California Assembly Bill AB1585 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1585AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 8, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo (Principal coauthor: Senator Cannella) (Coauthor: Senator Monning) JANUARY 6, 2016 An act relating to water resources,  making an appropriation therefor,  and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1585, as amended, Alejo. Monterey County Water Resources Agency:  water conveyance.   Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio.  Existing law establishes the Monterey County Water Resources Agency as a flood control and water agency within the County of Monterey. Existing law authorizes the agency to award a design-build contract for the combined design and construction of a project to connect Lake San Antonio, located in the County of Monterey, and Lake Nacimiento, located in the County of San Luis Obispo, with an underground tunnel or pipeline for the purpose of maximizing water storage, supply, and groundwater recharge. This bill would  require no less than   appropriate  $25,000,000 from an unspecified source  to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature,  to the agency for the purpose of constructing a water conveyance tunnel between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San  Antonio,   Antonio and spillway modifications at Lake San Ant   onio,  as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation:  no   yes  . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (a) Over the past four years, California has grappled with one of the worst ongoing droughts in the state's history.  (b) The state is riddled with water supply and water quality challenges posed by the relentless drought and is now facing weather forecasts of one of the most powerful El Nio storms ever recorded.   (c) A major flood event in California has the potential to devastate communities and regional agriculture-based economies and seriously impact the state's economy.   (d) In Monterey County alone, agriculture generates eight billion one hundred twenty million dollars ($8,120,000,000) into the local economy and supports more than 76,000 jobs. An additional 20,352 jobs are created as a direct result of the industry.   (b)   (e)  The Monterey County Water Resources Agency manages Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio, two reservoirs that  provide water supply,   supply water for consumption and groundwater recharge and provide  flood control,  prevention of salt water intrusion,  and recreation in the Salinas Valley.  (c)   (   f)  Lake Nacimiento's watershed fills  the Lake Nacimiento   its  reservoir nearly three times faster than Lake San Antonio's watershed fills  that reservoir. The Monterey County Water Resources Agency often releases water from Lake Nacimiento because it reaches its capacity,   its reservoir, often causing water in Lake Nacimiento to exceed capacity and overflow from the spillway to   the ocean,  even when Lake San Antonio still has  excess storage available.   available storage capacity.   (d)   (   g)  The Monterey County Water Resources Agency is planning to  build a tunnel or pipeline between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio to redirect water from Lake Nacimiento that would otherwise be released out to sea and use it to fill excess capacity in Lake San Antonio.   correct these wasteful and potentially harmful consequences by constructing both of the following:   (1) A tunnel or pipeline between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio that has the potential to reduce water overflow events by 60 percent.   (2) Spillway modifications at Lake San Antonio to increase storage by approximately 60,000 acre feet.   (e) The interlake tunnel project   (h)     These two projects  will mitigate the impact of the drought and improve the economic viability of the Salinas Valley, the environmental sustainability of the region, and agricultural production.  (f)   (i)  The Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio region scores 40 percent to 50 percent as a disadvantaged community under CalEnviroScreen.  (g) The state is riddled with water supply and water quality challenges posed by the relentless drought and is now facing weather forecasts of one of the most powerful El Nio storms ever recorded.   (h) A major flood event in California has the potential to devastate communities, regional agriculture-based economies, and seriously impact the state's economy.   (i) In Monterey County alone, agriculture generates eight billion one hundred twenty million dollars ($8,120,000,000) into the local economy and supports more than 76,000 jobs. An additional 20,352 jobs are created as a direct result of the prosperous industry. Flooding of our agricultural lands could put all of that into jeopardy.  (j) Given the Salinas Valley's economic contribution to the state' s agricultural economy and the stress the El Nio storms will put on the region, the Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio areas are considered distressed communities and therefore are a priority for state funding. SEC. 2.  Upon appropriation by the Legislature, no less than twenty-five   Twenty-five  million dollars ($25,000,000) from ____  shall be allocated   is hereby appropriated  to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency for the purpose of  constructing a water conveyance tunnel,   constructing,  in accordance with the design-build process authorized by Section 11.1 of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Act (Chapter 1159 of the Statutes of 1990, as amended by Chapter 865 of the Statutes of 2014),  between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio within zone 2c   both of the following  in order to maximize water storage, water supply, and groundwater recharge at the lakes, within the Salinas River groundwater basin, and the Salinas  Valley.   Valley:   (a) A water conveyance tunnel between Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio within zone 2c.   (b) Spillway modifications at Lake San Antonio to increase storage by approximately 60,000 acre feet.  SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the emergency circumstances of the ongoing drought and the benefits  this project between   these projects involving  Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio managed by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency will provide to the region. SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to responsibly store water during California's prolonged  drought and   drought,  to protect the Salinas Valley from  flooding   flooding, and to protect water supply, water quality, distressed communities, and urban and rural property and structures  during a historic El Nio weather pattern, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.