BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
457 (Wolk)
Hearing Date: 05/28/2009 Amended: 05/05/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 7-3, LG 3-2
SB 457 (Wolk)
Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 457 would establish a new Delta Stewardship
Council which would be required to adopt a plan to restore the
Delta ecosystem and ensure a reliable water supply, determine
whether any project approved by a state agency or local
government is consistent with the plan, and assume
responsibility for any conservation plan for the Delta.
The bill would establish a Delta Science and Engineering
Program, with specified responsibilities. The bill would also
require the Delta Protection Commission to carry out additional
land use responsibilities.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
New Council staff Up to $3,000 per year General
Implementation of Potentially in the hundreds of
millionsGeneral
conservation plans
New science program $10,000 to $20,000 per year General
Delta Protection $1,500 $1,500 General
Commission consistency
determinations
Reimbursable state Unknown General
mandates
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STAFF COMMENTS: Suspense file.
Under current law, the Delta Protection Commission has developed
a management plan for land use issues in the Delta. The policies
contained in the management plan have been adopted into the
general plans of local governments in the Delta. In the event
that a local government makes a land use decision that may
conflict with Delta Protection Commission policies, the
Commission acts as an appellate body for those decisions.
SB 457 (Wolk)
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During its 2005-2006 Regular Session, the Legislature passed and
the Governor signed AB1200 (Laird), SB1574 (Kuehl), and AB1803
(Committee on Budget). Together, these bills required an
assessment of the potential impacts on water supplies of
catastrophic failures in the Delta, identification and
evaluation of options to protect water supplies and the
ecosystem of the Delta, the development of a vision for a
sustainable Delta, and a strategic plan to achieve a sustainable
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Additionally, SB 1574 created a
Delta Vision Committee to develop the vision and strategic plan.
On September 28, 2006, the Governor issued an Executive Order
that, established a Blue Ribbon Task Force and directed it to
develop a vision for the Delta.
In October 2008, the Blue Ribbon Task Force published its Delta
Vision Strategic Plan. According to the plan, in order to
achieve a healthy Delta and a more reliable water system for
Californians, policy makers must:
Legally acknowledge the co-equal goals of restoring the Delta
ecosystem and creating a more reliable water supply for
California.
Recognize and enhance the unique cultural, recreational, and
agricultural values of the California Delta as an evolving
place, an action critical to achieving the co-equal goals.
Restore the Delta ecosystem as the heart of a healthy estuary.
Promote statewide water conservation, efficiency, and
sustainable use.
Build facilities to improve the existing water conveyance
system and expand statewide storage, and operate both to
achieve the co-equal goals.
Reduce risks to people, property, and state interests in the
Delta by effective emergency preparedness, appropriate land
uses, and strategic levee investments.
Establish a new governance structure with the authority,
responsibility, accountability, science support, and secure
funding to achieve these goals.
The report of the Blue Ribbon Task force can be considered a
starting point for several bills under consideration by this
committee relating to the Delta.
SB 457 (Wolk)
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SB 457 would create the Delta Stewardship Council, consisting of
eight appointed members and the chair of the Delta Protection
Commission. The Council would be required to develop and approve
a Delta Stewardship Plan, to hear appeals of decisions made by
the Delta Protection Commission, to determine the consistency of
major proposed infrastructure projects with the Stewardship
Plan, and establish policies and procedures for the operation of
water export systems to ensure consistency with the Stewardship
Plan.
Because the bill would establish a new entity in state
government with responsibilities that are broadly defined, it is
difficult to accurately estimate the costs to operate the
Council. Staff notes that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission has somewhat analogous authority within
the San Francisco Bay, and has an ongoing budget of about $6
million per year. Because the Council under SB 457 would have
less direct permitting responsibility, the costs may be less.
These costs, plus the additional costs to develop and
periodically revise a require plan could be up to $3 million per
year.
The Council would also assume responsibility for any
conservation or habitat management plan for the Delta. In
addition to the annual staff costs, there would be substantial
costs for actually implementing any habitat restoration plan.
Staff notes that the CalFed program has spent over $570 million
over the past decade on programs relating to ecosystem
restoration in the Delta. While the scope of activities
authorized under this bill is unknown, efforts to protect
environmental attributes of the Delta in the past have proved
very costly.
The bill would require the Council to create a Delta Science and
Engineering Program, as a replacement for the CalFed Science
Program. The Science Program would be responsible for
researching issues relating to the Delta, synthesizing
information for policymakers, reviewing major projects relating
to the Delta, and conducting independent reviews of other
government agency actions relating to the Delta. Staff notes
that over the past several years, the CalFed Science Program has
been budgeted between $10 million and $35 million per year.
The bill would require the Delta Protection Commission to revise
its plans to be consistent with the Stewardship Plan, review all
SB 457 (Wolk)
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general plans in the Delta to ensure consistency with the
Stewardship Plan, review all development proposals in the Delta
for consistency with the Stewardship Plan, and develop a
regional economic development plan. The cost to carry out these
responsibilities would be about $1.5 million per year.
Because the bill allows the Council to impose requirements on
local governments, including general plan requirements, the bill
would impose a state mandate.
Staff notes that this bill is one of several bills relating to
the Delta that will be before this committee, including, SB 12
(Simitian), SB 229 (Pavley), and SB 458 (Wolk).