SOPR0321051012400

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

PROCLAMATION

OF

A

STATE

OF

EMERGENCY

WHEREAS

climate

change

is

intensifying

the

impacts

of

droughts

on

our

communities, environment,

and

economy,

and

California

is

in

a

second

consecutive

year

of

dry conditions, resulting in

drought

or near-drought

throughout

many

portions

of

the

State;

and

WHEREAS

recent

warm

temperatures

and

extremely dry

soils

have

further

depleted

the

expected

runoff

water

from

the

Sierra-Cascade

snowpack,

resulting

in

a historic

and

unanticipated

estimated

reduction

of

500,000

acre

feet

of

water

-

or

the

equivalent

of

supplying

water

for

up

to

one

million

households for

one

year

- from reservoirs

and

stream systems, especially

in

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake Watersheds;

and

WHEREAS

the

extreme

drought

conditions through

much

of

the

State

present urgent challenges, including

the

risk

of

water

shortages

in

communities,

greatly increased wildfire activity, diminished

water

for agricultural

production,

degraded

habitat

for

many

fish

and

wildlife species,

threat

of

saltwater

contamination

of

large fresh

water

supplies

conveyed

through

the

Sacramento-

San

Joaquin Delta,

and

additional

water

scarcity if

drought

conditions

continue

into next year;

and

WHEREAS

Californians

have

saved

water

through conservation efforts, with

urban

water

use

approximately

16%

below

where

it was

at

the

start

of

the

last

drought

years,

and

I

encourage

all Californians

to

undertake

actions

to

further

eliminate wasteful

water

practices

and

conserve water;

and

WHEREAS

on April

21,

2021, I issued a

proclamation

directing state

agencies

to

take

immediate

action

to

bolster

drought

resilience

and

prepare

for

impacts

on communities, businesses,

and

ecosystems,

and

proclaiming a State

of

Emergency

to

exist in

Mendocino

and

Sonoma counties

due

to

severe

drought

conditions in

the

Russian

River Watershed;

and

WHEREAS

additional

expedited

actions are

now

needed

in

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake Watersheds;

and

WHEREAS

it

is

necessary

to

expeditiously

mitigate

the

effects

of

the

drought

conditions within

the

Klamath River Watershed Counties (Del Norte,

Humboldt,

Modoc,

Siskiyou,

and

Trinity counties),

the

Sacramento-San Joaquin

Delta Watershed Counties

(Alameda,

Alpine,

Amador,

Butte, Calaveras, Colusa,

Contra Costa,

El

Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Lassen,

Madera,

Mariposa,

Merced,

Modoc,

Napa,

Nevada,

Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San

Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity,

Tuolumne, Yolo,

and

Yuba counties),

and

the

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties

(Fresno, Kern,

Kings,

and

Tulare counties)

to

ensure

the

protection

of

health,

safety,

and

the

environment;

and

WHEREAS

under

Government

Code

Section 8558(b), I find

that

the

conditions

caused

by

the

drought

conditions,

by

reason

of

their

magnitude,

are

or are likely

to

be

beyond

the

control

of

the

services, personnel,

equipment,

and

facilities

of

any

single

local

government

and

require

the

combined

forces

of

a

mutual

aid

region or regions

to

appropriately

respond;

and

WHEREAS

under

Government

Code

Section 8625(c), I find

that

local

authority

is

inadequate

to

cope

with

the

drought

conditions;

and

WHEREAS

to

protect

public

health

and

safety, it

is

critical

the

State

take

certain

immediate

actions

without

undue

delay

to

prepare

for

and

mitigate

the

effects of,

the

drought

conditions statewide,

and

under

Government

Code

Section 8571, I find

that

strict

compliance

with various statutes

and

regulations

specified in

this

proclamation

would

prevent, hinder, or

delay

the

mitigation

of

the

effects

of

the

drought

conditions

in

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San

Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties.

NOW

THEREFORE,

I,

GAVIN

NEWSOM,

Governor

of

the

State

of

California,

in

accordance

with

the

authority vested in

me

by

the

State Constitution

and

statutes, including the California Emerg~ncy Services Act,

and

in

particular,

Section 8625,

HEREBY

PROCLAIM

A

STATE

OF

EMERGENCY

to

exist

in

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties

due

to

drought.

IT

IS

HEREBY

ORDERED

THAT:

l.

The

orders

and

provisions

contained

in

my

April

21,

2021

Proclamation

remain

in

full

force

and

effect,

except

as

modified. State

agencies

shall

continue

to

implement

all directions from

that

proclamation

and

accelerate

implementation

where

feasible.

2.

To

ensure

that

equipment

and

services necessary for

drought

response

can

be

procured

quickly,

the

provisions

of

the

Government

Code

and

the

Public

Contract

Code

applicable

to

procurement,

state contracts,

and

fleet assets, including,

but

not

limited to, advertising

and

competitive

bidding

requirements, are

hereby

suspended

to

the

extent

necessary

to

address

the

effects

of

the

drought

in

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties.

Approval

of

the

Department

of

Finance

is

required prior

to

the

execution

of

any

contract

entered

into pursuant

to

this provision.

3.

To

support voluntary

approaches

where

hydrology

and

other

conditions allow,

the

Department

of

Water Resources

and

the

State

Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) shall expeditiously

consider requests

to

move

water,

where

appropriate,

to

areas

of

need,

including requests involving voluntary

water

transfers,

forbearance

agreements,

water

exchanges, or

other

means. Specifically,

the

Department

of

Water Resources

and

Water Board shall prioritize

transfers

that

retain a

higher

percentage

of

water

in upstream

reservoirs

on

the

Sacramento, Feather,

and

American

Rivers

for release

later

in

the

year. If necessary,

the

Department

of

Water

Resources shall

request

that

the

Water Board consider

changes

to

water

rights permits

to

enable

such voluntary movements

of

water.

For

actions

taken

in

the

Klamath River

and

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed Counties

pursuant

to

this

paragraph,

the

following requirements

of

the

Water

Code

are suspended:

a. Section

l 726(d) requirements for written

notice

and

newspaper

publication,

provided

that

the

Water

Board shall post

notice

on

its

website

and

provide

notice

through

electronic

subscription ·

services

where

interested persons

can

request information

about

temporary

changes;

and

b. Section 1726(f) requirement

of

a 30-day

comment

period,

provided

that

the

Water Board shall

afford

a 15-day

comment

period.

4.

To

ensure

adequate,

minimal

water

supplies for purposes

of

health,

safety,

and

the

environment,

the

Water

Board shall consider modifying

requirements for reservoir releases or diversion

limitations-including

where

existing requirements

were

established

to

implement

a

water

quality control

plan-to

conserve

water

upstream later

in

the

year

in

order

to

protect

cold

water

pools for salmon

and

steelhead,

improve

water

quality,

protect

carry

over

storage, or ensure minimum health

and

safety

water

supplies.

The

Water Board shall require monitoring

and

evaluation

of

any

such

changes

to

inform future actions.

For

actions taken

in

the

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed

Counties pursuant

to

this

paragraph,

Water

Code

Section

13247

is

suspended.

5.

To

ensure

protection

of

water

needed

for health, safety,

and

the

environment

in

the

Klamath River

and

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Watershed Counties,

the

Water Board shall consider

emergency

regulations

to

curtail

water

diversions

when

water

is

not

available

at

water

right holders' priority

of

right or

to

protect

releases

of

stored

water.

The

Department

of

Water Resources shall

provide

technical

assistance

to

the

Water

Board

that

may

be

needed

to

develop

appropriate

water

accounting

for these purposes in

the

Sacramento-

San

Joaquin Delta Watershed.

6.

To

ensure critical instream flows for species

protection

in

the

Klamath

River

and

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watersheds,

the

Water

Board

and

Department

of

Fish

and

Wildlife shall

evaluate

the

minimum

instream flows

and

other

actions

needed

to

protect

salmon, steelhead,

and

other

native

fishes

in

critical streams systems

in

the

State

and

work

with·

water

users

and

other

parties on voluntary measures

to

implement

those actions.

To

the

extent voluntary actions are

not

sufficient,

the

Water Board,

in

coordination

with

the

Department

of

Fish

and

Wildlife,

shall consider

emergency

regulations

to

establish minimum

drought

instream flows.

7.

Operative

paragraph

4

of

my

April

21,

2021

Proclamation

is

withdrawn

and

superseded

by

the

following,

which

shall'apply

to

the

Russian

River

Watershed identified

in

my

April

21,

2021

Proclamation

as

well

as

the

Klamath

River,

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

and

Tulare Lake

Watershed Counties:

To

prioritize

drought

response

and

preparedness resources,

the

Department

of

Water

Resources,

the

Water Board,

the

Department

of

Fish

and

Wildlife,

and

the

Department

of

Food

and

Agriculture,

in

consultation with

the

Department

of

Finance, shall:

a.

Accelerate

funding for

water

supply

enhancement,

water

conservation, or species conservation projects.

b. Identify unspent funds

that

can

be

repurposed

to

enable

projects

to

address

drought

impacts

to

people,

ecosystems,

and

economic

activities.

c.

Recommend

additional

financial support for

groundwater

substitution

pumping

to

support Pacific flyway

habitat

needs in

the

lower

Sacramento

River

and

Feather River portions

of

the

Central Valley

in

the

Fall

of

2021.

8.

Consistent with

operative

paragraph

13

of

my

April

21,

2021

Proclamation,

the

Department

of

Water

Resources shall

take

actions, if

necessary,

to

implement

plans

that

address

potential

Delta salinity

issues.

Such actions

may

include,

among

other

things,

the

installation

and

removal

of,

Emergency

Drought

Salinity Barriers

at

locations

within

the

Sacramento-San

Joaquin

Delta Estuary. These barriers shall

be

designed

to

conserve

water

for use

later

in

the

year

to

meet

state

and

federal

Endangered

Species

Act

requirements, preserve

to

the

extent

possible

water

quality

in

the

Delta,

and

retain

water

supply for

human

health

and

safety uses. The

Water

Board

and

the

Department

of

Fish

and

Wildlife shall

immediately

consider

any

necessary

regulatory

approvals

needed

to

install

Emergency

Drought

Salinity Barriers. For

actions

taken

pursuant

to

this

paragraph,

Section 13247

and

the

provisions

of

Chapter

3 (

commencing

with Section 85225)

of

Part 3

of

Division 35

of

the

Water

Code

are

suspended.

9.

To

support

the

movement

of

water

from areas

of

relative

plenty

to

areas

of

relative scarcity in

the

Sacramento-San

Joaquin

Delta

and

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties,

the

Department

of

Water

Resources

shall

expedite

the

consideration

and,

where

appropriate,

the

implementation

of

pump-back

delivery

of

water

through

the

State

Water

Project

on

behalf

of

local

water

agencies.

l

0.

To

proactively

prevent

situations

where

a

community

runs

out

of

drinking

water,

the

Water

Board,

the

Department

of

Water

Resources,

the

Office

of

Emergency

Services,

and

the

Office

of

Planning

and

Research shall

assist

local

agencies

in identifying

acute

drinking

water

shortages in

domestic

water

supplies,

and

shall

work

with

local

agencies

in

implementing

solutions

to

those

water

shortages.

11

.

For

purposes

of

carrying

out

or

approving

any

actions

contemplated

by

the

directives in

operative

paragraphs

3,

4,

5,

6,

8,

and

9,

the

environmental

review

by

state

agencies

required

by

the

California

Environmental Quality

Act

in Public Resources

Code,

Division

13

(commencing

with

Section 21000)

and

regulations

adopted

pursuant

to

that

Division

are

hereby

suspended

to

the

extent

necessary

to

address

the

impacts

of

the

drought

in

the

Klamath River,

Sacramento-

San

Joaquin

Delta

and

Tulare Lake Watershed Counties. For purposes

of

carrying

out

the

directive

in

operative

paragraph

10,

for

any

( a)

actions

taken

by

the

listed state

agencies

pursuant

to

that

directive,

(b)

actions

taken

by

a

local

agency

where

the

Office

of

Planning

and

Research

concurs

that

local

action

is

required,

and

(c) permits

necessary

to

carry

out

actions

under

(a)

or

(b), Public Resources

Code,

Division

13

(

commencing

with Section 21000)

and

regulations

adopted

pursuant

to

that

Division

are

hereby

suspended

to

the

extent

necessary

to

address

the

impacts

of

the

drought

in counties

where

the

Governor

has

proclaimed

a

drought

state

of

emergency.

The entities

implementing

these directives shall

maintain

on

their websites a

list

of

all activities

or

approvals

for

which

these provisions

are

suspended.

12.

To

ensure

transparency

in state

agency

actions,

the

Water

Board

and

Department

of

Water

Resources will

maintain

on

their websites a

list

of

the

activities

or

approvals

by

their

agencies

for

which

provisions

of

the

Water

Code

are

suspended

under

operative

paragraphs

3,

4,

or

8

of

this

proclamation.

13.

To

ensure

that

posting

and

dissemination

of

information related

to

drought

emergency

activities

is

not

delayed

while accessible versions

of

that

information are

being

created,

Government

Code

Sections

7

405

and

11546.7

are

hereby

suspended

as

they

pertain

to

the

posting

of

materials

on

state

agency

websites

as

part

of

responding

to

the

drought

emergency,

provided

that

any

state agencies failing

to

satisfy

these

code

sections shall

make

and

post

an

accessible version on their

websites

as

soon

as

practicable.

This

proclamation

is

not

intended

to,

and

does not,

create

any

rights

or

benefits, substantive or procedural,

enforceable

at

law

or

in

equity, against

the

State

of

California,

its

agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or

any

other

person.

I

FURTHER

DIRECT

that

as

soon

as

hereafter possible,

this

proclamation

be

filed

in

the

Office

of

the

Secretary

of

State

and

that

widespread

publicity

and

notice

be

given

of

this

proclamation.

IN

WITNESS

WHEREOF

I

have

hereunto set

my

hand

and

caused

the

Great

Seal

of

the

State

of

Californi

to

be

affixed this 10th

day

of

May

2021

.

Governor

of

California

ATTEST:

SHIRLEY

N.

WEBER,

PH.D.

Secretary

of

State