BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 16|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 16
Author: Rubio (D)
Amended: 8/25/11
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE NATURAL RES. AND WATER COMMITTEE : 6-1, 3/22/11
AYES: Pavley, Evans, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: La Malfa
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-3, 4/11/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Emmerson, Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lieu
SENATE FLOOR : 36-4, 6/1/11
AYES: Alquist, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans,
Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Kehoe, La
Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Dutton, Huff, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-17, 9/1/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Renewable energy: Department of Fish and
Game: expedited permitting
SOURCE : Kern County
CONTINUED
SB 16
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DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Fish and
Game (DFG) to take steps to expedite the processing of
renewable energy permits.
Assembly Amendments (1) require, with regard to
applications for California Endangered Species Act
incidental take permits for renewable energy projects, DFG,
if it determines an application is complete more than 60
days before a project is certified under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by an agency other than
DFG, to reject or approve the application within 30 days
after the CEQA certification, unless a longer period of
time is agreed to by DFG and the applicant, (2) require DFG
if it is the lead agency for the project under CEQA to
reject or approve the incidental take permit application
concurrently with the CEQA certification, (3) make other
clarifying technical changes with regard to the time frames
for federally permitted projects that are eligible to
obtain a consistency determination, requiring DFG to
approve or reject an application for a consistency
determination within 30 days after the director receives
notice that a federal permit has been issued, and (4) make
the measure operative on the effective date of AB 13X1 (V.
Manuel P�rez), 2011-12 Session, First Extraordinary
Session.
ANALYSIS : Under current law, thermal power plants with a
capacity over 50 megawatts are licensed by the Energy
Commission.
Under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), certain
species are listed as endangered, threatened, or candidates
for protected under the law. The "take" of those listed
species is prohibited without an incidental take permit,
which typically includes stringent mitigation requirements.
The DFG is required to review project applications for
incidental take permits. The DFG spends about $4 million
per year reviewing incidental take permit applications. The
DFG generally does not charge fees for this review. Under
current regulation, the DFG is required to complete an
initial review of an incidental take permit application for
completeness within 30 days.
SB 16
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Depending on whether the DFG is designated a "lead agency"
or a "responsible agency" under the CEQA, the DFG must act
to approve or deny and incidental take permit within 90
days (with the potential for a 60 day extension) or 120
days (with a potential 60 day extension).
Current law requires the state's investor owned electricity
utilities and load serving entities to increase their
procurement of renewable energy by one percent per year,
such that 20 percent of their total electricity load comes
from renewable resources by December 31, 2010. This
requirement is referred to as the Renewables Portfolio
Standard (RPS).
This bill:
1. Requires DFG within 45 days after it receives an
application for an incidental take permit under the CESA
for an eligible renewable energy project, as defined, to
determine whether the application is complete and notify
the applicant. If the application is incomplete,
requires DFG to inform the applicant of the information
that is needed to complete the application, unless
otherwise requested by the applicant. Gives DFG an
additional 30 days after receipt of the additional
information requested to determine if the application is
complete, and if the application is still incomplete,
requires DFG to inform the applicant in writing of the
information needed and offer to meet with the applicant,
unless otherwise requested in writing by the applicant.
2. Defines eligible project to include an eligible
renewable energy resource as defined in RPS Program.
3. Requires, except as otherwise provided, DFG to approve
or reject an incidental take permit application for an
eligible renewable energy project within 60 days or less
from the date the application is deemed complete, unless
a longer period of time is agreed upon by DFG and the
applicant. Additionally requires DFG if it has not made
a determination to reject or approve such an application
within 45 days after deeming it complete to offer to
meet with the applicant to review the status of the
application.
SB 16
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4. Requires DFG, if it deems an application complete more
than 60 days before the project is certified under CEQA
by an agency other than DFG, to reject or approve the
incidental take permit application within 30 days after
the CEQA certification, unless a longer period is agreed
to by DFG and the applicant. Requires DFG if it is the
lead agency under CEQA, to reject or approve the
incidental take permit application concurrently with the
CEQA certification.
5. Requires DFG to approve or reject an application for a
consistency determination for projects which have
received a federal incidental take statement or permit
within 30 days after the DFG director receives notice
that a federal permit has been issued.
6. Requires DFG by January 1, 2014, to provide an
accounting to the Legislature on incidental take permit
applications for eligible renewable energy projects.
Also requires DFG by January 1, 2012, and annually
thereafter until 2014, to report to the Legislature on
the extent to which it arranges for entities other than
itself to provide all or part of the environmental
review of eligible projects.
7. Provides that this bill shall become operative only if
AB 13X1 of the 2011-12 First Extraordinary Session is
enacted. Further provides that this bill shall become
operative on the effective date of AB 13X1 of the
2011-12 First Extraordinary Session.
8. Contains an urgency clause stating that it is necessary
this bill become effective immediately in order to
expedite permitting of needed renewable energy projects
as soon as possible.
9. States legislative findings and declarations regarding
the importance of facilitating permitting of renewable
energy projects, including scientific evaluation by DFG
of the wildlife impacts of such projects and
particularly on threatened and endangered species, and
the Legislature's intent to evaluate the performance of
DFG and consider refunding a portion of permit fees if
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DFG fails to meet the deadlines in this bill.
Background
The DFG has the responsibility to administer the CESA,
among other duties. This law authorizes, in specified
circumstances, DFG to issue "incidental take" permits to
enable a development project to harm one or more protected
species or their habitat. In the absence of such a permit,
CESA prohibits the take of any endangered or threatened
species. 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 and monitoring measures.
Last year, in SB 34 X8 (Padilla), Chapter 9, Statutes of
2009-10, Eighth Extraordinary Session, the Legislature
passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law several
amendments to CESA that were intended to expedite the
regulatory approval of solar thermal and photovoltaic
energy projects in parts of the southern California desert
within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program
(DRECP) planning area. The DRECP effort will identify the
best sites for renewable projects and the best lands that
should be reserved for mitigation. Among other provisions,
that new statute provides for the in lieu payment of funds
that would allow DFG to purchase mitigation lands in
advance for eligible renewable energy projects in the
desert that were to receive funds from the federal
government's stimulus funds. That new law also created a
$75,000 fee that developers would pay to DFG to cover its
costs in reviewing the endangered species implications of
these projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/11)
Kern County (source)
California Wind Energy Producers
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Iberdrola
Independent Energy Producers
Large-Scale Solar Association
Terra-Gen Power
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"SB 16 is needed because there is currently no timeframe
under which DFG must adhere to in the review of
incidental take permits for siting renewable energy
permits already approved by the county. Applicants
often wait long periods of time and the project is
delayed.
"Kern County has approved and moved into the
construction phase over 1000 megawatts of wind and solar
energy projects. The average timeline for DFG to issue
incidental take permits was six months. The processing
times varied greatly and there is no specific timeframe
under which applicants can rely.
"It is anticipated that DFG will be inundated with more
than 300 applicants for renewable energy projects this
year because of the increasing interest in renewable
energy projects and because of the investment and tax
provisions contained in state and federal law. SB 16 is
essential to ensuing these projects are approved in a
reasonable frame."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-17, 9/1/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto,
Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Valadao, Wieckowski, Williams, John A. P�rez
NOES: Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Wagner
SB 16
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Davis, Gorell, Nestande, Smyth,
Yamada
CTW:kc 9/1/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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