Environmental protection: biological resources data: State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: powerplants: power lines: applications.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify the exact types of powerplants that are covered by this bill, but it mentions thermal powerplants and eligible facilities such as solar photovoltaic or terrestrial wind electrical generating powerplant with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more.

Making Biological Resources Data Public

This law requires that information about plants and animals in areas where powerplants or transmission lines are being built must be shared with the public, unless it could harm endangered species.

What This Bill Does

• Requires biological resources data to be made publicly available when someone applies for certification of a new powerplant or transmission line.
• Allows the Department of Fish and Wildlife to decide if some information should stay private to protect endangered species.
• Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to provide an assessment on how much data can be shared without risking harm to endangered species.

Who It Names or Affects

• The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
• People proposing new powerplant projects
• The Department of Fish and Wildlife

Terms To Know

biological resources data

Information about plants, animals, and other living things in an area.

certification

Official approval given by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for a new powerplant or transmission line project.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill was vetoed by the governor, but it's possible that lawmakers could override this veto.
• It only applies to data submitted after the law is passed, not existing projects.
• Details about how much data can be shared are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Official Summary Text

AB 734, Schultz.
Environmental protection: biological resources data: State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: powerplants: power lines: applications.
Existing law vests the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with the power to certify locations on which an electrical transmission line or thermal powerplant is constructed, or is proposed to be constructed, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the commission to exempt from certification a thermal powerplant with a generating capacity of up to 100 megawatts, and modifications to existing generating facilities that do not add capacity in excess of 100 megawatts if the commission finds that no substantial adverse impact on the environment or energy resources will result from the construction or operation of the proposed facility or from the modifications.
This bill would require any biological resources data submitted to the commission in an application for certification or small powerplant exemption pursuant to
the above-described provisions to be made publicly available on the commission’s docket as part of the certification proceeding unless the Department of Fish and Wildlife makes a written determination that the data to be made public includes specified location data, the disclosure of which would pose a significant risk to individuals of the species. The bill would require the department, if it makes that determination, to include in the written determination an assessment of the maximum amount of the specified data that can be released without posing a risk to the species. The bill would require the department to provide its written determination to the commission and would require the commission to make the data, in accordance with the determination, available to the public on the commission’s docket.
Existing law, until June 30, 2029, authorizes a person proposing an eligible facility, including a solar photovoltaic or terrestrial wind electrical generating
powerplant with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more, to submit an application with the commission for certification of the site and related facility.
This bill would apply the same public availability requirements described above to biological resources data submitted to the commission as part of an application for certification of an eligible facility.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF