At the request of CSAC and other partner organizations, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the
Office of the State Fire Marshal have granted an extension on the
public comment period for the draft Fire Hazard Severity Zones
(FHSZ) map for the State Responsibility Areas.
CivicWell, formerly known as the Local Government Commission,
will host a webinar on the process of setting up a Climate
Resilience District (CRD). The webinar will focus on
recently-passed legislation,
SB 852 (Chapter 266, 2022), which allowed cities and counties
to create climate resilience districts and provided these new
districts with various financing powers.
CSAC continues to monitor and engage on the continued parade of
storms and atmospheric rivers affecting all 58 counties that
started before the start of the new year. Major impacts are
affecting counties—from coastal and river flooding to roadway
damage, levee failures and school closures. Widespread
precipitation is still expected through the rest of this week and
into next week. Statewide rain and heavy mountain snow are also
expected.
The California Cannabis
Authority (CCA), the CSAC Finance Corporation- sponsored
Joint Power’s Authority, is sponsoring a free webinar for local
governments on Thursday, February 2, 2023 from
10:00- 11:00 am.
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 recently reported on the final outcomes of measures that
were approved by the Legislature and delivered to Governor Newsom
for action. To keep counties informed of new laws of interest and
impact, CSAC will publish a series of articles to spotlight those
laws in each policy area. This week, the Agriculture,
Environment, and Natural Resources (AENR) policy area provides
information on new laws impacting local flood protection plans,
organic waste, cannabis, and wildfire.
As California enters its ninth consecutive day of Flex Alerts
during this unprecedented heat wave, the California State
Association of Counties® (CSAC) acknowledges the incredible
efforts of California’s 58 counties to reduce the strain on the
electric grid. Counties have taken every available opportunity
over the last week to conserve energy and reduce demand,
including powering down county office buildings and activating
backup generators.
California’s legislative session came to a close in the early
morning hours this week with hundreds of bills now awaiting
action by Governor Gavin Newsom. The following provides an update
on major bills of interest for the Agriculture, Environment
and Natural Resources (AENR) policy area. CSAC staff will
continue to monitor and advocate for County
priorities during the signing period, which ends September
30, 2022.
The California Water Boards and the California Stormwater Quality
Association (CASQA) will be co-hosting a three-day statewide
summit on bacteria from September 14-16, 2022, in Sacramento and
virtually.
Register today for either in person or remote participation.
CSAC is seeking feedback on Senate Bill 12
(McGuire) which makes a number of changes to local emergency
planning and infrastructure related to disasters, especially
wildfire. The bill was amended yesterday to require a water
district, city, county, city and county, or water corporation
that provides drinking water, wastewater, or recycled water, for
water infrastructure projects to use only heat-resilient water
conveyance infrastructure components in very high fire hazard
severity zones.
The State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously today
to implement a statewide ban on the watering of non-functional
turf in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors, as
well as regulations requiring local agencies to implement water
use restrictions.
These new regulations come amid the possibility that water
supplies may be up to 20% lower than average due to extreme
weather. The orders do not affect recreation areas.
As someone who has worked in the water policy world for over two
decades, I’m often asked where I get my information. The truth of
the matter is that it’s sometimes hard to figure out what to
follow regularly, and what to follow occasionally. With that
said, here are my top go-to sources for water information.
Democrats in the California released their
budget priorities, which includes the CSAC supported request
for Dam Safety funding. The water and drought provisions within
the package proposes $7.5 billion in state and federal funds to
build a climate resilient water system including:
The Forest Service just
announced that it will be distributing $238 million to
counties under the Secure Rural Schools program, with
California’s counties set to receive nearly $30 million from that
pot (up from almost $25 million last year). The program was
reauthorized for two years as part of the bipartisan
infrastructure law.
The AENR Committee was pleased to have Senator Bill Dodd kick off
our AENR Committee meeting. Senator Dodd has been active in the
wildfire, insurance and regional planning areas for the past
several years. The Senator focused his presentation on his work
to establish voluntary regional funding mechanisms to support
climate adaptation work and dedicating a funding stream to
provide insurance for prescribed and cultural fire preservation.=
County stakeholders are invited to a workshop to participate in
the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s development of the
enabling regulations to modernize California’s defensible space
codes. Specifically, AB 3074 (2020) directed the Board to
establish a 0-5 foot “ember resistant” zone around structures
adding to the existing two-zone defensible space system that
requires fuel and vegetation management out to 100 feet from the
structure.
The Forest Service just
announced that it will be distributing $238 million to
counties under the Secure Rural Schools program, with
California’s counties set to receive nearly $30 million from that
pot (up from almost $25 million last year). The program was
reauthorized for two years as part of the bipartisan
infrastructure law.
The AENR Committee was pleased to have Senator Bill Dodd kick off
our AENR Committee meeting. Senator Dodd has been active in the
wildfire, insurance and regional planning areas for the past
several years. The Senator focused his presentation on his work
to establish voluntary regional funding mechanisms to support
climate adaptation work and dedicating a funding stream to
provide insurance for prescribed and cultural fire preservation.=
Over the past 18 months, CSAC has participated in the development
of a needs assessment for stream gaging across the state.
Counties have a direct interest in how we monitor water in the
state, from drought to new challenges in flood management and
quarter quality across regions. The Technical Advisory Committee
made its recommendations to the state agencies who have begin the
formal review process. We encourage counties to participate in
this public process.
Last week, Governor Newsom issued
Executive Order N-7-22 to address California’s worsening
drought conditions. The Order includes new well permitting
requirements for local agencies, and the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) has released a
new fact sheet to assist in implementation.
CSAC is seeking feedback from counties on two bills in the
agriculture, environment, and natural resources portfolio. Please
send your feedback to Catherine Freeman (cfreeman@counties.org) and Ada
Waelder (awaelder@counties.org) by
April 8, 2022.
On March 28, 2022, the Governor issued
Executive Order N-7-22 which directs new state and local
efforts related to the ongoing drought. The Governor has called
on local water suppliers to move to Level 2 of their Water
Shortage Contingency Plans, which require locally-appropriate
actions that will conserve water across all sectors. In most
cases, Level 2 requires 10-20 percent conservation within a
district though local discretion is allowed.
The deadline for the Legislature to introduce new bills has
passed and it is a banner year for cannabis legislation. Over the
next several months CSAC will continue to keep counties apprised
as cannabis legislation moves through the legislative process.
For now, CSAC is seeking feedback on the following measures:
As we enter another year of dry conditions, CSAC is working on
behalf of counties to bring a unified voice to water
discussions—from groundwater policy dialogue to watershed
networks to updating the California Water Plan. Here are
some useful tools the state has unveiled to help local
communities keep abreast of water conditions at the local,
regional, and state levels. For more information, please contact
Catherine Freeman at cfreeman@counties.org.
The Legislature is in full swing following February’s bill
introduction deadline. While many bills are still being amended,
below are a few items in the agriculture, environment, and
natural resources portfolio that are of particular interest to
counties. In addition are several bills that CSAC would greatly
appreciate county feedback on.
Last week, the Department of Cannabis Control released proposed
changes to current regulations. The release of the text on
March 4 marked the start of a 45 day public comment period. The
substantial changes would affect all parts of the cannabis
industry including cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, and
retail, and are intended to streamline and simplify regulations.
In addition, it would make permanent several emergency
regulations that are slated to expire.
The California Department of Conservation (DOC) will host
workshops to inform how $50 million in funding should be
allocated for forest biomass projects that generate
carbon-negative hydrogen and/or liquid fuel within the Sierra
Nevada. This will be a competitive grant process. There will be
two online Request for Information (RFI) workshops in April:
The State Water Resources Control Board has funding
available to provide relief to wastewater agencies and
wastewater billing entities for unpaid customer debt accrued
during the Pandemic. The California Water and
Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program covers residential
and commercial customer debt accrued March
4, 2020 through June 15, 2021. Cities, counties,
and special districts that bill for
wastewater are encouraged to apply. Wastewater
treatment providers that bill customers directly can also apply.
On February 15, 2022, the Assembly Local Government and Assembly
Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committees held a
joint hearing titled: “What’s Up Down Below? An Update on
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).” The hearing
covered a variety of SGMA-related topics and included a
panel titled “SGMA on-the-ground: Local agency perspective on
governance and implementation,” which highlighted county
experiences.
This week, the Newsom Administration released their draft of a
statewide
Extreme Heat Action Plan, aimed at better protecting
communities during high heat events.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are hosting two Waters of
the United States (WOTUS) webinars specifically for state and
local officials and association staff. The webinars will take
place on Monday, January 24, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. –
12:00 p.m. and on Thursday, January 27, 2022
from 7:00 – 10:00 a.m.
The
SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Program application is now
open! Applications are due by February 1,
2022. This one-time, non-competitive grant program will
provide $57 million to assist local governments in the
implementation of SB 1383 requirements for organic waste
diversion. Funding is available to cities, counties, cities and
counties, Regional or Joint Powers Authorities, and special
districts directly responsible for solid waste collection
services.
This week, the rulemaking on State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations
opened for a
15-day public comment period following revisions to the draft
rule text. The comment period ends Wednesday, January 19,
2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Governor Newsom met the October 10 deadline to take action on
measures approved by the Legislature and delivered to his desk.
To keep counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will
be publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in
each policy area. This week, the Agriculture, Environment and
Natural Resources policy area provides information on new laws
affecting drought, wildfire and waste management and hazardous
waste.
The new laws listed below become effective January 1, 2022 unless
otherwise noted.
The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is seeking
applicants for the
Cannabis Advisory Committee (CAC) who reflect the
diversity of California and the communities impacted by
commercial cannabis ac
CalRecycle is seeking public comment on their
proposed criteria for their SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant
Program for 2021-22. A total of $60 million will be made
available to local governments for a wide variety of eligible
activities including collection, education and outreach, edible
food recovery, capacity planning, procurement, record keeping,
and enforcement. This is a non-competitive grant opportunity.
The CA Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has
announced the 2021
Notice of Funding Opportunity for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program (HMGP).
This week, the state released a
proposed regulation that would prohibit the construction of
new oil and gas wells and facilities within a 3,200-foot setback
from homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other
sensitive locations. The proposed regulation, set forth by the
Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division
(CalGEM), would also require pollution controls for existing
wells and facilities within the same 3,200-foot setback area.
The Governor announced this week that additional counties would
be added to the drought
State of Emergency, which officially places all 58 California
counties under drought emergency. The new counties include Los
Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San
Francisco, and Ventura.
Sunday, October 10 was the deadline for final bill action by
Governor Newsom. Following is an update on major bills of
interest or concern for the Agriculture, Environment, and Natural
Resources policy area that were among the 800+ bills awaiting
action by Governor Gavin Newsom. For additional questions,
please contact Catherine
Freeman or Ada
Waelder.
