SECTIONS 79075-79088 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 79075-79088

79075. (a) There is hereby created in the account the Watershed
Protection Subaccount.
(b) For the purposes of this article, "subaccount" means the
Watershed Protection Subaccount created by subdivision (a).

79076. The sum of ninety million dollars ($90,000,000) is hereby
transferred from the account to the subaccount for the purposes of
implementing this article.

79077. The purposes of this article are to provide funds to assist
in implementing watershed plans to reduce flooding, control erosion,
improve water quality, and improve aquatic and terrestrial species
habitats, to restore natural systems of groundwater recharge, native
vegetation, water flows, and riparian zones, to restore the
beneficial uses of waters of the state in watersheds, and to provide
matching funds for federal grant programs.

79078. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this article:
(a) "Local agency" means any city, county, city and county,
district, or other political subdivision of the state.
(b) "Local watershed group" means a group consisting of owners and
managers of land within the watershed of interest, local, state, and
federal government representatives, and interested persons, other
than landowners, who reside or work within the watershed of interest,
and may include other persons, organizations, nonprofit
corporations, and businesses.
(c) "Local watershed management plan" means a document prepared by
a local watershed group that sets forth a strategy to achieve an
ecologically stable watershed, and that does all of the following:
(1) Defines the geographical boundaries of the watershed.
(2) Describes the natural resource conditions within the
watershed.
(3) Describes measurable characteristics for water quality
improvements.
(4) Describes methods for achieving and sustaining water quality
improvements.
(5) Identifies any person, organization, or public agency that is
responsible for implementing the methods described in paragraph (4).
(6) Provides milestones for implementing the methods described in
paragraph (4).
(7) Describes a monitoring program designed to measure the
effectiveness of the methods described in paragraph (4).
(d) "Municipality" has the same meaning as defined in the Clean
Water Act and also includes the state or any agency, department, or
political subdivision thereof, and applicants eligible for technical
assistance under Section 319 (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1329) or grants under
Section 320 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1330).
(e) "Nonprofit organization" means any California corporation
organized under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(5) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
(f) "Regional board" means a regional water quality control board.

79079. The money in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the
Legislature to the board, may be used by the board for grants to
municipalities, local agencies, or nonprofit organizations in
accordance with this article. The grants shall be used to develop
local watershed management plans or to implement projects that are
consistent with local watershed management and regional water quality
control plans. The board shall ensure that activities funded by
these grants will be coordinated with activities undertaken by state
and federal agencies, and with other appropriate watershed efforts.

79079.5. The funds used for the purposes described in Section 79079
shall be allocated as follows:
(a) Sixty percent to projects in the Counties of Los Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Ventura.
(b) Forty percent to projects in counties not described in
subdivision (a).

79080. (a) A municipality, local agency, or nonprofit organization
may only receive a grant under this article if the board determines
that both of the following apply:
(1) The municipality, local agency, or nonprofit organization has
adequate legal authority to manage the grant money.
(2) The municipality, local agency, or nonprofit organization is a
member of a local watershed group.
(b) Grants may be awarded for projects that implement methods for
attaining watershed improvements or for a monitoring program
described in a local watershed management plan in an amount not to
exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000) per project. At least 85
percent of the total amount in the subaccount shall be used for
capital outlay projects described in this subdivision.
(c) Eligible projects under this article may do any of the
following:
(1) Reduce chronic flooding problems or control water velocity and
volume using vegetation management or other nonstructural methods.
(2) Protect and enhance greenbelts and riparian and wetlands
habitats.
(3) Restore or improve habitat for aquatic or terrestrial species.
(4) Monitor the water quality conditions and assess the
environmental health of the watershed.
(5) Use geographic information systems to display and manage the
environmental data describing the watershed.
(6) Prevent watershed soil erosion and sedimentation of surface
waters.
(7) Support beneficial groundwater recharge capabilities.
(8) Otherwise reduce the discharge of pollutants to state waters
from storm water or nonpoint sources.
(d) (1) Grants may be awarded to municipalities, local agencies,
or nonprofit organizations for the development of local watershed
management plans in amounts not to exceed two hundred thousand
dollars ($200,000) per local watershed management plan.
(2) Funding under this subdivision may be used to develop
components of local watershed management plans that contribute to the
development or implementation of species recovery plans.
(e) Grants may be awarded to meet requirements for nonfederal
matching funds set forth in Section 205(j) of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1285(j)) or Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1329(h)).
(f) Projects funded under this article shall be designed to
withstand substantial flooding and shall include a minimum 10-year
maintenance program and shall demonstrate the potential to provide
watershed benefits for 20 years.
(g) A proponent of a project funded from the subaccount, except a
grant recipient pursuant to subdivision (d), shall be required to
submit to the board a monitoring and reporting plan that does all of
the following:
(1) Describes the baseline water quality of the waterbody
impacted.
(2) Describes the manner in which the proposed watershed
restoration activities are implemented.
(3) Determines the effectiveness of the watershed restoration
activities in preventing or reducing pollution.
(4) Determines, to the extent feasible, the changes in the pattern
of flow in affected streams, including reduction of flood flows and
increases in spring, summer, and fall flows that result from the
implementation of the project.
(5) Determines, to the extent feasible, the economic benefits
resulting from changes determined pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4).
(h) (1) A grant applicant shall inform the board with regard to
necessary public agency approvals, entitlements, and permits that may
be necessary to implement the project. The municipality, local
agency, or nonprofit organization shall certify to the board, at the
appropriate time, that those approvals, entitlements, and permits
have been granted.
(2) A grant applicant shall notify, in writing, adjoining
landowners of its request for funding under this article and the
scope of the project for which the funding is requested. If this
paragraph requires notification of more than 200 landowners,
notification may be made by letter to the owners of record of the 200
largest parcels and by publication for at least 20 days in a local
newspaper of general circulation. Upon completion of the notification
required under this paragraph, the municipality, local agency, or
nonprofit organization shall inform the board that the notification
has occurred.
(i) The board may adopt regulations to carry out this article.
(j) In awarding grants under this article, the board shall
consider the extent to which projects do the following:
(1) Consider the entire ecosystem to be protected or restored.
(2) Include definable targets and desired future conditions.
(3) Support local community institutional capacity to restore the
watershed.
(4) Include community decisionmaking by affected stakeholders in
project design and fund allocation.
(5) Help protect intact or nearly intact ecosystems and
watersheds.
(6) Consider the economic benefits of the restoration project or
program.
(7) Address the root causes of degradation, rather than the
symptoms.
(8) Maximize the use of other restoration funds.
(9) Include an educational component, if appropriate.
(10) Improve the quality of drinking water and support other
beneficial uses of waters of the state, including coastal waters.

79081. A grant recipient shall obtain written permission from the
landowners of the parcel of land upon which the project is proposed
to be carried out. The written permission shall expressly consent to
the actions described in the grant application.

79082. Not more than 25 percent of a grant may be awarded in
advance of actual expenditures.

79083. (a) A grant recipient shall submit to the board a report
upon the completion of the project or activity funded under this
article. The report shall summarize the completed project and
identify additional steps necessary to achieve the purposes of the
local watershed management plan. The board shall make the report
available to interested federal, state, and local agencies and other
interested parties.
(b) The board shall prepare and submit to the Governor a biennial
report regarding the implementation of this article. The biennial
report shall include, at a minimum, a discussion relating to the
extent to which the purposes described in Section 79077 are being
furthered by the implementation of this article.

79084. (a) Of the funds transferred pursuant to Section 79076, at
least thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000) shall be for grants
to small communities.
(b) For the purposes of this article, "small community" means a
municipality with a population of 10,000 persons or less, a rural
county, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a larger
municipality where the population of the segment is 10,000 persons or
less, with a financial hardship as determined by the board.
(c) If the board determines that any of the funds made available
for grants under this section will not be encumbered for that purpose
on or before January 1, 2007, the board may use these funds for
other purposes of this article.

79085. The board shall give added consideration to projects that
utilize the services of the California Conservation Corps, community
conservation corps, or other local nonprofit entities employing
underprivileged youths.

79085.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
following amounts from the subaccount, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, shall be allocated as follows:
(a) The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the board for
allocation to the Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority
for a hydrologic study with regard to the Pajaro River Watershed.
(b) The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the board for
allocation to the County of Sonoma to develop and implement
community-based watershed management activities that will protect,
restore, and enhance the environmental and economic value of the
Russian River Watershed in the County of Sonoma.
(c) The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) to the board for
the Clover Creek Flood Protection and Environmental Enhancement
Project to provide for the acquisition, restoration, and conservation
of low-flow stream channel, open water, seasonal wetlands, riparian
habitat, oak woodland regeneration, and grassland meadow
preservation.
(d) The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the board to
rehabilitate and improve the Clear Lake Watershed by funding one or
more of the following projects or activities: Clear Lake Basin 2000
Project, aeration, wetlands restoration, fishery enhancement, and
wastewater treatment, or for grants awarded by the board to local
public agencies for any of these purposes. The first priority for
funding under this subdivision is for a grant award to fund eligible
expenses of the Basin 2000 Project.
(e) To the maximum extent feasible, the watershed restoration and
flood control projects described in this subdivision shall do one or
more of the following:
(1) Preserve agricultural land.
(2) Protect and enhance wildlife habitat.
(3) Protect and enhance recreational and environmental education
resources.
(4) Protect lake water quality.

79086. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board shall
terminate any grant where it is determined that the project is not
providing the proposed watershed benefits.

79087. Not more than 5 percent of the total amount deposited in the
subaccount may be used to pay costs incurred in connection with the
administration of this article.

79088. Where recovery plans for coho salmon, steelhead trout, or
other threatened or endangered aquatic species exist, projects funded
under this article shall be consistent with those plans, and to the
extent feasible, shall seek to implement actions specified in those
plans.