§ 5001. Definitions.
23 CA ADC § 5001Barclays Official California Code of RegulationsEffective: January 24, 2024
Effective: January 24, 2024
23 CCR § 5001
§ 5001. Definitions.
As used in this division, the terms listed below shall have the meanings noted:
(i) “Coequal goals” means the two goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. The coequal goals shall be achieved in a manner that protects and enhances the unique cultural, recreational, natural resource, and agricultural values of the Delta as an evolving place. In addition, “achievement” for the purpose of determining whether a plan, program, or project meets the definition of a “covered action” under section 5001(k) is further defined as follows:
(A) Better matching the state's demands for reasonable and beneficial uses of water to the available water supply. This will be done by promoting, improving, investing in, and implementing projects and programs that improve the resiliency of the state's water systems, increase water efficiency and conservation, increase water recycling and use of advanced water technologies, improve groundwater management, expand storage, and improve Delta conveyance and operations. The evaluation of progress toward improving reliability will take into account the inherent variability in water demands and supplies across California;
(B) Regions that use water from the Delta watershed will reduce their reliance on this water for reasonable and beneficial uses, and improve regional self-reliance, consistent with existing water rights and the State's area-of-origin statutes and Reasonable Use and Public Trust Doctrines. This will be done by improving, investing in, and implementing local and regional projects and programs that increase water conservation and efficiency, increase water recycling and use of advanced water technologies, expand storage, improve groundwater management, and enhance regional coordination of local and regional water supply development efforts; and
(C) Water exported from the Delta will more closely match water supplies available to be exported, based on water year type and consistent with the coequal goal of protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. This will be done by improving conveyance in the Delta and expanding groundwater and surface storage both north and south of the Delta to optimize diversions in wet years when more water is available and conflicts with the ecosystem are less likely, and limit diversions in dry years when conflicts with the ecosystem are more likely. Delta water that is stored in wet years will be available for water users during dry years, when the limited amount of available water must remain in the Delta, making water deliveries more predictable and reliable. In addition, these improvements will decrease the vulnerability of Delta water supplies to disruption by natural disasters, such as, earthquakes, floods, and levee failures.
(2) “Achieving the coequal goal of protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem” means successfully establishing a resilient, functioning estuary and surrounding terrestrial landscape capable of supporting viable populations of native resident and migratory species with diverse and biologically appropriate habitats, functional corridors, and ecosystem processes.
(3) “Achieving the coequal goals in a manner that protects and enhances the unique cultural, recreational, natural resource, and agricultural values of the Delta as an evolving place” means accepting that change, including change associated with achieving the coequal goals, will not cease, but that the fundamental characteristics and values that contribute to the Delta's special qualities and that distinguish it from other places can be preserved and enhanced while accommodating these changes. In this regard, the following are core strategies for protecting and enhancing the unique values that distinguish the Delta and make it a special region:
(j) “Commercial recreational visitor-serving uses” means a land use designation that describes visitor-serving uses, accommodations, restaurants, and shops, that respect the rural character and natural environmental setting. These uses also include campgrounds and commercial recreational facilities.
(3) A State or local public agency that proposes to carry out, approve, or fund a plan, program, or project that may be subject to this Chapter must determine whether that proposed plan, program, or project is a covered action. That determination, which is subject to judicial review, must be reasonable, made in good faith, and consistent with the Delta Reform Act and this Chapter.
(p) “Enhancement” or “enhancing,” for purposes of section 5001(i)(2), means improving existing desirable habitat and natural processes. Enhancement may include, by way of example, flooding the Yolo Bypass more often to support native species or to expand or better connect existing habitat areas. Enhancement includes many fish and wildlife management practices, such as managing wetlands for waterfowl production or shorebird habitat, installing fish screens to reduce entrainment of fish at water diversions, or removing barriers that block migration of fish to upstream spawning habitats.
(v) “Government-sponsored flood control program to reduce risks to people, property, and State interests in the Delta” means any State or federal strategy, project, approval, funding, or other effort that is intended to reduce the likelihood and/or consequences of flooding of real property and/or improvements, including risks to people, property, and State interests in the Delta, that is carried out pursuant to applicable law, including, but not limited to the following:
(x) “Levee improvement” means any activity that is not levee operation and maintenance, and that is intended to reduce the probability of flooding or the addition of a feature that did not previously exist. Examples of levee improvements include changing levee geometry to reach a higher level of protection, providing riprap where none previously existed, and other similar activities.
(y) “Levee operation and maintenance” means any activity to retain or maintain the intended functions of flood control facilities and of existing encroachments or needed to keep the system functioning properly. Examples of maintenance activities include mowing, tree and brush trimming and removal, revetment restoration, rodent control, spraying, painting, coating, patching, burning, and other similar activities but does not include any significant excavation or any excavation during flood season.
(z) “Nonnative invasive species,” for purposes of section 5009, means species that establish and reproduce rapidly outside of their native range and may threaten the diversity or abundance of native species through competition for resources, predation, parasitism, hybridization with native populations, introduction of pathogens, or physical or chemical alteration of the invaded habitat.
(aa) “Nonproject levee” means a local levee owned or maintained by a local agency or private owner that is not a project facility under the State Water Resources Law of 1945, Chapter 1 (commencing with Water Code section 12570) and Chapter 2 (commencing with section 12639 of Part 6 of the Water Code).
(ee) “Proposed action” means a plan, program, or project that meets the covered action screening criteria listed in section 5001(k)(1)(A) through (D). Proposed action is also a “covered action,” and therefore subject to compliance with the regulatory policies contained in Articles 2 and 3-if the proposed action meets the covered action screening criterion listed in section 5011(k)(1)(E).
(ff) “Protection” or “protecting,” for purposes of section 5001(i)(2), means preventing harm to the ecosystem, which could include preventing the conversion of existing habitat, the degradation of water quality, irretrievable conversion of lands suitable for restoration, or the spread of invasive nonnative species.
(jj) “Significant impact” for the purpose of determining whether a project meets the definition of a “covered action” under section 5001(k)(1)(D) means a substantial positive or negative impact on the achievement of one or both of the coequal goals or the implementation of a government-sponsored flood control program to reduce risks to people, property, and State interests in the Delta, that is directly or indirectly caused by a project on its own or when the project's incremental effect is considered together with the impacts of other closely related past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future projects. The following categories of projects will not have a significant impact for this purpose:
(4) Other projects exempted from CEQA, unless there are unusual circumstances indicating a reasonable possibility that the project will have a significant impact under Water Code section 85057.5(a)(4), as further defined by this section. Examples of unusual circumstances could arise in connection with, among other things:
(B) Small-scale habitat restoration projects, as referred to in CEQA Guidelines, section 15333 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, proposed in important restoration areas, but which are inconsistent with the Delta Plan's policy related to appropriate habitat restoration for a given land elevation (section 5006 of this Chapter).
(pp) “Water supplier” refers to both “urban water suppliers” and “agricultural water suppliers,” but for purposes of section 5003, does not include agricultural water suppliers during the time that they may be exempted by section 10853 of the Water Code from the requirements of Parts 2.55 and 2.8 of Division 6 of the Water Code.
Credits
Note: Authority cited: Sections 85210, 85225.30 and 85306, Water Code. Reference: Sections 10608.12, 10853, 85020, 85052, 85054, 85057.5, 85058, 85059, 85066, 85300, 85302 and 85308, Water Code.
History
1. New chapter 2 (articles 1-4, sections 5001-5016 and appendices 1A-8), article 1 (section 5001) and section filed 8-7-2013; operative 9-1-2013 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2013, No. 32).
2. Amendment of subsection (dd)(3) filed 11-22-2016; operative 1-1-2017 (Register 2016, No. 48).
3. New subsections (v)-(x), (bb) and (jj), subsection relettering and amendment of Note filed 9-21-2023; operative 1-1-2024 (Register 2023, No. 38).
4. New subsection (h), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (i) and (p), new subsection (cc), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (ee), (ff), (hh) and (jj) and amendment of Note filed 1-24-2024; operative 1-24-2024 pursuant to Water Code section 85225.30. Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11343.8 (Register 2024, No. 4).
This database is current through 5/3/24 Register 2024, No. 18.
Cal. Admin. Code tit. 23, § 5001, 23 CA ADC § 5001
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