Amended  IN  Senate  May 17, 2018
Amended  IN  Senate  April 09, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 1301

Introduced by Senator Beall

February 16, 2018

An act to add Section 8318 to the Government Code, and to add Division 13.6 (commencing with Section 21200) to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental permitting, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1301, as amended, Beall. State permitting: environment: processing procedures.
Existing law prohibits an entity 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 from depositing certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, without first notifying the Department of Fish and Wildlife of that activity and entering into a lake or streambed alteration agreement, if required by the department to protect fish and wildlife resources.
Existing law also establishes the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and requires a person or governmental agency wishing to place fill, extract materials, or make a substantial change in the use of any water, land, or structure within the area of the commission’s jurisdiction, as defined, to secure a permit from the commission.
Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, establishes the California Coastal Commission and prescribes the powers and responsibilities of the commission with regard to the regulation of development along the California coast. The act requires any person wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, as defined, to obtain a coastal development permit, except as provided.
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board is designated as the state water pollution control agency for purposes of the federal Clean Water Act. Existing law establishes 9 California regional water quality control boards to coordinate with the state board with respect to water quality control matters. Existing law requires the state board or the regional boards to prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law requires the state and regional boards to issue dredged or fill material permits in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.
This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the California Coastal Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board, and a California regional water quality control board, for certain permits that each agency issues for a dam safety project or flood risk reduction project, beginning July 1, 2020, to keep an accurate record of permit processing times. The bill would require these agencies to issue a report that discloses any legally mandated permit processing times and the average permit processing times for all dam safety projects and flood risk reduction projects, as specified. The bill would require each entity to provide the quarterly report to certain committees of the Legislature and to post the report on the entity’s Internet Web site, as prescribed.
This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to develop a joint multiagency preapplication and a model fee-for-service agreement, in consultation with a state agency with the power to issue a permit that would authorize a dam safety project or authorize a flood risk reduction project and any interested potential project applicants. The bill would authorize a project applicant to complete a joint multiagency preapplication and submit the preapplication to each state agency named in the preapplication at any time. The bill would require the submission to cause, as appropriate for the proposed project and as specified in the preapplication, a state agency to appoint a member of the interagency team to work on the proposed project and to meet at least once per quarter, except that an interagency team is prohibited from commencing until a written fee-for-service agreement is entered into. The bill would authorize an applicant to request in the preapplication that the interagency team, if a project is large or complex, be colocated for a prescribed period and would require the cost of colocation to be covered by the project applicant by fees included in a written fee-for-service agreement. The bill would authorize the establishment and collection of fees payable by a project applicant submitting a preapplication as reimbursement to cover specified reasonable costs, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would authorize and encourage certain federal agencies to participate in the preapplication process and any interagency team developed.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 8318 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8318.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply to this section:
(1) “Covered permit” means any of the following permits issued for a dam safety project or flood risk reduction project:
(A) A streambed alteration agreement pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1600) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code.
(B) A permit that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission may issue pursuant to the McAteer-Petris Act (Title 7.2 (commencing with Section 66600)).
(C) A coastal development permit pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) of Division 20 of the Public Resources Code.
(D) Waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
(E) Water quality certification pursuant to Section 13160 of the Water Code.
(F) A national pollutant discharge elimination system permit required pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(2) “Dam safety project” has the same meaning as defined in Section 21200 of the Public Resources Code.
(3) “Flood risk reduction project” has the same meaning as defined in Section 21200 of the Public Resources Code.
(b) A state agency that administers a covered permit shall do all of the following:
(1) Beginning July 1, 2020, keep an accurate record of covered permit processing times that includes all of the following:
(A) The date a permit application is submitted.
(B) The date a permit application is deemed complete.
(C) The number of resubmittals required for the permit application to be deemed complete.
(D) The date a permit application is approved or denied.
(2) Issue a report for the previous fiscal year on or before October 1, 2021, and by October 1 for each year thereafter, that discloses any legally mandated processing times for covered permits and the average processing times for covered permits for all dam safety projects and flood risk reduction projects, including all of the following information:
(A) The average time from the date a permit application is submitted to the date a permit is approved or denied.
(B) The average time from the date a permit application is submitted to the date a permit application is deemed complete.
(C) The average number of applicant resubmittals required for the application to be deemed complete.
(D) The average time from the date the permit application is deemed complete to the date a permit is approved or denied.
(E) The number of permit applications received.
(F) The number of permit applications deemed complete.
(G) The number of permits approved.
(H) The number of permits denied.
(I) The total number of permit applications pending action.
(c) Each state agency issuing a covered permit shall transmit the report required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) by the deadlines described in that paragraph to the budget and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature and post the report on the agency’s Internet Web site. The report shall remain posted on an agency’s Internet Web site for at least 10 years.

SEC. 2.

 Division 13.6 (commencing with Section 21200) is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

DIVISION 13.6. Interagency Collaboration and Expedited Permitting for Dam Safety and Flood Risk Reduction

21200.
 For purposes of this division, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Dam” has the same meaning as defined in Section 6002 of the Water Code.
(b) “Dam safety project” means a project or plan proposed by a federal, state, or local public agency or a public utility, for the maintenance, repair, retrofit, alteration, or replacement of a dam, in which reducing the risk of dam failure is an objective of the project.
(c) “Flood risk reduction project” means a project or plan proposed by a federal, state, or local public agency or a public utility, to construct, retrofit, maintain, manage, or improve a facility, channel, levee, or flood control modification, in which flood risk reduction is an objective of the project.
(d) “Permit” means a permit, agreement, certification, approval, authorization, permission, notice to proceed, or directive, or the issuance of the same, from any state agency, that is necessary for a project to proceed.
(e) “State agency” means a unit of state government, including, but not limited to, any department, agency, board, or commission of the State of California with the power to issue a permit that would authorize a dam safety project or authorize a flood risk reduction project.

21202.
 A dam safety project or a flood risk reduction project is eligible for interagency collaboration for the purpose of expediting the permitting of the project.

21204.
 The Office of Planning and Research shall develop a joint multiagency preapplication and a model fee-for-service agreement in consultation with a state agency and any interested potential project applicants. The preapplication shall request information about a proposed project that is common to state agency permit applications and that reasonably would be expected to be available at the time of preapplication submission, and any preliminary information a state agency requests specific to its jurisdiction.

21206.
 (a) A project applicant may complete a joint multiagency preapplication and submit the preapplication to each state agency named in the preapplication at any time. A project applicant is encouraged to submit the joint multiagency preapplication not later than when an applicant provides a notice of preparation, notice of intent, or other similar notice required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
(b) The submission of a preapplication to a state agency and the state agency’s determination of the proposed project’s eligibility for processing pursuant to this division shall cause, as appropriate for the proposed project and as specified in the preapplication, a state agency to appoint a member of the interagency team to work on the proposed project. An interagency team shall not commence until a written fee-for-service agreement is entered into pursuant to Section 21208. The team shall meet at least once per quarter to discuss the proposed project with the applicant and shall have the following objectives:
(1) To identify actions that may be taken by the participating state agencies and the applicant to expedite permit processing and approval with the goal of achieving permit approval within times established in statute or faster.
(2) To consider potential significant environmental impacts of the proposed project and the types of mitigation, if any, that may be required as a condition of the permit.
(3) To provide input on the environmental review document prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
(4) To resolve any conflicts between the measures or conditions that the participating state agencies or participating federal agencies may seek to require for permit issuance.
(c) If a project is large or complex, an applicant may request in the preapplication that the interagency team for the proposed project be colocated for a prescribed period, as appropriate and mutually agreed upon by an applicant and the state agencies participating in the interagency team. An agency may shall not host the colocations a colocation to collaborate on the proposed project, as needed. The project at the project applicant’s facility. The project applicant shall pay the costs of any colocation and the cost of colocation shall be covered by fees included in a written fee-for-service agreement entered into pursuant to Section 21208.

21208.
 (a) (1) A state agency participating in an interagency team and the Office of Planning and Research shall establish and collect fees payable by a project applicant submitting a preapplication as reimbursement to cover the reasonable costs of the team, its participants, and the Office of Planning and Research in developing and processing the preapplication and a model fee-for-service agreement.
(2) A project applicant shall pay a flat fee to each participating agency and to the Office of Planning and Research upon the submission of a joint multiagency preapplication to cover the reasonable costs of each state agency named in the preapplication appointing a member to the interagency team and negotiating a written fee-for-service agreement pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) (1) A participating state agency shall provide to the project applicant a good faith estimate of the reasonable costs that would be incurred for the requested engagement through the interagency team and any colocation.
(2) A project applicant shall enter into a written fee-for-service agreement with the participating state agencies that requires the project applicant to reimburse the participating state agencies for the reasonable costs incurred by their participation in the interagency team and by any colocation that may be requested.

21210.
 (a) This division applies only to a proposed project that will require a permit from at least two state agencies.
(b) Action by an interagency team pursuant to this division does not limit the authority or discretion of a state permitting agency with regards to the dispensation of a permit application, the issuance of a permit, or any conditions that may be required in conjunction with the issuance of a permit.

21212.
 The United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and United States Environmental Protection Agency may and are encouraged to participate in the preapplication process and any interagency team developed pursuant to this division.