The Barbed Wire - March 14, 2014

March 14, 2014
Administration Releases Sustainable Groundwater Management Framework
Assembly Groundwater Hearing Held
U.S. Congress Passes Bill to Reduce Flood Insurance Premiums – Heads to President’s Desk
U.S. DOT Releases Proposed MAP-21 Safety Rules
Top Federal Transportation Policy Official Warns of Highway Trust Fund Shortfall
House Committee Approves Bill to Halt Clean Water Act Permits for Pesticide Spraying
Michael Conner Confirmed as Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior
Reclamation Commissioner nominated by President Obama
EVENTS/NOTICES

Administration Releases Sustainable Groundwater Management Framework

Last week, the Governor’s Office released a draft framework for soliciting stakeholder input on actions that can be taken to improve groundwater management in the State, consistent with the Governor’s 2014 California Water Action Plan (CWAP), which can be accessed here

The CWAP calls for legislation that gives local and regional agencies comprehensive authority to address their groundwater challenges, and allows for the State to temporarily assume groundwater management responsibilities to protect a basin not being managed sustainability when local agencies cannot, or will not, address the problem.  The Administration intends to pursue groundwater management reform in a State Budget trailer bill, so the issue is on a fast track.  The draft sustainable groundwater management framework can be accessed here.

The Administration has announced two public workshops on March 24 and April 16, 2014 to receive public input on the sustainable groundwater management framework. Details on the workshops can be accessed here.

In a related, but separate effort, the California Water Foundation (CWF) is conducting stakeholder dialogue/interest group sessions with various interest groups, including counties.  The CWF intends to submit a report and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than mid-April.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at 916.447.4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

Assembly Groundwater Hearing Held

On Tuesday, the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #3 held a joint hearing on management of California’s groundwater resources. 

Among those testifying were State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Member Steve Moore, who discussed the SWRCB’s Discussion Draft Groundwater Workplan Concept Paper, which can be accessed here. Committee staff prepared a groundwater background paper that provides a useful summary of groundwater related issues, which can be accessed here

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) presented a report titled Improving Management of the State’s Groundwater Resources, which discusses the current regulation and management of groundwater, identifies issues and challenges with groundwater management, discusses the Governor’s proposed Budget as it relates of groundwater management, and makes recommendations on next steps to improve groundwater management.  The LAO’s report can be accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at 916.447.4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

U.S. Congress Passes Bill to Reduce Flood Insurance Premiums – Heads to President’s Desk

This week, the U.S. Senate approved the house version of a bill to reduce flood insurance premium rates mandated by the Biggert-Waters Act enacted two years ago.  H.R. 3370 would roll back the recent rate increases and prohibit increases on “grandfathered” policies issued for homes constructed before flood maps were adopted.  In addition, it will refund policy holders who have paid increased rates after July 6, 2012, reinstate the 50% substantial improvement threshold, and provide exclusions for detached structures. 

Also, this bill lowers FEMA’s authority to raise rates to 18 percent, and authorizes assessment of $25 per year on primary residents, and $250 per year on non-residential and non-primary residences to make up for projected revenue loss.  H.R. 3370 requires FEMA to conduct an affordability study to include businesses and low-income households.  The Senate passed the legislation 72-22, and the bill is now headed to the President’s desk. 

For additional information, please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Mary Pitto at 916.447.4806 or mpitto@rcrcnet.org.

U.S. DOT Releases Proposed MAP-21 Safety Rules

This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released their Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), accessed here, for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) safety performance measures.  As part of the federal surface transportation program, known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the DOT was required to develop and propose various HSIP safety performance measures and requirements around reporting fatalities and serious injuries.  

While improving the safety of our national transportation system is a cornerstone of MAP-21, state investments in safety projects on local streets and roads have been decreasing over the last few years.  Under the HSIP program, states are required to use a data-driven, strategic approach to improve highway safety on all public roads that focus on performance, but that isn’t always the case.  In fact, the most recent information available from rural transportation agencies in California reported that less than 50 percent of HSIP funds were spent on the local transportation system, even though nearly 2/3 of all serious injuries and accidents occur on the local transportation system.

The NPRM provides the transportation community an opportunity to influence the outcome of HSIP performance measures, particularly around the High-Risk Rural Roads (HR3) program.  RCRC will work closely with county transportation stakeholders to develop recommendations that strengthen performance measures related to the HR3 program to ensure that investments in safety projects on the local road system are a statewide priority.  In addition to providing comments to the DOT, RCRC will use this information to communicate rural transportation stakeholders’ priorities with State Department of Transportation staff as they work to develop their response to the federal NPRM.

For additional information, and to provide comments or recommendations, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at 916.447.4806 or rechevarria@rcrcnet.org

Top Federal Transportation Policy Official Warns of Highway Trust Fund Shortfall

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) top policy official, Peter Rogoff, reported that the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) may run short of funding earlier than previously projected.  Under the new assumptions, Rogoff reports that the DOT may be unable to meet obligations as early as July, a month sooner than anticipated. 

If the HTF dips below $4 billion, the DOT has stated that they will stop funding reimbursements for roads and bridges, and all transit funding reimbursements would be curtailed if the HTF falls below $1 billion.  The issue of HTF insolvency is the major lynchpin in discussions over reauthorization of the federal surface transportation bill, known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).  MAP-21 is set to expire this year at the end of September, which has policy makers scrambling to develop a funding solution.  House Republicans and Senate Democrats agree that Congress must find a way to fund a long-term surface transportation measure, although they have historically been unable to reach an agreement over how to fund the program. 

RCRC has recently reported on President Obama’s and House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp’s (R-Michigan) transportation proposals, which both focus on paying for the federal transportation program largely through corporate tax reform, but neither proposal is likely to see any real movement before MAP-21 expires.  Instead, it is likely Congress will pass another short-term funding extension this summer to maintain the HTF and provide more time to negotiate a funding proposal for a much longer-term transportation program.  

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

House Committee Approves Bill to Halt Clean Water Act Permits for Pesticide Spraying

The House Agriculture Committee has added its unanimous approval to H.R. 935 to reverse a federal appeal court ruling that requires Clean Water Act permits for pesticide spraying over water.  The bill has already been approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate.  The bipartisan sponsors are confident that the President will eventually sign the bill, although similar legislation was held up in the Senate two years ago.

Michael Conner Confirmed as Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior

The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael Conner to serve as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior (Interior) by a 97-0 vote. Conner has served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation at Interior since 2009. Conner also led the federal government’s negotiations on the California Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). President Obama nominated Conner last summer to replace David Hayes who left the administration after the president’s first term.

Reclamation Commissioner nominated by President Obama

The White House announced the nomination of Estevan Lopez to serve as Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.  Lopez currently serves as the Director of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, supervising all activities of the legislatively-chartered body with broad authority to protect, conserve, and develop New Mexico’s waters, including interstate and intrastate stream systems.  No schedule has been set for his Senate confirmation.  As described above, his predecessor, Mike Connor, was recently confirmed by the Senate to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

For additional information on these federal matters, please contact RCRC Senior Legislative Advocate Paul A. Smith at 916.447.4806 or psmith@rcrcnet.org.

EVENTS/NOTICES

Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to Host Regional Tax Credit Workshops

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced hosting a workshop on the new California Competes Tax Credit. Small, medium, and large businesses are encouraged to attend the workshop and receive instruction on how to apply for this new tax credit available from the state. Detailed information on the workshop can be accessed here.

2014 California Funding Fairs Announced

The 2014 California Financing Coordinating Committee (CFCC) has schedule seven free funding fairs, running throughout the state through October 2014. The CFCC was formed in 1998 and is made up of seven funding members: five state and two federal. The CFCC Funding Fairs provide opportunities to obtain more information about the different member agencies and their available grant, loan and bond financing options. 

These fairs are directed towards local government representatives, economic development and engineering professionals, officials from privately owned facilities, water and irrigation district managers, financial advisors, and project consultants. Each Funding Fair includes overviews of state and federal financing programs and on-site technical assistance for specific projects.

Detailed information on the 2014 California Funding Fairs can be accessed here. For more information, visit the CFCC website here.