BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 71
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 71 (V. Manuel Pérez)
As Amended April 18, 2013
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 15-0
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Rendon, Bigelow, Allen, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Blumenfield, Bocanegra, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Dahle, Fong, Frazier, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Beth Gaines, Gatto, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Gomez, Gray, Patterson, | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| |Yamada, Bloom | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency, in consultation and coordination with the Salton Sea
Authority, to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
(Secretary), in consultation and coordination with the Salton
Sea Authority (SSA), to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts,
and provides that such restoration efforts shall include: a)
early start habitat demonstration projects; b) biological
investigations; c) investigations of water quality,
sedimentation and inflows; d) air quality investigations in
consultation and coordination with air quality agencies; e)
geotechnical investigations; and, f) local financial
assistance grant programs.
2)Provides that the Secretary and the Legislature shall maintain
full authority and responsibility for any state obligation
under the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), and shall
have final approval for any proposed restoration plan.
3)Authorizes the Department of Water Resources (DWR), to the
extent funding is available for this purpose, to undertake
Salton Sea restoration efforts, and requires DWR to disclose
specified information relating to the Salton Sea Species
Conservation Habitat Project.
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4)Requires the Secretary, in consultation and coordination with
the SSA, to form a technical advisory group including the
Secretary and representatives of specified state departments,
local agencies, tribal governments, nonprofit environmental
organizations, the United States Geological Survey, and
research institutions.
5)Authorizes the SSA to undertake a restoration funding and
feasibility study, in consultation with the Natural Resources
Agency and the technical advisory group, and requires the
study to include specified elements.
6)Requires the Secretary to seek input from the SSA with regard
to specific restoration components, including design options
and integration of habitat, public access and air quality
objectives, public access and recreation, economic development
opportunities, habitat locations, vector and predator control,
and feasible financial resources to fund restoration.
7)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
Salton Sea (Sea) and its benefits and threats. States
legislative intent to permanently protect fish and wildlife
dependent on the Sea, restore habitat, mitigate air quality
impacts, protect water quality, maintain the Sea as a vital
link in the Pacific Flyway, preserve local tribal heritage and
cultural values, minimize noxious odors, coordinate with other
agencies with responsibilities under the QSA, and enhance
economic development opportunities.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Act which states
legislative intent that: a) the state undertake the
restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the permanent
protection of the wildlife dependent on that ecosystem; b)
that restoration be based on the preferred alternative
developed as a result of a restoration study and alternative
selection process; and, c) that the preferred alternative
provide the maximum feasible attainment of specified
environmental objectives, including restoration of long-term
stable aquatic and shoreline habitat to historic levels and
diversity of fish and wildlife dependent on the Salton Sea,
elimination of air quality impacts from restoration projects,
and protection of water quality. Provides that for purposes
of the restoration plan the Salton Sea ecosystem includes the
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Salton Sea, agricultural lands surrounding the Sea, and the
tributaries and drains within Imperial and Coachella Valleys
that deliver water to the Sea.
2)Requires the Secretary of the Resources Agency (now the
Natural Resources Agency), in consultation with the Department
of Fish and Game (now DFW), DWR, the SSA, air quality
districts, and the Salton Sea Advisory Committee to undertake
a restoration study to determine a preferred alternative for
restoration of the Salton Sea, to prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) analyzing the alternatives,
and to submit a preferred alternative to the Legislature on or
before December 31, 2006.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor, absorbable costs to the Natural Resources
Agency for overseeing the restoration effort.
COMMENTS : This bill establishes a governance process to guide
activities related to restoration of the Salton Sea. In 2010
the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 51 (Ducheny),
Chapter 303, Statutes of 2010, which, among other things,
established the Salton Sea Restoration Council (Council) to
serve as the state agency responsible for overseeing restoration
of the Salton Sea. SB 51 required the Council to evaluate
Salton Sea restoration plans and to report to the Governor and
the Legislature by June 30, 2013, with a recommended restoration
plan. The Governor's 2012 Reorganization Plan, as modified by
budget trailer bill SB 1018 (Leno), Chapter 39, Statutes of
2012, eliminated the Council, effective December 31, 2012,
before the Council ever actually met.
According to the author, this bill seeks to fill the void
created by elimination of the Council, while ensuring that local
stakeholders have a voice in restoration decision making. It
does so by providing that the Natural Resources Agency shall be
the lead agency for restoration efforts at the Sea, but shall do
so in consultation and coordination with the SSA. The SSA is a
local Joint Powers Authority made up of the following five
entities: Riverside County, Imperial County, Imperial
Irrigation District (IID), Coachella Valley Water District
(CVWD), and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Tribe.
This bill also calls for formation of a technical advisory group
to assist the Natural Resources Agency and help guide
restoration activities at the Sea.
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Prior to enactment of SB 51 (Ducheny), the law provided that the
Natural Resources Agency would serve as lead agency for Salton
Sea restoration and work cooperatively with DWR, the State Air
Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and
DFW. The Natural Resources Agency was designated to serve as
lead agency for implementation, in partnership with one or more
of its departments, unless and until legislation was enacted
establishing a new governing structure for restoration of the
Sea. SB 51, enacted in 2010, created a new governing structure
with the establishment of the Council. However, as noted above,
the Council was repealed last year.
The Salton Sea, California's largest lake, is located in a
low-lying trough or desert sink in Southern California, much of
which is below sea level. The current sea was formed in 1905
when the Colorado River flooded its banks at a faulty irrigation
diversion site. However, the sea bed has periodically filled
and receded numerous times, from prehistoric times through the
1800s. The present sea is fed primarily by agricultural runoff.
Since it has no natural outlet, it is becoming increasingly
saline and is considerably saltier than the ocean. In 2003, the
Legislature approved a package of implementing legislation
related to the QSA and calling for restoration of the Salton
Sea. The QSA is a collection of agreements between the IID,
Metropolitan Water District, San Diego County Water Authority,
the CVWD, and the state, that included approval of water
transfers from IID, settled a number of claims to the Colorado
River, and provided a transition period for the state to reduce
its consumption of Colorado River water to its 4.4 million acre
feet entitlement. Under the QSA, the amount of water flowing
into the Salton Sea will be significantly reduced after 2017.
The Natural Resources Agency in 2007 completed a Salton Sea
restoration study that looked at various restoration
alternatives. It was estimated that the preferred alternative
identified by the Agency at that time would cost at least $8
billion to implement, but no funding plan was ever developed.
The study also estimated that even the "no project alternative"
would cost at least $1 billion. Since then, a number of
questions have arisen regarding the feasibility of the 2007
proposed alternative, and it has not been approved by the
Legislature.
The Salton Sea is one of the most important wetland areas in
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California for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, since over
95% of California's historical wetlands have been converted to
other land uses. The Salton Sea supports over 400 species of
birds, and is an internationally significant stopover site for
hundreds of thousands of birds migrating along the Pacific
Flyway. Recently, fishery resources in the sea have declined
significantly due to increasing salinity, evaporation and
declining water quality. It is generally recognized that
without restoration efforts the ecosystem of the Salton Sea will
collapse over the next decade or two.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0000179