SECTIONS 600-615 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 600-615

600. As used in this chapter, "department" means the Department of
Conservation and "director" means the Director of Conservation.

601. There is in the Resources Agency the Department of
Conservation. The department shall be conducted under the control of
an executive officer known as the Director of Conservation. The
director shall be appointed by and hold office at the pleasure of the
Governor and shall receive an annual salary as provided in Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 11550) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code. The appointment of the director shall be
subject to confirmation by the Senate.

603. The department succeeds to and is vested with all of the
duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction vested
in the Department of Natural Resources or the Director of Natural
Resources and exercised by the following divisions of the Department
of Natural Resources: Forestry; Mines and Geology; Oil and Gas; and
Soil Conservation.
Wherever any reference is made to the Department of Natural
Resources or to the Director of Natural Resources pertaining to a
duty, power, purpose, responsibility, or jurisdiction transferred to
the Department of Conservation by this section, it shall be deemed to
be a reference to, and to mean, the Department of Conservation or to
the Director of Conservation, as the case may be.

603.1. The director is hereby vested with all the duties, powers,
purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the State Geologist
as Chief of the California Geological Survey of the department. The
director may appoint an assistant or deputy director to exercise any
powers and duties in the administration of the California Geological
Survey that the director may delegate to that person.

604. The department may expend the money in any appropriation or in
any special fund in the State Treasury made available by law for the
administration of the statutes the administration of which is
committed to the department, or for the use, support, or maintenance
of any board, bureau, commission, department, office or officer whose
duties, powers, and functions have been transferred to and conferred
upon the department. Such expenditures by the department shall be
made in accordance with law in carrying out the purposes for which
the appropriations were made or the special funds created.

605. The department shall have possession and control of all
records, books, papers, offices, equipment, supplies, moneys, funds,
appropriations, land and other property, real or personal, held for
the benefit or use of all bodies, offices, and officers whose duties,
powers, and functions have been transferred to and conferred upon
the department.

606. The provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150),
Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code apply to the
director. The director may appoint, in accordance with civil service,
such deputies, officers, and other employees as may be necessary.

607. The work of the department shall be divided into at least the
following:
(a) California Geological Survey.
(b) Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources.
(c) Division of Land Resource Protection.
(d) Division of Recycling.
(e) Office of Mine Reclamation.

608. The director, with approval of the Director of Finance, may
accept on behalf of the various divisions of the department federal
grants for the purposes for which the department is established. Such
grants shall be deposited in the Special Deposit Fund in the State
Treasury provided for by Section 16370 of the Government Code, and
may be expended under such terms and conditions as may be required by
the federal government.

609. Whenever the department has received and deposited any money
in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund in an
excessive amount or in error, or whenever a refund of all or a
portion of such money is due any person, firm, or corporation because
of the termination of an agreement or other lawful reason, payment
of such refund shall be made upon the filing of a claim by the
director with the State Controller. The State Controller shall draw
his warrant for payment of the refund from any appropriation made for
that purpose.

610. For the purpose of disseminating information relating to its
activities, powers, duties, or functions, the department may issue
publications, construct and maintain exhibits, and perform acts and
carry on functions, as in the opinion of the director, will best tend
to disseminate the information.
These publications may be distributed free of charge to public
libraries and to other state departments and state officers. The
department may exchange copies with contemporary publications.
All money received by the department from the sale of
publications, exclusive of money received by any separate division of
the department from the sale of publications, shall be paid into the
State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

611. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or of law and
except as provided in the State Building Standards Law, Part 2.5
(commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and
Safety Code, on and after January 1, 1980, the department, director,
the State Geologist, the State Mining and Geology Board, or the
California Geological Survey shall not adopt nor publish a building
standard as defined in Section 18909 of the Health and Safety Code
unless the provisions of Sections 18930, 18933, 18938, 18940, 18943,
18944, and 18945 of the Health and Safety Code are expressly excepted
in the statute under which the authority to adopt rules,
regulations, or orders is delegated. Any building standard adopted in
violation of this section shall have no force or effect. Any
building standard adopted before January 1, 1980, pursuant to this
code and not expressly excepted by statute from such provisions of
the State Building Standards Law shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 1985, or until adopted, amended, or superseded by
provisions published in the State Building Standards Code, whichever
occurs sooner.

612. The department shall prepare, update, and maintain Important
Farmland Series maps as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b)
of Section 65570 of the Government Code and other soils and land
capability information, and prepare and maintain an automated map and
data base system to record and report changes in the use of
agricultural lands.

612.5. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) It is in the state's public interest to have an accurate
inventory of the state's soil resources.
(2) In California, the United States Soil Conservation Service has
been responsible for undertaking soil surveys and soils information
for many of California's agricultural counties is outdated or
unavailable.
(3) Information on soils is needed for agricultural management,
water and soil conservation activities, engineering and land use
planning, and state and local policy decisions. Completion of the
California Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program is contingent upon
availability of accurate, modern soil surveys.
(4) State funding of soil surveys has been limited to soil
vegetation surveys on wildlands and no state contributions have been
made toward the completion of modern soil surveys in California on
cropland. In recent years, every state with incomplete soil surveys
on farmland, except California, has cost-shared with the United
States Soil Conservation Service to complete those surveys.
(5) Federal funding for the soil survey program of the United
States Soil Conservation Service has been declining in real dollars
in the past several years and is projected to be further reduced
under the requirements of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction
Act.
(6) Therefore, it is in California's interest to authorize the
department to assist the United States Soil Conservation Service with
the completion of soil surveys.
(b) The department shall provide financial assistance to the
United States Soil Conservation Service to undertake or complete soil
surveys in areas of this state where the surveys have not been
completed, including, but not limited to, portions of the Counties of
San Joaquin, Yuba, Colusa, Butte, Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Stanislaus,
and Lassen. Financial assistance shall be applied to field work that
includes onsite soils mapping, report writing, manuscript
preparation, and final correlation of soils data.
(c) In allocating funds for completion of soil surveys in the
United States Soil Conservation Service soil survey areas in
California, the department shall consider criteria that include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Voids in important farmland maps.
(2) Rate and type of land use changes.
(3) Extent of erosion, alkalinity, and other soil resource
problems.
(4) Farm-gate value of agricultural production.
(5) Specific soil-related problems.
(6) Status of ongoing soil surveys.
(7) Extent of cropland in each county.
(8) Availability of local funding or other support.

613. The department, through the California Resources Information
System and as budgetary resources permit, may provide informational
assistance to local agencies in the development of geobased natural
resource information systems. In addition, the department may assist
local agencies in securing geobased natural resource information from
state agencies.
Local agencies requesting assistance shall reimburse the
department for identifiable costs incurred by the department pursuant
to this section.

614. (a) In order to implement the soil conservation plan which is
adopted by the soil conservation committee, the department shall
conduct a study and propose an implementation strategy to meet the
intent of the plan. The study shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(1) An assessment of the structural and policy changes needed in
the department to carry out the soil conservation plan.
(2) A review of the provisions of Division 9 (commencing with
Section 9000) for the purposes of providing a framework for soil
conservation administration at the state and local levels.
(3) Recommendations on how the department can best deliver soil
conservation services.
The department shall report the results of this study to the
Legislature on or before December 1, 1988.
(b) The department shall conduct a study of resource conservation
districts in California. The study shall include, but not be limited
to, all of the following:
(1) A review of the provisions of Division 9 (commencing with
Section 9000) to determine the changes in policy and structure
necessary to enable resource conservation districts to better provide
soil conservation assistance.
(2) Recommendations on the consolidation and reorganization of
resource conservation districts.
The department shall report the result of this study to the
Legislature on or before December 1, 1989.
(c) The department shall provide soil conservation advisory
services to local governments, land owners, farmers and ranchers,
resource conservation districts, and the general public. The services
shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) State level liaison with the resource conservation districts.
(2) Review of environmental impact reports as required under the
California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000)).
(3) Provision of information on the soil conservation components
of the 1985 Food Security Act.
(4) Assistance to local governments on the development of soil
conservation guidelines for general plans.
(5) Responding to inquiries from the general public.
From funds appropriated for purposes of this section, an amount,
not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), shall be utilized for
the purposes of this subdivision.

615. Grants awarded by the department, including, but not limited
to, those awarded pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section
9000), Division 10.2 (commencing with Section 10200), and Division
12.1 (commencing with Section 14500), are not subject to the State
Contract Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of
the Public Contract Code) or Article 6 (commencing with Section 999)
of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.