PCL Insider: News from the Capitol
SOUND ADVICE: OFFICIAL ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED
BUDGET RECOMMENDS AVOIDING CUTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS,
MAKING POLLUTERS PAY
On Wednesday, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO) released its analysis of the Governor's proposed state
budget for FY 2008-2009 and took the unprecedented step of
outlining proposals to help close the nearly $8 billion budget
gap remaining after the mid-year cuts the Legislature passed
last week.
The Governor's budget proposal for FY 08-09 would slash
funding for natural resources and environmental protection
programs by 22 percent below estimated expenditures for the
current fiscal year, investing $2.1 billion less than it does
today. The impacts would be felt across California; for example,
Californians would see the closure of 48 state parks and the
loss of personnel from the Department of Fish and Game and the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The LAO
budget proposal for Resources and Environmental Protection
avoids some of these budget cuts while ensuring that
Californians continue to benefit from essential resource and
environmental protection programs, departments, and services. It
recommends increasing fees on polluters and beneficiaries of
environmental services including fire protection in wildland
areas, flood management, water quality management and water
rights regulation, timber harvest plan review and enforcement,
and state parks. These specific LAO budget proposals would raise
$345 million dollars to wean these programs off unstable General
Fund sources and avoid the closure of 48 state parks.
The LAO proposal also calls on the Governor to find a stable
and lasting source of funding in the budget to implement AB 32,
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
SO GOOD TO MEET YOU: PCL-SPONSORED LEGISLATION MEETS
BILL INTRODUCTION DEADLINE
Today marks the deadline for all new bills to be formally
introduced in the state Legislature.
PCL is proud to sponsor three new bills this year that tackle
a range of important environmental concerns:
SB 1165 (Kuehl) would make three common
sense amendments to our state's premier environmental law, the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
1) Requiring better transparency
when developers or their consultants draft Environmental Impact
Reports (EIRs) or submit extensive comments on an environmental
review document before it is released to the
public;
2) Requiring EIRs older than
five years to be re-circulated for public comment before a
project can be approved; and,
3) Ensuring that CEQA judges hear CEQA cases, whenever
feasible.
AB 2222 (Caballero) would advance protection
of California's groundwater aquifers by expanding the scope of
the state's Groundwater Task Force to provide necessary
information and policy recommendations to the Legislature.
Specifically, the bill asks the Groundwater Task Force to
identify methods to clean up high priority groundwater basins
and identify communities throughout the state that rely on
contaminated groundwater as their primary source of drinking
water. The Task Force will also outline funding sources for
existing and future state and local groundwater programs and
recommend ways to enhance public access to current groundwater
quality information and increase regional awareness of
groundwater conditions.
AB 2153 (Krekorian), the Water Efficiency
Security Act, would ensure water reliability and security by
establishing water efficiency targets for new development and
developing a funding stream to increase efficiencies in existing
housing. This bill would establish new water efficiency programs
modeled on California's successful energy efficiency
programs.
MOVE OVER LEGISLATURE; DWR HAS THE ANSWER: STATE AGENCY
PROPOSES TO BUILD PERIPHERAL CANAL BY 2015
While countless hours are being spent in the Governor's Delta Vision process and
in water
bond negotiations to determine how to restore the Bay-Delta
Estuary, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has
apparently decided to bypass the Delta altogether.
According to a recent budget change proposal submitted to the
state Legislature, DWR intends to start preparing to build a new
"Alternative Delta Conveyance" facility, which would divert
water directly from the Sacramento River before it enters the
Delta, sending it directly to the San Joaquin Valley and
Southern California. Despite the looming budget deficit, the
proposal specifically asks for authorization to hire eight new
staff that would be responsible for everything from completing
Environmental Impact Reports to negotiating land purchases, and
constructing the new facility.
Under its proposal, DWR would revive studies and update
construction plans that it abandoned in 1982 after voters
overwhelmingly rejected its "Peripheral Canal" proposal in a
statewide referendum due to fears that such a facility would
result in more Northern California water exported to the
ever-growing south state, and that the Delta would be left as a
saltwater lake rather than a true estuary.
DWR estimates that the canal, or some new version of the old
idea, could be constructed by mid 2015.
The budget request from DWR follows a recent letter sent to
Assemblywoman Wolk (D-Davis) by DWR Director Lester Snow,
stating that according to DWR's analysis, DWR has the authority
to build a peripheral canal without legislative or voter
approval. The Legislature has not yet indicated whether they
concur with DWR's assessment. However, if the budget change
proposal is approved, we can be sure DWR will move forward as
quickly as possible.
PCL and others have been deeply engaged in efforts to develop
and implement a sustainable Delta solution. Given that those
processes are producing real results–but have not yet
settled on long-term infrastructure plans for the
Delta–DWR's proposal seems particularly premature.
We'll keep you updated as we learn more about DWR's
intentions!
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