BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 133|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 133
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 4/5/11
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/12/11
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe,
Padilla, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Natural resources: Cache Creek Resource
Management Plan
SOURCE : County of Yolo
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset provision for the
Cache Creek Resource Management Plan until December 2017,
and deletes the provision requiring the approval of the
local ordinance by the State Mining and Geology Board.
ANALYSIS : The Cache Creek Resource Management Plan
(Plan) was initially approved by the Legislature in 1999,
and the sunset provision was twice extended, most recently
in 2007 by AB 646 (Wolk). The current sunset date is 2012.
Public Resources Code Section 2715.5 states that the Plan
shall be considered a functional equivalent of a
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reclamation plan that would otherwise be required by the
California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA).
That section also requires, as conditions of the statute,
that Yolo County approve a site specific plan and that
other erosion, channel stabilization, habitat, and flood
control measures be included in the site specific plan that
is approved by that county's board of supervisors. Other
requirements of reclamation plans, such as an annual report
to the Department of Conservation, remain in effect.
Additionally, all surface mining operations are required to
obtain financial assurances as required by SMARA.
Yolo County succeeded in creating the Plan as a way to
shift commercial mining activities to off-channel mining
while developing an integrated approach to maintain
sufficient capacity in the creek to convey flood waters
which is supported, to a certain extent, by the private
firms that conduct off-stream mining. The Plan anticipates
that sand and gravel would be removed from the channel of
the creek only to maintain and restore adequate capacity.
The State Mining and Geology Board approved the local
ordinance and deemed it consistent with state policy in
2009.
In addition to the Plan, Yolo County has obtained a series
of general permits from federal and state regulatory
agencies for purposes of meeting regulatory requirements
from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Central Valley
Regional Water Board, and the Department of Fish and Game.
These general permits authorize activities pursuant to the
Plan and avoid the need for project specific permitting.
This bill extends the sunset provision for the Cache Creek
Resource Management Plan until December 2017, and deletes
the provision requiring the approval of the local ordinance
by the State Mining and Geology Board.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/2/11)
County of Yolo (source)
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Cache Creek Conservancy
California Construction and Industrial Materials
Association
City of Woodland
Granite Construction Company
Sierra Club, Yolano Group
Teichert Aggregates
Tuleyome
Water Resources Association of Yolo County
Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
Yolo County Resource Conservation District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Yolo County states that the bill
is necessary for environmental restoration and channel
stabilization projects in Cache Creek and to continue to
implement the Plan's essential compromise which was to move
commercial mining off-stream.
The local Sierra Club group and Tuleyome, a local
conservation group, support the bill but encourage the
author to expand the bill to deal with mercury accumulation
from upstream sources.
CTW:mw 5/4/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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