The Barbed Wire - June 13, 2014

June 13, 2014
ACTION ALERT: CEQA Legislation – RCRC Urges Members to Oppose
Final Groundwater Basin Prioritization Results Now Available
President Signs Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014
Funding for the Federal Highway Trust Fund
New USDA Report Highlights the Need for Better Wildfire Suppression Funding System
House Subcommittee Airs Concerns with Waters of the U.S. Rule
Carcieri Fix Bill Marked Up
New Funding Program for Biomass into Energy Material
FY 2015 House Transportation and Housing & Urban Development Spending Bill Passes
Senate Passes Bill to Revamp the VA Health System
EPA Announces Local Government Conference Call on Waters of the U.S. Rule
USFS to Hold Public Workshops on Forest Plan Revisions
STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

ACTION ALERT: CEQA Legislation – RCRC Urges Members to Oppose

Two problematic measures dealing with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee over the next two weeks. Assembly Bill 52 (Gatto) and Assembly Bill 543 (Campos) were recently amended are very problematic for local government and other stakeholders.

AB 543 would require a lead agency to translate specified CEQA notices and summaries of any negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report when a community of non-English speakers comprises at least 25 percent of the residents in that area. AB 543 will be heard in Committee on Wednesday, June 18, 2014

AB 52 would require Native American tribes to be consulted on projects that could impact culturally-significant lands and resources with the CEQA process, creating significant uncertainty and increased potential for litigation for lead agencies. AB 52 will be heard in Committee on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. 

RCRC is urging counties to contact members of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and encourage them to vote “NO” on AB 52 and AB 543. Contact information for the Senate Environmental Quality Committee can be accessed here.

The coalition letter opposing AB 52 can be accessed here. The text of AB 52 can be accessed here.

The coalition letter opposing AB 543 can be accessed here. The text of AB 543 can be accessed here.

Final Groundwater Basin Prioritization Results Now Available

In January, 2014, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) published the draft results of the prioritization of California’s 515 groundwater basins and subbasins.  After holding five workshops to discuss the basin prioritization process, draft results, and accepting public comments on the draft basin prioritization results, DWR has released its final results.  The final Basin Prioritization results are now available on the basin prioritization page of the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program website which can be accessed here

For additional information on the CASGEM Program and the CASGEM Online System, please visit the CASGEM website, accessed here.  For questions about the CASGEM Program, please consult one of the listed contacts accessed here.

President Signs Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014

Earlier this week, President Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRDDA). Through WRDDA, Congress authorizes the key missions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers including developing, maintaining, and supporting the Nation's economically vital waterway infrastructure, and supporting critical flood protection and environmental restoration needs. 

This is the first WRRDA bill since 2007 and it incorporates a number of policy and fiscal reforms, including:

  • The de-authorization of $18 billion in old, inactive projects that were authorized prior to 2007;
  • Requiring the Corps to coordinate with all agencies involved in the environmental review process
  • Requiring concurrent environmental review; and,
  • Ensuring collaboration among all agencies involved among other measures.

 The following are some highlights of WRRDA of particular importance to RCRC Counties:

Sutter Basin: WRRDA authorizes approximately $689 million for a flood control measures in Sutter River Basin, including Yuba City. The project would strengthen 41 miles of existing levees, reducing expected annual damages by approximately $50 million.

Natomas Basin: WRRDA authorizes over $1 billion to strengthen the levees in the Natomas Basin (Sacramento) to safeguard more than 100,000 residents, and protect more than $7 billion in property.

WIFIA: WRRDA establishes a five-year pilot program, known as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), to allow the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide loans and loan guarantees for flood control, water supply, and wastewater infrastructure projects. This program, which is based on the successful Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for transportation projects, will provide critical financing for water infrastructure projects identified by local communities. These include projects to help with California's ongoing drought, including desalination, water recycling, and repair of aging water supply infrastructure.

Levee Vegetation: WRRDA requires the Corps of Engineers to update its guidelines for the removal of vegetation on Corps levees after seeking public input. This will ensure that the Corps of Engineers' policy is focused on the highest priority safety concerns for California communities.

Crediting: WRRDA allows local communities to carry out work in advance of the Corps of Engineers and receive credit for work performed. This is important to many California communities that have state or local funding sources that are ready to be invested immediately.

Prioritization of Ecosystem Restoration: WRRDA prioritizes ecosystem restoration projects that address identified threats to public health and preserve or restore ecosystems of national significance. The provision will provide those threatened ecosystems around the nation with additional focused attention, including places like the Salton Sea.

Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund: WRRDA calls for increased expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) to support increased maintenance of the nation's ports, including many ports in California. The legislation also includes reforms to the HMTF that will ensure equity for ports that contribute the most to the Fund but receive little funding in return, such as the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. For the first time, these critical ports will be able to use funding for additional projects such as berth dredging and contaminated sediment disposal.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at (916) 447-4806 orkmannion@rcrcnet.org, or RCRC Legislative Analyst Nick Konovaloff at nkonovaloff@rcrcnet.org.

Funding for the Federal Highway Trust Fund

The House and Senate continue to consider a variety of solutions to bring solvency to the Highway Trust Fund, the federal government’s primary source of revenue for highway and bridge projects.  The latest proposal from the House would combine an extension of highway and transit programs with the elimination of most Saturday mail delivery service, and would use the projected “savings” to off-set a projected $12 billion shortfall in the highway and transit accounts.  The House proposal did not have support in the Senate, where Senator Boxer (Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee) has stated the House proposal would be “a jobs killer” and it would not provide the level of certainty states and local governments need to plan and prioritize transportation projects. 

Additionally, Senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware), who chairs both the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over highways and the full Senate committee with jurisdiction over postal reform, expressed his strong opposition to the proposal.  On the House side, with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) losing his recent election, and the fact that other House leaders were opposed to the proposal, they announced late today that they have decided to drop the proposal altogether.  The House is now considering other potential off-sets, including another round of pension changes and increases in the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation minimums.  The Senate has yet to come out with their funding proposal, but the Senate Finance Committee is considering a variety of proposals that would provide both a short-term and long-term fix to the HTF.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) does not believe there is enough time for Congress to consider a longer-term fix and plans to have the Committee review a short-term proposal to provide six months of funding prior to the July recess when Congress goes on break.  The Department of Transportation continues to report that the HTF will become insolvent some time during the mid-summer.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at (916) 447-4806 orrechevarria@rcrcnet.org.

New USDA Report Highlights the Need for Better Wildfire Suppression Funding System

This week, the USDA released a state-by-state list of fire prevention, forest restoration, and other forest health projects that were postponed or cancelled due to a lack of funding specifically because those funds were used up due to fire-fighting costs. While the report does not specifically mention the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (Act) (S. 1875 (Wyden, D-OR) & H.R. 3992 (Simpson, R-ID)), it is clear that the Act would be a big step in preventing future situations where these types of projects are defunded due to over-expenditure of the fire suppression budget. 

The Act, supported by RCRC and a broad coalition of other local government, environmental, and community groups, would permanently separate the fire suppression Budget from other forest budgeted activities. In addition to the Act, President Obama’s Budget proposal includes a similar approach to funding wildfire suppression costs. The President’s proposal would create an emergency fund, similar not only to emergency funds already available for other natural disasters at the federal level, but also similar to the way fire suppression costs are handled in California with the E-Fund. This special set aside, would fund the costs of catastrophic and particularly costly to fight wildfires, thereby protecting the funding for critical fire prevention and forest health programs.

In his statement releasing the report, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the unequal treatment of fire disasters under current federal law, "Until firefighting is treated like other natural disasters that can draw on emergency funding, firefighting expenditures will continue to disrupt forest restoration and management, research, and other activities that help manage our forests and reduce future catastrophic wildfire."

Just twenty years ago, the USFS was spending approximately 15 percent of its total budget on firefighting; today they spend 40 percent or more on it. In the past two decades, the agency has been forced to shift away from more and more fire prevention and forest health activities to focus more and more of their limited resources on fire suppression. Some of the cancelled forest health projects have been re-funded in later years, but ultimately, this system creates a large backlog of needed projects that could prevent future fire disaster.

In California, between 2012 and 2013, several cancelled projects were highlighted by the report including needed repair of an air tanker base, watershed restoration projects, trail work for better public access, mine site mitigation, clean up of a timber blow down area, surveys for possible timber sales, hazardous fuels work and stewardship contracts for such work, and restoration work on burned areas, among others.

The state-by-state report can be accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at (916) 447-4806 orchillery@rcrcnet.org.

House Subcommittee Airs Concerns with Waters of the U.S. Rule

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held an informational hearing this week on the Waters of the U.S. Rule to explore its potential impacts on landowners.  Robert W. Perciasepe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator, and Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary for Civil Works of the Army (on behalf of the Corps of Engineers), represented the agencies to take questions on the Rule.  The agency representatives referred to the Rule as “the Administration’s rule,” defending it as not only appropriate under their jurisdiction, but saying that it will actually be less restrictive in some respects than the 2008 Guidance on Waters of the U.S.  They also insisted that the Rule will maintain important exemptions, particularly with respect to agriculture. 

Three California Representatives - Rep. Jeff Denham, Rep. John Garamendi, and Rep. Grace Napolitano - all posed questions regarding the Rule’s potential impacts on agriculture and water use and management on private land.  Rep. Denham was the most vocally opposed to the Rule, pointing out the jurisdictional issues with the language and its conflicts with the Clean Water Act.  Rep. Napolitano expressed concerns with respect to stormwater runoff, while Rep. Garamendi expressed his willingness to let the agencies play out their process and make changes to the proposed Rule based on public comment.  In general, there was bipartisan concern about the Rule and whether it would severely impact landowners, particularly those that use their land for agriculture or other purposes important to their livelihoods.

The budget appropriations bills for both EPA and the Corps will have riders to block the implementation of the Waters of the U.S. Rule should it be adopted in its current form.  In the meantime, in response to overwhelming requests from stakeholders, including RCRC, EPA and the Corps have extended the comment deadline by 90 days to October 20. 

The draft Rule as well as all associated information, including instructions on filing comments, can be viewed on EPA’s website, accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Staci Heaton at (916) 447-4806 or sheaton@rcrcnet.org.

Carcieri Fix Bill Marked Up

The new Chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Senator Jon Tester, offered up his S. 2188 this week, a so-called Carcieri “clean” fix bill for markup by the Committee. In Carcieri v. Salazar (2009), the Supreme Court ruled that no land taken into trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a tribe not federally recognized prior to 1934 was a valid fee-to-trust action. 

Usually, a bill being taken up for markup in the policy committee means that the bill has momentum and is likely to at least move past that house; however, in this case, Chair Tester is pushing his bill to the floor in an attempt to prove to tribes and legislative supporters of a “clean fix” that such a measure will not pass the full Senate. It is hoped that this will encourage those unwilling to consider a new fee-to-trust system to come to the table to start the process of negotiation and compromise. 

RCRC sent a comment letter to Chair Tester and to ranking member of the Committee John Barrasso outlining RCRC’s concerns with a Carcieri fix that comes without significant improvement in the level of local government involvement in the process. RCRC’s comment letter can be accessed here

Yesterday, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee marked up S. 2188. The Ranking Member offered the only amendment during the markup. The amendment would include a study of the number of tribes that would be affected by the bill. Similar language had been included in previous Carcieri clean fix bills in the Senate. The bill was passed out of Committee and is now waiting to be considered on the floor. It is unclear at this time when the bill will be considered by the full Senate.  

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at (916) 447-4806 orchillery@rcrcnet.org.

New Funding Program for Biomass into Energy Material

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) renewed in the 2014 Farm Bill was ready to start accepting applications June 16, 2014. The BCAP provides financial aid to timber operators, farmers, and ranchers who grow biomass products as well as those individuals and companies that harvest and deliver forest and agricultural biomass to appropriate biomass energy facilities. 

The Farm Bill authorized $25 million per year for the BCAP total, with half allocated to matching costs for biomass transportation costs and the other half to incentives for those who grow biomass-appropriate crops. The matching payments for transport are slated to begin as early as this summer to help aid in the removal of dead and diseased trees from key public lands. The crop assistance payments will begin in 2015.

With the cost of transporting forest biomass from the forest to the power plant being the key limiting factor in utilizing it as an alternative to pile burning on-site for fuels management work in the forests, this program could highlight the value of biomass energy as a key partner in good fuels management.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at (916) 447-4806 orchillery@rcrcnet.org.

FY 2015 House Transportation and Housing & Urban Development Spending Bill Passes

On Tuesday, the House passed its Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation and Housing & Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill by a vote of 229-192.  The bill appropriates $100 million for TIGER grants (compared to $550 million in the Senate bill) and requires that 20 percent of that funding go to projects in rural areas.  The bill includes a federal share of 80 percent for projects in rural areas, as opposed to 50 percent for all other projects.  The Senate is likely to begin consideration of its THUD funding bill next week.

For additional information please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at 916.447.4806 orrechevarria@rcrcnet.org.

Senate Passes Bill to Revamp the VA Health System

On Wednesday, the Senate approved the Veterans Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act, proposed by Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and John McCain (R-AZ), which would restructure the nation’s veteran health care system. The bill would, among other things, allow veterans who experience long wait times to seek care from a non-VA provider, and would provide $500 million in unused VA funds to hire more physicians, and fund 26 new medical facilities across the nation.  An audit released by the Veterans Affairs Department earlier this week revealed that 57,000 veterans have been waiting at least 90 days or more for appointments at VA hospitals. 

The House is expected to debate and vote on similar language in the coming weeks.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Santinia Pasquini at (916) 447-4806 orspasquini@rcrcnet.org.

EPA Announces Local Government Conference Call on Waters of the U.S. Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a conference call for local government representatives to take questions and comments on the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule. The conference call is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 2014 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. PST. 

Dial-in:                     (877) 312-8674

Conference ID:       56618674

Please be sure to dial-in 10 minutes early to register with the operator.

USFS to Hold Public Workshops on Forest Plan Revisions

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Pacific Southwest Region announced hosting three public workshops next week to take questions and comments on the Inyo, Sequoia, and Sierra National Forest plan revisions. Detailed information on the workshops can be accessed here.

GO-Biz Schedules California Competes Tax Credit Committee Meeting

Accessed here.

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.

AB 896 (Eggman): Wildlife Management Areas: Mosquito Abatement.  AB6 896 would help protect the public’s health from vector borne diseases such as the West Nile Virus through a multipronged approach that requires collaboration among state agencies and the local vector control districts to control mosquito and vector breeding populations in wildlife management areas.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 1101 (Chesbro): State Highway Route 101: Livestock Carriers.  AB 1101 would continue longstanding policy adopted by the Legislature to permit livestock haulers to transit along Highway 101 through Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, awaiting consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 1512 (Stone):  Corrections: Inmate Transfers.  SB 1512 would extend until July 1, 2018 a county’s ability to contract with another county for jail bed capacity for specified eligible inmates upon authorization from the county Board of Supervisors.  Status:  Passed out of the Assembly and Senate, awaiting the Governor’s action.  RCRC Position:  Support

AB 1522 (Gonzalez): Employment: Paid Sick Days.  AB 1522 would require employers, including cities, counties and special districts, to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, awaiting consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  RCRC Position: Oppose

SJR 24 (DeSaulnier): Federal Highway Trust Fund.  SJR 24 would urge the President and Congress to bring fiscal solvency to the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to become insolvent sometime mid-summer. Status: Passed out of the Assembly Transportation Committee, awaiting consideration on the Assembly Floor. RCRC Position: Support