SECTIONS 2930-2933 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 2930-2933

2930. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Salton
Sea Restoration Act.

2931. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State of
California undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and
the permanent protection of the wildlife dependent on that ecosystem.
(b) This restoration shall be based on the preferred alternative
developed as a result of the restoration study and alternative
selection process described in Section 2081.7 and using the funds
made available in accordance with that section to be deposited in the
Salton Sea Restoration Fund and other funds made available by the
Legislature and the federal government.
(c) The preferred alternative shall provide the maximum feasible
attainment of the following objectives:
(1) Restoration of long-term stable aquatic and shoreline habitat
for the historic levels and diversity of fish and wildlife that
depend on the Salton Sea.
(2) Elimination of air quality impacts from the restoration
projects.
(3) Protection of water quality.
(d) For the purpose of the restoration plan, the Salton Sea
ecosystem shall include, but is not limited to, the Salton Sea, the
agricultural lands surrounding the Salton Sea, and the tributaries
and drains within the Imperial and Coachella Valleys that deliver
water to the Salton Sea.

2932. There is hereby established the Salton Sea Restoration Fund
which shall be administered by the director. Money deposited in the
fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for
the following purposes:
(a) Environmental and engineering studies related to the
restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife
dependent on the sea.
(b) Implementation of conservation measures necessary to protect
the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea, including
adaptive management measurements pursuant to Section 2081.7. These
conservation measures shall be limited to the Salton Sea and lower
Colorado River ecosystems, including the Colorado River Delta.
(c) Implementation of the preferred Salton Sea restoration
alternative.
(d) Administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related
to the development and selection of the preferred Salton Sea
restoration alternative.

2932.2. Of the funds appropriated pursuant to Section 79565 of the
Water Code, not less than eight million five hundred thousand dollars
($8,500,000) shall be made available for transfer or direct
expenditure for acquisition, grants, or other activities that
directly restore the Salton Sea and its transboundary watersheds,
consistent with Section 2932.

2932.3. Any moneys made available by paragraph (3) of subdivision
(b) of Section 75050 of the Public Resources Code and deposited in
the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall be expended, upon appropriation
by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, for a restoration
project at the Salton Sea that is consistent with subdivision (c) of
Section 2931. The activities and expenditures authorized by this
section shall be limited to funding those activities identified in
the Resources Agency report entitled "Salton Sea Ecosystem
Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan,"
and dated May 2007, for completion in the first five years of
implementation identified in the report as "Period I." The activities
specified for completion in Period I include, but are not limited
to, a demonstration project, early start habitat, and additional
biological, inflow, sediment quality, water quality, and air quality
investigations. For purposes of carrying out these activities and
expending the funds made available, the Resources Agency shall act as
the lead agency and work cooperatively with designated staff from
the Department of Water Resources, the State Air Resources Board, the
State Water Resources Control Board, and the department. The
Resources Agency shall remain the lead agency for implementation, in
partnership with one or more of its departments, unless and until
legislation is enacted on or after January 1, 2009, establishing a
new governance structure for restoration of the Salton Sea. This
section is not legislative approval or denial of the preferred
alternative identified in the Secretary of the Resources Agency's
recommendations contained in the "Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration
Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan," dated May
2007 and submitted to the Legislature.

2932.5. Moneys deposited in the fund created pursuant to Section
2932 shall not be expended for mitigation except for mitigation
undertaken by the State of California.

2933. The Department of Water Resources may contract with water
suppliers to purchase and sell water made available pursuant to
Section 1745.02 of the Water Code to achieve the goals of this
chapter.