Bill Text: CA SB939 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Emergencies: COVID-19: commercial tenancies: evictions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-18 - June 18 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB939 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB939-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 12, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 939

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Introduced by Senators Wiener and Umberg

February 06, 2020

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An act relating to marine resources. to amend Sections 828, 829, and 830 of, and to add Sections 831, 831.5, 832, 833, 834, and 835 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to aquaculture.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 939, as amended, Wiener. Mariculture. Mariculture: master permitting program: designation of suitable state waters.

Existing law provides for the regulation and development of aquaculture. aquaculture and requires the owner of each aquaculture facility to register with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law authorizes the department, among other powers, to assess annual registration fees on owners of aquaculture facilities and to prohibit an aquaculture operation or the culturing of any species at any location where it would be detrimental to adjacent native wildlife. Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations that it is in the interest of the people of the state that the practice of aquaculture be encouraged in order to augment food supplies, expand employment, promote economic activity, increase native fish stocks, enhance commercial and recreational fishing, and protect and better use the land and water resources of the state. authorizes the Fish and Game Commission to lease state water bottoms or the water column to any person for aquaculture, as prescribed, and requires the department to notify the State Lands Commission of all applications for water bottom leases and of all leases for aquaculture executed, renewed, or assigned. Under existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, the California Coastal Commission is responsible for the implementation of the act and for state coastal zone planning and management.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to mariculture. require the department to, by January 1, 2022, create, as prescribed, a master permitting program with 3 permit types, as specified, for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects. The bill would require the master permitting program to include and incorporate all necessary information and materials required by the State Lands Commission and the Fish and Game Commission to apply for, prepare, review, and finalize a water bottom lease or ground lease of state lands required by a proposed mariculture project. The bill would require the department to approve, deny, or return for revision a master permit application within 4 months and similarly require that the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, approve or deny a water bottom lease or ground lease within 4 months, as prescribed. The bill would provide an administrative appeal process for applicants to contest the denial of a water bottom lease or ground lease.

The bill would require the department, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, if feasible, to develop best management practices for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects, as prescribed, and incorporate these practices into the master permitting program.

The bill would require the department to incorporate all duties and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration currently possessed and implemented by the California Coastal Commission into the master permitting program, and, commencing January 1, 2022, would provide the department with all jurisdiction, duties, and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects, and eliminate the California Coastal Commission’s authority and jurisdiction to approve, deny, or otherwise affect those projects.

The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the department, in consultation with several specified entities, to produce a comprehensive, publicly available map of state waters indicating the suitability of particular areas and sites for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration.

The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2023, and each year for 5 years thereafter, the department, in consultation with several specified entities, to annually designate, as prescribed, at least 5 square miles of state waters as suitable for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects.

The bill would require the department to ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged mariculturalists in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies and programs relating to shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration.

The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations and adopt definitions to implement its provisions.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) California has the potential to become a global leader in sustainable shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration.

(2) In the coming years, sustainable sources of food must become more broadly available to a growing population, even as climate change strains food supplies across the planet.

(3) The widely respected Project Drawdown joins numerous other environmental groups in noting that “seaweed pulls carbon from the atmosphere and the water, with some varieties capable of absorbing five times more carbon dioxide than land-based plants,” while a recent study highlighted by the National Institutes of Health notes that, although coastal ecosystems are buffeted by a variety of environmental threats, particularly climate change, sustainable mariculture “could play a significant role in reversing this trend, enhancing coastal ecosystems, and sequestering blue carbon.”

(4) In addition to climate benefits, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science have also found that shellfish cultivation “has shown promise in reducing eutrophication impacts by taking up nutrients from the water” and providing other water quality benefits.

(5) A diverse portfolio of aquaculture operations that includes shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture will help support a more sustainable and resilient food supply amidst changing environmental conditions while reducing the impact of climate change on our coasts and oceans.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the enactment of this legislation does not preclude the integration of other responsible aquaculture activities besides sustainable shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration.

SEC. 2.

 Section 828 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

828.

 (a) As used in this chapter, “aquaculture” means the culture and husbandry of aquatic organisms, including, but not limited to, fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, kelp, and algae. the same as that term is defined in Section 25.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as that section read on December 31, 2020. Aquaculture shall not mean the culture and husbandry of commercially utilized inland crops, including, but not limited to, rice, watercress, and bean sprouts.

(b) As used in this chapter, “mariculture” means marine aquaculture.

SEC. 3.

 Section 829 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

829.

 As used in this chapter, “director” means the Director of the Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife.

SEC. 4.

 Section 830 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

830.

 As used in this chapter, “department” means the Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife.

SEC. 5.

 Section 831 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

831.

 (a) By January 1, 2022, the department shall create a master permitting program for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects, which shall offer the following kinds of permits:

(1) A limited-purpose, nonrenewable permit for projects aimed at ensuring the suitability of sites for mariculture that are less than 500 square feet in size and where mariculture operations shall last less than two years.

(2) An experimental permit for projects less than three acres in size and where operations shall last less than five years. Experimental permits may be renewed only for purposes of scientific research or conservation.

(3) A standard permit for all other projects.

(b) (1) The department’s master permitting program shall include and incorporate all necessary information and materials required by the State Lands Commission and the Fish and Game Commission to apply for, prepare, review, and finalize a water bottom lease or ground lease of state lands required by a proposed mariculture project. The department shall provide completed applications under the master permitting program to the State Lands Commission and the Fish and Game Commission.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, shall review completed applications under the master permitting program in order to assess the need for a water bottom lease or ground lease of state lands by the applicant to implement and operate the proposed, applied-for mariculture project.

(3) Notwithstanding any other law, if the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, determine that the mariculture applicant would require a water bottom lease or ground lease of state lands to implement and operate the applied-for mariculture project, the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, shall prepare, review, and either approve or deny a water bottom lease or ground lease within four months of receiving the completed application from the department.

(4) If the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission deny a water bottom lease or ground lease to an applicant, the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, shall provide the applicant with a written explanation and reasons for the denial. Upon receipt of the written explanation, the applicant shall have 30 days to administratively appeal the denial of the water bottom lease or ground lease. If the applicant files an administrative appeal within the time provided, the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, shall hold a hearing regarding the applicant’s appeal to determine whether to uphold or overturn the denial of the water bottom lease or ground lease. The State Lands Commission and the Fish and Game Commission may develop procedures and adopt regulations for administrative appeals pursuant to this paragraph.

(c) In developing the master permitting program pursuant to this section, the department shall, if feasible, consult with the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(d) The department shall approve, deny, or return for revision a master permit application within four months. The department shall accept revisions to master permit applications on an ongoing basis, and the department shall notify an applicant of needed revisions at the time the issue is detected and accept revisions on a rolling basis.

(e) A local government can apply for a master permit and designate individual mariculturalists as lessees.

(f) The department shall consider and, if appropriate, investigate whether and how to seek state verification authority from the United States Army Corps of Engineers to streamline the review and approval of federal permits issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers that may be required by a mariculture project intending to operate in this state. The department may incorporate the state verification authority into the master permitting program.

SEC. 6.

 Section 831.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

831.5.

 (a) The department shall ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged mariculturalists in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies and programs relating to shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration.

(b) For purposes of this section, “socially disadvantaged mariculturalist” means a person from a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities, including those groups identified as socially disadvantaged groups in Section 512 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

SEC. 7.

 Section 832 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

832.

 (a) The department shall incorporate all duties and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration currently possessed and implemented by the California Coastal Commission into the master permitting program developed pursuant to Section 831.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing January 1, 2022, the department shall have all jurisdiction, duties, and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects currently possessed and implemented by the California Coastal Commission.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing January 1, 2022, the California Coastal Commission shall have no authority or jurisdiction to approve, deny, or otherwise affect the permitting of shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects.

SEC. 8.

 Section 833 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

833.

 The department, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, if feasible, shall develop best management practices for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects. The best management practices shall provide guidance on ecological impacts, plastics contamination, allowed species, and other relevant subjects. The best management practices shall be incorporated into the master permitting program established pursuant to Section 831.

SEC. 9.

 Section 834 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

834.

 On or before January 1, 2023, the department, in consultation, if feasible, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the State Lands Commission, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and other universities and port districts with relevant expertise, shall produce a comprehensive map of state waters indicating the suitability of particular areas and sites for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration. The department shall reference existing mapping tools to minimize workload. The department shall make the comprehensive map available to the public and, if feasible, post the completed map on its internet website.

SEC. 10.

 Section 835 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

835.

 Commencing January 1, 2023, and each year for five years thereafter, the department, in consultation, if feasible, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the State Department of Public Health, the Fish and Game Commission, and the State Lands Commission, shall annually designate at least five square miles of state waters as suitable for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects. The designations shall include the following:

(a) Analyses of site suitability relative to best management practices, potential user conflicts, risks to public health, ownership, and other relevant factors as well as potential to reduce ocean acidity or nitrate pollution, reduce the impacts of sea level rise, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife.

(b) At least one-half square mile of state waters designated as suitable each year shall be north of Point Conception, and at least one-half square mile of state waters designated as suitable each year shall be south of Point Conception.

(c) Parcels or areas of state waters designated as suitable shall be at least 300 square meters or larger in size.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to mariculture.