Bill Text: CA AB2053 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-25 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2053 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB2053-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 18, 2018 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 15, 2018 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 2053 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Caballero) (Coauthors: Senators Dodd, Hill, and Monning) |
February 06, 2018 |
An act to add Section 13182 to the Water Code, relating to water quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2053, as amended, Quirk.
Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program.
Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with regulatory authority over water quality.
This bill would require the state board to establish a Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program to protect water quality and public health from algal blooms. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with specified entities, among other things, to coordinate immediate and long-term algal bloom event incident response, as provided, and conduct and support algal bloom field assessment and ambient monitoring at the state, regional, watershed, and site-specific waterbody scales.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:(a) Cyanobacteria are small microbes that live in nearly every habitat on land and in the water. They have existed for millions of years as essential components of freshwater ecosystems and form the foundation of most aquatic food chains. However, when environmental conditions favor cyanobacteria growth, they can multiply very rapidly, creating nuisance blooms. When these nuisance blooms are dominated by toxin-producing cyanobacteria, they are referred to as harmful algal blooms. In recent years, harmful algal blooms are increasing in incidence, duration, and toxicity statewide
and, as a result, health impacts on humans, domestic animals, dogs and livestock in particular, and wildlife are increasing in prevalence.
(b) Increased prevalence of harmful algal blooms has been attributed to various anthropogenic factors, the most significant of which include degradation of watersheds, nutrient loading, hydrologic alteration, and impacts from climate change. Toxins from harmful algal blooms, both benthic and planktonic, can accumulate in recreational and drinking bodies of water and can be transported hundreds of miles from freshwater to estuarine and marine environments where they accumulate in marine shellfish.
SEC. 2.
Section 13182 is added to the Water Code, to read:13182.
To protect water quality and public health from harmful algal(a) Coordinate immediate and long-term event incident response, including notification to state and local decisionmakers and the public regarding where harmful algal blooms are
occurring, waters at risk of developing harmful algal blooms, and threats posed by harmful algal blooms.
(b) Conduct and support field assessment and ambient monitoring to evaluate harmful algal bloom extent, status, and trends at the state, regional, watershed, and site-specific waterbody scales.
(c) Determine the regions, watersheds, or waterbodies experiencing or at risk of experiencing harmful algal blooms to prioritize those regions, watersheds, or waterbodies for assessment, monitoring, remediation, and risk management.
(d) Conduct applied research and develop tools for decision-support.
(e) Provide outreach and education, and maintain a centralized
Internet Web site for information and data related to harmful algal blooms.
