Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Watershed, Clean Beaches, and Water Quality Act.
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
California Public Resources Code — §§ 30901-30909
Sections (9)
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
The purpose of this division is to establish a statutory framework for funding water quality, clean beaches, and watershed protection projects from the proceeds derived from the issuance and sale of bonds and other revenue sources, and to specify how the Resources Agency and its constituent departments and boards, including the State Coastal Conservancy, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, and that agency’s constituent departments, including the State Water Resources Control Board, will coordinate and integrate programs to fund projects.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Clean beaches, clean water, and healthy watersheds are necessary to support both human communities and the state’s native fish and wildlife, and are part of the legacy of California. Each generation has an obligation to be good stewards of those resources in order to pass them on to their children.
(b)California’s 1,100-mile coastline is world-renowned. Coastal-related businesses provide seventeen billion dollars ($17,000,000,000) annually to the state’s economy and depend on the restoration and health maintenance of beaches.
(c)Clean water is essential to the state’s communities and economy.
(d)Watershed management is a valuable approach to meeting comprehensive resource management and water quality objectives. Watersheds provide a useful, natural unit to integrate and coordinate the many natural resource functions of state agencies.
(e)Multiple state entities within the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency are currently administering programs that provide technical assistance or financial support for various aspects of watershed management or restoration. Hundreds of watershed partnerships exist in the state, dedicated to the restoration and management of the state’s streams, rivers, and lands, and the use of watershed management principles and practices. Coordinated watershed management implementation is crucial to addressing critical problems and the efficient use of public funds. The California Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency are developing a strategic plan for fully integrated watershed investments.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the purpose of maintaining clean beaches, clean water, and an integrated and coordinated watershed program is to protect beaches, coastal waters, rivers, lakes, and streams from contaminants, pollution, and other environmental threats.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in projects that will reduce beach contamination and increase visitor days, including, but not limited to, developing the comprehensive capability to monitor and analyze water quality and pollutant transport in coastal waters. This will be demonstrated by measurable improvements in water quality on and near the state’s beaches.
Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 714, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2005.
It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in clean water projects that will do all of the following:
(a)Assist small local communities in meeting water pollution control requirements.
(b)Improve agricultural water quality and reduce pollutants in agricultural drainage water.
(c)Implement urban stormwater treatment programs and reduce nonpoint sources of pollution.
(d)Provide comprehensive capability to monitor and analyze water quality in groundwater basins throughout the state.
(e)Improve water quality in coastal and marine waters, particularly those waters that affect marine protected areas and marine managed areas.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
It is the intent of the Legislature to require state agencies to encourage and support both of the following:
(a)The development of coordinated and complementary strategies and solutions for watershed management across land ownership and agency jurisdictional boundaries.
(b)Coordinated program delivery from state and federal agencies to fit the needs of individual watersheds.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the state should coordinate and integrate its watershed programs and implement those programs by working with diverse interests at the local level. The state’s watershed management goals should include, but need not be limited to, maintaining and restoring healthy watersheds that support thriving communities, provide clean water, and sustain natural habitats for future generations.
Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 727, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.
It is the intent of the Legislature to invest in watershed management partnerships that use a community-based collaborative approach to meeting the state’s watershed management goals. Allocation of funding should be balanced among large and small watersheds, coastal and inland watersheds, and effluent reduction and source protection, and should be geographically balanced. Priority should be given to projects and programs that implement programs that have multiple benefits.