Amended  IN  Senate  April 07, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  March 11, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 482

Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 17, 2021

An act to amend Section 2941 of, and to add Section 2941.5 to, 2944 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to the Salton Sea.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 482, as amended, Hueso. Salton Searestoration. Sea: long-term strategy.
The Salton Sea Restoration Act requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation and coordination with the Salton Sea Authority, to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts. Existing law, including the act, specifies various sources of funding for Salton Sea restoration and mitigation projects, and provides for the allocation of various responsibilities among state agencies and regional water agencies for implementation and administration of those projects. Under the act, the state’s comprehensive management plan for the Salton Sea is known as the “John J. Benoit Salton Sea Restoration Plan.”

This bill would require the secretary, using available resources, to implement the John J. Benoit Salton Sea Restoration Plan and to carry out other activities relating to restoration of the Salton Sea, as specified.

This bill would require the secretary to work with local stakeholders to develop a long-term strategy for the Salton Sea. The bill would require the long-term strategy to, among other things, assess the environmental impacts and economic viability of the Salton Sea, identify challenges to enacting a long-term strategy, and provide recommendations for addressing the identified challenges. The bill would require the secretary, in preparing the long-term strategy, to create an advisory panel and work with relevant agencies at the federal, local, and binational level.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 2944 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

2944.
 (a) The secretary shall work with local stakeholders to develop a long-term strategy for the Salton Sea.
(b) The long-term strategy shall assess the environmental impacts and economic viability of the Salton Sea. This may include, but is not limited to including, consideration of all of the following:
(1) Importation of water from the Sea of Cortez.
(2) A perimeter lake around the Salton Sea.
(3) Desalination strategies.
(4) The economic and environmental impacts of geothermal and renewable energy activity for the region and the state.
(5) The economic and environmental impacts of mineral extraction in the region.
(6) The role of an enhanced infrastructure financing district or other similar financing entity in supporting efforts around the Salton Sea.
(c) The long-term strategy shall do all of the following:
(1) Assess the long-term environmental impacts of the Salton Sea on California and the region.
(2) Assess the public health impacts of the Salton Sea on the region.
(3) Assess the economic viability of the Salton Sea, including, but not limited to, renewable energy production and the role geothermal activity could play in meeting California’s climate goals.
(4) Determine the economic and environmental liabilities to the state that would result from a failure to enact a long-term strategy.
(5) Identify challenges to enacting a long-term strategy and provide recommendations for addressing those challenges.
(6) Prioritize local stakeholder input through a transparent and collaborative process.
(7) Support efforts that advance environmental preservation and economic development in complementary ways.
(d) In preparing the long-term strategy, the secretary shall create an advisory panel and work with relevant agencies at the federal, local, and binational level.

SECTION 1.Section 2941 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
2941.

Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions set forth in this section govern the construction of this article.

(a)“Agency” means the Natural Resources Agency.

(b)“Habitat mosaics” means two or more proximate habitat types, such as saltwater shoreline abutting riverine deltas and irrigated farmland.

(c)“Quantification Settlement Agreement” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1 of Chapter 617 of the Statutes of 2002.

(d)“Salton Sea Authority” or “authority” means the joint powers authority comprised of the County of Imperial, the County of Riverside, the Imperial Irrigation District, the Coachella Valley Water District, and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe.

(e)“Salton Sea Management Program” means the program for implementation of the John J. Benoit Salton Sea Restoration Plan, as described in Section 2930.

(f)“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.

(g)“Vector management” means services that eliminate or reduce the risk of illness caused by any organism transporting a pathogen.

SEC. 2.Section 2941.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
2941.5.

The secretary shall do all of the following, using available resources:

(a)Implement the Salton Sea Management Program to protect public health, wildlife, and the environment in the Salton Sea area.

(b)Implement Order WR 2017-0134, issued by the State Water Resources Control Board on November 7, 2017, or a subsequent revision of that order.

(c)Determine the steps necessary for creation of an enhanced infrastructure financing district in the Salton Sea area, as provided in the Memorandum of Understanding Between the County of Imperial and the County of Riverside Concerning Unified Support on the Salton Sea entered into on June 26, 2018, and assist in the creation of the district.

(d)Identify the highest priority projects and initiatives for which funding is needed.

(e)Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public in the Salton Sea area.

(f)Support efforts that advance environmental preservation and the economic well-being of residents of the Salton Sea area in ways that complement one another.