Bill Text: CA AB147 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 147 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Economic development projects.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-07 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on RLS. [AB147 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB147-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 147	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 9, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel P�rez
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Hueso)

                        JANUARY 18, 2013

   An act  to amend Section 2932 of the Fish and Game Code,
and  to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 42750) to
Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the
environment.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 147, as amended, V. Manuel P�rez. Environment: Salton Sea: dust
mitigation. 
   Existing law establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund that is
administered by the Director of Fish and Game and, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, used for the restoration of the Salton Sea.

   Existing law implements the Quantification Settlement Agreement
(QSA), which was entered into by various parties to budget their
portions of California's apportionment of Colorado River water and to
provide a framework for conservation measures and water transfers
for a period of up to 75 years. Existing law provides for a framework
to mitigate the environmental impacts on the Salton Sea caused by
the QSA water transfer. Existing law authorizes the Department of
Fish and Wildlife to enter into a joint powers agreement with
specified local agencies to establish a joint powers authority for
the purposes of providing for the payment of costs for environmental
mitigation requirements.
   This bill would require the State Air Resources Board, upon the
execution of an agreement with the joint powers authority, to
evaluate and determine with the air quality planning completed by the
authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of the
QSA. In the event that the state board concludes that additional
mitigation measures are needed, the bill would require the state
board to submit recommendation to the authority.  The bill
would authorize moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to be expended by the state board for the above
purposes. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a)  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The Salton Sea is California's largest lake, covering 
approximately  365 square miles, and it serves as an important
stop on the annual Pacific Flyway migratory route, supporting over
400 species of birds and representing over two-thirds of all birds in
the continental United States.
   (2) The Salton Sea is located in the Imperial Valley and Coachella
Valley of southern California and rests in close proximity to
thousands of residents.
   (3) In 2003, the Legislature enacted statutes (Chapters 611, 612,
and 613 of the Statutes of 2003) to facilitate the execution and
implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) and
related agreements, including a transfer of conserved water from the
Imperial Irrigation District to the San Diego Water Authority. As
part of those statutes, the Legislature declared its intent that the
State of California undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea
ecosystem and the permanent protection of wildlife dependent on the
ecosystem.
   (4) Implementation of the water transfer from the Imperial
Irrigation District to the San Diego Water Authority will reduce
agricultural drainage inflow to the Salton Sea, reducing the sea's
depth and result in the exposure of currently submerged sea lakebed.
   (5) The exposure of previously submerged sea lakebed has the
potential to significantly increase fugitive dust emissions for
particulate matter of 10 or less microns in diameter (PM10) as winds
blow across exposed lakebed eroded fine-grained sediments and salts,
lofting them into the air. 
   (6) At Owens Lake, a lake drained by the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power, the cost of mitigation fugitive dust emissions
arising from the exposed lakebed has reached $1,200,000,000.
 
   (6) Experience mitigating particulate matter emissions at other
exposed lakebeds has proved to be costly and has demonstrated the
need to have a proactive approach to mitigation that stresses control
measures over monitoring activities and includes a strong adaptive
management platform. 
   (7) As part of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state
entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (QSA-JPA) for purposes of
financing the mitigation of the environmental impacts resulting from
the QSA. The parties of the QSA-JPA include the State of California
acting by and through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the
Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial Irrigation District,
and the San Diego County Water Authority.
   (8) Under the QSA-JPA, the nonstate member agencies are liable for
the cost of mitigating the environmental impacts of the QSA up to
the first $133 million. The QSA-JPA nonstate member agencies have
spent a considerable amount of time and resources developing plans to
meet this obligation.
   (9) Under Section 9.2 of the QSA-JPA, the state agreed to "an
unconditional contractual obligation" to pay for the cost of
mitigating the environmental impact of the QSA above the first $133
million in costs.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this measure,
to have the State Air Resources Board evaluate the air quality
 planning completed   mitigation developed 
by the Joint Powers Authority established by QSA-JPA  to
determine if it is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of
the QSA and ensure that when the state assumes liability over
mitigating the environmental impacts of the QSA that the air quality
mitigation work completed by the authority continue uninterrupted
 . 
  SEC. 2.    Section 2932 of the Fish and Game Code
is amended to read:
   2932.  There is hereby established the Salton Sea Restoration Fund
which shall be administered by the director. Money deposited in the
fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for
the following purposes:
   (a) Environmental and engineering studies related to the
restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife
dependent on the sea.
   (b) (1) Air quality evaluations conducted by the State Air
Resources Board for purposes of providing the joint powers authority
established pursuant to Chapter 613 of the Statutes of 2003 with
guidance on how to appropriately mitigate the air quality impacts
resulting from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.
   (2) For the purposes of this subdivision, "Quantification
Settlement Agreement" has the same meaning as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 1 of Chapter 617 of the Statutes of 2002.
   (c) Implementation of conservation measures necessary to protect
the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea, including
adaptive management measurements pursuant to Section 2081.7. These
conservation measures shall be limited to the Salton Sea and lower
Colorado River ecosystems, including the Colorado River Delta.
   (d) Implementation of the preferred Salton Sea restoration
alternative.
   (e) Administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related
to the development and selection of the preferred Salton Sea
restoration alternative. 
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 2.   Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 42750) is added to Part 4 of Division 26 of
the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 6.  SALTON SEA DUST MITIGATION


   42750.  Unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this
chapter, the following terms mean the following:
   (a) "Air districts" means the Imperial County Air Pollution
Control District and South Coast Air Quality Management District.
   (b) "Authority" means the  water transfer  joint powers
authority established pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant
to Chapter 613 of the Statutes of 2003.
   (c) "County" means either of the following:
   (1) The County of Riverside.
   (2) The County of Imperial.
   (d) "Quantification Settlement Agreement" has the same meaning as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1 of Chapter 617 of the
Statutes of 2002.
   (e) "Valley" means either of the following:
   (1) The Imperial Valley.
   (2) The Coachella Valley.
   42751.  (a) Upon the execution of an agreement between the state
board and the authority for purposes of compiling the air quality
mitigation planning completed by the authority, the state board shall
evaluate and determine if the air quality planning completed by the
authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of the
Quantification Settlement Agreement. 
   (b) In determining if the authority's air quality planning is
adequate to mitigate the air quality impacts of the Quantification
Settlement Agreement, the state board shall evaluate all of the
following:  
   (1) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from the Quantification Settlement Agreement. 

   (2) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from factors other than the Quantification Settlement
Agreement.  
   (3) The profiled Salton Sea lake bed aerosols, given chemicals
that have historically drained into the sea from both agricultural
runoff and water coming from Mexico over the New River, including
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or "DDT."  
   (4) The prioritization of mitigation measures that can be
instituted at the sea to enable both valleys to meet National Ambient
Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, including the
applicability of measures used to mitigate ambient dust pollution at
Owens Lake.  
   (c) (1) 
    (b)  To the extent the state board concludes additional
mitigation planning needs to take place to mitigate the air quality
impacts of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state board
shall submit recommendations to the authority. 
   (2) To the extent the state board recommends to the authority
additional planning work that needs to be completed pursuant to
paragraph (1), the state board shall make recommendations in a manner
to minimize costs on the authority, including both of the following:
 
   (A) The appropriate agencies or departments with whom the
authority may work, including the air districts for purposes of
accessing work the air districts have already completed as part of
their state implementation plan planning activities. 

   (B) The appropriate number, model, and placement of air quality
monitors in the Salton Sea basin to ensure aerosols arising from the
sea are properly monitored.  
   (d) 
    (   c)  This section does not modify existing
roles, responsibilities, or liabilities of the State of California,
the County of Imperial, the County of Riverside, or any other
governmental agency, under the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

   (e) Moneys in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the state board for
purposes of this chapter.