Bill Text: CA SB1294 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: The Community Climate and Drought Resilience Program of 2016.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1294 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1294-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1294 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley
(Coauthor: Senator Hertzberg)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 42649.87 of, to add
Section 42649.89 to, and to add Division 45 (commencing
with Section 75300) to to, the Public
Resources Code, relating to the environment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1294, as amended, Pavley. The Community Climate and Drought
Resilience Program of 2016.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CalFire) to implement a program in urban forestry to
encourage better tree management and planting in urban areas to
increase integrated, multibenefit projects by assisting urban areas
with innovative solutions to problems, including greenhouse gas
emissions, public health impacts of poor air and water quality, urban
heat island effect, stormwater management, water shortages, lack of
green space, lack of urban parks that are accessible to pedestrians,
vandalism, and insufficient tree maintenance. Existing law
authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle) to develop a program to increase the use of compost
products in agricultural applications.
This bill would enact the Community Climate and Drought Resilience
Program of 2016 and would require CalFire to review the urban
forestry program and, if necessary, revise the program to provide
funding priority to multibenefit carbon sequestration projects and to
establish local or regional targets for urban tree canopy.
The bill would require CalRecycle, by July 1, 2017, to develop and
implement a program that provides incentives for certain projects
that increase drought resilience and result in quantifiable
reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases through increased
carbon sequestration in urban and rural areas.
Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection
Agency, in coordination with the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air
Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, to
develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from
landfills by promoting the composting of specified organic waste and
by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the
state. Existing law requires the agency and the Department of Food
and Agriculture, with the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air
Resources Board, to perform specified functions, including developing
recommendations for promoting organic waste processing and recycling
infrastructure statewide.
This bill would require the agency and the Department of Food and
Agriculture, with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources
Board, to additionally assess state programs to determine how those
programs may increase the use of compost for specified purposes and
develop recommendations for promoting the use of compost throughout
the state. The bill would require that those recommendations be
posted on the agency's Internet Web site no later than January 1,
2018, and be updated annually thereafter. The bill would require an
implementing agency, required to be identified with those
recommendations, to develop a program to implement policies for
promoting the use of compost throughout the state, if recommended,
and, for purposes of that program, to prioritize projects that
utilize the services of community conservation corps or other local
nonprofit entities that employ underprivileged youth.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California has been a global leader in reducing the emissions
of greenhouse gases through the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of Health
and Safety Code) and the Governor's Executive Orders S-3-05 and
B-30-15.
(b) The state has developed a comprehensive climate adaptation
strategy document titled "Safeguarding California: Implementation
Action Plans" and has established the Integrated Climate Adaptation
and Resiliency Program to further coordinate local and regional
efforts with the state climate adaptation strategies.
(c) The state's existing investment in natural infrastructure,
including urban forest canopy, which helps accomplish both carbon
sequestration and climate resilience, is at risk due to existing
drought conditions.
(d) The drought has heightened awareness and underscored the
importance of sustainable water management.
(e) Improved water retention and infiltration can greatly reduce
reliance on potentially energy-intensive long-distance water imports
and thereby reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
(f) Through carbon sequestration, the protection and management of
natural and working lands and organic waste diversion are both
integral to accomplishing the state's policy to reduce greenhouse gas
levels.
(g) The state has recently developed a strategy to dramatically
increase the diversion of organic waste from landfills, with the
organic waste being used to create compost and mulch.
(h) Composting and use of organic waste in improved landscape and
healthy soil management have great potential to be cost effective at
reducing greenhouse gas levels through improved carbon soil
sequestration and may also greatly improve water retention and
infiltration of stormwater flows.
(i) Composting may also provide important environmental and
agricultural cobenefits, including reduction of naturally occurring
volatile organic compounds and ammonia, and may help the state
address agriculture, dairy, and forestry waste in a proper and
environmentally responsible manner.
SEC. 2. Section 42649.87 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
42649.87. (a) The California Environmental Protection Agency, in
coordination with the department, the State Water Resources Control
Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and
Agriculture, shall develop and implement policies to aid in diverting
organic waste from landfills by promoting the use of agricultural,
forestry, and urban organic waste as a feedstock for compost and by
promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state.
(b) In developing policies pursuant to subdivision (a), the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall promote a goal of
reducing at least five million metric tons of greenhouse gas
emissions per year through the development and application of compost
on working lands, which include, but are not limited to,
agricultural land, land used for forestry, and rangeland. The
California Environmental Protection Agency shall work with the
Department of Food and Agriculture to achieve this goal.
(c) The California Secretary for Environmental
Protection Agency and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall
ensure proper coordination of agency regulations and goals to
implement this section. The California Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the
department, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State
Air Resources Board shall do all of the following:
(1) Assess the state's progress towards developing the organic
waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet the
state goals specified in Assembly Bill 341 (Chapter 476 of the
Statutes of 2011), Assembly Bill 1826 (Chapter 727 of the Statutes of
2014), the State Air Resources Board's May 2015 Short-Lived Climate
Pollutant Reduction Strategy concept paper, and the Department of
Food and Agriculture's Healthy Soils Initiative.
(2) Meet at least quarterly and consult with interested
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the compost industry,
local governments, and environmental organizations, to encourage the
continued viability of the state's organic waste processing and
recycling infrastructure.
(3) Hold at least one public workshop annually to inform the
public of actions taken to implement this section and to receive
public comment.
(4) (A) Develop recommendations for
promoting organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure
statewide, which shall be posted on the California Environmental
Protection Agency's Internet Web site no later than January 1, 2017,
and updated annually thereafter.
(B) Develop recommendations for promoting the use of compost
throughout the state, which shall be posted on the California
Environmental Protection Agency's Internet Web site no later than
January 1, 2018, and updated annually thereafter, and identify an
implementing agency for purposes of Section 42649.89.
(5) Assess state programs to determine how those programs may
increase the use of compost for purposes of increasing carbon
sequestration in urban and rural areas.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 42649.89 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
42649.89. (a) The implementing agency identified pursuant to
paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 42649.87 shall develop a
program to implement policies for promoting the use of compost
throughout the state, if recommended pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subdivision (c) of Section 42649.87.
(b) For purposes of the program developed pursuant to subdivision
(a), the implementing agency shall prioritize projects that utilize
the services of community conservation corps, as defined in Section
14507.5, or other local non-profit entities that employ
underprivileged youth.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. Division 45
(commencing with Section 75300) is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:
DIVISION 45. Community Climate and Drought Resilience Program
of 2016
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
75300. In enacting this division, it is the intent of the
Legislature to do both of the following:
(a) Establish an innovative natural resource management program
that improves carbon sequestration, improves drought preparedness,
and helps California communities address the effects of climate
change through increased urban forest canopy, carbon soil
sequestration, multibenefit stormwater management, organic waste
diversion, and community greening.
(b) Enable opportunities for employment of California's at-risk
youth in climate-friendly landscape management strategies, especially
in disadvantaged communities.
75301. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in implementing this
division, shall promote policies and incentives that advance all of
the following:
(a) Help urban and rural communities adapt to the effects of
climate change.
(b) Improve water management and drought preparedness.
(c) Provide workforce training to young men and women in
disadvantaged communities.
(d) Maximize carbon sequestration and ensure the associated
greenhouse gas reduction benefits are maintained through both of the
following:
(1) Improvement and continued management of urban forest canopy
and carbon soil sequestration.
(2) Development and application of compost made from organic waste
that is diverted from landfills.
75305. For purposes of this division, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "CalFire" means the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection.
(b) "CalRecycle" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(c) "Disadvantaged communities" means communities identified
pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
CHAPTER 2. URBAN FORESTRY
75310. (a) CalFire shall review the urban forestry program
implemented pursuant to the California Urban Forestry Act of 1978
(Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 4799.06) of Part 2.5 of Division
4), and revise the program, if necessary, to do both of the
following:
(1) Provide funding priority to multibenefit carbon sequestration
projects. Eligible project categories shall include, but are not
limited to, all of the following:
(A) Mulching, watering, or pruning.
(B) The use of onsite water capture, recycled water, and other
local water sources.
(C) Emergency drought response measures that reduce tree
mortality, ensure optimal tree health, and preserve the carbon
sequestration and climate resilience benefits of the urban forest.
(2) Establish local or regional targets for urban tree canopy,
especially in disadvantaged communities that tend to be most
vulnerable to urban heat island effect. These targets shall include
urban forest diversity, tree species' adaptability to anticipated
climate change impacts, and other relevant factors.
(b) CalFire shall develop or update its regulations, as necessary,
to implement the requirements of the chapter and shall provide both
of the following:
(1) Planning and technical assistance for eligible applicants
assisting disadvantaged communities.
(2) Guidance to grantees and local governments regarding best
practices and metrics for maintaining urban forest health.
CHAPTER 3. THE USE OF COMPOST IN FARMING AND LANDSCAPING
PRACTICES
75320. (a) By July 1, 2017, CalRecycle, in consultation with
relevant state agencies, shall develop and implement a program that
provides incentives for the use of compost from organic waste in
farming and landscaping practices that increase drought resilience
and result in quantifiable reductions in the emissions of greenhouse
gases through increased carbon sequestration in urban and rural
areas.
(b) In implementing this program, CalRecycle shall enter into an
agreement with state-certified conservation corps to assist community
outreach, compost delivery and application, and other urban greening
projects that are eligible under the program.
(c) CalRecycle shall develop and update regulations for the
implementation of this chapter.
