SACRAMENTO – Senate Bill 810 (Burton), was approved by the State Assembly today with the support of North Coast Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka).

The bill, which was authored by Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton, gives the Regional Water Quality Control Board the authority to alter logging plans in a sediment-impaired watershed if there is substantial evidence that it would violate water quality standards.

The bill codifies current practices and does not explicitly require a regional board to participate in the timber approval process to any greater extent than it does now. Currently, regional water boards forward comments regarding Timber Harvest Plans to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) which are not always included before approval.

Over the past decade, the Little Hoover Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Service, the University of California Committee on Cumulative Watershed Effects, the Department of Fish and Game, and an ad hoc scientific review panel convened by the Resources Agency during the Wilson Administration have each noted deficiencies in the forest practice rules in protecting water quality and aquatic species. Proponents note that more than 90% of California's North Coast watercourses are listed by the U.S. EPA as impaired because of sediment deposits that degrade water quality.

“SB 810 will go a long way in protecting our rivers and streams,” Berg said. “The environment is our most precious resource and we must do what we can to stop further harm to our watersheds.”

SB 810 is now awaiting final approval in the State Senate.