BILL NUMBER: AB 1813 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Buchanan
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to amend Section 85086 of the Water Code, relating to the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1813, as introduced, Buchanan. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Reform Act of 2009.
Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009,
establishes the Delta Stewardship Council as an independent agency
of the state. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control
Board to establish an effective system of Delta watershed diversion
data and public reporting by December 31, 2010. Existing law requires
the board to develop new flow criteria for the Delta ecosystem, as
specified. Existing law requires the board to submit those
determinations to the council.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 85086 of the Water Code is amended to read:
85086. (a) The board shall establish an effective system of Delta
watershed diversion data collection and public reporting by December
31, 2010.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an
accelerated process to determine instream flow needs of the Delta for
the purposes of facilitating the planning decisions that are
required to achieve the objectives of the Delta Plan.
(c) (1) For the purpose of informing planning decisions for the
Delta Plan and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the board shall,
pursuant to its the board's public
trust obligations, develop new flow criteria for the Delta ecosystem
necessary to protect public trust resources. In carrying out this
section, the board shall review existing water quality objectives and
use the best available scientific information. The flow criteria for
the Delta ecosystem shall include the volume, quality, and timing of
water necessary for the Delta ecosystem under different conditions.
The flow criteria shall be developed in a public process by the board
within nine months of the enactment of this division. The public
process shall be in the form of an informational proceeding conducted
pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 649) of Chapter 1.5
of Division 3 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations, and
shall provide an opportunity for all interested persons to
participate. The flow criteria shall not be considered predecisional
with regard to any subsequent board consideration of a permit,
including any permit in connection with a final BDCP.
(2) Any order approving a change in the point of diversion of the
State Water Project or the federal Central Valley Project from the
southern Delta to a point on the Sacramento River shall include
appropriate Delta flow criteria and shall be informed by the analysis
conducted pursuant to this section. The flow criteria shall be
subject to modification over time based on a science-based adaptive
management program that integrates scientific and monitoring results,
including the contribution of habitat and other conservation
measures, into ongoing Delta water management.
(3) Nothing in this section amends or otherwise affects the
application of the board's authority under Part 2 (commencing with
Section 1200) of Division 2 to include terms and conditions in
permits that in its judgment will best develop, conserve, and utilize
in the public interest the water sought to be appropriated.
(d) The board shall enter into an agreement with the State Water
Project contractors and the federal Central Valley Project
contractors, who rely on water exported from the Sacramento River
watershed, or a joint powers authority comprised of those
contractors, for reimbursement of the costs of the analysis conducted
pursuant to this section.
(e) The board shall submit its flow criteria determinations
pursuant to this section to the council for its information within 30
days of completing the determinations.