BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1345
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Date of Hearing: June 16, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 1345 (Natural Resources and Water) - As Amended: June 10,
2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Natural resources
SUMMARY : Establishes a deadline for Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) to approve a private conservation and mitigation
bank agreement package extends the sunset date of the Wholesale
Regional Water System Security and Reliability Act (WRWSSR Act)
from 2015 to 2022, and makes technical and clarifying changes to
the Public Resources and Water Codes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the DFW to establish private and public
conservation and mitigation banks that can provide viable
consolidated mitigation for adverse impacts caused by
projects. Authorizes a person interested in establishing a
bank to submit an optional draft prospectus for review by DFW,
as specified. Once the bank prospectus is approved, allows
the applicant to submit a bank agreement package to DFW
consistent with the prospectus and include specified
information. Requires that if DFW determines that the bank
agreement package is complete, within 90 calendar days of that
determination, DFW determine whether it is acceptable and
notify the person who submitted the package of the
determination. (There is no deadline for DFW to approve the
package once it has determined that it is acceptable.)
2)Excludes the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest District
(Southern Subdistrict) from the working forest management plan
(WFMP) program (however, there is an incorrect reference to
the regulations in the Forest Practice Rules describing the
Southern Subdistrict).
3)Authorizes the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB)
to record a lien with a county in response to an uncorrected
violation.
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4)Requires, pursuant to the WRWSSR Act, the City and County of
San Francisco to adopt a program of capital improvement
projects to restore and improve the Bay Area regional water
system that includes a schedule for completion of the
projects. Sunsets the WRWSSR Act on January 1, 2015.
5)Requires, pursuant to the WRWSSR Act, the California Seismic
Safety Commission (CSSC) and the California Department of
Public Health (DPH) to provide comments to the Joint
Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) within 90 days of receiving
notice of a change or delay in the capital improvement project
program, as specified.
THIS BILL :
1)Establish a 30 day deadline by which DFW must issue written
approval of a bank agreement package.
2)Amends the WFMP by referencing the correct regulation in the
Forest Practice Rules that describes the Southern Subdistrict.
3)Makes technical, non-substantive changes to the statute
governing CVFPB liens.
4)Extends the WRWSSR Act sunset date to January 1, 2022.
5)Extends the comment period to 120 days for CDDC and DPH to
comment to JLAC regarding changes or delays to the capital
improvement projects program required pursuant to the WRWSSR
Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, ongoing costs in the low to mid-tens of thousands of
dollars of reimbursed costs to DPH and the CDDC.
COMMENTS :
1)Mitigation Banks . Existing law authorizes DFW to establish
private conservation and mitigation banks. Statute does not
provide a set deadline for DFW to decide approval of a
proposal to establish a bank once the bank agreement package
is deemed acceptable. This bill establishes a 30 day deadline
to determine whether a completed bank agreement package should
be approved.
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2)Southern Subdistrict . In 2013, AB 904 (Chesbro) created the
WMFP. The Southern Subdistrict, which includes the counties
of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and
Marin, is excluded from the WFMP. The WFMP statute references
the wrong regulation to describe the Southern Subdistrict.
This bill fixes this drafting error.
3)CVFPB Liens . In 2013, SB 753 (Steinberg) granted the CVFPB
authority to record a lien in response to certain violation.
The language contained an error by granting CVFPB the
authority to record the lien with the county clerk instead of
the county recorder. This bill fixes this drafting error.
4)The WRWSSR Act's Sunset . The WRWSSR Act provides that the City
and County of San Francisco shall adopt capital improvement
projects to restore and improve the Bay Area regional water
system. These projects are executed under the San Francisco
Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) Water System Improvement
Program (WSIP). Although the WRWSSR Act sunsets in 2015,
projects related to the seismic retrofit of San Francisco's
Regional Water System have fallen behind schedule as
documented in the September 2013 WSIP Annual Report to the
state. Delays have occurred due to unforeseen factors
including weather conditions, the discovery of naturally
occurring asbestos, and construction material shortages. The
SFPUC estimates that 33 out of 47 projects will conclude at
the end of 2014 with all projects reaching completion in 2019.
The water transmission system improved under WSIP serves 27
retail distribution systems (including San Francisco) that
provide water to approximately 2.5 million users and 30,000
businesses, including Stanfurd University and Facebook. This
bill would extend the sunset date to 2022. Should this bill
not pass, the entire WRWSSR Act will be become ineffective on
January 1, 2015. WSIP projects would lose state oversight and
the City and County of San Francisco would no longer be
statutorily required to complete crucial projects including
the replacement of the Calaveras Dam and construction of
seismically-engineered conduits installed where the Hetch
Hetchy Regional Water System crosses three of the nation's
most active earthquake faults. This bill addresses this issue
by extending the 2015 sunset date to 2022.
5)The WRWSSR Act Comment Period . Under WRWSSR Act, the CSSC and
DPH must provide comments on public health and safety to the
JLAC within 90 days of receiving notice of a WSIP delay from
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SFPUC. Due to staffing constraints, CSSC has requested an
extension of the commenting period to 120 days. This bill
makes this change.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alameda County Water District
Association of California Water Agencies
Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency
Jess E. Benton, Mayor, Town of Hillsborough
City of Brisbane
City of Burlingame
California Water Service Company
Coastside County Water District
County Recorders Association of California
City of Daly City
City of Foster City
City of Hayward
International Union of Operating Engineers
Edwin M. Lee, Mayor, City of San Francisco
City of Menlo Park
Mid-Peninsula Water District
City of Millbrae
City of Milpitas
City of Mountain View
North Coast County Water District
City of Palo Alto
Purissima Hills Water District
City of Redwood City
City of San Bruno
City of Santa Clara
Stanford University
City of Sunnyvale
Westborough Water District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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