AB 565
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 565 (Monning) – As Introduced: February 16, 2011
SUBJECT: Conservation: State Coastal Conservancy
SUMMARY: Authorizes the State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) to award a grant to a
for-profit entity to accomplish removal or alteration of a dam.
EXISTING LAW: Authorizes the Conservancy to undertake or award grants for projects related
to coastal watershed and coastal and marine habitat water quality, sediment management, and
living marine resources protection and restoration.
THIS BILL: Authorizes the Conservancy to award a grant to a for-profit entity to accomplish
removal or alteration of a dam if the Conservancy finds that the project is of regional or
statewide significance and that a grant to a public agency or nonprofit organization would not
achieve removal or alteration of the dam.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1) San Clemente Dam Problem. According to documents on the Conservancy's website, the
San Clemente Dam is a 90 year old, 106-foot high concrete dam located approximately 18.5
miles from the Pacific Ocean on the Carmel River. California American Water (CAW), a
for-profit company, owns and operates the dam. Currently, the reservoir is over 90 percent
filled with sediment and is no longer useful for supplying water to the Monterey Peninsula's
population.
In the early 1990s, the Division of the Safety of Dams in the Department of Water Resources
issued a safety order determining that the San Clemente Dam structure could potentially fail
in the event of either the maximum credible earthquake or probable maximum flood. The
public safety risk posed by the dam currently threatens 1,500 homes and other buildings. If
the dam were to fail, 2.1 million cubic yards of sediment and over 40 million gallons of water
would rush downstream, giving residents little time to evacuate.
According to the Planning and Conservation League, the San Clemente Dam is also a barrier
to threatened steelhead trout, which have significant natural spawning habitat and natural
rearing habitat located above the dam. A steep 85-foot fish ladder prevents many of the fish
from accessing these critical upstream areas and steelhead numbers have suffered as a result.
2) River Reroute and Dam Removal Project. CAW's least costly option to address the safety
issues with the San Clemente Dam is to buttress the dam—a cost of approximately $49
million. A draft Environmental Impact Report highlighted four alternatives to buttressing,
including the rerouting of the Carmel River and removal of the dam. This alternative would
provide a solution to the dam safety issues while also benefiting the environment by, for
example, providing unimpaired access for steelhead trout to over 25 miles of spawning and
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rearing habitat.
The Conservancy, CAW, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have outlined
key elements of the implementation strategy for the river reroute and dam removal project.
Under this strategy, the Conservancy and CAW would manage project planning and design;
the Conservancy, with assistance of NMFS, would coordinate with the regulatory agencies to
secure all permits and expeditious approval of the project; CAW would manage the project
construction; and upon completion of the project, CAW would transfer the project area lands,
approximately 928 acres, to a public entity or non-profit organization for watershed
conservation and compatible public access.
The total project cost is currently estimated at $83 million, which factors in a 25%
contingency and other costs. The implementation agreement would have CAW pay $49
million, which is the amount equivalent of buttressing the dam. The Conservancy, with
assistance from NMFS, is working to secure the additional $34 million from federal, state,
and private foundation sources.
3) Grant Authority. The Conservancy has the authority under existing law to make grants to
public agencies and nonprofit organizations for projects that restore and protect fish and
wildlife habitat within coastal watersheds. A grant for the rerouting of the Carmel River and
removal of the San Clemente Dam would be an ideal project for the Conservancy's grant
program because of the significance it would have on the protection and restoration of
steelhead trout habitat. However, since existing law only authorizes the Conservancy to
make grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations, and since CAW, a for-profit
corporation, will be managing the construction of the project, the Conservancy cannot award
grant funds to CAW. Without a Conservancy grant, the project would likely not happen-- the
dam would remain in place, the steelhead trout protection and restoration project plans would
not be implemented, and the public would not receive the 928 acres of project land for
conservation and public access.
The bill authorizes the Conservancy to award a grant to a for-profit entity to accomplish
removal or alteration of a dam. With this authorization, the Conservancy can grant funds to
CAW and ultimately improve the coastal watershed in the Monterey region
4) Suggested Amendments. The bill's legislative intent is to allow the Conservancy to grant
money to CAW for the San Clemente Dam project. The bill, however, is not specific to the
San Clemente project—it will allow grants to any project that removes or alters a dam in the
coastal zone or coastal watershed. The author and committee may wish to consider
amending the bill so it specifically applies to the San Clemente Dam project.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Carmel River Watershed Conservancy
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Planning and Conservation League
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092