties within the Delta, and the resource management
plan, to be consistent with the Delta Stewardship Plan adopted
pursuant to Division 17.5 (commencing with Section 27000).
(b) The commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Revise all of its plans and policies, including the resource
management plan, to be consistent with the Delta Stewardship Plan
adopted pursuant to Division 17.5 (commencing with Section 27000).
(2) Review and certify all city and county general plans for
consistency with the resource management plan and the Delta
Stewardship Plan.
(3) Exercise direct consistency determination authority over
development proposals in the primary zone. The commission shall make
an affirmative determination that any project approved by a city or
county within the primary zone is consistent with the resource
management plan and the Delta Stewardship Plan.
(4) Review, hold public hearings and receive testimony, and
provide recommendations to the Delta Stewardship Council on all
proposed projects subject to approval by that council.
(5) Develop a Delta regional economic development plan to support
increased investment in agriculture, recreation, tourism, and local
communities.
SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.