SECTIONS 71100-71104 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 71100-71104

71100. The following definitions govern the construction of this
part:
(a) "Cal BECC" means the California Border Environmental
Cooperation Committee established on July 22, 1994, by the Governors
of California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur.
(b) "California-Baja California border region" means the region
described in Chapter IV of the US-Mexico Border XXI Program,
Framework Document, published October 1996.
(c) "Fund" means the California Border Environmental Education
Fund established pursuant to Section 71101.

71101. (a) The California Border Environmental and Public Health
Protection Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury to
receive funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act, and other
sources, such as from North American Development Bank, Border
Environment Cooperation Committee, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, and private businesses or foundations, and any
interest accrued on those funds.
(b) The money in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation,
to the Secretary of Environmental Protection, for allocation for
expenditure for the purposes of this part.
(c) The money in the fund shall not be made available for the
purpose of bringing a person or a facility into compliance with
environmental laws, or to provide funds to remediate environmental
damage. The fund, instead, shall assist appropriate responsible
agencies in California and Baja California in the implementation of
projects to identify and resolve environmental and public health
problems that directly threaten the health or environmental quality
of California residents or sensitive natural resources of the
California border region, including projects related to domestic and
industrial wastewater, vehicle and industrial air emissions,
hazardous waste transport and disposal, human and ecological risk,
and disposal of municipal solid waste.

71102. The money in the fund shall be used for the following
purposes: (a) To assist local governments in implementation of
projects to identify and resolve environmental and public health
problems that directly threaten the health or environmental quality
of California residents or sensitive natural resources of the
California border region, including projects related to domestic and
industrial wastewater, vehicle and industrial air emissions,
hazardous waste transport and disposal, human and ecological risks,
and disposal of municipal solid waste.
(b) To provide technical assistance to those persons and entities
described in subdivision (a) with regard to environmental protection,
public health protection, or natural resource protection.
(c) To provide limited funds for equipment and labor costs
associated with emergency abatement of environmental and public
health problems imposed on residents of California due to
cross-border impacts of pollutants originating from Baja California.
(d) To provide analytical and scientific equipment and services
needed by border area public agencies to identify and monitor the
sources of environmental and public health threats posed by
cross-border transmission of environmental pollutants and toxics.

71103. (a) The Secretary for Environmental Protection, upon
request, shall inform any community-based nonprofit environmental
organization, responsible local government, and special district
located within the California-Baja California border region that it
may request funding pursuant to Section 71102.
(b) The Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation
with Cal BECC, shall award grants to a local governmental entity or
special district, community-based nonprofit environmental
organization, or postsecondary educational institution based on the
severity of the environmental, public health, or natural resource
concerns due to cross-border transmission of environmental pollutants
or toxics to the city or county in which the entity, organization,
or institution is located. First priority for funding shall be given
to an entity, organization, or institution located in a city or
county in which an environmental, public health, or natural resource
threat exists and that has existing capability to respond to,
implement, and abate the threat to California from cross-border
sources.
(c) The Secretary for Environmental Protection, on behalf of Cal
BECC, shall accept donations of used equipment, including computers,
printers, and lab equipment, for distribution to governmental
entities and community-based nonprofit environmental organizations
located within the California-Baja California border region and
postsecondary educational institutions located within Baja California
and within the California-Baja California border region, if the
donations can be shown to contribute to the protection of the
environment, public health, or natural resources of the California
border region.

71103.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The New River poses an imminent and severe threat to the
public health of residents of Calexico, California, and adjacent
communities in Imperial County. Since the 1940s, the New River has
been recognized as a significant pollution and human health problem,
primarily because of extremely high concentrations of fecal coliform
bacteria.
(2) While there have been recent measurable water quality
improvements as a result of sewage infrastructure projects
implemented and completed during the last 10 years in Mexicali,
Mexico, the residual and projected pollution in the New River coming
from Mexico remains a significant threat to public health and the
environment.
(3) Current bacteria levels in the New River are several orders of
magnitude above the state standards for bacteria. Based on these
levels and the historic levels of pollution, the waterway is believed
to carry pathogens that cause tuberculosis, encephalitis, polio,
cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid. The waterway also carries other
contaminants in concentrations that are in violation of federal,
state, and Mexican water quality standards by several hundredfold.
(4) The New River is listed as an impaired river by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency due to low dissolved oxygen
(DO) and the presence of chlordane, chlorpyrifos, copper,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), diazinon, dieldrin, mercury,
nutrients, pathogens, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), sediment,
selenium, toxaphene, toxicity, trash, and volatile organic compounds
(VOCs).
(5) The New River is a major contributor of pollution to the
Salton Sea, and failure to address water quality problems in the New
River are impeding the ability of the state to implement laws and
programs designed to restore and protect this important environmental
and wildlife habitat resource.
(6) The New River condition in the border area is also an
aesthetic nuisance for Calexico residents and has historically
inhibited the city's socioeconomic well-being and growth.
(7) A coordinated and comprehensive state strategy is needed to
deal with the residual and projected pollution so that the New River
and associated river channel can be enhanced to a condition that will
allow the residents of Calexico and Imperial County to utilize them
as recreational and natural assets as contemplated in the California
River Parkways Act of 2004 (Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section
5750) of Division 5).
(8) In the Budget Act of 2009, as amended by Chapter 1 of the
Statutes of 2009 Fourth Extraordinary Session, eight hundred thousand
dollars ($800,000) was appropriated to the City of Calexico for
various planning needs necessary to develop a river parkway plan and
river improvement project for the New River. The moneys were
appropriated in order to secure and serve as matching funds for the
four million dollars ($4,000,000) allocated pursuant to the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (Public Law 109-59) to the City of Calexico for the
development of bicycle paths and public park space adjacent to the
New River.
(9) The City of Calexico, as the recipient of funding pursuant to
the California River Parkways Act of 2004, has agreed to provide
necessary financial support to the council for the development of the
council's strategic plan.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Agency" means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) "City" means the City of Calexico, California.
(3) "Council" means the California-Mexico Border Relations Council
established pursuant to Section 8711 of the Government Code.
(4) "County" means the County of Imperial, California.
(5) "IBWC" means the International Boundary and Water Commission,
United States Section.
(6) "New River Improvement Project" or "project" means a project
to study, monitor, remediate, and enhance New River water quality in
the County of Imperial to protect human health, and develop a river
parkway suitable for public use and enjoyment.
(c) Pursuant to the authority granted to the council under Section
8712 of the Government Code and contingent upon the execution of an
agreement with the City of Calexico for the purpose of providing the
necessary funding, the council shall develop a strategic plan to
guide the implementation of the New River Improvement Project. The
strategic plan shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the
following elements:
(1) Quantification of current and projected New River water
quality impairments and their threat to public health.
(2) Prioritization of the actions necessary to protect public
health and to meet New River water quality objectives and other
environmental goals, such as improving the quality of water flows
into the Salton Sea.
(3) Identification of potential funds for the implementation of
the project, and potential lead agencies that would be responsible
for environmental review of activities related to the cleanup and
restoration of the New River.
(4) Identification of the appropriate federal, state, and local
agencies with a role in implementing and achieving the New River
Improvement Project.
(d) (1) To the extent permitted by law, the council may work with
appropriate binational, federal, state, local, and nongovernmental
organizations on both sides of the California-Mexico border to
develop the strategic plan and to fund and establish cooperative
water quality monitoring, public health studies, inspection, and
technical assistance programs as needed to support, convene, and
oversee the project.
(2) To further the objectives of this subdivision, the council may
convene and oversee a technical advisory committee. The advisory
committee shall advise the council regarding the necessary studies
and activities to carry out the project, and shall serve at the
pleasure of the council. The advisory committee shall include
representatives from the following:
(A) Impacted cities and counties.
(B) Relevant local, regional, and state agencies and departments.
(C) Nongovernmental organizations.
(D) Other stakeholders deemed necessary by the council.
(3) The council shall appoint the chair of the committee and may
expand the membership and expertise of the committee as it deems
necessary.
(4) The council may enter into an agreement, including an
interagency agreement and memorandum of understanding, with public
agencies, including the city, to accept, manage, and expend funds for
the implementation of this section.
(e) This section does not modify existing roles, responsibilities,
or liabilities of the State of California, the City of Calexico,
Imperial County, or any other governmental agency, under those laws
that regulate, protect, and clean up surface waters entering the
United States from Mexico.
(f) The New River Improvement Project Account is hereby created in
the California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection
Fund to receive moneys for activities related to the New River
Improvement Project from sources identified in Section 71101 and
other sources. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the
account shall be expended to implement the purposes identified in
subdivision (c) or Section 71102 that are related to the New River.

71104. This part shall only be operative during those fiscal years
for which funds are appropriated in the annual Budget Act to
implement this part, or are made available from contributions or
donations from the sources identified in Section 71101. The Secretary
for Environmental Protection shall inform the Secretary of State
when funds are made available from contributions or donations from
the sources identified in Section 71101.