Bill Text: CA AB939 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

---

Bill Title: Salton Sea restoration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-16 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB939 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB939-Introduced.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 939	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 71100 and 71103.5 of, and to add Sections
71103.6 and 71103.7 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to the
environment.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 939, as introduced, V. Manuel Pérez. Environment: New River
Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway Development Program.
   Existing law requires the California-Mexico Border Relations
Council, contingent upon the execution of an agreement with the City
of Calexico to provide the necessary funding, to develop a strategic
plan to guide the implementation of the New River Improvement Project
containing specified elements.
   This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, in
collaboration with the council, to develop a New River Water Quality,
Public Health, and River Parkway Development Program to coordinate
the funding and implementation of activities related to New River,
conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a sewage treatment
and pollution prevention project in the City of Calexico, and
complete various activities necessary to develop a river parkway plan
for New River in the city. The bill would require state agencies
providing funding for activities related to New River within the
city, to the extent feasible, to coordinate the award and management
funds pursuant to the California River Parkways and Urban Streams
Restoration Grant Programs guidelines. The bill would require state
agencies to make all necessary efforts to integrate and align their
contractual and administrative requirements for financial assistance.

   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.  Section 71100 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   71100.  The following definitions govern the construction of this
part: 
   (a) "Agency" means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
 
   (a) 
    (b)    "Cal BECC" means the California Border
Environmental Cooperation Committee established on July 22, 1994, by
the Governors of California, Baja California, and Baja California
Sur. 
   (b) 
    (c)    "California-Baja California border
region" means the region described in Chapter IV of the US-Mexico
Border XXI Program, Framework Document, published October 1996. 
   (d) "City" means the City of Calexico, California.  
   (e) "Council" means the California-Mexico Border Relations Council
established pursuant to Section 8711 of the Government Code. 

   (f) "County" means the County of Imperial, California. 

   (c) 
    (g)    "Fund" means the California Border
Environmental Education Fund established pursuant to Section 71101.

   (h) "IBWC" means the International Boundary and Water Commission,
United States Section.  
   (i) "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 a river
parkway suitable for public use and enjoyment.  
   (j) "New River Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway
Development Program" or "program" means a cooperative and integrated
program in the County of Imperial established pursuant to Section
71103.6. 
  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  the County of  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) "IBWC" means the International Boundary and Water Commission,
United States Section.  
   (6) "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 a river
parkway suitable for public use and enjoyment.  
   (c) 
    (b)    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 water flows
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) 
    (c)    (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) 
    (d)    This section does not modify existing
roles, responsibilities, or liabilities of the State of California,
the City of Calexico,  the County of  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) 
    (e)    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 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.
  SEC. 3.  Section 71103.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   71103.6.  (a) The Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with
the council, shall establish the New River Water Quality, Public
Health, and River Parkway Development Program that would accomplish
all of the following goals:
   (1) Coordinate the funding for, and implementation of, the
elements of the New River Improvement Project that protect human
health and lead to the development of a river parkway system suitable
for public use and enjoyment.
   (2) Conduct a thorough environmental and engineering review of the
feasibility and cost of projects for the use or enlargement of a
natural channel for municipal purposes, as specified in Section
7043.5 of the Water Code, in the city.
   (3) Complete the environmental review, engineering design, and
associated planning necessary to develop a river parkway plan for New
River within the city.
   (4) Coordinate the funding and implementation of the
recommendations from the strategic plan developed pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 71103.5 by the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the council.
   (5) Coordinate the funding for, and implementation of, programs
and projects identified by the council pursuant to Section 71102.
   (b) State agencies that fund the activities of the New River
Improvement Project shall make all necessary efforts to integrate and
align their contractual and administrative requirements for grants,
loans, contracts, and other forms of financial support to meet the
goal of the program.
  SEC. 4.  Section 71103.7 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   71103.7.  (a) Prior to the development of the strategic plan
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 71103.5, a state or local
agency may carry out programs or projects related to New River as
required by a funding agency or that are necessary for the protection
of public health, reduction of environmental hazards, or other
urgent circumstances.
   (b) State agencies awarding or granting funds to the city for the
implementation of the New River Improvement Project within the city
shall, to the extent feasible, coordinate the award or grant, and the
management, of funds pursuant to the California River Parkways and
Urban Streams Restoration Grant Programs guidelines issued by the
Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Water Resources in
August 2008.