BILL NUMBER: AB 2534 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 727
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 20, 2002
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2002
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2002
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 29, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Pavley and Nakano
FEBRUARY 21, 2002
An act to add Division 20.4 (commencing with Section 30901) to,
and to add Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 31220) to Division 21
of, the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources, and
making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2534, Pavley. Watershed, Clean Beaches, and Water Quality Act.
Existing law provides for the protection and preservation of the
coast of California, and regulates water quality in the state.
This bill would enact the Watershed, Clean Beaches, and Water
Quality Act, which would provide for a program of grants to public
agencies and nonprofit organizations for projects designed to improve
water quality at public beaches, improve water quality monitoring
and sewer capability, protect water quality by reducing runoff
pollution, and controlling nonpoint source water pollution. The bill
would prescribe procedures for funding projects under the act, as
provided.
The bill would appropriate specified amounts derived from the
proceeds of bonds issued under the California Clean Water, Clean Air,
Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002
(Proposition 40 at the March 5, 2002, primary election) to the State
Water Resources Control Board, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for expenditure for the
purposes of the bill.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 20.4 (commencing with Section 30901) is added
to the Public Resources Code, to read:
DIVISION 20.4. WATERSHED, CLEAN BEACHES, AND WATER QUALITY ACT
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
30901. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Watershed, Clean Beaches, and Water Quality Act.
30902. The purpose of this division is to establish a statutory
framework for funding water quality, clean beaches, and watershed
protection projects from the proceeds derived from the issuance and
sale of bonds and other revenue sources, and to specify how the
Resources Agency and its constituent departments and boards,
including the State Coastal Conservancy, and the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and that agency's constituent
departments, including the State Water Resources Control Board, will
coordinate and integrate programs to fund projects.
30903. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Clean beaches, clean water, and healthy watersheds are
necessary to support both human communities and the state's native
fish and wildlife, and are part of the legacy of California. Each
generation has an obligation to be good stewards of those resources
in order to pass them on to their children.
(b) California's 1,100-mile coastline is world-renowned.
Coastal-related businesses provide seventeen billion dollars
($17,000,000,000) annually to the state's economy and depend on the
restoration and health maintenance of beaches.
(c) Clean water is essential to the state's communities and
economy.
(d) Watershed management is a valuable approach to meeting
comprehensive resource management and water quality objectives.
Watersheds provide a useful, natural unit to integrate and coordinate
the many natural resource functions of state agencies.
(e) Multiple state entities within the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency are currently
administering programs that provide technical assistance or financial
support for various aspects of watershed management or restoration.
Hundreds of watershed partnerships exist in the state, dedicated to
the restoration and management of the state's streams, rivers, and
lands, and the use of watershed management principles and practices.
Coordinated watershed management implementation is crucial to
addressing critical problems and the efficient use of public funds.
The California Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources
Agency are developing a strategic plan for fully integrated watershed
investments.
30904. It is the intent of the Legislature that the purpose of
maintaining clean beaches, clean water, and an integrated and
coordinated watershed program is to protect beaches, coastal waters,
rivers, lakes, and streams from contaminants, pollution, and other
environmental threats.
30905. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in projects
that will reduce beach contamination and increase visitor days,
including, but not limited to, developing the comprehensive
capability to monitor and analyze water quality and pollutant
transport in coastal waters. This will be demonstrated by measurable
improvements in water quality on and near the state's beaches.
30906. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in clean
water projects that will do all of the following:
(a) Assist small local communities in meeting water pollution
control requirements.
(b) Improve agricultural water quality and reduce pollutants in
agricultural drainage water.
(c) Implement urban stormwater treatment programs and reduce
nonpoint sources of pollution.
(d) Provide comprehensive capability to monitor and analyze water
quality in groundwater basins throughout the state.
30907. It is the intent of the Legislature to require state
agencies to encourage and support both of the following:
(a) The development of coordinated and complementary strategies
and solutions for watershed management across land ownership and
agency jurisdictional boundaries.
(b) Coordinated program delivery from state and federal agencies
to fit the needs of individual watersheds.
30908. It is the intent of the Legislature that the state should
coordinate and integrate its watershed programs and implement those
programs by working with diverse interests at the local level. The
state's watershed management goals should include, but need not be
limited to, maintaining and restoring healthy watersheds that support
thriving communities, provide clean water, and sustain natural
habitats for future generations.
30909. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in watershed
management partnerships that use a community-based collaborative
approach to meeting the state's watershed management goals.
Allocation of funding should be balanced among large and small
watersheds, coastal and inland watersheds, and effluent reduction and
source protection, and should be geographically balanced. Priority
should be given to projects and programs that implement programs that
have multiple benefits.
CHAPTER 2. DEFINITIONS
30910. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this chapter:
(a) "Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b) "Local public agency" means any city, county, city and
county, or district.
(c) "Nonprofit organization" means any California corporation
organized under Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(5) of the
federal Internal Revenue Code.
(d) "Public agency" means a city, county, city and county,
district, the state or any agency or department thereof, and
applicants eligible for technical assistance under Section 319 of the
federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1329) or for grants under
Section 320 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1330).
(e) "Regional board" means a regional water quality control board.
CHAPTER 3. CLEAN BEACHES PROGRAM
30915. The purpose of this chapter is to provide authorization
for projects that restore and protect the water quality and
environment of coastal waters, estuaries, bays, and near shore
waters.
30916. (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, funds provided
under this chapter may be used by the board, in consultation with the
State Coastal Conservancy, to award grants not to exceed five
million dollars ($5,000,000) per project to public agencies and
nonprofit organizations for the purposes of this chapter. Grants may
be awarded for any of the following projects:
(1) A project designed to improve water quality at public beaches
and to make improvements for the purpose of ensuring that coastal
waters adjacent to public beaches meet the bacteriological standards
set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 115875) of Chapter 5
of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) A project to make improvements to, or upgrades or conversions
of, existing sewer collection systems and septic systems for the
restoration and protection of coastal water quality.
(3) A project designed to implement stormwater and runoff
pollution reduction and prevention programs, or for the
implementation of best management practices, for the restoration and
protection of coastal water quality.
(b) The projects funded pursuant to this chapter shall be
consistent with the state's nonpoint source control program, as
revised to meet the requirements of Division 20 (commencing with
Section 30000), Section 6217 of the federal Coastal Zone Act
Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, Section 319 of the federal Clean
Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1329), Division 7 (commencing with Section
13000) of the Water Code, and the California Coastal Commission.
(c) The projects funded pursuant to this chapter shall demonstrate
the capability of contributing to sustained, long-term water quality
or environmental restoration or protection benefits for a period of
20 years, address the causes of degradation, rather than the
symptoms, and be consistent with water quality and resource
protection plans prepared, implemented, or adopted by the board, the
applicable regional water quality control board, and the State
Coastal Conservancy.
(d) An applicant for funds under this chapter shall be required to
submit to the board a monitoring and reporting plan that does all of
the following:
(1) Identifies the nonpoint source or sources of pollution to be
prevented or reduced by the project.
(2) Describes the baseline water quality or environmental quality
to be addressed.
(3) Describes the manner in which the project will be effective in
preventing or reducing pollution and in demonstrating the desired
environmental results.
(4) Describes the monitoring program, including, but not limited
to, the methodology, and the frequency and duration of monitoring.
(e) Upon completion of the project, a recipient of funds under
this chapter shall submit a report to the board that summarizes the
completed activities and indicates whether the purposes of the
project have been met. The report shall include information collected
by the recipient in accordance with the project monitoring and
reporting plan, including a determination of the effectiveness of the
project in preventing or reducing pollution, and the results of the
monitoring program. The board shall make the report available to the
public, watershed groups, and federal, state, and local agencies.
(f) Not more than 25 percent of a grant may be awarded in advance
of actual expenditure.
(g) An applicant for funds under this chapter shall inform the
board of any necessary public agency approvals, entitlements, and
permits that may be necessary to implement the project. The
application shall certify to the board, at the appropriate time, that
those approvals, entitlements, and permits have been granted.
(h) Where recovery plans for coho salmon, steelhead trout, or
other threatened or endangered aquatic species exist, projects funded
under this chapter shall be consistent with those plans and, to the
extent feasible, shall seek to implement actions specified in those
plans.
(i) The board shall appoint a Clean Beaches Task Force comprised
of individuals representing the breadth and diversity of coastal
communities. All proposals for funding shall be reviewed by the task
force. The task force may recommend projects to the board for
funding consideration.
30917. The board shall provide opportunity for public review and
comment in awarding funds pursuant to this chapter, and may, in
consultation with the State Coastal Conservancy, adopt regulations to
implement this chapter.
CHAPTER 4. INTEGRATED CLEAN WATER PROGRAMS
Article 1. Small Community Wastewater Grant Program
30925. (a) For the purposes of this article, "small community"
means a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons or less, a
rural county, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a
larger municipality where the segment of the population is 20,000
persons or less, with a financial hardship, as determined by the
board.
(b) The board may award grants under this article to assist small
communities in meeting water pollution control requirements.
(c) The board may award grants under this article to projects that
meet the definition of "eligible project" in Section 79120 of the
Water Code.
(d) The board shall give priority to both of the following types
of projects:
(1) Projects to install or replace sewer systems in communities
that lack adequate sewers.
(2) Projects to assist communities with population growth
pressures, to assist in the redesign and expansion of existing
wastewater collection and treatment systems.
Article 2. Urban Storm Water Grant Program
30930. The board may award grants under this article to local
public agencies for projects designed to implement stormwater runoff
pollution reduction and prevention programs, including, but not
limited to, diversion of dry weather flows to publicly owned
treatment works for treatment, acquisition, and development of
constructed wetlands and the implementation of approved best
management practices, as required by stormwater permits issued by the
state board or a regional board.
Article 3. Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program
30935. (a) The board may award grants under this article to local
public agencies and nonprofit organizations for projects that
protect the beneficial uses of water throughout the state through the
control of nonpoint source pollution.
(b) Except as authorized under subdivision (g), grants may be
awarded only for projects that are one or more of the following:
(1) Consistent with local watershed management plans and with
regional water quality control plans.
(2) Broad-based nonpoint source pollution projects, including, but
not limited to, projects identified in the board's "Initiatives in
NPS Management," dated September 1995, and in the nonpoint source
technical advisory committee reports.
(3) Consistent with the "Integrated Plan for Implementation of the
Watershed Management Initiative" prepared by the board and the
regional boards.
(4) A project that implements watershed best management practices
and measures.
(5) Consistent with the requirements of Section 6217(g) of the
federal Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 and has
been identified as a needed project by the board under the 15-year
implementation strategy and five-year implementation plan of the
board's nonpoint source pollution control program.
(6) A project that improves the quality of drinking water supplies
and addresses contamination by pathogens, organic carbon, or
salinity.
(c) Projects funded under this article shall demonstrate a
capability of sustaining water quality benefits for a period of not
less than 20 years. Categories of nonpoint source pollution
addressed by projects may include, but need not be limited to,
silviculture, agriculture, urban runoff, mining, hydromodification,
grazing, onsite disposal systems, boatyards and marinas, and animal
feeding operations.
(d) Projects to address nonpoint source pollution may include, but
need not be limited to, wildfire management, installation of
vegetative systems to filter or retard pollutant loading, incentive
programs or large-scale demonstration programs to reduce commercial
reliance on polluting substances or to increase acceptance of
alternative methods and materials, and engineered features to
minimize impacts of nonpoint source pollution.
(e) Projects funded under this article shall have defined water
quality or beneficial use goals.
(f) A local public agency or nonprofit organization that has a
project funded under this article shall submit to the board a
monitoring and reporting plan that does all of the following:
(1) Identifies one or more nonpoint sources of pollution.
(2) Describes the baseline water quality of the body of water
impacted.
(3) Describes the manner in which the proposed practices or
measures are implemented.
(4) Determines the effectiveness of the proposed practices or
measures in preventing or reducing pollution.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the board may award grants
for demonstration projects that are intended to prevent, reduce, or
treat nonpoint source pollution.
(h) A grant recipient shall submit a report to the board, upon
completion of the project, that summarizes completed activities and
indicates whether the purposes of the project have been met. The
report shall include information collected by the grant recipient in
accordance with the project monitoring and reporting plan, including,
but not limited to, a determination of the effectiveness of the best
management practices or management measures implemented as part of
the project in preventing or reducing nonpoint source pollution. The
board shall make the report available to watershed groups, and
federal, state, and local agencies.
Article 4. Agricultural Water Quality Grant Program
30940. The board may award grants to public agencies or nonprofit
organizations for the purposes of improving agricultural water
quality through monitoring, demonstration projects, research,
construction of agricultural drainage improvements, and for projects
to reduce pollutants in agricultural drainage water through reuse,
integrated management, or treatment. Grants made pursuant to this
section may be used to provide matching funds for federal grant
programs. The board, in consultation with the Department of Food and
Agriculture, shall develop criteria for evaluating projects
considered for grants under this section.
Article 5. Integrated Watershed Management Programs
30945. The purpose of this article is to establish a program for
integrated watershed management to improve water quality, protect and
restore habitat and fisheries, reduce flooding, control erosion and
sedimentation, and improve local water supply reliability through
better groundwater monitoring, river corridor recreation, forest land
and fuel management, and hydropower management.
30946. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding with the Resources Agency to
ensure that the program established under this chapter is coordinated
with other programs administered by those agencies, including, but
not limited to, the grant process set forth in Section 30947. The
memorandum of understanding shall establish a stakeholder advisory
process to assist in setting priorities and allocating funds. The
memorandum of understanding shall be completed and executed on or
before April 30, 2003.
30947. (a) The Integrated Watershed Management Program is hereby
established. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, funds allocated
to the program may be used by the board, subject to the terms of the
memorandum of understanding executed pursuant to Section 30946 to
award grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the
development of local watershed management plans that meet the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 79078 of the Water Code,
and for the implementation of watershed protection and water
management projects that include one or more of the following
elements:
(1) Stormwater capture and treatment.
(2) Nonpoint source pollution reduction, management, and
monitoring.
(3) Groundwater recharge and management projects.
(4) Water banking, exchange, and reclamation, and improvement of
water quality.
(5) Vegetation management to improve watershed efficiency, aquatic
and terrestrial habitat, the creation and enhancement of wetlands,
and the acquisition, protection, and restoration of open space.
(6) Planning and implementation of multipurpose flood control
programs that protect property and improve water quality and
stormwater capture and percolation, and protect or improve wildlife
habitat.
(7) Watershed management planning and implementation.
(8) Demonstration projects to develop new water treatment
distribution and nonpoint source pollution control methods.
(9) Erosion sediment control and stream enhancement projects, and
permit coordination programs to facilitate watershed restoration
projects that implement board approved management measures for
polluted runoff.
(10) Monitoring, collection, and analysis of water quality and
pollutant transport in groundwater and surface water.
(11) Native fisheries enhancement or improvement projects, and
projects to restore other threatened species.
(b) Upon completion of the project, the grantee shall submit a
report to the board that summarizes the completed activities and
indicates whether the purposes of the project have been met. The
report shall include information collected by the grantee in
accordance with the project monitoring and reporting plan, including,
but not limited to, a determination of the effectiveness of the
project in preventing or reducing pollution and the results of the
monitoring program. The board shall make the report available to the
public, watershed groups, and federal, state, and local agencies.
30948. Consistent with Section 30947, the board shall establish
an accelerated selection and contracting procedure for projects that
meet all of the following criteria:
(a) The project is part of an approved watershed management plan
consistent with Section 30947.
(b) The project is fully permitted and ready to be implemented.
(c) Funding for the project includes matching funds or services
donated from nonstate sources.
30949. No more than 50 percent of the funds made available to the
board for the purposes of this article shall be used for the
purposes of Section 30948.
Article 6. Small Community Groundwater Grant Program
30950. (a) For the purposes of this article, "small community"
means a municipality with a population of 20,000 persons or less, a
rural county, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a
larger municipality where the segment of the population is 20,000
persons or less, with a financial hardship, as determined by the
board.
(b) The board may award grants under this article to assist small
communities in complying with groundwater contaminant level
requirements.
(c) The board may award grants under this article to local public
agencies and private not-for-profit water companies.
(d) The board shall give priority to both of the following types
of projects:
(1) Projects to provide an alternate source of water or to treat
water where the existing supply of groundwater exceeds the maximum
contaminant level of arsenic.
(2) Projects to provide an alternate source of water or to treat
water where the existing supply of groundwater exceeds the maximum
contaminant level for nitrate.
(e) The board may make funds available under this article in each
fiscal year to provide technical assistance or planning grants, or
both, to small communities.
SEC. 2. Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 31220) is added to
Division 21 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.5. WATERSHED RESTORATION PROJECTS
31220. (a) In order to improve coastal water quality, the
conservancy may undertake watershed restoration projects or award
grants for those projects, consistent with this chapter. The
conservancy shall consult with the applicable regional water quality
control board in the development of the project or grant to ensure
consistency with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30915) of
Division 20.4 of the Public Resources Code.
(b) The conservancy may undertake a project or award a grant to a
project only if the project does one or more of the following:
(1) Reduces contamination of waters within the coastal zone,
including, but not limited to, coastal and near shore waters.
(2) Protects fish and wildlife habitat within coastal watersheds
and coastal waters.
(3) Reduces erosion and sedimentation of coastal watersheds,
including, but not limited to, permit coordination projects for
watershed restoration.
(4) Provides for the purchase and installation of equipment to
monitor and map coastal currents to predict and determine areas of
contamination and pollutant transport in coastal waters. Any project
considered under this paragraph shall be implemented in consultation
with the Department of Fish and Game.
(5) Acquires, protects, and restores coastal wetlands, riparian
areas, floodplains, and other sensitive watershed lands for coastal
rivers.
(c) The conservancy shall consult with the State Water Resources
Control Board on project selection. Projects funded pursuant to this
section shall be consistent with local watershed management plans,
if available, and water quality control plans adopted by the State
Water Resources Control Board and regional water quality control
boards, and shall include a monitoring and evaluation component.
SEC. 3. (a) From the funds de posited in the California Clean
Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection
Fund created pursuant to Section 5096.610 of the Public Resources
Code, and which are made available for the purposes specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 5096.650 of the Public
Resources Code, the following amounts are hereby appropriated to the
State Water Resources Control Board:
(1) The sum of forty-six million dollars ($46,000,000) for the
Clean Beaches Program pursuant to Section 30916 of the Public
Resources Code.
(2) The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for the
purposes of Section 30925 of the Public Resources Code.
(3) The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for the
purposes of Section 30930 of the Public Resources Code.
(4) The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) for the
purposes of Section 30935 of the Public Resources Code.
(5) The sum of twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) for the
purposes of Section 30940 of the Public Resources Code.
(6) The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for the purposes
of Section 30950 of the Public Resources Code.
(7) The sum of fifty-seven million dollars ($57,000,000) for the
purposes of the Integrated Watershed Management Program established
under Section 30947 of the Public Resources Code. Of this amount,
seven million dollars ($7,000,000) shall be used for the purposes of
groundwater monitoring, collection, and analysis as specified in
paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of Section 30947.
(b) The funds appropriated in this section are available to the
State Water Resources Control Board for expenditure in accordance
with the provisions governing the programs listed in subdivision (a),
and for associated programmatic costs.
SEC. 4. From the funds deposited in the California Clean Water,
Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Fund
created pursuant to Section 5096.610 of the Public Resources Code,
and which are made available for the purposes specified in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c) of Section 5096.650 of the Public Resources
Code, the sum of forty-six million four hundred thousand dollars
($46,400,000) is hereby appropriated to the State Coastal Conservancy
for the purpose of funding the coastal watershed protection projects
authorized under Section 31220 of the Public Resources Code, and for
associated programmatic costs. Of this amount, the conservancy
shall allocate seven million dollars ($7,000,000) for the purpose of
funding projects that meet the requirements in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 31220 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 5.
From the funds deposited in the California Clean Water, Clean Air,
Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Fund created pursuant
to Section 5096.610 of the Public Resources Code, and which are made
available for the purposes specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c) of Section 5096.650 of the Public Resources Code, the sum of two
million dollars ($2,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for forest resource
improvement projects under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 4790)
of Part 2.5 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code and for
associated programmatic costs.
SEC. 6. Nothwithstanding any other provision of law, the funds
appropriated under this act shall be available for encumbrance until
December 31, 2006.
SEC. 7. Eligible projects funded under this act with proceeds from
the sale of bonds shall comply with the restrictions specified in
Section 16727 of the Government Code.
SEC. 8. Of the total amount derived from the proceeds of bonds and
appropriated under this act, not more than 5 percent may be expended
for associated programmatic costs.