AB 1242
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB 1242 (Gray) – As Amended May 5, 2015
Policy Committee:
Water, Parks and Wildlife
Natural Resources
Vote:
8-4
8-1
Urgency: No
State Mandated Local Program: No
Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to consider any applicable
groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) or alternatives when formulating state policy or
adopting a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) that affects a groundwater basin. This bill also
requires SWRCB to identify in lieu fish recovery projects that may be undertaken before
adopting instream flow requirements for beneficial use.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1) Increased contract costs for the SWRCB to perform the duties required in the bill of up to
$21 million (GF or special fund).
This estimate is based on contract costs of a minimum $600,000 (GF or special fund) related
to changes in the setting of flow requirements for each project evaluated. This amount is
based on contract costs to evaluate flow alternatives in a CEQA analysis to establish San
Joaquin River instream flows. Costs may be higher to quantify the trade-off between any
project flow and non-flow alternatives.
To evaluate five alternative projects related to SWRCB's current work setting flows for the
San Joaquin River, the additional costs would be $3 million in contract costs.
Further, the current Bay-Delta phase 1 San Joaquin River instream flow effort is only one of
several instream flow efforts currently underway. Phase 2 (related to the instream flows on
the Sacramento River) and Phase 4 (development of flow objectives for priority tributaries)
would multiply the fiscal effect by a factor of 7 because instream flows are being developed
for six other water bodies, for a total of $21 million.
2) Unknown, potentially significant, additional staff costs to SWRCB (GF or special fund).
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. According to the author, the SWRCB is considering a proposal to develop new
unimpaired flow requirements on the Tuolumne, Merced, and Stanislaus Rivers. The
proposed plan would require an additional 350,000 acre feet of water annually to be diverted
from the rivers to flow out to the San Francisco Bay Delta.
AB 1242
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The author states, if adopted, the SWRCB proposal will devastate the groundwater basins in
the Valley by reducing surface water recharge opportunities and eliminating surface water
deliveries to domestic and agricultural water users.
This bill requires SWRCB to identify in lieu fish recovery projects that may be undertaken
before adopting instream flow requirements for beneficial use. This bill also requires
SWRCB to consider applicable groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) or alternatives when
formulating state policy or adopting a Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) that affects a
groundwater basin
2) Background. The SWRCB and federal Central Valley Project and others are required to
help meet flow requirements in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). Until recently,
the tributaries to the San Joaquin River have not had the same requirements.
The Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers are tributaries to the San Joaquin River. The
SWRCB is now engaged in a process to determine what level of flows should be required on
the tributaries.
The San Joaquin River flows northward to join the Sacramento River in the Delta. The
Delta's flow provides part of the drinking water supply for two-thirds of the state's population
and water for a multitude of other urban uses as well as supplying some of the state's most
productive agricultural areas both inside and outside of the Delta. The Delta is also one of
the largest ecosystems for fish and wildlife habitat production in the United States, including
commercial runs of salmon.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081