Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2463

Introduced by Assembly Member Dickinson

February 21, 2014

An act to begin delete amend Section 85320 of end delete begin insert add Section 12659.1 to end insert the Water Code, relating to begin delete the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. end delete begin insert water. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2463, as amended, Dickinson. begin delete Delta plan: Bay Delta Conservation Plan: hearings. end delete begin insert Water: plans. end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update, every 5 years, the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as The California Water Plan. Existing law requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan, including, but not limited to, strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, water transfers, and alternative pricing policies that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the department to partner with the Regional Water Authority, water suppliers in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Placer counties, and other interested agencies to develop a plan for investing in water supplies and other facilities in order to contribute to the reliability of water supplies for the Sacramento region’s communities and environmental resources while also generating statewide benefits. The bill would require the plan to address certain matters, and would require the department to submit the plan to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017. To the extent this bill would impose new duties on local officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

end insert begin insert

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end insert begin delete

Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, establishes the Delta Stewardship Council, which is required to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the Delta, known as the Delta Plan, by January 1, 2012. Existing law requires the council to consider for inclusion in the Delta Plan the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a multispecies conservation plan, and requires the incorporation of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan into the Delta Plan if the Bay Delta Conservation Plan meets certain requirements. Under existing law, if the Department of Fish and Wildlife approves the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as a natural community conservation plan, the council is required to have at least one public hearing concerning the incorporation of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan into the Delta Plan.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the council to have at least 5 public hearings concerning the incorporation of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan into the Delta Plan if the Department of Fish and Wildlife approves the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as a natural community conservation plan.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(a) The region surrounding the state capital of Sacramento
naturally depends on the American and Sacramento Rivers as
local sources of water supplies.

end insert begin insert

(b) The region depends on the Folsom Reservoir to provide the
storage necessary to support the region’s water supply during dry
seasons and dry years.

end insert begin insert

(c) The historically severe drought conditions in 2013 and 2014
have demonstrated that the Sacramento region is uniquely
vulnerable to severe dry conditions. In January 2014, the water
levels in Folsom Reservoir dropped so low that the municipal
water supply intake in the reservoir that over 500,000 people
depend on was dangerously close to going dry, and low water
levels downstream on the American River compelled emergency
measures to allow for continued diversions by the City of
Sacramento.

end insert begin insert

(d) In 1972, under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, the
Legislature designated the lower American River as a recreational
river, and in 1981, at the request of Governor Edmund G. Brown,
Jr., the river was also designated as a recreational river under
the federal Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The extraordinary value of
the American River, which supported the river’s designation as a
federal and state wild and scenic river, depends on water being
stored in, and released from, the Folsom Reservoir.

end insert begin insert

(e) The lower American River supports a large part of the
Central Valley’s iconic Chinook salmon and steelhead populations,
which depend on management of cold water stored in, and released
from, the Folsom Reservoir.

end insert begin insert

(f) While the Sacramento region has faced uniquely pressing
water issues in 2013 and 2014, in other dry years, the region’s
water suppliers have been able to conjunctively manage their
surface and groundwater resources to make water available for
transfer to other water-short regions of the state, and produced
statewide benefits in doing so.

end insert begin insert

(g) The Sacramento region has been one of California’s leaders
in developing integrated regional water management plans through
the Regional Water Authority, a joint powers authority, and the
American River Basin plan was recognized as one of the state’s
Regional Success Stories in the Delta Plan adopted by the Delta
Stewardship Council.

end insert begin insert

(h) Under the federal Water Resources Development Act of
1999, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United
States Bureau of Reclamation are preparing an update to Folsom
Reservoir’s water control manual that could improve both flood
control and water supply reliability by enabling the reservoir to
be operated with the latest real-time weather prediction technology.

end insert begin insert

(i) It is possible for the Department of Water Resources to
simultaneously improve the reliability of the Sacramento region’s
water supply to meet the current and future needs of its
communities and support environmental resources while generating
statewide water supply benefits by assisting the Regional Water
Authority and the region’s water suppliers in developing
multibenefit projects and programs, and helping to identify
available funding for those projects and programs.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 12659.1 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 12659.1. end insert   

(a) The department shall partner with the Regional
Water Authority, a specific joint powers authority in the
Sacramento area; the water suppliers in El Dorado, Placer,
Sacramento, and Yolo counties; and other interested agencies to
develop a plan for investing in water supplies and other facilities
in order to contribute to the reliability of water supplies for the
Sacramento region’s communities and environmental resources
while also generating statewide benefits. The matters that the plan
shall address shall include, but are not limited to, conjunctive use
measures and facilities, water efficiency and reuse, measures to
integrate surface water supplies, drought response measures, and
potential funding sources.

(b) The department shall submit the plan to the Legislature on
or before January 1, 2017.

(c) A plan to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

(d) This section shall be repealed on January 1, 2021, unless a
later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes
or extends that date.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 85320 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

85320.  

(a) The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) shall be
considered for inclusion in the Delta Plan in accordance with this
chapter.

(b) The BDCP shall not be incorporated into the Delta Plan and
the public benefits associated with the BDCP shall not be eligible
for state funding, unless the BDCP does all of the following:

(1) Complies with Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800)
of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code.

(2) Complies with Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code, including a comprehensive
review and analysis of all of the following:

(A) A reasonable range of flow criteria, rates of diversion, and
other operational criteria required to satisfy the criteria for approval
of a natural community conservation plan as provided in
subdivision (a) of Section 2820 of the Fish and Game Code, and
other operational requirements and flows necessary for recovering
the Delta ecosystem and restoring fisheries under a reasonable
range of hydrologic conditions, which will identify the remaining
water available for export and other beneficial uses.

(B) A reasonable range of Delta conveyance alternatives,
including through-Delta, dual conveyance, and isolated conveyance
alternatives and including further capacity and design options of
a lined canal, an unlined canal, and pipelines.

(C) The potential effects of climate change, possible sea level
rise up to 55 inches, and possible changes in total precipitation
and runoff patterns on the conveyance alternatives and habitat
restoration activities considered in the environmental impact report.

(D) The potential effects on migratory fish and aquatic resources.

(E) The potential effects on Sacramento River and San Joaquin
River flood management.

(F) The resilience and recovery of Delta conveyance alternatives
in the event of catastrophic loss caused by earthquake or flood or
other natural disaster.

(G) The potential effects of each Delta conveyance alternative
on Delta water quality.

(c) The department shall consult with the council and the Delta
Independent Science Board during the development of the BDCP.
The council shall be a responsible agency in the development of
the environmental impact report. The Delta Independent Science
Board shall review the draft environmental impact report and
submit its comments to the council and the Department of Fish
and Wildlife.

(d) If the Department of Fish and Wildlife approves the BDCP
as a natural community conservation plan pursuant to Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and
Game Code, the council shall have at least five public hearings
concerning the incorporation of the BDCP into the Delta Plan.

(e) If the Department of Fish and Wildlife approves the BDCP
as a natural community conservation plan pursuant to Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and
Game Code and determines that the BDCP meets the requirements
of this section, and the BDCP has been approved as a habitat
conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act
(16 U.S.C. Section 1531 et seq.), the council shall incorporate the
BDCP into the Delta Plan. The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s
determination that the BDCP has met the requirements of this
section may be appealed to the council.

(f) The department, in coordination with the Department of Fish
and Wildlife, or any successor agencies charged with BDCP
implementation, shall report to the council on the implementation
of the BDCP at least once a year, including the status of monitoring
programs and adaptive management.

(g) The council may make recommendations to BDCP
implementing agencies regarding the implementation of the BDCP.
BDCP implementing agencies shall consult with the council on
these recommendations. These recommendations shall not change
the terms and conditions of the permits issued by state and federal
regulatory agencies.

end delete