Cara Martinson is the CSAC Federal Affairs Manager and a Senior
Legislative Representative in the area of Agriculture,
Environment and Natural Resources.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the proposed
Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Emergency Regulations,
which are available on DWR’s GSP
website.
AB 2693, by Assembly Member Dababneh, was amended yesterday in
the Assembly Local Government Committee to eliminate the
provisions of the bill that would have subordinated Property
Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) liens in statute. The bill will now
focus on disclosure requirements to property owners interested in
financing energy and water efficiency and renewable energy
improvements with a PACE assessment.
The Governor’s Budget proposes several changes to address
shortfalls in the Environmental License Plate Fund (ELPF). One of
the Administration’s proposals to address this shortfall is
establishing a new fee to cover costs associated with
processing California Endangered Species Act (CESA) incidental
take permits. These permits are required for projects that might
result in the “take” of an endangered or threatened species, and
are processed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW).
Aboveground Storage Tanks
AB 1147 (Galgiani) – Request Comments
As Amended April 4, 2016
SB 1147, by Senator Kathleen Galgiani, would prohibit cities and
counties from enforcing standards for aboveground storage tanks
that are more stringent than state or federal standards for
aboveground storage tanks unless the city, county, or city
and county first adopts an ordinance establishing those
standards. This bill was passed by the Senate Environmental
Quality Committee on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Comments
would be appreciated.
Despite opposition by CSAC, Rural County Representatives of
California (RCRC), the League of California Cities (League), the
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), individual
counties, and numerous agricultural interests, the Senate Natural
Resources and Water Committee passed SB 1317, by Senator Lois
Wolk.
California Counties have a chance to influence how the state will
review the Groundwater Sustainability Plans many local
jurisdictions will be drafting. CSAC and RCRC filed a joint
letter yesterday, hoping to maintain flexibility and clarity in
the final regulations from the Department of Water Resources.
The Assembly and the Senate budget subcommittees met this week to
discuss budget items related to California’s tree mortality
crisis. This follows a joint February informational hearing on
the topic where the Committees invited speakers, including a
Tuolumne county supervisor, to speak to varying aspects of the
tree mortality crisis to better understand the threats
California’s forests face and the actions the Administration is
taking to respond to those threats.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater
Management Program has scheduled three required public meetings
and a statewide webinar to solicit comments on the Draft
Groundwater Sustainability Plan Emergency Regulations. Local
agencies and interested parties are encouraged to attend, listen,
and provide comments. The deadline to submit written comments
has been extended to April 1, 2016.
More Information
On January 20, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), that
they are considering a “disaster deductible” concept that would
require recipients of federal disaster assistance funds to meet a
certain level of spending before receiving federal funds
following a disaster.
The California Water Commission announced that they will conduct
a public hearing on March 16, 2016 to consider the adoption of
regulations for the Water Storage Investment Program, including
the quantification and management of the public benefits of water
storage projects. Public comments regarding the proposed
regulation will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on March 14, 2016.
AB 45, by Assembly Member Kevin Mullin moved off the Assembly
floor this week on a 50-18 vote with several democrats voting no.
CSAC has reviewed the amendments that were taken in the
Appropriations Committee and unfortunately we still have several
issues with the bill.
AB 21 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey and Wood) – Support AB
1575 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey and Wood) –
Pending—Request Comments AB 21 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer,
Lackey and Wood) would strike a provision of the Medical
Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) that was
inadvertently included in AB 243 (Wood), one of the three bills
that together established MMRSA.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final
versions of the Guidelines
for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP) Grant Program and
Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) for the “Counties with
Stressed Basins” solicitation, funded by the Water Quality,
Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition
1). These recently released documents and other information about
the SGWP Grant Program, can be found here.
The California Energy Commission is hosting several regional
workshops to highlight opportunities for local community-scale
renewable energy development and demonstration projects. The
workshops will showcase recently completed projects and will
present information with a focus on locally available resources
and funding from other governmental and private entities to help
communities utilize local renewable resources. Workshops will be
held across the state, with Webex capabilities as well.
AB 901 (Gordon) – Support
As Amended September 4, 2015
AB 901, by Assembly Member Gordon, passed off the Senate floor
last night and is now awaiting concurrence in the Assembly. This
bill would make changes to the reporting framework for solid
waste and recycling facilities, providing local governments with
access to hauler information from disposal facilities as well as
giving the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (Cal
Recycle) enforcement mechanisms and greater access to
information.
Flood Protection/Land Use – Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley
AB 747 (Eggman) – Support
Chapter 152 – Statutes of 2015
AB 747, by Assembly Member Susan Eggman and co-sponsored by San
Joaquin County and the City of Stockton, was recently signed by
the Governor. This measure addresses an outstanding issue
concerning the implementation of SB 5 (Machado, Chapter 364,
Statutes of 2007) — one of a six-bill flood protection package
signed into law in 2007.
Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP) Grant Program
The Department of Water Resources announces the release of the
draft Guidelines for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP)
Grant Program and draft Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) for
the “Counties with Stressed Basins” solicitation, funded by the
Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014
(Proposition 1). The documents can be found on the DWR
website.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has made preliminary
identification of 21 groundwater basins and subbasins that have
been significantly overdrafted by excessive pumping and thus fall
under the earliest deadlines required by the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
Several bills were introduced at the beginning of the year that
proposed amendments to the State Groundwater Sustainability Act
of 2014 (SGMA). Other bills addressing groundwater in general
were also introduced. Quite a few of these measures failed
passage in fiscal committee or were designated as two-year bills.
The following is an update on the groundwater bills that are
still under active consideration this year:
Save the Date— CSAC Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources
Policy Committee.
Please save the date of Thursday, May 28 from 10:15- 11:45 a.m.
for the next meeting of the CSAC Agriculture, Environment &
Natural Resources Policy Committee, which will take place during
the CSAC Legislative Conference. Agenda Highlights include:
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation
will take up the issue of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) next
week. As you may recall, this Committee, let by Assembly Member
Richard Bloom, heard this item back in March, but deferred action
to a later date. The Senate Budget subcommittee with jurisdiction
over this issue, led by Senator Wolk, voted last month to approve
the Governor’s proposed FY 151-6 allocation of $644,000 for
annual PILT payments to local governments.
Drought Emergency Rulemaking Available for Public Comment
On Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board)
released the formal emergency regulatory package for implementing
the state’s required 25% reduction in urban water use. Comments
are due on Monday, May 4 at 10 a.m. The State Board is scheduled
to take action on the package May 5 or 6. The package released
Tuesday is the third iteration of the regulation, which was first
released April 7, then again April 18 after modifications.
Next week, the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources and
Environmental Protection will hold on oversight hearing on the
state’s cap and trade expenditure plan. As you may recall, the
Governor proposes in his FY 15-16 budget to appropriate $1
billion in Cap and Trade revenues to a variety of different GHG
reducing programs. This represents an approximate $130m increase
from the FY 14-15 expenditure plan.
At their regularly scheduled meeting on March 4, 2015, the Board
of Forestry and Fire Protection held a hearing regarding an
additional 15 Day Notice for the 1270 SRA Fire Safe Regulations.
The Board adopted the regulations with several changes. Changes
made pertained to driveways, ensuring the adequate space
necessary for traffic lane and emergency vehicle clearance. The
Board also adopted an implementation date of January 1,
2016 for this set of rules.
