Fire Safety 

SB 1207 (Kehoe) – Oppose Unless Amended
As Amended on March 24, 2010

Senate Bill 1207, by Senator Christine Kehoe, will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on August 4, 2010. CSAC remains opposed to this bill, which would amend the general plan safety element requirements for state responsibility areas (SRA) and very high fire hazard severity zones. It would also attempt to strengthen the development review process under California Environmental Quality Act by expanding the initial study checklist to address fire hazard impacts of projects. CSAC’s opposition is based on the cost implications of this bill, which many counties have indicated could cost them thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sea Level Rise

AB 2598 (Brownley) – Oppose
As Amended on July 15, 2010

Assembly Bill 2598, by Assembly Member Julia Brownley, would require a local trustee of public trust lands to evaluate the impacts of sea level rise on the lands in trust. AB 2598 considers the impacts of sea level rise as directly related to the operation and management of public trust lands and would require that local trustees of these lands give management priority to preparing a sea level rise action plan. While CSAC acknowledges the importance and impact that sea level rise will have on our communities, AB 2598 would impose additional planning requirements on local agencies without providing any source of funding. CSAC is opposed to this bill until an adequate source of funding is identified. This bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 2.

Solid Waste

AB 2398 (Perez) – Support
As Amended June 23, 2010

Assembly Bill 2398, by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, would establish an extended producer responsibility program for carpets. This bill would require manufacturers to submit a stewardship plan to the Department of Resources Recycling & Recovery (Cal Recycle) by September 30, 2011. After January 1, 2012, this bill would require manufacturers to have a Department-approved stewardship plan. The goal of AB 2398 is to improve product design, encourage reuse and recycling, and provide convenient collection alternatives for consumers. This bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 2.

SB 1326 (Oropeza) – Oppose
As Amended on June 23, 2010

SB 1326, by Senator Jenny Oropeza, will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on August 4, 2010. This bill would require a local agency that submits a grant application to Cal Recycle’s Local Government Waste Tire Cleanup and Amnesty Event Program to first ask the local community conservation corps if it wishes to assist with cleanup or amnesty events. The local agency would then be required to include with its application a statement that it has asked its local community conservation corps if it wished to participate. If there is no local community conservation corps in the city in which cleanup or amnesty events would occur, the local agency would be required to include with its application a statement to that effect. CSAC is opposed to this bill because we believe it would detract from the flexibility that counties currently have with regard to solid waste and recycling management programs.

Hazardous Materials

SB 346 (Kehoe) – Support
As Proposed to be Amended on August 2, 2010

Senate Bill 346, by Senator Christine Kehoe, will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on August 2. As reported in previous e-publications, this bill would require that the use of copper in brake pads sold in California be reduced to no more than .5 percent by 2025. The bill also creates limits and monitoring requirements for other brake pad materials. Scientific studies have shown that much of the copper in urban watersheds comes from the debris generated from the use of brake pads. Pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act, two regional water quality control boards in Southern California have already established severe copper total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to address this problem. Failure to comply with the established TMDLs will result in serious penalties to the responsible jurisdictions. CSAC is supporting SB 346 measure because it will improve California’s water quality and allow California stormwater agencies to meet their TMDLs in a timeframe that is aggressive but realistic for brake and vehicle manufacturers.

2009 Water Legislation Implementation

Ground Water Monitoring Elevation Workshops

The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) are co-hosting workshops to discuss the draft SB X7 6, ground water monitoring elevation guidelines. SB X7 6, by Senator Darrell Steinberg, was signed into law last November as part of the 2009 Water Package. The bill creates a new statewide groundwater monitoring program that requires groundwater monitoring by local agencies, the county, water replenishment districts, or a groundwater management agency or association. The bill requires one entity from each of the 515 basins/sub-basins to volunteer to perform monitoring, or exclude themselves from themselves from receiving any water grants or loans administered by the state, leaving DWR to assume the responsibility of monitoring. Entities must volunteer by January 1, 2011 and monitoring must begin by the beginning of 2012. 

The workshops are free but registration is required. For more information, visit the link at ACWA’s web site. Confirmed dates for the workshops include:

Aug. 9, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Byron)
Byron Bethany Irrigation District

Aug. 10, 9 a.m. – noon (Fresno)
Fresno County Farm Bureau

Aug. 17, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. (Sonoma)
Sonoma County Water Agency

Aug. 18, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. (Redding)
Redding City Hall, Community Room

Aug. 24, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Riverside)
Western Municipal Water District Training Facility

Aug. 25, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Los Angeles)
MWD of Southern California HQ, Board Room

San Diego – Thursday August 26th from 1:30 – 4:30 PM
San Diego County Water Authority

Watsonville -Tuesday August 31st from 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Civic Plaza Community Room (4th Floor),

Bakersfield – Wednesday September 1st from 1:30 – 4:30 PM
Kern County Water Agency 

Sacramento – Thursday September 2nd from 1:30 – 4:30 PM
Cal EPA Bldg

California Drought Contingency Plan Workshop Notice

A workshop on the soon to be released Draft California Drought Contingency Plan (Plan) will be held August 10, 2010, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m, at the Cal EPA Building Klamath Training Room located at 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Information on traveling to the Cal EPA building is available at their web site.

The workshop, conducted by DWR, in cooperation with other State agencies, will provide an overview and answer questions regarding the Plan. It will also discuss potential updates of future versions of the Plan, and potential roles for local agencies in drought planning, response, and recovery. 

Representatives of the larger water community, including water agencies and collaboratives, local, state, tribal and federal government, watershed and community groups, conservancies and the public are strongly encouraged to attend. DWR will accept written comments on the Draft Drought Contingency Plan through Friday, September 20, 2010 by email.

To assure adequate seating, kindly RSVP to Ginny Sajac at (916) 653-7101.

The Draft Drought Contingency Plan will be posted by August 4, 2010. The draft plan, additional information and materials for this workshop will be available online at:
http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/materials/index.cfm?subject=aug1010