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Article 10. Environmental Enhancement Fund of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 2. >> Chapter 7.4. >> Article 10.

The Environmental Enhancement Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. All penalties collected under Article 9 (commencing with Section 8670.57) shall be deposited into the Environmental Enhancement Fund, except as specified in Section 8670.64. The money in the fund shall only be used for environmental enhancement projects. The moneys shall not be used for the cleanup of an oil spill or the restoration required after an oil spill. The money is available for appropriation by the Legislature to the administrator for the purposes stated in this section.
(a) The administrator shall fund only those projects approved by the Environmental Enhancement Committee.
  (b) For purposes of this article, an enhancement project is a project that acquires habitat for preservation, or improves habitat quality and ecosystem function above baseline conditions, and that meets all of the following requirements:
  (1) Is located within or immediately adjacent to waters of the state, as defined in Section 8670.3.
  (2) Has measurable outcomes within a predetermined timeframe.
  (3) Is designed to acquire, restore, or improve habitat or restore ecosystem function, or both, to benefit fish and wildlife.
(a) The Environmental Enhancement Committee is hereby created. The committee shall consist of the following members:
  (1) The administrator.
  (2) A public member, to be appointed by the administrator, who shall be an officer or elected leader of a statewide nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is the protection and/or enhancement of natural resources.
  (3) The executive officer of the State Coastal Conservancy, or his or her designee.
  (b) The Environmental Enhancement Committee shall establish a process for the solicitation, submittal, review, and selection of environmental enhancement projects. Selection criteria shall be developed to ensure that projects meet the intent of this article.
(a) The Environmental Enhancement Grant Program is hereby established. Project proposals shall be solicited when adequate funds have accumulated in the Environmental Enhancement Fund to cover the cost of an appropriate project or projects.
  (b) Grants shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations, cities, counties, cities and counties, districts, state agencies, and departments; and, to the extent permitted by federal law, to federal agencies on a competitive basis using the selection process established by the Environmental Enhancement Committee. The selection criteria will be enumerated in all requests for proposals distributed to potential applicants. The administrator may grant funds for those projects that are selected by the Environmental Enhancement Committee and that meet the requirements of this article. State departments and agencies receiving grants under this section for environmental enhancement projects, shall, to the maximum extent feasible, utilize the services of the California Conservation Corps in accordance with Section 14315 of the Public Resources Code.
  (c) Grant recipients shall use the grant award to fund only the project described in the recipient's application.
  (d) Grant recipients shall not use the grant funds to shift money to or otherwise cover costs of an existing or proposed project or activity not included in the application.
  (e) Any grant funds allocated to a project that exceed the actual cost of completing the project as outlined in the recipient's application shall be returned to the Environmental Enhancement Fund, and shall not be used by the grant recipient for any other purpose.
  (f) If a member of the Environmental Enhancement Committee, or a member of his or her immediate family, is employed by a grant applicant, the employer of a grant applicant, or a consultant or independent contractor employed by the grant applicant, the committee member shall make that disclosure to the other members of the committee and shall not participate or make recommendations on the grant proposal of that applicant.
  (g) For habitat acquisition, the Environmental Enhancement Committee shall be subject to the same provisions as prescribed in Section 31116 of the Public Resources Code.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.