Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 9, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 147

Introduced by Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez

(Principal coauthor: Senator Hueso)

January 18, 2013

begin delete An act add to Article 3 (commencing with Section 2951) to Chapter 13 of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, relating to the environment. end delete begin insert An act to amend Section 2932 of the Fish and Game Code, and to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 42750) to Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the environment. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 147, as amended, V. Manuel Pérez. Environment: Salton Sea: dust mitigation.

Existing law establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund that is administered by the Director of Fish and Game and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, used for the restoration of the Salton Sea.

Existing law implements the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), which was entered into by various parties to budget their portions of California’s apportionment of Colorado River water and to provide a framework for conservation measures and water transfers for a period of up to 75 years. Existing law provides for a framework to mitigate the environmental impacts on the Salton Sea caused by the QSA water transfer. begin insert Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into a joint powers agreement with specified local agencies to establish a joint powers authority for the purposes of providing for the payment of costs for environmental mitigation requirements. end insert

This bill would require the begin delete Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency end delete begin insert State Air Resources Board end insert , upon the execution of an agreement with begin delete specified air quality management districts end delete begin insert the joint powers authority end insert , to begin delete develop, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the Salton Sea Authority, a strategic plan, containing specified elements, to guide the implementation of a project to monitor and mitigate dust pollution created at the Salton Sea as a result of the implementation of the QSA end delete begin insert evaluate and determine with the air quality planning completed by the authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of the QSA. In the event that the state board concludes that additional mitigation measures are needed, the bill would require the state board to submit recommendation to the authority. The bill would authorize moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the state board for the above purposes end insert .

begin delete

This bill would establish the Salton Sea Dust Mitigation Project Account in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund for the purposes of receiving moneys to fund the implementation of the project, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the account would be used to mitigate dust pollution arising from the implementation of the QSA.

end delete

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.  

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

(1) The Salton Sea is California’s largest lake, covering 365
square miles, and it serves as an important stop on the annual
Pacific Flyway migratory route, supporting over 400 species of
birds and representing over two-thirds of all birds in the continental
United States.

(2) The Salton Sea is located in the Imperial Valley and
Coachella Valley of southern California and rests in close
proximity to thousands of residents.

(3) In 2003, the Legislature enacted statutes (Chapters 611, 612,
and 613 of the Statutes of 2003) to facilitate the execution and
implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA)
and related agreements, including a transfer of conserved water
from the Imperial Irrigation District to the San Diego Water
Authority. As part of those statutes, the Legislature declared its
intent that the State of California undertake the restoration of the
Salton Sea ecosystem and the permanent protection of wildlife
dependent on the ecosystem.

(4) Implementation of the water transfer from the Imperial
Irrigation District to the San Diego Water Authority will reduce
agricultural drainage inflow to the Salton Sea, reducing the sea’s
depth and result in the exposure of currently submerged sea
lakebed.

(5) The exposure of previously submerged sea lakebed has the
potential to significantly increase fugitive dust emissions for
particulate matter of 10 or less microns in diameter (PM10) as
winds blow across exposed lakebed eroded fine-grained sediments
and salts, lofting them into the air.

(6) At Owens Lake, a lake drained by the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, the cost of mitigation fugitive
dust emissions arising from the exposed lakebed has reached
$1,200,000,000.

begin insert

(7) As part of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state
entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (QSA-JPA) for purposes
of financing the mitigation of the environmental impacts resulting
from the QSA. The parties of the QSA-JPA include the State of
California acting by and through the Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial
Irrigation District, and the San Diego County Water Authority.

end insert begin insert

(8) Under the QSA-JPA, the nonstate member agencies are
liable for the cost of mitigating the environmental impacts of the
QSA up to the first $133 million. The QSA-JPA nonstate member
agencies have spent a considerable amount of time and resources
developing plans to meet this obligation.

end insert begin insert

(9) Under Section 9.2 of the QSA-JPA, the state agreed to “an
unconditional contractual obligation” to pay for the cost of
mitigating the environmental impact of the QSA above the first
$133 million in costs.

end insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature begin delete to develop a strategic plan
for dealing with air pollution resulting from the QSA, including
quantifying the extent of dust pollution, cataloging the chemicals
likely to be present in the dust pollution, including
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethan from decades of agricultural runoff
draining into the Salton Sea, and identifying additional funding
mechanisms to pay for mitigation costs, including, but not limited
to, harvesting the renewable energy generating potential of the
Salton Sea. end delete begin insert , in enacting this measure, to have the State Air
Resources Board evaluate the air quality planning completed by
the Joint Powers Authority established by QSA-JPA to determine
if it is sufficient to mitigate the air quality impacts of the QSA and
ensure that when the state assumes liability over mitigating the
environmental impacts of the QSA that the air quality mitigation
work completed by the authority continue uninterrupted. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 2932 of the end insert begin insert Fish and Game Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

2932.  

There is hereby established the Salton Sea Restoration
Fund which shall be administered by the director. Money deposited
in the fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for the following purposes:

(a) Environmental and engineering studies related to the
restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife
dependent on the sea.

begin insert

(b) (1) Air quality evaluations conducted by the State Air
Resources Board for purposes of providing the joint powers
authority established pursuant to Chapter 613 of the Statutes of
2003 with guidance on how to appropriately mitigate the air quality
impacts resulting from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

end insert begin insert

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

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert c) end insert  Implementation of conservation measures necessary to
protect the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea,
including adaptive management measurements pursuant to Section
2081.7. These conservation measures shall be limited to the Salton
Sea and lower Colorado River ecosystems, including the Colorado
River Delta.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert d) end insert  Implementation of the preferred Salton Sea restoration
alternative.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert e) end insert  Administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related
to the development and selection of the preferred Salton Sea
restoration alternative.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 42750) is added
to Part 4 of Division 26 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 6. end insert Salton Sea Dust Mitigation

 

begin insert 42750. end insert   

Unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this
chapter, the following terms mean the following:

(a) “Air districts” means the Imperial County Air Pollution
Control District and South Coast Air Quality Management District.

(b) “Authority” means the joint powers authority established
pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to Chapter 613
of the Statutes of 2003.

(c) “County” means either of the following:

(1) The County of Riverside.

(2) The County of Imperial.

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

(e) “Valley” means either of the following:

(1) The Imperial Valley.

(2) The Coachella Valley.

begin insert 42751. end insert   

(a) Upon the execution of an agreement between the
state board and the authority for purposes of compiling the air
quality mitigation planning completed by the authority, the state
board shall evaluate and determine if the air quality planning
completed by the authority is sufficient to mitigate the air quality
impacts of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(b) In determining if the authority’s air quality planning is
adequate to mitigate the air quality impacts of the Quantification
Settlement Agreement, the state board shall evaluate all of the
following:

(1) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(2) The quantified current and projected exposed sea lake bed
arising from factors other than the Quantification Settlement
Agreement.

(3) The profiled Salton Sea lake bed aerosols, given chemicals
that have historically drained into the sea from both agricultural
runoff and water coming from Mexico over the New River,
including Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or “DDT.”

(4) The prioritization of mitigation measures that can be
instituted at the sea to enable both valleys to meet National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, including
the applicability of measures used to mitigate ambient dust
pollution at Owens Lake.

(c) (1) To the extent the state board concludes additional
mitigation planning needs to take place to mitigate the air quality
impacts of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state board
shall submit recommendations to the authority.

(2) To the extent the state board recommends to the authority
additional planning work that needs to be completed pursuant to
paragraph (1), the state board shall make recommendations in a
manner to minimize costs on the authority, including both of the
following:

(A) The appropriate agencies or departments with whom the
authority may work, including the air districts for purposes of
accessing work the air districts have already completed as part of
their state implementation plan planning activities.

(B) The appropriate number, model, and placement of air quality
monitors in the Salton Sea basin to ensure aerosols arising from
the sea are properly monitored.

(d) This section does not modify existing roles, responsibilities,
or liabilities of the State of California, the County of Imperial, the
County of Riverside, or any other governmental agency, under the
Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(e) Moneys in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the state board
for purposes of this chapter.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Article 3 (commencing with Section 2951) is added
to Chapter 13 of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, to read:

 

Article 3.  Dust Mitigation

 

2951.  

Unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this
part, the following terms mean the following:

(a) “Authority” means the Salton Sea Authority, a 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.

(b) “County” means either of the following:

(1) The County of Riverside.

(2) The County of Imperial.

(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 Dust Mitigation Project” or “project” means a
project to monitor and mitigate dust pollution created at the Salton
Sea as a result of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

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

(f) “State board” means the State Air Resources Board.

(g) “Valley” means either of the following:

(1) The Imperial Valley.

(2) The Coachella Valley.

2952.  

(a) Upon the execution of an agreement with the Imperial
Air Quality Management District and the South Coast Air Quality
Management District, and for purposes of providing the necessary
funding, the secretary, in consultation and coordination with the
state board and the authority, shall develop a strategic plan to guide
the implementation of the Salton Sea Dust Mitigation Project. The
strategic plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following
elements:

(1) Quantification of current and projected exposed sea lake
bed arising from the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(2) Quantification of current and projected exposed sea lake
bed arising from factors other than the Quantification Settlement
Agreement.

(3) Profile of Salton Sea lake bed aerosols, given chemicals that
have historically drained into the sea from both agricultural runoff
and water coming from Mexico over the New River, including
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethan or “DDT.”

(4) Prioritization of mitigation measures that can be instituted
at the sea to enable both valleys to meet National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for particulate matter.

(5) Identification and prioritization of funding streams that can
be accessed or developed for purposes of paying for dust mitigation
measures at the sea, including an analysis of how to best monetize
the renewable energy generating potential of the Salton Sea.

(b)  To the extent permitted by law, the secretary, in consultation
and coordination with the state board and the authority, may work
with appropriate binational, federal, state, local, and
nongovernmental organizations on both sides of the
California-Mexico border to develop the strategic plan.

(c) (1) To further the objectives of this part, the secretary, in
consultation and coordination with the state board and the authority,
may convene and oversee a technical advisory committee. The
advisory committee shall advise the council regarding the necessary
studies and activities to carry out the project, and shall serve at the
pleasure of the council. The advisory committee shall include
representatives from the following:

(A) Impacted cities and counties.

(B) Relevant local, regional, and state agencies and departments.

(C) Nongovernmental organizations.

(D) Other stakeholders deemed necessary by the secretary, in
consultation and coordination with the state board and the authority.

(2) The secretary, in consultation and coordination with the state
board and the authority, shall appoint the chair of the committee
and may expand the membership and expertise of the committee
as it deems necessary.

(d) The secretary, in consultation and coordination with the state
board and the authority, may enter into an agreement, including
an interagency agreement and memorandum of understanding,
with public agencies, including the county, to accept, manage, and
expend funds for the implementation of this section.

(e) This section does not modify existing roles, responsibilities,
or liabilities of the State of California, the County of Imperial, the
County of Riverside, or any other governmental agency, under the
Quantification Settlement Agreement.

(f) The Salton Sea Dust Mitigation Project Account is hereby
created in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund to receive moneys for
activities related to the Salton Sea Dust Mitigation Project from
sources identified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) and other
sources. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the
account shall be expended to mitigate dust pollution arising from
the implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

end delete