BILL NUMBER: SB 1334 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Sections 2810 and 2820 of the Fish and Game Code,
relating to wildlife resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1334, as introduced, Wolk. Natural community conservation
plans.
The Natural Community Conservation Planning Act authorizes the
Department of Fish and Game to enter into agreements with any person
or public entity for the purpose of preparing a natural community
conservation plan, in cooperation with a local agency that has land
use permit authority over the activities proposed to be addressed in
the plan, to provide comprehensive management and conservation of
multiple wildlife species. The act requires the department to approve
a natural community conservation plan for implementation after
making specified findings based upon substantial evidence in the
record, including a finding that the plan has been developed
consistent with the planning agreement process.
This bill would expand the cooperation requirement to require the
department to cooperate with all local agencies that have land use
permit authority over the activities proposed to be addressed in the
plan. The bill would require a corresponding finding.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2810 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
2810. (a) The department may enter into an agreement with any
person or public entity for the purpose of preparing a natural
community conservation plan, in cooperation with a
all local agency agencies
that has have land use permit authority
over the activities proposed to be addressed in the plan, to provide
comprehensive management and conservation of multiple wildlife
species, including, but not limited to, those species listed pursuant
to Article 2 (commencing with Section 2070) of Chapter 1.5. The
agreement shall include a provision specifying the amount of
compensation, if any, payable to the department pursuant to Section
2829.
(b) The agreement shall meet all of the following conditions:
(1) The agreement shall be binding upon the department, other
participating federal, state, and local agencies, and participating
private landowners.
(2) The agreement shall define the geographic scope of the
conservation planning area.
(3) The agreement shall identify a preliminary list of those
natural communities, and the endangered, threatened, candidate, or
other species known, or reasonably expected to be found, in those
communities, that are intended to be the initial focus of the plan.
(4) The agreement shall identify preliminary conservation
objectives for the planning area.
(5) The agreement shall establish a process for the inclusion of
independent scientific input to assist the department and plan
participants, and to do all of the following:
(A) Recommend scientifically sound conservation strategies for
species and natural communities proposed to be covered by the plan.
(B) Recommend a set of reserve design principles that addresses
the needs of species, landscapes, ecosystems, and ecological
processes in the planning area proposed to be addressed by the plan.
(C) Recommend management principles and conservation goals that
can be used in developing a framework for the monitoring and adaptive
management component of the plan.
(D) Identify data gaps and uncertainties so that risk factors can
be evaluated.
(6) The agreement shall require coordination with federal wildlife
agencies with respect to the federal Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.).
(7) The agreement shall encourage concurrent planning for wetlands
and waters of the United States.
(8) The agreement shall establish an interim process during plan
development for project review wherein discretionary projects within
the plan area subject to Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)
of the Public Resources Code that potentially conflict with the
preliminary conservation objectives in the planning agreement are
reviewed by the department prior to, or as soon as possible after the
project application is deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943 of
the Government Code and the department recommends mitigation measures
or project alternatives that would help achieve the preliminary
conservation objectives. As part of this process, information
developed pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of
Section 2810 shall be taken into consideration by the
department and plan participants. Any take of candidate, threatened,
or endangered species that occurs during this interim period shall be
included in the analysis of take to be authorized under an approved
plan. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to authorize take of
candidate, protected, or endangered species.
(9) The agreement shall establish a process for public
participation throughout the plan development and review pursuant to
Section 2815.
(c) The approval of the planning agreement is not a project
pursuant to Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code.
(d) Prior to department approval of the planning agreement, the
public shall have 21 calendar days to review and comment on the
proposed planning agreement.
SEC. 2. Section 2820 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
2820. (a) The department shall approve a natural community
conservation plan for implementation after making the following
findings, based upon substantial evidence in the record:
(1) The plan has been developed consistent with the process
identified in the planning agreement entered into pursuant to Section
2810 , including cooperation with all local agencies that have
land use permit authority over the activities proposed to be
addressed in the plan .
(2) The plan integrates adaptive management strategies that are
periodically evaluated and modified based on the information from the
monitoring program and other sources, which
that will assist in providing for the conservation of covered
species and ecosystems within the plan area.
(3) The plan provides for the protection of habitat, natural
communities, and species diversity on a landscape or ecosystem level
through the creation and long-term management of habitat reserves or
other measures that provide equivalent conservation of covered
species appropriate for land, aquatic, and marine habitats within the
plan area.
(4) The development of reserve systems and conservation measures
in the plan area provides, as needed for the conservation of species,
all of the following:
(A) Conserving, restoring, and managing representative natural and
seminatural landscapes to maintain the ecological integrity of large
habitat blocks, ecosystem function, and biological diversity.
(B) Establishing one or more reserves or other measures that
provide equivalent conservation of covered species within the plan
area and linkages between them and adjacent habitat areas outside of
the plan area.
(C) Protecting and maintaining habitat areas that are large enough
to support sustainable populations of covered species.
(D) Incorporating a range of environmental gradients
(such , such as slope, elevation, aspect, and
coastal or inland characteristics)
characteristics, and high habitat diversity to provide for
shifting species distributions due to changed circumstances.
(E) Sustaining the effective movement and interchange of organisms
between habitat areas in a manner that maintains the ecological
integrity of the habitat areas within the plan area.
(5) The plan identifies activities, and any restrictions on those
activities, allowed within reserve areas that are compatible with the
conservation of species, habitats, natural communities, and their
associated ecological functions.
(6) The plan contains specific conservation measures that meet the
biological needs of covered species and that are based upon the best
available scientific information regarding the status of covered
species and the impacts of permitted activities on those species.
(7) The plan contains a monitoring program.
(8) The plan contains an adaptive management program.
(9) The plan includes the estimated timeframe and process by which
the reserves or other conservation measures are to be implemented,
including obligations of landowners and plan signatories and
consequences of the failure to acquire lands in a timely manner.
(10) The plan contains provisions that ensure adequate funding to
carry out the conservation actions identified in the plan.
(b) A natural community conservation plan approved pursuant to
this section shall include an implementation agreement that contains
all of the following:
(1) Provisions defining species coverage, including any conditions
of coverage.
(2) Provisions for establishing the long-term protection of any
habitat reserve or other measures that provide equivalent
conservation of covered species.
(3) Specific terms and conditions, which
that , if violated, would result in the suspension or
revocation of the permit, in whole or in part. The department shall
include a provision requiring notification to the plan participant of
a specified period of time to cure any default prior to suspension
or revocation of the permit in whole or in part. These terms and
conditions shall address, but are not limited to, provisions
specifying the actions the department shall take under all of the
following circumstances:
(A) If the plan participant fails to provide adequate funding.
(B) If the plan participant fails to maintain the rough
proportionality between impacts on habitat or covered species and
conservation measures.
(C) If the plan participant adopts, amends, or approves any plan
or project without the concurrence of the wildlife agencies that is
inconsistent with the objectives and requirements of the approved
plan.
(D) If the level of take exceeds that authorized by the permit.
(4) Provisions specifying procedures for amendment of the plan and
the implementation agreement.
(5) Provisions ensuring implementation of the monitoring program
and adaptive management program.
(6) Provisions for oversight of plan implementation for purposes
of assessing mitigation performance, funding, and habitat protection
measures.
(7) Provisions for periodic reporting to the wildlife agencies and
the public for purposes of information and evaluation of plan
progress.
(8) Mechanisms to ensure adequate funding to carry out the
conservation actions identified in the plan.
(9) Provisions to ensure that implementation of mitigation and
conservation measures on a plan basis is roughly proportional in time
and extent to the impact on habitat or covered species authorized
under the plan. These provisions shall identify the conservation
measures, including assembly of reserves where appropriate and
implementation of monitoring and management activities, that will be
maintained or carried out in rough proportion to the impact on
habitat or covered species and the measurements that will be used to
determine if this is occurring.
(c) If a plan participant does not maintain the proportionality
between take and conservation measures specified in the
implementation agreement and does not either cure the default within
45 days or enter into an agreement with the department within 45 days
to expeditiously cure the default, the department shall suspend or
revoke the permit, in whole or in part.
(d) Any data and reports associated with the monitoring program
required by this section shall be available for public review. The
entity managing the plan shall also conduct public workshops on an
annual basis to provide information and evaluate progress toward
attaining the conservation objectives of the plan.
(e) To the extent provided pursuant to Division 13 (commencing
with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code and any guidelines
adopted pursuant thereto, if the impacts on one or more covered
species and its habitat are analyzed and mitigated pursuant to a
program environmental impact report for a plan adopted pursuant to
this chapter, a plan participant that is a lead agency or a
responsible agency under that division shall incorporate in the
review of any subsequent project in the plan area the feasible
mitigation measures and alternatives related to the biological
impacts on covered species and their habitat developed in the program
environmental impact report.
(f) The department may provide assurances for plan participants
commensurate with long-term conservation assurances and associated
implementation measures pursuant to the approved plan.
(1) When providing assurances pursuant to this subdivision, the
department's determination of the level of assurances and the time
limits specified in the implementation agreement for assurances may
be based on localized conditions and shall consider all of the
following:
(A) The level of knowledge of the status of the covered species
and natural communities.
(B) The adequacy of analysis of the impact of take on covered
species.
(C) The use of the best available science to make assessments
about the impacts of take, the reliability of mitigation strategies,
and the appropriateness of monitoring techniques.
(D) The appropriateness of the size and duration of the plan with
respect to quality and amount of data.
(E) The sufficiency of mechanisms for long-term funding of all
components of the plan and contingencies.
(F) The degree of coordination and accessibility of centralized
data for analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan.
(G) The degree to which a thorough range of foreseeable
circumstances are considered and provided for under the adaptive
management program.
(H) The size and duration of the plan.
(2) If there are unforeseen circumstances, additional land, water,
or financial compensation or additional restrictions on the use of
land, water, or other natural resources shall not be required without
the consent of plan participants for a period of time specified in
the implementation agreement, unless the department determines that
the plan is not being implemented consistent with the substantive
terms of the implementation agreement.