Section 79732 Of Chapter 6. Protecting Rivers, Lakes, Streams, Coastal Waters, And Watersheds From California Water Code >> Division 26.7. >> Chapter 6.
79732
. (a) In protecting and restoring California rivers, lakes,
streams, and watersheds, the purposes of this chapter are to:
(1) Protect and increase the economic benefits arising from
healthy watersheds, fishery resources, and instream flow.
(2) Implement watershed adaptation projects in order to reduce the
impacts of climate change on California's communities and
ecosystems.
(3) Restore river parkways throughout the state, including, but
not limited to, projects pursuant to the California River Parkways
Act of 2004 (Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 5750) of Division 5
of the Public Resources Code), in the Urban Streams Restoration
Program established pursuant to Section 7048, and urban river
greenways.
(4) Protect and restore aquatic, wetland, and migratory bird
ecosystems, including fish and wildlife corridors and the acquisition
of water rights for instream flow.
(5) Fulfill the obligations of the State of California in
complying with the terms of multiparty settlement agreements related
to water resources.
(6) Remove barriers to fish passage.
(7) Collaborate with federal agencies in the protection of fish
native to California and wetlands in the central valley of
California.
(8) Implement fuel treatment projects to reduce wildfire risks,
protect watersheds tributary to water storage facilities, and promote
watershed health.
(9) Protect and restore rural and urban watershed health to
improve watershed storage capacity, forest health, protection of life
and property, stormwater resource management, and greenhouse gas
reduction.
(10) Protect and restore coastal watersheds, including, but not
limited to, bays, marine estuaries, and nearshore ecosystems.
(11) Reduce pollution or contamination of rivers, lakes, streams,
or coastal waters, prevent and remediate mercury contamination from
legacy mines, and protect or restore natural system functions that
contribute to water supply, water quality, or flood management.
(12) Assist in the recovery of endangered, threatened, or
migratory species by improving watershed health, instream flows, fish
passage, coastal or inland wetland restoration, or other means, such
as natural community conservation plan and habitat conservation plan
implementation.
(13) Assist in water-related agricultural sustainability projects.
(b) Funds provided by this chapter shall only be used for projects
that will provide fisheries or ecosystem benefits or improvements
that are greater than required applicable environmental mitigation
measures or compliance obligations.