On November 1st, local jurisdictions should have
received a letter electronically from the Office of the State
Fire Marshal (OFM) triggering the Local Responsibility Area
(LRA) Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) map process.
Throughout the 2023-2024 Legislative Session, CSAC has informed
you about vital legislative developments. With Governor Newsom’s
final actions now complete, CSAC has been publishing articles
highlighting new laws and vetoed bills in each policy area. This
week, we focus on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources,
covering the impact of newly-enacted legislation on water,
organic waste, emergency management, and more.
Regions and local governments within the San Francisco Bay and
Suisun Marsh have an opportunity to provide feedback to the Bay
Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). BCDC is a coastal
protection agency and ensures that projects and activities are
consistent with the policies of the Bay Plan and state law.
The California Coastal Commission will be holding a workshop with
the Local Government Working Group (LGWG) to discuss
neighborhood-scale approaches to sea level rise adaptation
planning and Local Coastal Program Updates. Coastal counties are
encouraged to participate. CSAC members participate in the LGWG
along with City officials and the Coastal Commission staff.
In a significant step toward enhancing California’s wildfire
response and resilience, CAL FIRE has awarded $90.8 million in
grants to 94 local wildfire prevention projects across the state.
These grants are part of the Newsom Administration’s ongoing
efforts to bolster community resilience and protect lives and
property from the growing threat of wildfires. Over the past five
years, CAL FIRE has distributed more than $450 million through
its Wildfire Prevention Grants Program, funding over 450 projects
statewide.
Following an average water season, California is again
experiencing multiple dangerous wildfires in part due to the
extensive extreme heat events over the past few weeks. Several
emergency declarations have been issued throughout the state:
On May 29, 2024, CSAC and the Department of Water Resources (DWR)
launched the California County Café (C3) Series. This series of
virtual roundtable-style gatherings is designed for county staff
responsible for the planning and implementation of SB
552 of 2021 (Hertzberg).
A challenging groundwater bill,
AB 2079 (Bennett), continues to move through the legislative
process. This bill would restrict local control of groundwater,
previously guaranteed by the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA), by mandating the denial of permits for
large-diameter, high-capacity wells within a quarter mile of a
wells supplying domestic water
Counties are presented with a unique opportunity to actively
engage in shaping local perspectives as the state progresses
towards enacting insurance reform.
The California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force will
host a
Southern California Regional Meeting at the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park in Escondido, CA. The Task Force was established to
align federal, state, local, tribal, and private entities around
the shared goal of reducing wildfire risk through more resilient
landscapes.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has published a
running list of funding available through the Inflation Reduction
Act (IRA) in an effort to make it easier for counties to take
advantage of federal opportunities. You can find a list of open
IRA Grant and Loan Programs on the
Inflation Reduction Act Funding Explorer & Elective Pay Hub .
California is experiencing a large winter storm with flash flood
risks, heavy snow for the Sierra and other mountain ranges, and
high wind warnings/advisories remain in effect for much of the
state.
CSAC and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla invite you to join U.S.
Senator Alex Padilla, FEMA Region IX Director Robert Fenton, Jr.
and CalOES Deputy Director Tina Curry as they discuss best
practices for local governments during emergency evacuations.
With a special presentation by NACo 1st Vice President, former
CSAC President and Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore on the
Sonoma emergency management planning case study, “From the 2017
wildfires to today—how Sonoma has emerged as a leader in disaster
planning.”
Throughout the year, CSAC has kept you apprised of the status of
significant legislation. Now that Governor Newsom has determined
final actions on the remaining measures, CSAC will publish a
series of articles to spotlight new laws of interest and impact
in each policy area. This week, the Agriculture, Environment, and
Natural Resources (AENR) policy area provides information on new
laws impacting agriculture, water, energy, emergency management,
wildfires, cannabis and coastal issues.
An updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) map has been released
by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). Five counties
received an updated designation: Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, San
Bernardino, and San Luis Obispo.
Efforts to implement SB 1383, which aims to reduce organic waste
across the state, are well underway. This Fall, the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) opened another
round of applications for the
SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Program. Counties are eligible
to receive funding to assist with regulation requirements
associated with SB 1383, such as: capacity planning, collection,
edible food recovery, education and outreach, enforcement and
inspection, program evaluation/gap analysis, procurement
requirements, and record keeping.
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the Rural
County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the League
of California Cities (Cal Cities) hosted the Local
Government Renewable Energy Permitting Process webinar
on Wednesday, August 30th. The webinar provided
local government officials, planners, and energy generation and
storage developers with valuable insights into the permitting
processes for renewable energy projects, including battery
storage.
On Friday, September 1, CSAC visited Merced and Stanislaus
Counties for a tour hosted by Supervisors Daron McDaniels, Scott
Silveira, and Vito Chiesa to learn about regional projects making
an impact in their community. The tour was attended by CSAC
leadership and staff as well as Agriculture, Environment,
and Natural Resources Chair Chris Howard and Vice Chair Heidi
Hall, CSAC First Vice President Bruce Gibson and CSAC Second Vice
President Jeff Griffiths.
California’s recycling landscape is about to undergo another
seismic shift. Local governments played a key role in ushering in
this change, but there’s still plenty of work left.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES)
is currently conducting a public review and comment period of the
2023 California State Emergency Plan (SEP) Coordinating Draft.
The 2023 SEP Coordinating Draft is a strategic level document
that describes California’s overall emergency management system.
The plan is written to support emergency managers and responders
at all levels of government and is updated on a five-year cycle.
During this cycle, significant updates to the 2023 SEP include:
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the Rural
County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the League
of California Cities (Cal Cities) are pleased to announce
a FREE upcoming webinar on renewable energy permitting.
From coastal flooding to dramatic snowmelt, this year’s floods
brought unprecedented damage throughout California’s counties.
Damage to levees and flood infrastructure, including debris in
rivers and tributaries, need expedited repairs to protect
communities from the next rainy season. On August 4, the Governor
issued
Executive Order N-10-23 to mitigate the risks of additional
flooding. The order applies to emergency levee repair and debris
clearing including main stem and tributaries of the San Joaquin
River, Tulare Lake Basin, Salinas River, Pajaro River, and
coastal streams in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and
Monterey counties.
The State Water Board is accepting applications for the Safe and
Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) Advisory
Group. The SAFER drinking water program is designed to ensure
Californians who lack safe and affordable drinking water receive
it as quickly as possible. Members of the advisory group serve as
a consultative body that advises the Board on the SAFER Fund
Expenditure Plan, and other key analyses and policies as needed.
The Coastal Commission’s Local Government Working Group is
working to identify new options for phased and regional
approaches to sea level rise adaptation planning.
The Working Group will share its ideas and initiatives and invite
all perspectives, examples and questions from California
agencies, cities, counties, planners and regional planning
organizations.
Counties are invited to a California Water Commission workshop to
explore ways that the State can adapt to changing hydrology and
ongoing weather extremes. Following three years of severe
drought, California experienced a winter of extreme wet weather
this year. Being able to endure the next severe drought is
dependent upon making smart, preemptive water management
decisions during non-drought years.
