Bill Text: CA AB2060 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2060

CA State Legislature page for AB2060

Bill Title: Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-23 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB2060 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2060-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 16, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2060

Introduced by Assembly Member Soria
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Alanis)

February 01, 2024

An act to amend Section 1610 of the Fish and Game Code, and to add Section 1432 to the Water Code, relating to fish and wildlife.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2060, as amended, Soria. Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions.

Existing law prohibits a person, a state or local governmental agency, or a public utility from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or depositing or disposing of debris, waste, or other material containing crumbled, flaked, or ground pavement where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, unless prescribed requirements are met, including written notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the activity. Existing law requires the department to determine whether the activity may substantially adversely affect an existing fish and wildlife resource and, if so, to provide a draft lake or streambed alteration agreement to the person, agency, or utility. Existing law prescribes various requirements for lake and streambed alteration agreements. Existing law also establishes various exemptions from these provisions, including, until January 1, 2029, an exemption for the diversion of floodflows for groundwater recharge, as provided.

This bill would indefinitely exempt from these provisions the temporary operation of existing infrastructure or temporary pumps being used to divert ~~flood stage flows, as identified by the California Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources Control Board, or near-flood stage flows, as defined, to groundwater recharge~~ water to underground storage as long as certain conditions are ~~met.~~ met, including the use of protective screens on temporary pump intakes, as provided, for diversions directly from rivers or streams.

~~The bill would also make conforming changes.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 1610 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

1610.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), this chapter does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Immediate emergency work necessary to protect life or property.

(2) Immediate emergency repairs to public service facilities necessary to maintain service as a result of a disaster in an area in which a state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(3) Emergency projects undertaken, carried out, or approved by a state or local governmental agency to maintain, repair, or restore an existing highway, as defined in Section 360 of the Vehicle Code, within the existing right-of-way of the highway, that has been damaged as a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth movement, or landslide, within one year of the damage. Work needed in the vicinity above and below a highway may be conducted outside of the existing right-of-way if it is needed to stop ongoing or recurring mudslides, landslides, or erosion that pose an immediate threat to the highway, or to restore those roadways damaged by mudslides, landslides, or erosion to their predamage condition and functionality. This paragraph does not exempt from this chapter any project undertaken, carried out, or approved by a state or local governmental agency to expand or widen a highway damaged by fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth movement, or landslide. The exception provided in this paragraph does not apply to a highway designated as an official state scenic highway pursuant to Section 262 of the Streets and Highways Code.

(4)The temporary operation of existing infrastructure or temporary pumps being used to divert flood stage flows, as identified by the California Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources Control Board, or near-flood stage flows, which are defined to mean that flood stage flows are forecast within 10 days, to groundwater recharge as long as all of the following conditions are met:
~~(A)The diversions cease when the flows are no longer flood stage, near-flood stage, or within the State Water Resources Control Board permitted flows.~~
~~(B)Diverted water is not diverted or applied to any of the following:~~
~~(i)Dairy land application areas.~~
~~(ii)Any agricultural field where pesticide or fertilizer application has occurred in the last 30 days.~~
(iii)Any area that could cause damage to critical levees, infrastructure, wastewater and water systems, drinking water wells or drinking water supplies, or exacerbate the threat of flood and other health and safety concerns.
(iv)Any area that has not been in active irrigated agricultural cultivation within the past three years, including grazing lands, annual grasslands, and natural habitats. This limitation does not apply to facilities already constructed for the purpose of groundwater recharge or managed wetlands.
~~(C)The diversion utilizes all of the following:~~
~~(i)Existing diversion infrastructure or temporary pumps.~~
~~(ii)Existing groundwater recharge locations, where available.~~
~~(iii)No new permanent infrastructure or permanent construction.~~
~~(iv)Simple screens installed on pump intakes to minimize the impact of diversion to salmon and other aquatic life.~~
~~(D)Applicable fees are paid, pursuant to Section 1609.~~
~~(E)The temporary diversion is permitted by the State Water Resources Control Board under a temporary water rights permit.~~

(b) The entity performing the emergency work ~~or other necessary work~~ described in subdivision (a) shall notify the department of the work, in writing, within 14 days of beginning the work. Any work described in the emergency notification that does not meet the criteria for the emergency work ~~or other necessary work~~ described in subdivision (a) is a violation of this chapter if the entity did not first notify the department in accordance with Section 1602 or 1611.

SEC. 2.

Section 1432 is added to the Water Code, immediately following Section 1431, to read:

1432.
A permit for a diversion to underground storage that is issued pursuant to this article shall meet both the following conditions:
(a) Diverted water shall not be diverted or applied to any of the following:
(1) Any barns, ponds, or lands where manure or waste from an animal facility that generates waste from the feeding and housing of animals for more than 45 days per year in a confined area that is not vegetated are applied.
(2) An agricultural field that has been identified as an outlier with respect to nitrogen application by any of the following:
(A) The board.
(B) The appropriate regional board.
(C) An agricultural coalition charged with implementation of the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program.
(3) An area where the diversion could cause damage to critical levees, infrastructure, wastewater and drinking water systems, or drinking water wells or drinking water supplies, or exacerbate the threat of flood and other health and safety concerns.
(4) An area that has not been in active irrigated agricultural cultivation within the past three years, including grazing lands, annual grasslands, and natural habitats. This limitation does not apply to facilities already constructed for the purpose of groundwater recharge or managed wetlands.
(b) The diversion utilizes all of the following:
(1) Either existing diversion infrastructure or temporary pumps.
(2) Existing groundwater recharge locations, where available.
(3) No new permanent infrastructure or permanent construction.
(4) For diversions from rivers and streams, protective screens on temporary pump intakes to minimize the impacts of diversion on fish and other aquatic life. Those screens shall be constructed of any rigid material, perforated, woven, or slotted, that provides water passage while physically excluding fish. The screen face shall be parallel to the flow and adjacent to the water’s edge. The upstream and downstream transitions to the screen structure shall be designed and constructed to minimize eddies upstream of, in front of, and downstream of, the screen, while minimizing entrainment to the degree feasible. The protective screens shall follow recommendations and any other guidelines provided by the Department of Fish and Wildlife pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 1242.1.