The Barbed Wire - October 09, 2015

October 9, 2015
Supervisor Williams Testifies to Effects of Marijuana Cultivation on California’s Water Quality
U.S. Court Issues Nationwide Hold on EPA WOTUS Rule
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Funding Flows to California
SGMA Amended in 2015 Legislative Session
DWR Releases Proposed Rules for Modifying Groundwater Basin Boundaries
Transportation Conference Committee Hearing Scheduled
McCarthy Drops Bid for Speaker of the House
Feinstein and Others Raise Concerns With Interior Improvement Act
Democrats Boycott Natural Resources Markup Because of LWCF
Garamendi Introduces House Companion to Lake Tahoe Restoration Act
House Rules Committee Denies Democratic Amendments to Tribal Energy Bill
House Budget Committee Advances Budget Reconciliation Bill
BULLETIN BOARD
KEEPING UP
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
REGULATORY UPDATE

Supervisor Williams Testifies to Effects of Marijuana Cultivation on California’s Water Quality

Last week, Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) Second Vice Chair and Tehama County Supervisor Bob Williams testified before the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) in support of their proposed Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for medicinal cannabis cultivation.  The full press release can be accessed here.

U.S. Court Issues Nationwide Hold on EPA WOTUS Rule

Early today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, issued a nationwide stay on the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule redefining Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act.  The ruling, issued more than a month after the rule went into effect, temporarily blocks implementation while litigation continues over the legality of the rule.

WOTUS was controversial from the moment it was proposed, with many opponents, including RCRC, viewing it as a gross jurisdictional overreach by the Obama Administration.  Once the rule was finalized in May 2015, numerous lawsuits were filed claiming the agency did not have the legal authority to issue the rule, one of which successfully enjoined implementation of the rule in thirteen states.  The October 9, 2015 ruling extends that stay nationwide, and is a big win for opponents of the rule. 

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Funding Flows to California

There are two types of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants available to local governments to address the costs of wildfire disasters: the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program (FMAG).  The HMGP program provides grants to states and local governments immediately following major disaster declarations in order to institute long-term hazard mitigation programs and projects.  FEMA supports wildfire recovery efforts to local governments through the use of the HMGP funds.  The FMAG is available to states, local governments, and tribal governments and can be used for the mitigation, management, and control of active fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands, which threaten sufficient destruction which may become a major disaster.  

The FMAG declaration process is initiated by a state when a "threat of major disaster" exists.  The entire process can be accomplished on an expedited basis and a FEMA decision is rendered in a matter of hours during the course of an ongoing fire disaster, unlike the HMGP program which takes place post-disaster.

FEMA has announced a pilot program to target those areas that have been declared eligible for FMAG assistance during a disaster for HMGP assistance post-disaster with the stated goal of increasing risk-reduction and recovery projects after FMAG declarations.  HMGP funding is now available for those fires for which an FMAG declaration was made between March 4, 2015 and September 30, 2015 for areas impacted by wildfire.  The goal of the pilot is to enable timely mitigation projects to take place on vulnerable burned areas at higher risk for hazards such as additional wildfire, flooding, and erosion issues such as landslides.  If the pilot shows success in mitigated further damage by allowing HMGP funds to be spent in FMAG declared areas the program could be maintained in future years.

California has 5 FMAGs in the eligible period.  There is $441,000 available under the pilot project to the California counties included in the FMAG.

  • “North Fire”    (San Bernardino)
  • “Wragg Fire”  (Napa, Solano, Yolo)
  • “Rocky Fire”  (Lake, Yolo, Colusa)
  • “Butte Fire”    (Calaveras & Amador)
  • “Valley Fire”  (Lake, Sonoma, Napa)

Last year, California had 16 declared FMAGs, so HMGP funding to each would be a considerable federal investment in the recovery in these areas.  RCRC supports the concept of HMGP funds being a permanent component of the FMAG program to assist communities’ recovery and for post-fire disaster mitigation of forests and watersheds.  The California Emergency Services Association (CESA) also supports this change and will be recommending FEMA make this change permanent following the pilot program.

SGMA Amended in 2015 Legislative Session

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was amended in the 2015 Legislative Session by Senate Bill 13, authored by Senator Fran Pavley (Chapter 255, Statutes of 2015).  

The bill made various “technical and clarifying” changes to SGMA as follows:

  • Specifies that the State Water Resourced Control Board (SWRCB) is authorized to designate a high- or medium-priority basin as a probationary basin.
  • Provides a local agency or groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) 90 or 180 days, as prescribed, to remedy certain deficiencies that caused the SWRCB to designate the basin as a probationary basin.
  • Authorizes the SWRCB to develop an interim plan for certain probationary basins one year after the designation of the basin as probationary.
  • Authorizes a mutual water company to participate in a GSA and provides that a water corporation or a mutual water company may participate through a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement.
  • Eliminates the SGMA requirement that a local agency or combination of local agencies that elect to be a GSA for a basin to submit a notice of intent  to the Department of Water Resources  (DWR) that includes the proposed boundaries of the basin and requires DWR to post the notice on its website within 15 days of receipt.
  • Would require multiple agencies that have provided a GSA notice to DWR to seek to reach agreement to allow prompt designation of a GSA.  Requires the submittal of a new notice and for DWR to post the notice if agreement is reached by the local agencies involving a material change from the information in the posted notice.
  • Specifies that DWR is only to post complete notices it receives.
  • Extends the deadline for a basin that is elevated to a medium- or high-priority basin before January 31, 2017, and is not subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan to January 31, 2022.

The full text of SB 13 and related information can be accessed here.

DWR Releases Proposed Rules for Modifying Groundwater Basin Boundaries

Earlier this week, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the Proposed Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Basin Boundary Emergency Regulations in a step toward meeting the first major SGMA deadline for DWR and providing the rules that establish an important process for local agencies to continue their implementation of this groundwater law.  

DWR is required to adopt emergency regulations by January 1, 2016 which outline the process that local agencies need to follow when requesting modifications to existing boundaries of groundwater basins and subbasins, or creating new subbasins.  The emergency regulations also identify the methodology and criteria that will be applied by DWR when reviewing and approving the boundary modification requests.  The SGMA used the existing groundwater basin and subbasin boundaries in California based on Bulletin 118, a comprehensive report on California groundwater resources that is periodically updated by DWR.

On July 17, 2015, DWR released an initial public draft of the emergency regulations, inviting public review and comment through September 4, 2015, and holding three additional public meetings around the state.  DWR reviewed and made revisions to the July 17, 2015 draft based on the public comments submitted and considered feedback from the California Water Commission throughout the emergency regulation development.

DWR will present the emergency regulations to the California Water Commission on October 21, 2015, and if approved, the regulations will be sent to the Office of Administrative Law for processing in order to take effect.

Additional information on the emergency regulations and California’s existing groundwater basins and subbasins can be accessed here.

Transportation Conference Committee Hearing Scheduled

The State Senate-Assembly Transportation Conference Committee is scheduled to meet Friday October 16, 2015 at 10:00am to continue discussions over new transportation revenues and reform efforts.  Throughout the Legislative Session both the Senate and Assembly reviewed various proposals, which included a variety of tax and fee increases, reforms to the California Department of Transportation, and constitutional protections for various transportation revenues, among others.  

We anticipate similar proposals will be considered during the Transportation Conference Committee, although preliminary details suggest the first scheduled hearing will be focused on the current funding needs to address the annual State and local transportation maintenance backlog.  Recent reports detail an annual $6 billion State and $8 billion local transportation funding shortfall just to bring our pavement conditions to a state of good repair.  The Transportation Conference Committee has also scheduled a hearing to take place in Ontario on October 21, 2015.  The details for both hearings are forthcoming.

The Transportation Conference Committee includes Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose), who will act as Co-Chair, joined by his colleagues Senators Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica), Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), and Connie Leyva (D-Chino).  The Assembly will be represented by Assembly Member Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), who will also act as Co-Chair, and will be joined by Assembly Members Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), and Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake). 

McCarthy Drops Bid for Speaker of the House

On Thursday, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) withdrew his bid to be the next Speaker of the House just prior to the Republican conference vote to potentially formally nominate him.  Representative McCarthy stated he would stay on as Republican Majority Leader, but would no longer seek the Speaker of the House position.  Additionally, current Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he would stay on as Speaker of the House until a new Speaker was elected.  The Speaker of the House election has been postponed until a date to be determined.

Feinstein and Others Raise Concerns With Interior Improvement Act

Late last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) co-authored a letter with Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) to Senators John Barrasso and Jon Tester, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, outlining concerns with S. 1879, of which Senator Barrasso is the author.

The letter highlights specific concerns with the bill, similar to those raised by RCRC, including the need to address a change in the use of trust land after the trust application is approved, broadening the scope of those eligible to comment on the trust action, and strengthening the mitigation requirements to ensure that the needs of surrounding communities are preserved and protected.  The full letter can be accessed here.  

The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) strongly opposed the measure citing issues that the bill gives the Secretary of the Interior discretion to disregard all municipal input.  The NYSAC believes the bill gives the Secretary veto-power over local objections to land trust decisions regardless of their impacts to the community.  The NYSAC Resolution can be accessed here.

The RCRC Board voted to take a “Support if Amended” position on S. 1879, and RCRC continues to advocate strongly for the needed changes outlined in its position letter, which can be accessed here.

The hearing and markup of S. 1879 was originally scheduled for September 9, 2015, but has been postponed indefinitely while Congress addresses other issues.

Democrats Boycott Natural Resources Markup Because of LWCF

Democratic Members of the House Natural Resources Committee boycotted part of the Committee’s markup of a series of public lands bills because committee Chair Rob Bishop (R-UT) chose to leave a bill out of the markup schedule regarding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).  

Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has introduced a bill (HR 1814) to permanently reauthorize the LWCF.  The bipartisan bill has 181 cosponsors, including two dozen Republicans.  Ranking Member Grijalva has asked Chairman Bishop three times to bring the bill to a markup, and he has refused.  Committee Democrats boycotted part of the hearing because the Ranking Member’s bill was not considered, as well as the fact that Chairman Bishop recently sent a letter to the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture asking for a detailed list of all projects this program has funded in its 50 year history.  Chairman Bishop has indicated that he plans to introduce his own legislation to reform and reauthorize the program but has yet to do so. 

Garamendi Introduces House Companion to Lake Tahoe Restoration Act

This week, Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) introduced legislation in the House entitled the “Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015” (HR 3692).  Garamendi’s bill is the House companion legislation to the Senate bill (S 1724) which was introduced by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and is supported by both Senators Feinstein and Boxer.  

This bill would authorize $415 million over 10 years, including $150 million for wildfire suppression, $113 million for stormwater management, erosion control and watershed restoration, $45 million for invasive species, and $80 million for various environmental projects.  Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) also has a bill (HR 3382) pending in the House about Lake Tahoe Restoration that would authorize $60 million for the effort.  

House Rules Committee Denies Democratic Amendments to Tribal Energy Bill

The House Rules Committee rejected three Democrats amendments to the “Native American Energy Act” (HR 538), a bill introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK) which aims to streamline tribal energy regulations.  

One amendment, offered by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) would have allowed the Interior Department to resume taking lands into trust for all federally recognized tribes.  The bill is set for a vote today in the House.  Environmental organizations are opposed to Section 4 of the bill to limit public comment on environmental impacts of proposed federal actions on Indian lands.  RCRC expressed its concern about the provision to the Natural Resources Committee, resulting in the language being amended to allow state and local governments to also comment on environmental impacts, as allowed in current law.  Indian gaming activities would not be subject to the restriction on public comments.  Similar legislation has not been introduced in the Senate.

House Budget Committee Advances Budget Reconciliation Bill

The House Budget Committee approved a budget reconciliation bill today that would reduce the deficit by $78.9 billion over the next ten years on a party-line vote.  Unfortunately, the bill would defund the Prevention and Public Health Fund.  The Prevention and Public Health Fund supports the core public health functions of county health departments, including cost-effective and life-saving immunizations, early and rapid detection of disease and injury, and the ability of local health departments to tailor to community solutions.  

RCRC has advocated to maintain funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund, and just this week sent a letter to the House Budget Committee requesting continued funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund.  The bill will now go to the House floor, and could be considered as soon as the week of October 20, 2015.

BULLETIN BOARD

Rubberized Pavement Grants Now Available

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KEEPING UP

Minto Appointed to Glenn County Board of Supervisors

 

 

Vince Minto, of Willows, has been appointed to represent the third district on the Glenn County Board of Supervisors.  Minto has served as assessor/clerk-recorder and director in the Elections Department, as well as various other positions within the County since 1979.  Minto will be sworn in next week.  Minto is a Republican.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of legislation impacting California’s rural counties.  

AB 707 (Wood): Agricultural Lands: Williamson Act Contracts: Cancellation.  Assembly Bill 707 will require the Department of Conservation (DOC) to provide a preliminary valuation to the county assessor and Board of Supervisors as specified.  AB 707 will also allow for the Board of Supervisors to submit comments for consideration to the DOC prior to determining the final cancellation value.  Status: Signed into law by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to submit comments on regulatory matters to state and federal regulatory bodies, and to provide a copy to RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of regulations impacting California’s rural counties.  

Draft Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy.  Mandated by Senate Bill 605 (Lara), draft establishes strategies to reduce emissions from short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane.  Agency: California Air Resources Board Status: Draft published for public comment, comment period ends October 30, 2015.  Workshops scheduled in three locations: Sacramento, Diamond Bar, and Fresno.  Draft Strategy and related documents can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: Staff is seeking RCRC member county input.  RCRC Advocate: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org