Bill Text: CA AB2202 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-30 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2202 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2202-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2202 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Salas)
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to amend Section 71103.5 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to the New River.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2202, V. Manuel Perez. Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water
Supply Act of 2012: New River Improvement Project: strategic plan.
Existing law, contingent upon the execution of an agreement with
the City of Calexico for the purpose of providing the necessary
funding, would require the California-Mexico Border Relations Council
to develop a strategic plan containing specific elements to guide
the implementation of the New River Improvement Project.
Existing law creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water
Supply Act of 2012 (bond act), which, if approved by the voters at
the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, would authorize the
issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the
State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water
and water supply reliability program. The bond act would make
$20,000,000 available for water quality and public health projects on
the New River.
This bill would require that any funds appropriated pursuant to
this provision for the New River be consistent with the strategic
plan developed by the California-Mexico Border Relations Council. The
bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that any funds
appropriated be consistent with the strategic plan. The bill would
require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to oversee the
expenditure of bond funds that are appropriated for water quality and
public health projects on the New River. These provisions would
become effective only if the bond act is approved by the voters.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply
Act of 2012, if approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012,
statewide general election, makes twenty million dollars
($20,000,000) available for water quality and public health projects
on the New River.
(b) The Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of
2012 specifically gives the Legislature the authority to enact
legislation necessary to implement programs funded by the act.
(c) The Legislature finds that to ensure that moneys are available
for New River projects as expeditiously as possible, this act should
be enacted before the voters have approved the Safe, Clean, and
Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012.
SEC. 2. Section 71103.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
71103.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The New River poses an imminent and severe threat to the
public health of residents of Calexico, California, and adjacent
communities in Imperial County. Since the 1940s, the New River has
been recognized as a significant pollution and human health problem,
primarily because of extremely high concentrations of fecal coliform
bacteria.
(2) While there have been recent measurable water quality
improvements as a result of sewage infrastructure projects
implemented and completed during the last 10 years in Mexicali,
Mexico, the residual and projected pollution in the New River coming
from Mexico remains a significant threat to public health and the
environment.
(3) Current bacteria levels in the New River are several orders of
magnitude above the state standards for bacteria. Based on these
levels and the historic levels of pollution, the waterway is believed
to carry pathogens that cause tuberculosis, encephalitis, polio,
cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid. The waterway also carries other
contaminants in concentrations that are in violation of federal,
state, and Mexican water quality standards by several hundredfold.
(4) The New River is listed as an impaired river by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency due to low dissolved oxygen
(DO) and the presence of chlordane, chlorpyrifos, copper,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), diazinon, dieldrin, mercury,
nutrients, pathogens, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), sediment,
selenium, toxaphene, toxicity, trash, and volatile organic compounds
(VOCs).
(5) The New River is a major contributor of pollution to the
Salton Sea, and failure to address water quality problems in the New
River are impeding the ability of the state to implement laws and
programs designed to restore and protect this important environmental
and wildlife habitat resource.
(6) The New River condition in the border area is also an
aesthetic nuisance for Calexico residents and has historically
inhibited the city's socioeconomic well-being and growth.
(7) A coordinated and comprehensive state strategy is needed to
deal with the residual and projected pollution so that the New River
and associated river channel can be enhanced to a condition that will
allow the residents of Calexico and Imperial County to utilize them
as recreational and natural assets as contemplated in the California
River Parkways Act of 2004 (Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section
5750) of Division 5).
(8) In the Budget Act of 2009, as amended by Chapter 1 of the
Statutes of 2009 Fourth Extraordinary Session, eight hundred thousand
dollars ($800,000) was appropriated to the City of Calexico for
various planning needs necessary to develop a river parkway plan and
river improvement project for the New River. The moneys were
appropriated in order to secure and serve as matching funds for the
four million dollars ($4,000,000) allocated pursuant to the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (Public Law 109-59) to the City of Calexico for the
development of bicycle paths and public park space adjacent to the
New River.
(9) The City of Calexico, as the recipient of funding pursuant to
the California River Parkways Act of 2004, has agreed to provide
necessary financial support to the council for the development of the
council's strategic plan.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Agency" means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) "City" means the City of Calexico, California.
(3) "Council" means the California-Mexico Border Relations Council
established pursuant to Section 8711 of the Government Code.
(4) "County" means the County of Imperial, California.
(5) "New River Improvement Project" or "project" means a project
to study, monitor, remediate, and enhance New River water quality in
the County of Imperial to protect human health, and develop river
parkway projects suitable for public use and enjoyment.
(c) Pursuant to the authority granted to the council under Section
8712 of the Government Code and contingent upon the execution of an
agreement with the City of Calexico for the purpose of providing the
necessary funding, the council shall develop a strategic plan to
guide the implementation of the New River Improvement Project. The
strategic plan shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the
following elements:
(1) Quantification of current and projected New River water
quality impairments and their threat to public health.
(2) Prioritization of the actions necessary to protect public
health and to meet New River water quality objectives and other
environmental goals, such as improving the quality of waterflows into
the Salton Sea.
(3) Identification of potential funds for the implementation of
the project, and potential lead agencies that would be responsible
for environmental review of activities related to the cleanup and
restoration of the New River.
(4) Identification of the appropriate federal, state, and local
agencies with a role in implementing and achieving the New River
Improvement Project.
(d) (1) To the extent permitted by law, the council may work with
appropriate binational, federal, state, local, and nongovernmental
organizations on both sides of the California-Mexico border to
develop the strategic plan and to fund and establish cooperative
water quality monitoring, public health studies, inspection, and
technical assistance programs as needed to support, convene, and
oversee the project.
(2) To further the objectives of this subdivision, the council may
convene and oversee a technical advisory committee. The advisory
committee shall advise the council regarding the necessary studies
and activities to carry out the project, and shall serve at the
pleasure of the council. The advisory committee shall include
representatives from the following:
(A) Impacted cities and counties.
(B) Relevant local, regional, and state agencies and departments.
(C) Nongovernmental organizations.
(D) Other stakeholders deemed necessary by the council.
(3) The council shall appoint the chair of the committee and may
expand the membership and expertise of the committee as it deems
necessary.
(4) The council may enter into an agreement, including an
interagency agreement and memorandum of understanding, with public
agencies, including the city, to accept, manage, and expend funds for
the implementation of this section.
(e) This section does not modify existing roles, responsibilities,
or liabilities of the State of California, the City of Calexico,
Imperial County, or any other governmental agency, under those laws
that regulate, protect, and clean up surface waters entering the
United States from Mexico.
(f) The New River Improvement Project Account is hereby created in
the California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection
Fund to receive moneys for activities related to the New River
Improvement Project from sources identified in Section 71101 and from
other sources. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the
account shall be expended to implement the purposes identified in
subdivision (c) or Section 71102 that are related to the New River.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that any funds
appropriated pursuant to Section 79720.6 of the Water Code shall be
consistent with the strategic plan developed pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(h) As the chair of the council, the Secretary for the California
Environmental Protection Agency shall oversee the expenditure of bond
funds that are appropriated for water quality and public health
projects on the New River pursuant to Section 79720.6 of the Water
Code.
SEC. 3. This act shall take effect only if the Safe, Clean, and
Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012 is approved by the voters
at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election.
