BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 627
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 26, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 627 (Bill Berryhill) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
SUBJECT : State Water Resources Development System: Delta
Corridors Plan
SUMMARY : Directs the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
consider a specific alternative for conveying water through the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires DWR to undertake an expedited evaluation and
feasibility study to consider implementing a project called
the "Delta Corridors Plan" as an alternative means of
conveying water through the Delta and improving south Delta
salinity.
2) Requires DWR to consult with the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) on the potential environmental and ecological impacts
and benefits of the Delta Corridors Plan.
3) Requires the study to incorporate an evaluation of the
Two-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project (Two-Gates).
4) Requires DWR to report to the Legislature on or before
January 1, 2013 on the feasibility of the Delta Corridors
Plan and, if feasible, to recommend specific facilities for
construction and potential funding sources.
5) States the intent of the Legislature to appropriate money to
DWR to pay the costs of the Delta Corridors Plan feasibility
study.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Requires DWR, as the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) lead agency for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)
to consider a reasonable range of conveyance alternatives for
exporting Delta water, including a through-Delta alternative,
in its environmental review for the BDCP project.
2) Requires DWR to consult with DFG when evaluating any project
which could affect fish
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and wildlife.
3) Requires DWR to coordinate with DFG and cooperate with the
United States Bureau of Reclamation to construct and
implement Two-Gates, a project designed to create barriers to
fish impingement and entrainment while increasing export
water deliveries.
4) Makes $65,000,000 in Proposition 84 bond funding available
to DWR, upon appropriation by the legislature, for planning
and feasibility studies relating to the existing and future
needs of California's water supply, conveyance, and flood
control systems.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
There is wide-spread recognition that the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta Estuary is in decline with crashing fisheries and
unreliable water supplies. Senate Bill 1 (Simitian), Chapter 5,
Statutes of the 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary Session codified
the coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for
California while protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta
ecosystem. One primary requirement of SB 1 was for a new
governance body, the Delta Stewardship Council, to develop a
long-term management plan for the Delta (Delta Plan). SB 1 also
placed specific requirements on the existing Bay Delta
Conservation Plan (BDCP) process if the BDCP is to be included
in the Delta Plan. BDCP is principally an export water agency
driven stakeholder process to draft a conservation plan which
will provide the basis for incidental take authorizations under
the state and federal endangered species acts for the State
Water Project and federal Central Valley Project (SWP/CVP)
Pumping Plants located in the South Delta. SB 1 requires BDCP
to include in its CEQA analysis a "reasonable range of Delta
conveyance alternatives including through-Delta, dual
conveyance, and isolated conveyance alternatives?" As a
separate matter, SB 1 directs DWR to cooperate with state and
federal government entities to implement Two-Gates. However,
since the passage of SB 1, the scientific hypothesis underlying
the potential effectiveness of Two-Gates is being reevaluated.
In November 2009, South Delta Water Agency (SDWA) released a
report prepared by ICF Jones & Stokes entitled The Delta
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Corridors Plan and Its Potential Benefits. SDWA asserted that
the Delta Corridors Plan would isolate San Joaquin River
outflows in Old River from Sacramento River water diverted to
the pumps via Middle River using a series of barriers, gates,
fish screens, siphons and other mechanical means. In a letter
sent in support of this bill, SDWA states that "�a]lthough we
disagreed with the establishment of the co-equal goals of
environmental protection and water supply reliability, it is
clear the Delta Corridors Plan could meet both these goals and
cost substantially less than the proposals which are currently
the focus of the BDCP process."
The current focus of the BDCP process includes up to five new
intakes on the Sacramento River with the collective capacity to
divert 15,000 cubic feet per second of water into either a
peripheral canal around, or tunnel under, the Delta. However,
as stated above, SB 1 requires DWR as the CEQA lead agency to
also revisit a through-Delta alternative as part of a reasonable
range of alternatives in the BDCP Environmental Impact Report.
Prior Legislation : Last year AB 1797 (Bill Berryhill), which
was substantially similar to this bill, would have required DWR
to undertake an expedited evaluation and feasibility study with
regard to the Delta Corridors Plan. On March 23, 2010, AB 1797
failed passage in this Committee but was granted
reconsideration. On April 7, 2010 AB 1797 passed out of this
Committee but was thereafter held in Appropriations Committee.
Support : Supporters state that the Delta Corridors and Two
Gates study proposals look like an amiable solution to improve
the quality and reliability of the project water supplies to
export contract recipients south of the Delta while protecting
the environmental and agricultural concerns within the Delta.
They state this bill would supplement the DWR draft EIR/EIS
process by requiring a full evaluation of the Delta Corridors
Plan, which would "help ensure that California fully analyzes
all available options before committing to what may turn out to
be one of the world's most costly single pieces of
infrastructure."
Opposition : Opponents of this bill of this bill state that they
do not believe the Delta Corridors Plan would solve the water
quality, fishery and water supply problems associated with
current through-Delta infrastructure, including potential
salinity intrusion following an earthquake and sea level rise.
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They believe the Delta Corridors Plan could cause highly
controversial navigational obstructions for boaters and be
relatively expensive for limited benefits. Finally, since DWR
is already required to study various conveyance alternatives,
including a through-Delta alternative, they state that this
legislation would duplicate efforts, divert attention and
already-limited resources available to DWR, and result in delays
on more effective long-term Delta solutions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
North Delta Water Agency
Planning and Conservation League
San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation
South Delta Water Agency
Stanislaus County Farm Bureau
Yolo County Farm Bureau
Opposition
Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
Zone 7
Alameda County Water District
Association of California Water Agencies
Burbank Water and Power
Calleguas Municipal Water District
Castaic Lake Water Agency
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Desert Water Agency
Eastern Municipal Water District
East Valley Water District
Glendale Water and Power
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Mojave Water Agency
San Bernadino Valley Municipal Water District
State Water Contractors
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District
Valley Ag Water Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
AB 627
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319-2096