Wolk environmental protection bills move forward

Legislation approved to protect fish and wildlife, remove mercury, and control invasive mussels

SACRAMENTO–Four environmental protection bills by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) on issues ranging from monitoring and removal of toxic mercury in the Delta to the protection of Californian wildlife passed from policy committees this week and are now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“These bills are part of a package of environmental protection legislation I am carrying to resolve a multitude of threats facing the state, from the public health threat of mercury contamination, to a threat posed to our water system and environment by a highly invasive species,” said Wolk.

• Assembly Bill 909 creates a fund for monitoring and removal of mercury released by historic gold mining. The funding would include grants for mercury analysis and control studies in the Delta.
• AB 923 speeds the implementation of the California Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy developed and adopted by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to protect California's wildlife.
• AB 1683 provides the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) with the authority necessary to prevent the spread of the quagga mussels, a highly invasive species threatening California water delivery and natural ecosystems.
• AB 1032 would enable the DFG to close streams to dredging, a method of gold mining using power equipment to vacuum sediment, if closure is deemed necessary to protect fish and wildlife resources including native California aquatic species such as wild trout and yellow-legged frogs.

AB 909, which passed from the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxics Committee on a 7-0 vote Tuesday, would aid in the removal of methylated mercury, a water-soluble neurotoxin that rapidly enters the food chain.

“Mercury bioaccumulation in fish is a known public health threat for people who consume significant quantities of fish, particularly young children and women of child bearing age,” said Wolk. “This bill will help the state better understand the processes by which mercury enters the food chain and take action to reduce this threat."

The bill is supported by the Northern California Water Association, California Association of Sanitation Agencies, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Clean Water Action, Yolo County, and the Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District.

Other bills heard this week include Wolk’s AB 923 and AB 1683, both of which passed from the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee on a 13-0 vote.

Speaking in support of the AB 923 was Kim Delfino with Defenders of Wildlife, the bill’s sponsor.

“We believe the California Wildlife Action Plan is an important part of an upstream solution to managing wildlife so they don’t become threatened and endangered, and that AB 923 is an important bill that will help the state in their efforts,” Delfino said.

Wolk said the bill “should also help the state draw additional federal funding for state conservation programs in the future.”

Other groups in support of AB 923 include the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club California, The Nature Conservancy, The Ocean Conservancy, California Coastkeeper Alliance, California Council of Land Trusts, California Trout, California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Environment California, and the Humane Society of the United States.

Wolk’s AB 1683 would assist in what DFG officials has called the “Herculean effort” needed to prevent the spread of the quagga mussels, which have caused billions of dollars in damages in the Great Lakes, where they were first detected in the United States in the 1980s. They have since spread to at least 20 other states—including California, where they were detected early this year.

“Quagga mussels spread very quickly,” said Wolk. “They can clog intake pipes and other parts of California's water conveyance system, and are also a major threat to the ecological food web. My legislation enables the Department of Fish and Game, the bill’s sponsor, to take the swift response needed to prevent the spread of this invasive species.”