SECTIONS 5045-5049 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5045-5049

5045. (a) The tufa and associated sand structures at Mono Lake are
a valuable geologic and scientific natural resource and are unique in
North America for their beauty, abundance, diversity, and public
accessibility. Their extreme fragility requires special measures for
their protection and preservation for the enjoyment and education of
the public.
(b) The Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve is hereby established as a
unit of the state park system and shall consist of the state-owned
portions of the Mono Lake bed lying at or below the elevation of
6,417 feet above sea level. As soon as practicable after January 1,
1982, the State Lands Commission shall issue a permit for occupancy
to the department pursuant to Section 6221.
(c) (1) The reserve shall include, and the department shall
manage, all resources within the reserve's boundaries, including, but
not limited to, the waters of Mono Lake.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), nothing in
this subdivision grants the department authority over any of the
following:
(A) The instream flow requirements of the tributaries to Mono
Lake.
(B) The water surface elevation of Mono Lake.
(C) The water production, diversion, storage, and conveyance
activities of the City of Los Angeles.
(D) The determination of water quality standards for Mono Lake.
(d) As soon as practicable after January 1, 1982, the State Lands
Commission shall issue a permit for occupancy to the department
pursuant to Section 6221.

5046. (a) The reserve shall be managed primarily for the purpose of
protecting the tufa and associated sand structures and providing for
their interpretation. The department shall designate public
accessways to Mono Lake for recreational and other purposes that are
not in conflict with the preservation of the tufa and associated sand
structures.
(b) The department may enter into agreements with any other public
agency to provide for the joint management of the reserve and the
provision of visitor and interpretive services and facilities in
connection therewith. For purposes of administrative support,
departmental personnel may be assigned to any other unit of the state
park system in the vicinity of the reserve.
(c) The department shall commence managing the reserve, including
all resources within the reserve's boundaries which includes the
waters of Mono Lake, as soon as practicable after January 1, 1982,
and, to this end, the reserve is exempt from the requirements of
subdivision (a) of Section 5002.2 because the only improvements
contemplated at the reserve are temporary facilities within the
meaning of subdivision (c) of Section 5002.2.

5047. (a) No provision of this article shall be construed to
interfere with any reasonable use of land or other activity existing
or occurring on or before January 1, 1981, within the boundary of the
reserve that does not conflict with the purposes for which the
reserve is established. Accordingly, any such use of land or other
activity is not subject to Section 5001.65.
(b) No provision of this article or Section 5019.65 is intended,
nor shall be construed, to interfere in any way with the City of Los
Angeles' diversion of water from streams tributary to Mono Lake
pursuant to state water rights licenses numbered 10191 and 10192.
(c) No provision of this article shall be construed to affirm or
deny the legal right of the City of Los Angeles to divert water from
the Mono Basin.
(d) No provision of this article shall be construed for the
purpose of establishing, or interfering with the establishment of,
the ownership of relicted lands in the current litigation between
California and the United States.

5048. Any disturbance, defacement, displacement, or other
interference with any tufa or associated sand structure by any person
or instrumentality is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not
more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than six months or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
This section shall apply to all tufa and associated sand
structures within the Mono Lake basin, regardless of their location
on public or private lands or within or without the boundaries of the
reserve. The department shall provide for the enforcement of, and
any other peace officer within the Mono Basin shall enforce, this
section.

5049. Natural or artificially caused accretion or reliction of the
waters of Mono Lake shall not be deemed contrary to the purposes of
this article.