BILL NUMBER: AB 300	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 7, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 5, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Alejo
   (  Coauthor:   Assembly Member 
 Mark Stone   Coauthors:   Assembly
Members   Dodd   and Mark Stone  )
   (Coauthor: Senator Monning)

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2015

   An act to add Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 31420) to
Division 21 of  , and to repeal Section 31422 and 31423 of, 
the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal wildlife protection.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 300, as amended, Alejo. Safe Water and Wildlife Protection Act
of 2015.
   Existing law establishes the State Coastal Conservancy and
prescribes the membership and functions and duties of the conservancy
with respect to preservation of coastal resources in the state.
   This bill would enact the Safe Water and Wildlife Protection Act
of 2015, which would require the State Water Resources Control Board
to establish and coordinate the Algal Bloom Task Force, comprised of
specified representatives of state agencies, including the
conservancy, in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, and would prescribe the composition and functions and
duties of the task force. The bill would require the task force to
review the risks and negative impacts of toxic algal blooms and
microcystin pollution and to submit a summary of its findings and
recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of
the Legislature, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, and
the secretary  by   on or before  January
1, 2017. The act would authorize the conservancy, the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, the Wildlife Conservation Board, and the State
Water Resources Control Board to enter into contracts and provide
 grants   grants, upon appropriation, from the
State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account,  from
specified bond funds available under the Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of  2014   2014,
or from other appropriate funds  for applied research, projects,
and programs, recommended by the task force, aimed at preventing or
sustainably mitigating toxic blooms of cyanotoxins and microcystin
pollution in the waters of the state.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Toxic blooms of cyanobacteria in the waters of the state,
including, but not limited to, coastal lakes, estuaries, rivers and
streams, wetlands, and inland lakes and reservoirs, represent a
threat to water supplies, human health, endangered wildlife, and
recreational activities.
   (b) Cyanobacteria are widespread bacteria that are capable of
forming toxic blooms and super-blooms in the waters of the state.
   (c) Degradation of watersheds, nutrient loading, increased water
diversions, and climate change have been linked to the global
expansion of cyanobacterial blooms, with high toxin production noted
regularly in lakes, rivers, and other waters of the state.
   (d) The state's waters are especially prone to toxic
cyanobacterial blooms due to our warm climate, numerous water
diversions, and stressed waterways.
   (e) Cyanobacteria produce potent  hepatoxins 
 hepatotoxins  and neurotoxins, collectively referred to as
cyanotoxins. Microcystins are the most commonly found cyanotoxin in
the state's impacted waters. Other cyanotoxins, such as the
neurotoxins anatoxin-a and saxitoxin, are also present in California'
s waters, but, at present, little is known about them.
   (f) Cyanotoxins are poisonous to humans, pets, livestock, birds,
and other wildlife via ingestion, inhalation, or skin exposure. A
single dose of microcystin can cause prolonged toxicity by cycling
repeatedly between the liver and intestines.
   (g) Blooms of microcystins and other toxic cyanobacteria are
occurring in waters throughout California, and are threatening our
water supply and health. Areas with recurrent and worsening
cyanotoxin pollution include the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers, the
Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers (from the Sacramento Delta to San
Francisco Bay), and Clear Lake. Pinto Lake, Copco Lake, Iron Gate
Reservoir, and three segments of the Klamath River have been listed
as impaired due to cyanobacteria. Bird deaths attributed to
microcystins have also been reported from the Salton Sea.
   (h) The Pinto Lake watershed is being evaluated for total maximum
daily load (TMDL) regulation for microcystin, and was considered for
remediation as an Environmental Protection Agency "superfund" site.
   (i) California's southern sea otters, a state and federally listed
threatened species, have died from microcystin poisoning. The source
of sea otter exposure appears to be microcystin-contaminated
freshwater runoff and possibly contaminated prey species.
   (j) Sea otters and humans eat some of the same marine foods that
can concentrate microcystin in body tissues; hence, food safety is a
public health concern. Freshwater and marine fish and shellfish have
not been routinely tested for cyanotoxins in California and limited
diagnostic testing is available.
   (k) The state needs a coordinated multiagency effort to develop
actions and projects that will prevent or mitigate toxic blooms and
associated cyanotoxin pollution.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 31420) is added to
Division 21 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 10.  SAFE WATER AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT OF 2015


   31420.  This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Safe
Water and Wildlife Protection Act of 2015.
   31421.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a)  "Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
    (b)  "Task Force" means the Algal Bloom Task Force created
pursuant to Section 31422.
   (c) "Waters of the state" means any surface waters in the state,
including, but not limited to, coastal lakes, lagoons and estuaries,
rivers, streams, inland lakes and reservoirs, and wetlands.
   31422.   (a)    The board shall establish and
coordinate the Algal Bloom Task Force, comprised of a representative
of each of the State Department of Public Health, the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the
conservancy, and other relevant agency representatives, to be
determined by the chairperson of the board, in consultation with the
Secretary for Environmental Protection. The board may augment an
existing  taskforce   task force  or
network to accomplish the requirements of this chapter. 
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date. 
   31423.  The functions and duties of the task force include all of
the following:
   (a) Assess and prioritize the actions and research necessary to
develop measures that prevent or sustainably mitigate toxic algal
blooms in the waters of the state. The assessment shall consider the
linked impacts of toxic algal blooms and cyanotoxins on human and
animal health, as well as in the context of ecosystem health and
water quality.
   (b) Solicit and review proposals from universities, local
governments, California Native American tribes, and nonprofit
organizations for applied research, projects, and programs that
accomplish both of the following:
   (1) Contribute to development of strategies or implementation of
activities that prevent or sustainably mitigate toxic blooms of
cyanotoxins and microcystin pollution in the waters of the state.
   (2) Establish cyanotoxin monitoring programs or develop laboratory
capacity for analyzing water samples for cyanotoxin pollution.
   (c) Provide funding recommendations to the chairperson of the
board and to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Wildlife
Conservation Board, the conservancy, other members of the task force,
and other relevant agency representatives for those proposals for
applied research, projects, and programs, described in subdivision
(b), that the task force determines will contribute to the
development of prevention strategies and sustainable mitigation
actions to address toxic blooms of cyanotoxins and microcystin
pollution in waters of the state.
   (d) Review the risks and negative impacts of toxic algal blooms
and microcystin pollution on humans, wildlife, fisheries, livestock,
pets, and aquatic ecosystems, and develop recommendations for
prevention and long-term mitigation. The task force shall submit a
summary of its findings based on the review, including its
recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of
the Legislature, the Secretary for Environmental Protection, and the
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency on or before January 1,
2017. The recommendations shall provide guidance on what type of
programs or state resources will be required to prevent damaging
toxic algal blooms and microcystin pollution in the waters of the
state over time.
   (e) Organize meetings and workshops of experts and stakeholders as
needed to implement this section. 
   (f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date. 
   31424.  The conservancy, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the
Wildlife Conservation Board, and the board, or any of them, may enter
into contracts and provide  grants   grants,
upon appropriation, from   the State Water Pollution Cleanup
and Abatement Account,  from funds available pursuant to
Section 79730 of the Water  Code   Code, or
  from   other appropriate funds accessible by any
of these departments and agencies,  for applied research,
projects, and programs recommended by the task force pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 31423.