Special Flood Control Project Program
12310. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(b) ``Project'' means the flood control improvement constructed or interests in land acquired pursuant to this chapter.
(c) ``Department'' means the Department of Water Resources.
(d) ``Delta'' means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as described in Section 12220.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12311. (a) The department shall develop and implement a program of flood control projects on Bethel, Bradford, Holland, Hotchkiss, Jersey, Sherman, Twitchell, and Webb Islands in the delta and for the Towns of Thornton and Walnut Grove. This program shall have, as its primary purpose, the protection of discrete and identifiable public benefits, including the protection of public highways and roads, utility lines and conduits, and other public facilities, and the protection of urbanized areas, water quality, recreation, and other public benefits.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall develop and recommend a plan of action, including alternatives, for flood control for the Towns of Thornton and Walnut Grove and shall submit the plan to the Legislature by January 1, 1989. The department shall not allocate any funds for implementation of the plan of action for flood control for the Towns of Thornton and Walnut Grove until a plan is approved by the Legislature.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12312. The department may expend any moneys available to it pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 12300 for the purposes of this chapter. In addition, the department shall seek a sharing of costs with the beneficiaries or owners or operators of the public facilities benefited by the flood protection projects. The department shall also seek cost sharing with, or financial assistance from, federal agencies which have programs applicable to, or which have an interest in, the flood protection projects.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12313. (a) The department shall develop a list of areas where flood control work is needed to protect public facilities or provide public benefits. In developing the list, the department shall consult with all appropriate federal, state, and local agencies. The list shall establish a priority for the areas based upon both of the following:
(1) The importance or degree of public benefit needing protection.
(2) The need for flood protective work.
(b) The list shall be submitted to the California Water Commission for approval, and shall be updated by the department, with the approval of the California Water Commission, as the department may deem appropriate.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12314. Guided by the approved priority list developed pursuant to Section 12313, the department shall develop project plans to accomplish the needed flood protection work, in cooperation with the local public agency, the public beneficiary, and the Department of Fish and Game.
The plans shall be subject to the approval of the appropriate local public agency or agencies and subject to any cost-sharing agreement the department may have entered into under Section 12312. Project plans may include, or be a combination of, the improvement, rehabilitation, or modification of existing levees and the conveyance of interests in land to limit or to modify land management practices which have a negative impact on flood control facilities.
Project plans shall include provision for the protection of fish and wildlife habitat determined to be necessary by the Department of Fish and Game and not injurious to the integrity of flood control works. The Department of Fish and Game shall consider the value of the riparian and fisheries habitat and the need to provide greater flood protection in preparing its requirements, and shall not approve any plan which calls for the use of channel islands or berms with significant riparian communities as borrow sites for levee repair materials, unless fully mitigated, or any plans which will result in a net long-term loss of riparian, fisheries, or wildlife habitat.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12315. Projects shall be undertaken and completed in accordance with the approved project plans. Project works may be undertaken by the department or, at the department's option, by the local public agency pursuant to an agreement with the department.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12316. In addition to any obligations assumed under an agreement with the department and to the extent consistent with that agreement, the local public agency shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide construction access to lands or rights-of-way which it owns or maintains for flood control purposes or for purposes with which the project's required uses are compatible and necessary to complete the project.
(b) Maintain the completed project.
(c) Apply for federal disaster assistance, whenever eligible, under Public Law 93-288.
(d) Hold and save the department, any other agency or department of the state, and their employees free from any and all liability for damages, except that caused by gross negligence, that may arise out of the construction, operation, or maintenance of the project.
(e) Acquire easements up to 400 feet in width from the crown along levees in areas where the department determines that such an easement is desirable to maintain structural stability of the levee. The easement shall (1) restrict the use of the land to open-space uses with minimum tillage of the soil, including, without limitation, nontillable crops such as pasture, the propagation of wildlife habitat, and other compatible uses, (2) provide full access to the local agency for levee maintenance and improvement purposes, and (3) allow the owner to retain reasonable rights of ingress and egress as well as reasonable rights of access to the waterways for water supply and drainage. The local public agency costs of acquisition of the easements shall be reimbursable by the department from moneys appropriated pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 12300.
(f) Comply with all mitigation requirements required pursuant to this chapter.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 3. Effective March 14, 1988.)
Delta Levee Maintenance Subventions Program
In 1973, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 541 (also known as the Way Bill, Chapter 717, Statutes of 1973), which provides State financial assistance to Delta agencies for maintaining and improving nonproject Delta levees for flood protection of Delta islands.
12980. As used in this part:
(a) ``Board'' means the Reclamation Board.
(b) ``Delta'' means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as described in Section 12220.
(c) ``Local agency'' means any city, county, district, or other political subdivision of the state which is authorized to maintain levees.
(d) ``Nonproject levee'' means a levee in the delta which is not a project facility under the State Water Resources Law of 1945.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12981. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the delta is endowed with many invaluable and unique resources and that these resources are of major statewide significance. The Legislature further finds and declares that the delta's uniqueness is particularly characterized by its hundreds of miles of meandering waterways and the many islands adjacent thereto; that, in order to preserve the delta's invaluable resources, which include highly productive agriculture, recreational assets, fisheries, and wildlife environment, the physical characteristics of the delta should be preserved essentially in their present form; and that the key to preserving the delta's physical characteristics is the system of levees defining the waterways and producing the adjacent islands. However, the Legislature recognizes that it may not be economically justifiable to maintain all delta islands.
(Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1271, Sec. 3.)
12982. The Legislature further finds and declares that while most of the delta's levees are privately owned and maintained they are being subjected to varied multiple uses and serve to benefit many varied segments and interests of the public at large, and that as a result of the varied multiple uses of such levees, added maintenance costs are being borne by adjacent landowners.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12983. The Legislature further finds and declares that there is an urgent need for a higher degree of levee maintenance and rehabilitation generally throughout the delta and that the state has an interest in providing technical and financial assistance for delta levee maintenance and rehabilitation.
The Legislature also finds and declares that, because of the instability of delta soils, the effect of winds, tides, and floodflows, and the unique problems of erosion, seepage, and subsidence, the same security against levee failure and flooding cannot be achieved by protective works in the delta as in areas less vulnerable to these problems. Although the rehabilitation and maintenance of delta levees is an important undertaking, a significant risk of levee failure will still persist.
The purpose of the state's approval of plans and inspection of works, which duties are set forth in this part, is to ensure that subvention funds are properly expended and that delta levees are effectively rehabilitated and maintained, and the state does not thereby assume any responsibility for the safety of any delta levee against failure.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 824, Sec. 1. Effective September 15, 1986.)
12984. The department shall develop and submit to the board, for adoption by the board, criteria for the maintenance and improvement of nonproject levees. The criteria shall vary as required to meet specific conditions and shall be multipurpose in nature, and include environmental considerations, when feasible. The criteria shall embody and implement the short-term mitigation plan set forth in the ``Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,'' prepared by the department for the Office of Emergency Services, dated September 15, 1983, and as it may be subsequently amended.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 824, Sec. 2. Effective September 15, 1986.)
12985. Prior to adoption of any such criteria, the board shall hold public hearings and may revise the criteria as it determines necessary.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12986. (a) It is the intention of the Legislature to reimburse an eligible local agency pursuant to this part for costs incurred in any year for the maintenance or improvement of nonproject levees as follows:
(1) No costs incurred shall be reimbursed if the entire cost incurred per mile of nonproject levee is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less.
(2) Seventy-five percent of any costs incurred in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per mile of nonproject levee shall be reimbursed.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 1999, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 1999, deletes or extends that date.
(Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 5. Effective March 14, 1988. Repealed as of January 1, 1999, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 6.)
12986. (a) It is the intention of the Legislature to reimburse from the General Fund an eligible local agency pursuant to this part for costs incurred in any year for the maintenance or improvement of nonproject levees as follows:
(1) No costs incurred shall be reimbursed if the entire cost incurred per mile of levee is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less.
(2) Fifty percent of any costs incurred in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per mile of levee shall be reimbursed.
(3) The maximum total reimbursement from the General Fund shall not exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000) annually.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1999.
(Repealed (by Sec. 5) and added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 6. Effective March 14, 1988. Operative January 1, 1999, by its own provisions.)
12987. Local agencies maintaining nonproject levees shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this part upon submission to and approval by the board of plans for the maintenance and improvement of the nonproject levees, including plans for the annual routine maintenance of the levees, in accordance with the criteria adopted by the board.
The plans shall also be compatible with the plan for improvement of the delta levees as set forth in Bulletin No. 192-82 of the department, dated December 1982, and as approved in Section 12225, and shall include provisions to acquire easements up to 400 feet in width from the crown along levees in areas where the department determines that such an easement is desirable to maintain structural stability of the levee. The easement shall (1) restrict the use of the land to open-space uses with minimum tillage of the soil, including, without limitation, nontillable crops such as pasture, the propagation of wildlife habitat, and other compatible uses, (2) provide full access to the local agency for levee maintenance and improvement purposes, and (3) allow the owner to retain reasonable rights of ingress and egress as well as reasonable rights of access to the waterways for water supply and drainage. The local agency cost of acquisition of the easements shall be reimbursable by the department from moneys appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 12300. The plans shall also include provision for protection of the fish and wildlife habitat determined to be necessary by the Department of Fish and Game and not injurious to the integrity of the levee. The Department of Fish and Game shall consider the value of the riparian and fisheries habitat and the need to provide safe levees in preparing its requirements. The Department of Fish and Game shall not approve any plan which calls for the use of channel islands or berms with significant riparian communities as borrow sites for levee repair material, unless fully mitigated, or any plans which will result in a net long-term loss of riparian, fisheries, or wildlife habitat.
The plans shall also take into account the most recently updated Delta Master Recreation Plan prepared by the Resources Agency.
Upon approval of the plans by the board, the local agencies shall enter into an agreement with the board to perform the maintenance and improvement work, including the annual routine maintenance work, specified in the plans. If applications for state funding in any year exceed the state funds available, the board shall apportion the funds among those levees or levee segments that are identified by the department as most critical and beneficial, considering the needs of flood control, water quality, recreation, and wildlife.
(Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 7. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12987.5. (a) In an agreement entered into under Section 12987, the board may provide for an advance to the applicant in an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the estimated state share. The agreement shall provide that no advance shall be made until the applicant has incurred costs averaging one thousand dollars ($1,000) per mile of levee.
(b) Advances made under subdivision (a) shall be subtracted from amounts to be reimbursed after the work has been performed. If the department finds that work has not been satisfactorily performed or where advances made actually exceed reimbursable costs, the local agency shall promptly remit to the state all amounts advanced in excess of reimbursable costs. If advances are sought, the board may require a bond to be posted to ensure the faithful performance of the work set forth in the agreement.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 1999, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 1999, deletes or extends that date.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 8. Effective March 14, 1988. Repealed as of January 1, 1999, by its own provisions.)
12988. Upon the completion in any year of the maintenance or improvement work, including annual routine maintenance work, as specified in the plans approved by the board, the local agency shall notify the department, and the department shall inspect the completed work. The department, upon completion of such inspection, shall submit to the board a report as to its findings. Upon a finding that the work has been satisfactorily completed in accordance with the approved plans, the board shall certify for reimbursement any costs incurred in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) per mile of levee, if the entire cost incurred per mile of levee is not in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), and shall certify for reimbursement 50 percent of any costs incurred per mile of levee if the entire cost incurred per mile of levee is greater than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12989. The department shall conduct at least one annual inspection of every levee for which maintenance or improvement costs have been reimbursed pursuant to this part. In addition, the department shall inspect nonproject levees of local agencies for the purpose of monitoring and ascertaining the degree of compliance with, or progress toward meeting, the standards in the Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan, as set forth in Section 12984.
The local agency shall cooperate with the department in the conduct of these inspections, including the provision of reasonable access over local agency lands and easements.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 824, Sec. 3. Effective September 15, 1986.)
12990. Whenever the department finds that the annual routine maintenance work specified in the plans approved by the board is not being performed in accordance with the agreement entered into between the local agency and the board, the department may establish a maintenance area in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 12878) of Part 6 of this division, as nearly as the same may be applicable, except that the work to be performed shall be the routine annual maintenance work for the nonproject levee as specified in the plans approved by the board. Upon the formation of a maintenance area, the department shall thereafter annually maintain the nonproject levee in accordance with such plans and subject to the provisions of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 12878) of Part 6 of this division, as nearly as the same may be applicable.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12991. The board is authorized to make, from time to time, such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out, and as are consistent with, this part.
(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 717.)
12992. Before any plan is approved, agreement entered into, or moneys advanced or reimbursed under this part, the local agency shall first enter into an agreement with the board indemnifying and holding and saving the State of California, the board, the department, any other agency or department of the state, and their employees free from any and all liability for damages, except that caused by gross negligence, that may arise out of the approvals, agreements, inspections, or work performed under this part.
Any funds appropriated for any of the purposes of this part may be used to satisfy any judgment against the state covered by this section, pending indemnification by the local agency.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 9. Effective March 14, 1988.)
12993. Applicants shall apply for federal disaster assistance, whenever eligible, under Public Law 93-288. If, and to the extent that, it is determined that the work performed does not qualify for federal disaster assistance, the applicant may apply for reimbursement under Section 12986, and the costs shall be deemed incurred by the applicant in the year in which the latter application is filed.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 28, Sec. 10. Effective March 14, 1988.)
(a) ``Local public agency'' means a reclamation district or levee district or other public agency responsible for the maintenance of a nonproject levee as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 12980.
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