Bill Text: CA SB369 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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

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Bill Title: Flood control: Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 275, Statutes of 2021. [SB369 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB369-Enrolled.html

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Enrolled  September 07, 2021

Passed  IN  Senate  September 03, 2021

Passed  IN  Assembly  September 02, 2021

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 14, 2021

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 24, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 369

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Introduced by Senator Pan

February 10, 2021

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An act to add Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 8510) to Division 5 of the Water Code, relating to flood control.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 369, Pan. Flood control: Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program.

Existing law provides for state cooperation with the federal government in the construction of specified flood control projects. Existing law establishes the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and authorizes the board to engage in various flood control activities along the Sacramento River, the San Joaquin River, their tributaries, and related areas.

This bill would establish the Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program to support the development and implementation of projects within the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region. The bill would define “Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership” to mean the multiagency partnership established pursuant to a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2016 by a total of 15 participating federal, state, and local agencies. The bill would require the participating state agencies, including the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, to work in collaboration with the participating federal and local agencies and the City of West Sacramento, if it chooses to participate, to advance specified objectives in the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 8510) is added to Division 5 of the Water Code, to read:

PART 3.5. Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program

8510.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Yolo Bypass is a 59,000-acre flood control facility located in the Counties of Yolo and Solano that absorbs excess flood waters from the Sacramento River and conveys the waters 40 miles south into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

(b) Authorized by Congress in 1917 and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the 1920s, the Yolo Bypass provides critical flood protection to over 650,000 people, several small communities, important agricultural land, and over sixty billion dollars ($60,000,000,000) in public and private assets.

(c) Agriculture, recreation, and wildlife thrive within the Yolo Bypass, exemplified by the state-owned Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, which supports wildlife-friendly rice cultivation and livestock grazing, managed wetlands for migratory waterfowl, nature education opportunities for the region’s schools, nature viewing, and hunting.

(d) Cache Slough is located primarily within the County of Solano, intersecting with the southern portion of the Yolo Bypass. Cache Slough supports remnant tidal habitat where restoration of natural conditions could benefit delta smelt and other native aquatic species. Cache Slough is also a regionally significant agricultural area where the location of multiple-benefit projects could affect the operations and maintenance practices of agricultural diverters and core flood control and levee maintenance responsibilities of reclamation districts within the Cache Slough Complex.

(e) The North Bay Aqueduct portion of the State Water Project delivers source water directly from the Cache Slough Complex to over 500,000 residents in the Counties of Napa and Solano. Opportunities for multiple-benefit projects must consider impacts to municipal water supply and water quality.

(f) Together, the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region presents unparalleled opportunities for multiple-benefit projects that improve flood protection, fisheries and wildlife habitat, water supply and water quality, agricultural sustainability, and recreational opportunities. As such, the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region is the focus of an increasing number of federal, state, and locally developed projects intended to improve these multiple public values.

(g) The numerous interests in this complex and important region present an opportunity and an imperative for governmental agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to collaboratively align planning efforts and project implementation.

(h) In May 2016, a total of 15 federal, state, and local agencies signed a memorandum of understanding outlining principles necessary to achieve a common vision for the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region. The resulting Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership serves as a model for public agency cooperation and achievement.

8511.

 For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership” means the multiagency partnership established pursuant to a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2016 by all of the following public agencies:

(1) United States Bureau of Reclamation.

(2) United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

(3) National Marine Fisheries Service.

(4) United States Army Corps of Engineers.

(5) County of Yolo.

(6) County of Solano.

(7) Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

(8) Solano County Water Agency.

(9) Reclamation District No. 2068.

(10) Natural Resources Agency.

(11) Department of Water Resources.

(12) Department of Fish and Wildlife.

(13) Central Valley Flood Protection Board.

(14) State Water Resources Control Board.

(15) Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

(b)  “Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program” means the program established pursuant to Section 8512.

8512.

 The Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Partnership Multibenefit Program is hereby established to support the development and implementation of projects within the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region. The participating state agencies enumerated in subdivision (a) of Section 8511 shall work in collaboration with the participating federal and local agencies enumerated in subdivision (a) of Section 8511 and the City of West Sacramento, if it chooses to participate, to advance all of the following objectives:

(a) Prioritize projects that accommodate multiple objectives in the Yolo Bypass and Cache Slough region.

(b) Identify project implementation challenges and work collaboratively to resolve those challenges.

(c) Develop programmatic and expedited approaches for regulatory compliance.

(d) Identify funding mechanisms for project implementation and long-term operations and maintenance.

(e) Develop strategies to foster regional agricultural sustainability, recreational opportunities, and long-term water supply reliability.