AB 2558: Department of Transportation: projects: fish passage.

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law, through the year 2025, requires the department to prepare an annual report to the Legislature describing the status of the departments progress in locating, assessing, and remediating barriers to fish passage. Existing law requires the department to pursue development of a programmatic environmental review process with appropriate state and federal regulatory agencies for remediating barriers to fish passage that will streamline the permitting process for projects.

This bill would extend this annual reporting requirement until the year 2030 and would require the reports to include other specified information. The bill would impose a deadline of January 1, 2026, for the department to implement the programmatic environmental review process.

Before the commencement of project design for a project using state or federal transportation funds, existing law requires the department to ensure that an assessment of potential barriers to fish passage is completed if the project affects a stream crossing on a stream where anadromous fish are, or historically were, found. If any structural barrier to passage exists, existing law requires remediation of the problem to be designed into the project by the implementing agency.

This bill would expand the projects for which an assessment is required to also include a project that is adjacent to, or has a nexus with, a stream where anadromous fish are, or historically were, found. If any structural barrier to passage exists, the bill would require remediation of the problem by removal of the fish passage barrier to be designed into the project by the implementing agency and remedied at the time of the projects construction.

Existing law prohibits, in certain fish and game districts, the construction or maintenance of any device or contrivance that prevents, impedes, or tends to prevent or impede, the passing of fish up and down stream. Existing law makes a violation of this provision a crime.

This bill would eliminate the requirement that the prohibition apply only in certain fish and game districts, thereby expanding the prohibition statewide. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.