CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 8590-8613
WATER CODE
SECTION 8590-8613
8590. To carry out the primary state interest described in Section
8532, the board may do any of the following:
(a) Acquire either within or outside the boundaries of the
drainage district, by purchase, condemnation or by other lawful means
in the name of the drainage district, all lands, rights-of-way,
easements, property or material necessary or requisite for the
purpose of bypasses, weirs, cuts, canals, sumps, levees, overflow
channels and basins, reservoirs and other flood control works, and
other necessary purposes, including drainage purposes.
(b) Construct, clear, and maintain bypasses, levees, canals,
sumps, overflow channels and basins, reservoirs and other flood
control works.
(c) Construct, maintain, and operate ditches, canals, pumping
plants, and other drainage works.
(d) Make contracts in the name of the drainage district to
indemnify or compensate any owner of land or other property for any
injury or damage caused by the exercise of the powers conferred by
this division, or arising out of the use, taking, or damage of any
property for any of the purposes of this division.
(e) Collaborate with state and federal agencies, if appropriate,
regarding multiobjective flood management strategies that incorporate
agricultural conservation, ecosystem protection and restoration, or
recreational components.
8590.2. In acquiring interests in land necessary for the purposes
specified in Section 8590 and notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 8676, the board in determining whether to acquire in fee or
easement may consider such additional uses as fish and wildlife
enhancement and recreation if so requested by another state agency.
Any such parcel acquired in fee shall be subject to the continuing
jurisdiction of the board to insure that the primary purposes of
flood control are served and to prevent any damage or interference
with the flood control works for any public nuisances arising out of
such additional uses and any increased costs of maintenance
attributable to such additional uses shall be borne by the agency
requesting such uses.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the
board to acquire any land over and above that necessary for the
purposes specified in Section 8590.
8591. The board has no power, authority, or jurisdiction, either
directly or indirectly, except as provided in this division, to incur
any indebtedness or expend any money or adopt or carry into effect
any plan or project or to acquire any lands, rights of way, or
easements, or to do any work, or cause any work to be performed, for
which any land lying within the drainage district is to be assessed,
except to maintain, repair, and operate its existing works of
reclamation and flood control and to complete, maintain and operate
any project adopted by the board prior to April 1, 1923, with the
existing powers to levy assessments therefor.
8592. The board has the same power, authority and jurisdiction in
reference to the adoption and carrying to completion of any work or
project involved in or contained in the report of the California
Debris Commission dated January 5, 1925, to the Congress of the
United States as are conferred in the case of projects adopted by the
board prior to April 1, 1923.
8593. The board may acquire by eminent domain in the name of the
drainage district any property necessary for any of the purposes set
forth in this part.
8596. The board may maintain actions in the name of the people of
the State to restrain, or to recover damages for, the doing of any
act or thing that may be injurious to any of the works necessary to
the plan of flood control or that may interfere with the successful
execution of the plan.
8597. Any damages so recovered shall be deposited with the State
Treasurer to the credit of the drainage district and the assessment
for the particular portion or project affected by the injury.
8598. The board may also do any of the following:
(a) Establish a standard of levee construction.
(b) Do any and all things necessary or incident to the powers
granted or to carry out the objects specified in this article.
(c) Maintain actions in the name of the people of the State to
restrain the diversion of the water of any stream that will increase
the flow of water in the Sacramento or San Joaquin Rivers or their
tributaries, and such diversion of the water of any stream into the
rivers or either of them or any of their tributaries, is a public
nuisance which may be prevented or abated by the board.
(d) Rent, lease for oil, gas or other hydrocarbons in the manner
provided for in this chapter, or dispose, by sale, exchange, in
payment for work done or services rendered, or for any other purpose
which the board may deem advisable, of any land, property, material,
equipment, or any other thing in the possession of the drainage
district, which, in the opinion of the board, is no longer needed for
the purposes of flood control works or other necessary or convenient
purposes.
8598.5. Notwithstanding Section 6402 of the Public Resources Code,
the board may sell or lease surplus real property which is held in
fee by the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District and which
lies within a predominantly residential, industrial, or commercial
area, without reserving the right to extract minerals or petroleum
products through the surface of such property.
8599. The board may undertake any construction work that it is
authorized to do by this part, free from any control or jurisdiction
of the department.
8600. Subject to the provisions of the State Contract Act any
construction work undertaken by the board may be done wholly or
partly by contract let by the board in such manner as the board may
determine, or may be done wholly or partly by day labor or force
account if deemed advisable by the board.
8600.5. (a) The governing body of a public entity that is
authorized by law to construct, manage, maintain, or repair levees,
channels, or other flood control works that are under the
jurisdiction of the board may adopt standards for the operation and
maintenance of those flood control works that are more protective of
public safety than the standards adopted by the board pursuant to
Section 8608, including, but not limited to, standards that are more
restrictive of encroachments on levees and adjacent areas.
(b) The standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
effective upon approval by the board.
(c) The public entity shall apply the standards adopted pursuant
to subdivision (a) prospectively.
(d) The governing body of the public entity may revise the
standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) subject to the approval
of the board. The board may unilaterally revise these standards upon
90 days' written notice to the public entity.
8601. The board may construct, purchase, rent, sell or exchange
dredgers, machines, appliances, tools, apparatus and other property
necessary or convenient for doing any construction work.
8602. The cost of the equipment and property shall be apportioned
to and paid from the funds raised from the several assessments levied
or to be levied by the board in a just and equitable manner
according to the use made of the equipment or property in carrying
out the several separate portions or projects for which the
assessments are levied.
8603. The board may rent for use by others idle dredgers or other
equipment.
8604. The rental received shall be paid to the State Treasurer and
credited to the balance remaining unexpended of the assessments
against which the cost of such equipment has been paid or is to be
charged as indicated by the board.
8605. The board may inspect and supervise any work done or under
construction pursuant to the provisions of this part.
8606. The board may insert a stipulation providing for such
inspection and supervision in any order, contract or other
instrument, relating to the work authorized in this part.
8608. The board shall establish and enforce standards for the
maintenance and operation of levees, channels, and other flood
control works of an authorized project or an adopted plan, including
but not limited to standards for encroachment, construction,
vegetation and erosion control measures. In adopting such standards,
the board shall give full consideration to fish and wildlife,
recreation and environmental factors. Any violation of such adopted
standards without the permission of the board is a public nuisance,
and the board may commence and maintain suit in the name of the
people of the state for the prevention or abatement of the nuisance.
8609. (a) The board may designate floodways throughout the
Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers drainage to control encroachments
in, and to preserve the flow regimens of, floodways for the purpose
of protecting public improvements, lives, land use values, and
improvements created in reliance upon historical flooding patterns.
(b) As used in this part, "Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
drainage," or equivalent language, means all lands currently and
historically drained by the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin
River and their tributaries and distributaries.
(c) This section is declaratory of existing law.
8610. The board shall offer to lease to the Department of Fish and
Game, or to an appropriate public resource protection or public
conservation agency or organization approved by the Department of
Fish and Game and the board, any lands it acquires as replacement
habitat as mitigation for adverse environmental impacts of its
projects. The lease agreement shall ensure that these lands are
managed to provide the mitigation for which they were acquired and
shall include, but not be limited to, provisions for funding
management of those lands. Funds for management of those lands may
include, but are not limited to, funds appropriated by the
Legislature to the Department of Water Resources, the Reclamation
Board, or the Department of Fish and Game, and funds available from
local entities. The lease agreement shall reserve the authority of
the board to carry out necessary flood control activities and
mitigate adverse environmental impacts.
8610.5. (a) (1) The board shall adopt regulations relating to
evidentiary hearings pursuant to Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) The board shall hold an evidentiary hearing for any matter
that requires the issuance of a permit if the proposed work may
significantly affect any element of the State Plan of Flood Control
or if a formal protest against that permit has been lodged.
(3) The board may, by regulation, define types of encroachments
that will not significantly affect any element of the State Plan of
Flood Control. Evidentiary hearings are not required for uncontested
applications for those defined encroachments unless, in the judgment
of the executive officer, there is a reasonable possibility that the
project will have a significant effect on an adopted plan of flood
control.
(4) The board may delegate approval of permits for encroachments
that will not significantly affect any element of the State Plan of
Flood Control to the executive officer.
(5) The board is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing
before making a decision relating to general flood protection policy
or planning.
(b) The board may take an action pursuant to Section 8560 only
after allowing for public comment.
(c) The board shall, in any evidentiary hearing, consider all of
the following, as applicable, for the purpose of taking any action
pursuant to Section 8560:
(1) Evidence that the board admits into its record from any party,
state or local public agency, or nongovernmental organization with
expertise in flood or flood plain management.
(2) The best available science that relates to the scientific
issues presented by the executive officer, legal counsel, the
department, or other parties that raise credible scientific issues.
(3) Effects of the proposed decision on the entire State Plan of
Flood Control.
(4) Effects of reasonably projected future events, including, but
not limited to, changes in hydrology, climate, and development within
the applicable watershed.
8611. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), prior to
construction at a site of a flood control, channel clearance, or bank
stabilization project, the board, in consultation with the
Department of Fish and Game, shall prepare and adopt a mitigation
plan which shall be implemented as part of the project. A mitigation
plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A description of the actions that the board proposes to take
to ensure that the project will meet all mitigation standards
required by law with the objective of ensuring that the project
causes no net loss of riparian, fishery, or wildlife habitat.
(2) A designation of the agency or agencies responsible for
implementing and maintaining each mitigation element of the plan.
(3) A schedule for implementation of the mitigation ensuring that
the mitigation measures will be accomplished prior to, or concurrent
with, construction of the project, unless the board determines that
to do so would be impracticable.
(4) A financing plan for the mitigation identifying the source or
sources of funds for the mitigation, the share of mitigation costs
attributable to each source, and a schedule of when the funds are to
be provided.
The plan may take into consideration the environmental benefits of
restoring, maintaining, or increasing the sustainable diversity of
native species and habitat which may result from the project, if
these benefits have been approved by the Department of Fish and Game.
The Department of Fish and Game may submit a review of the plan and
its recommendations to the board for inclusion in the plan.
(b) No mitigation plan is required when the board is responding to
an emergency where no mitigation is required.
(c) For any project authorized pursuant to Section 12668, the
agreement set forth in subdivision (a) shall provide for the
mitigation of the project with the objective of providing a net
long-term enhancement of the riparian habitat and fishery in the
project area. The degree of net enhancement required for each phase
or part of the project shall not be so great as to cause the project
to be infeasible.
8612. (a) On or before December 31, 2008, the department shall
prepare, and the board shall adopt, a schedule for mapping areas at
risk of flooding in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River
drainage.
(b) The department shall update the schedule annually and shall
present the updated schedule to the board for adoption on or before
December 31 of each year. The update shall include the status of
mapping in progress and an estimated time of completion. The schedule
shall be based on the present and expected future risk of flooding
and associated consequences.
8612. (a) On or before December 31, 2008, the department shall
prepare, and the board shall adopt, a schedule for mapping areas at
risk of flooding in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River
drainage.
(b) The department shall update the schedule annually and shall
present the updated schedule to the board for adoption on or before
December 31 of each year. The update shall include the status of
mapping in progress and an estimated time of completion. The schedule
shall be based on the present and expected future risk of flooding
and associated consequences.
8613. (a) The board or the department may establish a program of
mitigation banking for the activities of the board or the department
under this part and for the benefit of local districts in the
discharge of their flood control responsibilities under this part and
the State Water Resources Law of 1945 (Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 12570) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12639) of Part
6 of Division 6).
(b) For the purposes of carrying out subdivision (a), the board or
the department, in consultation with all appropriate state, local,
and federal agencies with jurisdiction over environmental protection
that are authorized to regulate and impose requirements upon the
flood control work performed under this part or the State Water
Resources Law of 1945 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 12570) and
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12639) of Part 6 of Division 6),
may establish a system of mitigation banking by which mitigation
credits may be acquired in advance for flood control work to be
performed by the board, the department, or a local agency authorized
to operate and maintain facilities of the State Plan of Flood
Control.
8613. (a) The board or the department may establish a program of
mitigation banking for the activities of the board or the department
under this part and for the benefit of local districts in the
discharge of their flood control responsibilities under this part and
the State Water Resources Law of 1945 (Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 12570) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12639) of Part
6 of Division 6).
(b) For the purposes of carrying out subdivision (a), the board or
the department, in consultation with all appropriate state, local,
and federal agencies with jurisdiction over environmental protection
that are authorized to regulate and impose requirements upon the
flood control work performed under this part or the State Water
Resources Law of 1945 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 12570) and
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12639) of Part 6 of Division 6),
may establish a system of mitigation banking by which mitigation
credits may be acquired in advance for flood control work to be
performed by the board, the department, or a local agency authorized
to operate and maintain facilities of the State Plan of Flood
Control.