Article 1. General Provisions of California Fish And Game Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 13. >> Article 1.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Salton Sea Restoration Act.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State of California undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the permanent protection of the wildlife dependent on that ecosystem.
  (b) This restoration shall be based on the preferred alternative developed as a result of the restoration study and alternative selection process described in Section 2081.7 and using the funds made available in accordance with that section to be deposited in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund and other funds made available by the Legislature and the federal government.
  (c) The preferred alternative shall provide the maximum feasible attainment of the following objectives:
  (1) Restoration of long-term stable aquatic and shoreline habitat for the historic levels and diversity of fish and wildlife that depend on the Salton Sea.
  (2) Elimination of air quality impacts from the restoration projects.
  (3) Protection of water quality.
  (d) For the purpose of the restoration plan, the Salton Sea ecosystem shall include, but is not limited to, the Salton Sea, the agricultural lands surrounding the Salton Sea, and the tributaries and drains within the Imperial and Coachella Valleys that deliver water to the Salton Sea.

There is hereby established the Salton Sea Restoration Fund which shall be administered by the director. Money deposited in the fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the following purposes:
  (a) Environmental and engineering studies related to the restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife dependent on the sea.
  (b) Implementation of conservation measures necessary to protect the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea, including adaptive management measurements pursuant to Section 2081.7. These conservation measures shall be limited to the Salton Sea and lower Colorado River ecosystems, including the Colorado River Delta.
  (c) Implementation of the preferred Salton Sea restoration alternative.
  (d) Administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related to the development and selection of the preferred Salton Sea restoration alternative.

Of the funds appropriated pursuant to Section 79565 of the Water Code, not less than eight million five hundred thousand dollars ($8,500,000) shall be made available for transfer or direct expenditure for acquisition, grants, or other activities that directly restore the Salton Sea and its transboundary watersheds, consistent with Section 2932.

Any moneys made available by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 75050 of the Public Resources Code and deposited in the Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, for a restoration project at the Salton Sea that is consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 2931. The activities and expenditures authorized by this section shall be limited to funding those activities identified in the Resources Agency report entitled "Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan," and dated May 2007, for completion in the first five years of implementation identified in the report as "Period I." The activities specified for completion in Period I include, but are not limited to, a demonstration project, early start habitat, and additional biological, inflow, sediment quality, water quality, and air quality investigations. For purposes of carrying out these activities and expending the funds made available, the Resources Agency shall act as the lead agency and work cooperatively with designated staff from the Department of Water Resources, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the department. The Resources Agency shall remain the lead agency for implementation, in partnership with one or more of its departments, unless and until legislation is enacted on or after January 1, 2009, establishing a new governance structure for restoration of the Salton Sea. This section is not legislative approval or denial of the preferred alternative identified in the Secretary of the Resources Agency's recommendations contained in the "Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Program Preferred Alternative Report and Funding Plan," dated May 2007 and submitted to the Legislature.

Moneys deposited in the fund created pursuant to Section 2932 shall not be expended for mitigation except for mitigation undertaken by the State of California.

The Department of Water Resources may contract with water suppliers to purchase and sell water made available pursuant to Section 1745.02 of the Water Code to achieve the goals of this chapter.