BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 13 X1
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( Without Reference to File )
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 13 X1 (V. Manuel P�rez, et al.)
As Amended July 7, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |58-15|(March 7, 2011) |SENATE: |29-11|(July 14, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Expands existing provisions, enacted to facilitate
permitting of solar energy projects in a specified desert
region, to include a broader range of renewable energy projects
in the desert and, for specified provisions, other regions of
the state. Establishes new provisions to support permitting of
renewable energy projects in the San Joaquin Valley.
The Senate amendments :
1)Revise permit application fee for Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) review of incidental take permits to sunset the fee
provisions January 1, 2016, and provide the following
alternative fees:
a) $25,000 for a project less than 50 megawatts (MW)
and for a project of any size that is subject only to
Fish and Game Code Section 2080.1 �which applies when a
federal permit has been obtained for a federally-listed
species that is also listed under the California
Endangered Species Act (CESA)];
b) $50,000 for a project between 50 MW and 250 MW; and,
c) $75,000 for a project over 250 MW.
2)Delete a provision requiring DFG to enter into one or more
planning agreements with appropriate participants to develop a
natural community conservation plan (NCCP) for renewable
energy development in the San Joaquin Valley.
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3)Revise a provision requiring the California Energy Commission
(CEC) to provide, upon appropriation by the Legislature, up to
$7 million in grants to qualified counties in the San Joaquin
Valley and desert regions to revise rules and policies to
facilitate renewable energy development.
4)Delete a provision making the bill contingent on enactment of
SB 2 X1 (Simitian) of 2011, and add a provision making Section
3 of the bill (permit application fee) contingent on enactment
of SB 16 (Rubio) of 2011.
5)Make other technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits, pursuant to CESA, the take of any endangered or
threatened species unless the take is authorized by DFG. DFG
may issue an incidental take permit authorizing the take of
endangered or threatened species if certain conditions are
met, including that the take is incidental to an otherwise
lawful activity, and the impacts of the authorized take are
minimized and fully mitigated. CESA requires applicants to
ensure adequate funding to implement mitigation measures,
including for monitoring.
2)Authorizes, pursuant to the NCCP Act, DFG to permit the taking
of any covered species whose conservation and management is
provided for in a NCCP approved by DFG.
3)SB 34 X8 (Padilla), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2009-10 Eighth
Extraordinary Session:
a) Authorizes DFG, in consultation with the CEC, to develop
mitigation actions, including advance mitigation and
interim mitigation strategies, to fully mitigate the
impacts on endangered and threatened species of solar
energy projects that are eligible for federal American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, and are
proposed for siting within the Desert Renewable Energy
Conservation Plan (DRECP) planning area;
b) Authorizes eligible project developers to meet their
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mitigation obligations by voluntarily paying fees for
deposit into a fund which would be used by DFG to complete
the mitigation actions; and,
c) Requires eligible project developers to pay and DFG to
collect a one-time permit application fee of $75,000 to
cover DFG's costs of processing incidental take permit
applications. Authorizes DFG, if the fee is insufficient
to cover the actual costs of completing the permitting, to
collect an additional fee of up to $75,000.
4)Requires the CEC to license thermal power plants over 50 MW
and the plant's related facilities including fuel supply
lines, water pipelines, and transmission lines that tie the
facility to the grid.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Expanded CESA mitigation provisions, currently limited to
ARRA-eligible solar thermal and photovoltaic projects, to
include ARRA-eligible wind and geothermal projects within the
DRECP.
2)Expanded a $75,000 permit application fee for DFG review of
incidental take permits, currently limited to ARRA-eligible
solar thermal and photovoltaic projects within the DRECP, to
apply to any eligible renewable energy project in the state.
3)Required DFG, consistent with the NCCP Act and to the extent
practicable, to enter into one or more planning agreements
with appropriate participants to develop a NCCP for renewable
energy development in the San Joaquin Valley.
4)Expanded an optional applicant fee, allowing the CEC to
contract for third party review of the applicant's project, to
apply to any eligible renewable energy project in the state.
This fee is currently limited to ARRA-eligible solar thermal
projects within the DRECP.
5)Required the CEC to provide, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, up to $7 million in grants to qualified counties
in the San Joaquin Valley and desert regions to revise rules
and policies, including general plans, zoning ordinances, and
NCCPs, to facilitate renewable energy development on
"disturbed lands," as defined.
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6)Provided that this bill is contingent on enactment of SB 2 X1
(Simitian) of 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, at least $6 million over the next few years in new
fee revenues, $6 million appropriated to DFG to review permit
applications, likely costs in the hundreds of thousands for
interagency transfer of permit review, and $7 million for
planning grants.
COMMENTS : The DRECP, which covers renewable resource lands in
the Colorado and Mojave deserts, is intended to serve as a NCCP
for development of renewable energy projects in the region. As
such, lands designated for development and lands designated for
conservation purposes will be identified and dedicated to those
purposes consistent with the terms of the NCCP Act and other
applicable provisions of law.
SB 34 X8 (Padilla), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2009-10 Eighth
Extraordinary Session, allowed solar energy developers to pay
in-lieu fees that would be used by DFG to acquire and restore
habitat lands for species affected by projects within the DRECP.
This provision is an alternative to developers' mitigating the
impacts of each of these projects on an individual, per project
basis. This approach also allows DFG to coordinate the
mitigation and to avoid piecemeal mitigation. DFG received a
loan of $10 million for this purpose. SB 34 X8 also required
DFG to develop an interim mitigation strategy that would
establish conservation benchmarks for the DRECP and to identify
high priority lands that should be acquired. The bill required
DFG to collect a fee of $75,000 for solar energy projects in the
area included within the DRECP.
Projects eligible pursuant to SB 34 X8 were limited to solar
power plants within the DRECP, receiving ARRA funding, and
therefore required to be permitted and begin construction in
2010. These limitations focused the bill on about 15 projects
that were pending review in the DRECP region that needed to have
permits issued in 2010 in order to retain their ARRA funding and
their federal tax credits.
This bill would expand the basic provisions of SB 34 X8, in
light of the federal extension of ARRA deadlines, to include
wind and geothermal energy projects, which may enable additional
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renewable energy projects within the DRECP to take advantage of
DFG's in-lieu mitigation program. The bill is also intended to
facilitate development of renewable energy projects in the San
Joaquin Valley by directing the CEC to provide grants for local
government participation. The bill would also expand and revise
fee provisions, which support DFG and CEC review of renewable
energy projects, to apply to all eligible renewable energy
projects developed to achieve the Renewables Portfolio Standard.
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092 FN: 0001611