Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission, as provided.

This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.

Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission, as provided.

This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.

The act requires that new development in the coastal zone comply with specified requirements, including, among other things, requirements intended to minimize energy consumption and vehicle miles traveled, and, where appropriate, protect special communities and neighborhoods that, because of their unique characteristics, are popular visitor destination points for recreational uses.

This bill would additionally require that new development minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission, as provided.

This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.

The act requires that new development in the coastal zone comply with specified requirements, including, among other things, requirements intended to minimize energy consumption and vehicle miles traveled, and, where appropriate, protect special communities and neighborhoods that, because of their unique characteristics, are popular visitor destination points for recreational uses.

This bill would additionally require that new development minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 45 (Boerner) - Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects

Bill Summary:

This bill would allow the California Coastal Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as provided.

Fiscal Impact:

• The Coastal Commission estimates ongoing costs of approximately $205,000 annually (General Fund) for one position to establish a blue carbon demonstration project program, conduct the additional level of project coordination, review, analysis and ongoing mitigation monitoring.
• The California Air Resources Board, Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Coastal Conservancy, and State Lands Commission estimate costs would be minor and absorbable.

Background:

Healthy landscapes can sequester and store carbon, help avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere, minimize impacts from climate change, and provide climate resilience. In addition to forested landscapes, coastal wetlands, and marine seagrass and seaweeds, such as eelgrass, can also be important carbon sinks.

Blue carbon--carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation--such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that, in some instances, coastal wetlands capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests. However, the State Air Resources Board’s draft 2022 scoping plan update that lays out the state’s GHG emissions reduction strategy does not specifically include blue carbon in the state’s natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.

Natural and working lands are an emerging and important element of the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals. According to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, current law defines natural lands as lands consisting of forests, grasslands, deserts, freshwater and riparian systems, wetlands, coastal and estuarine areas, watersheds, wildlands, or wildlife habitat, or lands used for recreational purposes such as parks, urban and community forests, trails, greenbelts, and other similar open-space land. Natural and working lands cover approximately 90% of the state’s 105 million acres.

In October 2020, Governor Newsom outlined a comprehensive and results-oriented nature-based solutions agenda for California in Executive Order (EO) N-82-20. The EO called on the California Natural Resources Agency to enable enduring conservation measures on a broad range of landscapes, including natural areas and working lands, in partnership with land managers and natural resource user groups.

In response to the Governor’s EO, the state released the draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy in 2021, which describes how these lands can deliver on our climate change goals and identifies options to track nature-based climate action and measure progress. The state is committed to “track nature-based climate solutions and their outcomes, as well as to improve our understanding and ability to measure outcomes of climate smart actions. To improve over time, our efforts will need to be flexible; successful climate smart land management requires adaptive approaches that are continually reassessed as ecosystems are affected by climate change and our understanding of the processes at work grows.”

Although natural and working lands can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in soil and vegetation, disturbances such as severe wildfire, land degradation, and conversion can cause these landscapes to emit more carbon dioxide than they store. 

Proposed Law:

This bill would allow the Coastal Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as provided. Specifically, this bill would:

1. Allow the Coastal Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects, as specified.
2. Authorize the Coastal Commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetlands, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
3. Require the Coastal Commission to consult with the State Air Resources Board and other public entities in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.
4. Require each blue carbon demonstration project to be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collection in order to demonstrate carbon uptake and sequestration, as provided.
5. Require the results of monitoring to be presented to the commission at a public hearing.
6. Define relevant terms, and make several relevant legislative findings and declarations.

Related Legislation:

AB 1407 (Addis, 2023) would require the Ocean Protection Council, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, to establish a Kelp Forest and Estuary Restoration and Recovery Framework that has a goal of restoring a specified amount of kelp forest, eelgrass meadow, and oyster beds annually.

AB 1757 (C. Garcia & R. Rivas, Chapter 341, Statutes of 2022) requires the California Natural Resources Agency to determine on or before January 1, 2024, an ambitious range of targets for natural carbon sequestration, and for nature-based climate solutions, that reduce GHG emissions for 2030, 2038, and 2045, to support state goals to achieve carbon neutrality and foster climate adaptation and resilience.

AB 2593 (Boerner Horvath, 2022) would have authorized the commission to approve blue carbon projects, as defined. (This bill was held on the suspense file in this committee.)

AB 2649 (C. Garcia, 2022) would have set annual targets for natural carbon sequestration starting in 2030 by requiring the removal of 60 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, increasing to 75 MMT annually in 2035. (The bill was held on the suspense file in this committee.)

AB 1298 (Mullin, 2020) would have appropriated an unspecified amount to the Ocean Protection Council for blue carbon projects that increase the ability of the ocean and coastal ecosystems to capture, sequester, and store carbon dioxide. This bill was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limits on how many bills policy committee could hear.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER

Senator Dave Min, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB Hearing Date: July 3, 2023

Subject: Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects

BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

The state’s natural and working lands have lately received increased attention for the important role they play in carbon uptake and sequestration. Healthy landscapes can sequester and store carbon, help avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere, minimize impacts from climate change, and provide climate resilience. In addition to forested landscapes, coastal wetlands, and marine seagrass and seaweeds, such as eelgrass, can also be important carbon sinks. However, in coastal California, human activity has led to a reduction in the coastal wetlands and the distribution and amount of seagrass beds.

California has lost on the order of 90% of its coastal wetlands. Even so, recent estimates indicate that on the order of 13.4 million tons of carbon are stored in California’s coastal wetlands. (As a point of reference, in 2019 state transportation sources emitted 47 million metric tons of carbon.) According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, there are as many as 15,000 acres statewide of eelgrass. One of the Ocean Protection Council’s strategic goals is to create an additional 1,000 acres of seagrass beds by 2025, which highlights the many important ecosystem services provided by eelgrass in addition to carbon sequestration.

Blue carbon, carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that, in some instances, coastal wetlands capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests. However, the State Air Resources Board’s draft 2022 scoping plan update that lays out the state’s GHG emissions reduction strategy does not specifically include blue carbon in the state’s natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.

The California Coastal Commission (commission) was established by voter initiative in 1972. The Legislature later made the commission permanent through the adoption of the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Coastal Act) (Public Resources Code (PRC) §§30000 et seq.). The commission plans for and regulates the use of land and water in the coastal zone (which excludes the San Francisco Bay).

The commission is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency, and its mission statement states that it “is committed to protecting and enhancing California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations.” The commission does so “through careful planning and regulation of environmentally sustainable development, rigorous use of science, strong public participation, education, and effective intergovernmental coordination.”

Coastal Act policies are the standards the commission uses to determine the permissibility of proposed developments subject to its jurisdiction.

Existing law, pursuant to the Coastal Act:

1. Establishes the commission in the California Natural Resources Agency.
2. Includes legislative findings and declarations that the basic goals of the state for the coastal zone include to protect, maintain, and, where feasible, enhance and restore the overall quality of the coastal zone environment and its natural and artificial resources, among other goals. (PRC §30001.5)
3. Provides for the planning and regulation of development within the coastal zone, as defined.
   1. A person planning to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone is required to obtain a coastal development permit (‘CDP’) from the commission or local government enforcing a certified local coastal program (‘LCP’). (PRC §30600)
      1. Development means, among other things, the placement or erection of any solid material or structure on land or in water. Structure means building, road, pipe, flume, conduit, and electrical power transmission and distribution lines, among other things. (PRC §30106)
      2. The coastal zone means the coastal land and waters of California, and includes the lands that extend inland generally 1,000 yards from the mean high tide line, as specified, with various exceptions including the San Francisco Bay. (PRC §30103)
4. Provides that enactment of the Coastal Act does not increase, decrease, duplicate, or supersede the authority of any existing state agency, as specified. Requires that the commission not set standards or adopt regulations that duplicate regulatory controls established by any existing state agency pursuant to specific statutory requirements or authorization, as provided. (PRC §30401)

Existing law states that it is the policy of the state that the protection and management of natural and working lands is an important strategy in meeting the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals, and that the protection and management of those lands can result in the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the sequestration of carbon in, above, and below the ground. (PRC §9001.5)

Existing law provides that the California Natural Resources Agency shall explore and may implement options to establish a more coordinated and efficient regulatory review and permitting process for coastal adaptation projects that use natural infrastructure where these projects are defined to include tidal marshes and sea grass, among other things. (PRC §71160)

Existing law directs the Ocean Protection Council to establish the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction program whose goals include incorporating consideration of carbon dioxide removal for eelgrass restoration projects, as provided. (PRC §35632)

PROPOSED LAW

This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as provided. Specifically, this bill would:

1. Authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects, as specified.
2. Authorize the commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetlands, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
3. Require the commission to consult with the State Air Resources Board and other public entities in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.
4. Require each blue carbon demonstration project to be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collection in order to demonstrate carbon uptake and sequestration, as provided.
5. Require the results of monitoring to be presented to the commission at a public hearing.
6. Define relevant terms, and make several relevant legislative findings and declarations.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

According to the author, “Several recent studies focusing on the importance of conserving coastal ecosystems have concluded coastal wetlands can store far greater amounts of carbon than they naturally release, which makes them one of the world’s most important natural ‘carbon sinks’. Unfortunately, coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to coastal development for housing, ports, and commercial facilities. AB 45 requires that coastal development permit applicants include in their planning and design how they plan to build or will contribute in promoting blue carbon projects where feasible. This requirement is consistent with the California Coastal Commission’s task of working with local governments to protect the shoreline when approving developments in the coastal zone consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION

Writing in opposition, the City of Laguna Beach argues, “AB 45 would create significant challenges for residents and businesses residing in coastal communities that seek to make any changes to existing infrastructure. Residents wishing to add minor additions to existing homes, construct ADUs, or engage in any real development on their properties would need to identify and construct or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project, adding another hurdle for residents and businesses to overcome to construct or rehabilitate developments within the coastal zone.”

The California Building Industry Association, California Association of Realtors, and California Apartment Association have an “oppose unless amended” position and argue for guardrails on the commission’s authority to require blue carbon demonstration projects.

COMMENTS

This bill is permissive and relies entirely upon the commission’s existing policies and authority. To the extent that a proposed development in the coastal zone impacts a coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, the commission under its existing policies and authority could today require, as a condition of approval, what would be called a blue carbon demonstration project under the terms of this bill. This is important to recognize, and to further note, that the requirements of the bill are permissive. In other words, while the commission is authorized to designate a blue carbon demonstration project, it is not required to do so. Amendments proposed by some of the bill’s opponents would undercut the commission’s existing authority, and are therefore not acceptable. Further, coastal zone development that does not impact a coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitat or ecosystem would not be an eligible project. There is merit, in the event that a coastal wetland, for example, is impacted by development, to ensure that appropriate monitoring of carbon sequestration of any applicable required mitigation is conducted to help understand and inform what is very likely to become a quantifiable element of the state’s GHG emissions reduction strategy in the future.

Data needs for blue carbon sequestration. According to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, various models exist to evaluate carbon stocks and sequestration rates for different habitats. However, the California Ocean Science Trust has stated that more research is needed to provide clear estimates and to better understand blue carbon opportunities in California. Information gaps include understanding the differences in carbon sequestration rates for restored wetland habits versus mature blue carbon ecosystems; determining how macro-algae and kelp forests contribute to carbon export and burial; and, a need for improved mapping of existing California blue carbon habitats and field measurements of their GHG emissions.

Natural and working lands are an emerging and important element of the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals. According to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, current law defines natural lands as lands consisting of forests, grasslands, deserts, freshwater and riparian systems, wetlands, coastal and estuarine areas, watersheds, wildlands, or wildlife habitat, or lands used for recreational purposes such as parks, urban and community forests, trails, greenbelts, and other similar open-space land. Natural and working lands cover approximately 90% of the state’s 105 million acres.

In October 2020, Governor Newsom outlined a comprehensive and results-oriented nature-based solutions agenda for California in Executive Order (EO) N-82-20. The EO called on the California Natural Resources Agency to enable enduring conservation measures on a broad range of landscapes, including natural areas and working lands, in partnership with land managers and natural resource user groups.

In response to the Governor’s EO, the state released the draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy in 2021, which describes how these lands can deliver on our climate change goals and identifies options to track nature-based climate action and measure progress. The state is committed to “track nature-based climate solutions and their outcomes, as well as to improve our understanding and ability to measure outcomes of climate smart actions. To improve over time, our efforts will need to be flexible; successful climate smart land management requires adaptive approaches that are continually reassessed as ecosystems are affected by climate change and our understanding of the processes at work grows.”

Although natural and working lands can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in soil and vegetation, disturbances such as severe wildfire, land degradation, and conversion can cause these landscapes to emit more carbon dioxide than they store. 

Recent related legislation

AB 1407 (Addis, 2023) would require the Ocean Protection Council, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, to establish a Kelp Forest and Estuary Restoration and Recovery Framework that has a goal of restoring a specified amount of kelp forest, eelgrass meadow, and oyster beds annually. (This bill is pending before this Committee.)

AB 1757 (C. Garcia & R. Rivas, Chapter 341, Statutes of 2022) requires the California Natural Resources Agency to determine on or before January 1, 2024, an ambitious range of targets for natural carbon sequestration, and for nature-based climate solutions, that reduce GHG emissions for 2030, 2038, and 2045, to support state goals to achieve carbon neutrality and foster climate adaptation and resilience.

AB 2593 (Boerner Horvath, 2022) would have authorized the commission to approve blue carbon projects, as defined. (This bill was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.)

AB 2649 (C. Garcia, 2022) would have set annual targets for natural carbon sequestration starting in 2030 by requiring the removal of 60 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, increasing to 75 MMT annually in 2035.  (The bill was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.)

AB 1298 (Mullin, 2020) would have appropriated an unspecified amount to the Ocean Protection Council for blue carbon projects that increase the ability of the ocean and coastal ecosystems to capture, sequester, and store carbon dioxide. This bill was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limits on how many bills policy committee could hear.

SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: none

SUPPORT

WILDCOAST (sponsor)

350 Bay Area Action

350 Humboldt

Buena Vista Audubon Society

California Environmental Voters

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

San Diego Audubon Society

San Diego Unified Port District

Sierra Club California

South Bay Cities Council of Governments

Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Chapter

The City of San Diego

One individual

OPPOSITION

California Apartment Association (unless amended)

California Association of Realtors (unless amended)

California Building Industry Association (unless amended)

City of Laguna Beach

City of Pismo Beach

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 45

Author:(Boerner)

As Amended Ver:May 25, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Authorizes the California Coastal Commission (Commission) to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS

Blue carbon refers to the carbon stored by seagrass, mangroves, tidal marshes, and other plants in coastal wetlands. These coastal ecosystems are able to sequester carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere through photosynthesis. As these aquatic plants grow, they accumulate and bury organic matter in the soil. Research indicates that coastal blue carbon habitats annually sequester carbon 10 times faster than mature tropical forests, and store 3-5 times more carbon per equivalent area.

In California, coastal blue carbon habitats consist of tidal salt marsh and seagrass (eelgrass). Currently, the state has about 296,500 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat and 14,800 acres of eelgrass. As habitats that sequester carbon are altered and decreased, the natural carbon stored in these environments is being released into the atmosphere, accelerating the rate of climate change.

This bill would authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

While various models exist to evaluate carbon stocks and sequestration rates for different habitats, the California Ocean Science Trust has stated that more research is needed to provide clear estimates and to better understand blue carbon opportunities in California.

This bill would allow the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

According to the Author

Several recent studies focusing on the importance of conserving coastal ecosystems have concluded coastal wetlands can store far greater amounts of carbon than they naturally release, which makes them one of the world's most important natural "carbon sinks. Unfortunately, coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to coastal development for housing, ports, and commercial facilities. AB 45 would require that coastal development permit applicants include in their planning and design how they plan to build or will contribute in promoting blue carbon projects where feasible. This requirement is consistent with the Commission's task of working with local governments to protect the shoreline when approving developments in the coastal zone consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act.

Arguments in Support

California Environmental Voters writes, "As blue carbon habitats can sequester more carbon per acre than many types or terrestrial habitats it is important that they stay in good condition. Otherwise, when damaged or degraded by human activities, their ability to sequester carbon is affected or lost completely. Around 35 percent of blue carbon ecosystems have lost their global cover and every year the amount lost is increasing 2-7 percent. Therefore, it is vital that we protect and restore our blue carbon habitats in order to protect our coast, commercial fisheries and public health."

Arguments in Opposition

The California Apartment Association, the California Building Industry Association, and the California Association of Realtors write that AB 45 fails to provide guardrails for what it means to "require" a project applicant to "contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project" and state, "We anticipate that AB 45 will translate into added fees on housing. In addition to higher labor and building material costs in a high inflationary and supply-chain-constrained period, Californians are now being faced with a more than doubling of mortgage interest rates. Californians can't afford further increases to a necessity of life. We ask that you identify another funding source for this important effort."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill would result in ongoing costs to the Commission of $205,000 annually (General Fund) for one position to work on blue carbon demonstration projects and to coordinate with the specified public agencies in developing the program, and unknown, likely minor ongoing costs (various funds) for various state department and agencies to consult with the Commission.

VOTES

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 8-0-3

YES: Luz Rivas, Bennett, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Pellerin, Ward, Wood, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Chen, Essayli, Hoover

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-4-1

YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Papan, Pellerin, Weber, Ortega

NO: Megan Dahle, Dixon, Mathis, Sanchez

ABS, ABST OR NV: Robert Rivas

UPDATED

VERSION: May 25, 2023

CONSULTANT: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0000980

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 45

Author:(Boerner)

As Amended Ver:March 15, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Authorizes the California Coastal Commission (Commission) to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS

Blue carbon refers to the carbon stored by seagrass, mangroves, tidal marshes, and other plants in coastal wetlands. These coastal ecosystems are able to sequester carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere through photosynthesis. As these aquatic plants grow, they accumulate and bury organic matter in the soil. Research indicates that coastal blue carbon habitats annually sequester carbon 10 times faster than mature tropical forests, and store three-five times more carbon per equivalent area.

In California, coastal blue carbon habitats consist of tidal salt marsh and seagrass (eelgrass). Currently, the state has about 296,500 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat and 14,800 acres of eelgrass. As habitats that sequester carbon are altered and decreased, the natural carbon stored in these environments is being released into the atmosphere, accelerating the rate of climate change.

This bill would authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

While various models exist to evaluate carbon stocks and sequestration rates for different habitats, the California Ocean Science Trust has stated that more research is needed to provide clear estimates and to better understand blue carbon opportunities in California. Information gaps include understanding the differences in carbon sequestration rates for restored wetland habits versus mature blue carbon ecosystems; determining how macro-algae and kelp forests contribute to carbon export and burial; and, better mapping of existing California blue carbon habitats and field measurements of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This bill would allow the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state's natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

According to the Author

Several recent studies focusing on the importance of conserving coastal ecosystems have concluded coastal wetlands can store far greater amounts of carbon than they naturally release, which makes them one of the world's most important natural "carbon sinks. Unfortunately, coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to coastal development for housing, ports, and commercial facilities. AB 45 would require that coastal development permit applicants include in their planning and design how they plan to build or will contribute in promoting blue carbon projects where feasible. This requirement is consistent with the Commission's task of working with local governments to protect the shoreline when approving developments in the coastal zone consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act.

Arguments in Support

California Environmental Voters writes, "As blue carbon habitats can sequester more carbon per acre than many types or terrestrial habitats it is important that they stay in good condition. Otherwise, when damaged or degraded by human activities, their ability to sequester carbon is affected or lost completely. Around 35% of blue carbon ecosystems have lost their global cover and every year the amount lost is increasing 2-7%. Therefore, it is vital that we protect and restore our blue carbon habitats in order to protect our coast, commercial fisheries and public health."

Arguments in Opposition

The California Apartment Association, the California Building Industry Association, and the California Association of Realtors write that AB 45 fails to provide guardrails for what it means to "require" a project applicant to "contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project" and state, "We anticipate that AB 45 will translate into added fees on housing. In addition to higher labor and building material costs in a high inflationary and supply-chain-constrained period, Californians are now being faced with a more than doubling of mortgage interest rates. Californians can't afford further increases to a necessity of life. We ask that you identify another funding source for this important effort."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill would result in ongoing costs to the Commission of $205,000 annually (General Fund) for one position to work on blue carbon demonstration projects and to coordinate with the specified public agencies in developing the program, and unknown, likely minor ongoing costs (various funds) for various state department and agencies to consult with the Commission.

VOTES

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 8-0-3

YES: Luz Rivas, Bennett, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Pellerin, Ward, Wood, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Chen, Essayli, Hoover

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-4-1

YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Papan, Pellerin, Weber, Ortega

NO: Megan Dahle, Dixon, Mathis, Sanchez

ABS, ABST OR NV: Robert Rivas

UPDATED

VERSION: March 15, 2023

CONSULTANT: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0000562

Date of Hearing: March 22, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 45

Author:(Boerner Horvath) – As Amended Ver: March 15, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill authorizes the California Coastal Commission (Commission) to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects.

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1. Authorizes the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands (NWL) and climate resilience strategies.
2. Authorizes the Commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
3. Requires the Commission to consult with the Air Resources Board (ARB), Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Coastal Conservancy, State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.
4. Requires each blue carbon demonstration project to be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved, including an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. Requires the results to be presented to the Commission in a public hearing.
5. Requires all new development in the Coastal Zone to, among other requirements, minimize greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. The Commission estimates ongoing costs of $205,000 annually (General Fund), for one position to work on blue carbon demonstration projects and to coordinate with the specified public agencies in developing the program. The Commission notes this is a newly emerging area of science, and the Commission would need to hire a specialist who could help design the projects and monitoring protocols, receive and respond to the required reports, and stay abreast of the evolving science.
2. Unknown, likely minor ongoing costs (various funds) for various state department and agencies to consult with the commission.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

Several recent studies focusing on the importance of conserving coastal ecosystems have concluded coastal wetlands can store far greater amounts of carbon than they naturally release, which makes them one of the world’s most important natural “carbon sinks. Unfortunately, coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to coastal development for housing, ports, and commercial facilities. AB 45 would require that coastal development permit applicants include in their planning and design how they plan to build or will contribute in promoting blue carbon projects where feasible. This requirement is consistent with the California Coastal Commission’s task of working with local governments to protect the shoreline when approving developments in the coastal zone consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act.

2) Blue Carbon. Blue carbon refers to the carbon captured by ocean and coastal ecosystems and stored in seagrass, mangroves, tidal marshes, and coastal wetlands. According to NOAA, studies suggest that coastal blue carbon habitats annually sequester carbon at a rate 10 times greater than mature tropical forests, and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area. According to a 2020 California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) report, the state has about 296,500 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat, 14,800 acres of seagrass habitat and 17,800 acres of kelp forest. When these habitats are damaged or destroyed, their carbon sequestration capacity is lost, and carbon stored in the habitats can also be released, contributing to increased levels of GHGs in the atmosphere. Coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to human activity. According to the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, California’s coastal wetlands have already lost up to 90% of their historical area.

3) Quantifying Carbon Sequestration. According to CCST, measuring carbon stocks that have already been captured by coastal habitats – and the rate at which more carbon is sequestered – is the first step in understanding their blue carbon potential in California. Researchers use a combination of field measurements and modeling methods to quantify carbon stocks and sequestration rates. Work is underway to quantify sediment carbon stocks in seagrass meadows in several sites in California. CCST notes there is scientific uncertainty as to whether kelp can play a significant role in blue carbon sequestration, but a series of field studies show that, statewide, there is relatively good carbon and net GHG accounting in salt marsh habitats. Given that more research is needed to better understand blue carbon opportunities in California, this bill authorizes the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

4) Prior Legislation. AB 2593 (Boerner Horvath), of the 2021-22 Legislative Session, was nearly identical to this bill and was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.

AB 1298 (Mullin), of the 2019-20 Legislative Session, would have appropriated an unspecified amount to the Ocean Protection Council for blue carbon projects that increase the ability of the ocean and coastal ecosystems to capture, sequester, and store carbon dioxide. AB 1298 was not set for a hearing in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 13, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Luz Rivas, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 45 (

Author:Boerner Horvath) – As Introduced Ver:December 5, 2022

SUBJECT: Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects: new development: greenhouse gas emissions.

SUMMARY: Authorizes the California Coastal Commission (Commission) to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

EXISTING LAW:

Pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Health and Safety Code § 38500 et seq.):

1. Establishes Air Resources Board (ARB) as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting GHG.
2. Requires ARB to approve a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to the statewide GHG emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide GHG emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030.
3. States that it is the policy of the state that the protection and management of natural and working lands is an important strategy in meeting the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals, and that the protection and management of those lands can result in the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the sequestration of carbon in, above, and below the ground.

Pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Public Resources Code § 30000, et seq)

1. Establishes the Commission to protect regional, state, and national interests in assuring the maintenance of the long-term productivity and economic vitality of coastal resources necessary for the well-being of the people of the state, avoid long-term costs to the public and a diminished quality of life resulting from the misuse of coastal resources, and coordinate and integrate the activities of the many agencies whose activities impact the coastal zone.
2. Requires anyone planning to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit from the Commission.

THIS BILL:

1. Defines “blue carbon demonstration project” as the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:
   1. Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed;
   2. The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible; and,
   3. The use of diverse native species.
2. Authorizes the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.
3. Authorizes the Commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
4. Requires the Commission to consult with ARB, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.
5. Requires each blue carbon demonstration project to be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. Requires this to include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. Requires the results to be presented to the Commission in a public hearing.
6. Requires all new development in the Coastal Zone to among other requirements, mitigate GHG.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

1. Need for the bill. According to the author,

Several recent studies focusing on the importance of conserving coastal ecosystems have concluded coastal wetlands can store far greater amounts of carbon than they naturally release, which makes them one of the world’s most important natural “carbon sinks. Unfortunately, coastal habitats around the world are being lost at a rapid rate, largely due to coastal development for housing, ports, and commercial facilities. AB 45 would require that coastal development permit applicants include in their planning and design how they plan to build or will contribute in promoting blue carbon projects where feasible. This requirement is consistent with the California Coastal Commission’s task of working with local governments to protect the shoreline when approving developments in the coastal zone consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act.

1. Blue carbon. Blue carbon refers to the carbon stored by seagrass, mangroves, tidal marshes, and other plants in coastal wetlands. These coastal ecosystems are able to sequester carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere through photosynthesis. As these aquatic plants grow, they accumulate and bury organic matter in the soil. Water-logged sediments are very low in oxygen, allowing the carbon drawn from plants to stay trapped in the sediment for as long as it remains undisturbed.

Seagrass, tidal marshes, and mangroves are sometimes referred to as “blue forests” in contrast to land-based forests. Blue forests equal just 0.05% of the plant biomass on land, but they can efficiently store high levels of carbon. Research indicates that coastal blue carbon habitats annually sequester carbon 10 times faster than mature tropical forests, and store 3-5 times more carbon per equivalent area.

Although seagrass makes up only 0.1% of area on the ocean floor, it accounts for approximately 10-18% of the total oceanic carbon capture. Researchers have studied how large-scale seaweed cultivation in the open ocean can act as a form of carbon sequestration. They found that nearshore seaweed forests constitute a source of blue carbon, as seaweed debris is carried by wave currents into the middle and Deep Ocean thereby sequestering carbon.

Because oceans cover 70% of the planet, and because more than 80% of the global carbon cycle is circulated through the ocean, ocean ecosystem restoration has the great blue carbon development potential. Research is ongoing, but in some cases it has been found that these types of ecosystems remove far more carbon than terrestrial forests, and can store it for millennia.

Sadly, in coastal California, human activity has led to a reduction in the coastal wetlands and the distribution and amount of seagrass beds. California has lost on the order of 90% of its coastal wetlands. Despite that, recent estimates indicate that on the order of 13.4 million tons of carbon are stored in California’s coastal wetlands. Restoring coastal wetlands can further harness carbon sequestration potential.

1. Blue carbon in California. In California, coastal blue carbon habitats consist of tidal salt marsh and seagrass (eelgrass). Currently, the state has about 296,500 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat and 14,800 acres of eelgrass. As habitats that sequester carbon are altered and decreased, the natural carbon stored in these environments is being released into the atmosphere, accelerating the rate of climate change. Researchers indicate that if blue carbon ecosystems continue to decline at the current rate, 30% to 40% of tidal marshes and seagrasses could be gone in the next century.

Marshes sequester carbon in underground biomass due to high rates of organic sedimentation and anaerobic-dominated decomposition, a process where microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. Marshes are susceptible to eutrophication (a nutrient-induced increase in phytoplankton productivity) and pollution from oil and industrial chemicals. Introduced invasive species, sea-level rise, river damming, and decreased sedimentation are other long-term changes that affect marsh habitat, and in turn, may affect carbon sequestration potential.

1. Federal Efforts. NOAA has supported efforts to include coastal wetlands into the U.S. inventory of GHG emissions and sinks. They work collaboratively with the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Ocean Service, and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research offices, and sponsor the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s project, “Developing a Research Agenda for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration.” NOAA is working to make wetlands conservation and restoration profitable while reducing GHG emissions through blue carbon financial markets. This approach creates a financial incentive for restoration and conservation projects by helping to alleviate federal and state carbon taxes aimed at discouraging the use of fossil fuels.

In November 2021, U.S. Senate Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced the Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act, focused on conserving, restoring, and understanding coastal blue carbon ecosystems. While that legislation was not enacted, it illustrates the bipartisan acknowledgement and support for blue carbon investments at a federal level.

1. Natural and working lands. Current law defines natural lands as lands consisting of forests, grasslands, deserts, freshwater and riparian systems, wetlands, coastal and estuarine areas, watersheds, wildlands, or wildlife habitat, or lands used for recreational purposes such as parks, urban and community forests, trails, greenbelts, and other similar open-space land. Natural and working lands cover approximately 90% of the state’s 105 million acres, including California Native American tribes’ ancestral and cultural lands and waters.

Healthy natural and working lands can sequester and store carbon and limit future carbon emissions into the atmosphere. International leaders recognize this timely opportunity. According to the United Nations Environment Program, “By working with nature, we have the potential to reduce emissions by more than a third of what is needed by 2030.”

In October 2020, Governor Newsom outlined a comprehensive and results-oriented nature-based solutions agenda for California in Executive Order (EO) N-82-20. The EO called on the California Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to enable enduring conservation measures on a broad range of landscapes, including natural areas and working lands, in partnership with land managers and natural resource user groups.

In response to the Governor’s EO, the state released the draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy in 2021, which describes how these lands can deliver on our climate change goals and identifies options to track nature-based climate action and measure progress. The state is committed to “track nature-based climate solutions and their outcomes, as well as to improve our understanding and ability to measure outcomes of climate smart actions. To improve over time, our efforts will need to be flexible; successful climate smart land management requires adaptive approaches that are continually reassessed as ecosystems are affected by climate change and our understanding of the processes at work grows.”

Although natural and working lands can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in soil and vegetation, disturbances such as severe wildfire, land degradation, and conversion can cause these landscapes to emit more carbon dioxide than they store. 

California’s natural and working lands are not healthy and the critical ecosystem services they provide, including their ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, are at risk.  Actions to protect, restore, and sustainably manage the health and resiliency of these lands can greatly accelerate our progress to mitigate climate change and our ability to reduce worsening climate change impacts.

To advance that goal, AB 45 would authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

ARB’s 2017 Scoping Plan set a preliminary goal to reduce GHG emissions from natural and working lands by at least 15 – 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMT CO2e) by 2030.

The 2022 Scoping Plan, released last fall, for the first time includes modeling for seven land types within the natural and working land sector, including wetlands. The Scoping Plan notes,

“Wetlands cover 2 percent of the state (roughly 1.7 million acres) and include inland and coastal wetlands, such as vernal pools, peatlands, mountain meadows, salt marshes, and mudflats. These lands are essential to California’s communities as they serve as hotspots for biodiversity, contain considerable carbon in the soil, are critical to the state’s water supply, and protect upland areas from flooding due to sea level rise and storms. Wetlands have been severely degraded through reclamation, diking, draining, and dredging practices in the past, resulting in the emissions of the carbon stored in the soils and the loss of ecosystem benefits. Climate smart strategies to restore and protect all the types of wetlands can reduce emissions while simultaneously improving the climate resilience of surrounding areas and improving the water quality and yield for the state. Restored wetlands also can reduce pressure on California’s aging water infrastructure. These benefits beyond emissions reductions will help in the future, as climate change is predicted to negatively affect water supply.”

This bill’s findings declare that blue carbon is not currently included in the state’s natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon. While “blue carbon” is not explicitly referenced in the Scoping Plan update, the inclusion of wetlands under natural and working lands provides the opportunity to include blue carbon in the conversation as it relates to wetland restoration and meeting the state’s GHG goals.

1. Counting GHG benefits. While various models exist to evaluate carbon stocks and sequestration rates for different habitats, the California Ocean Science Trust has stated that more research is needed to provide clear estimates and to better understand blue carbon opportunities in California. Information gaps include understanding the differences in carbon sequestration rates for restored wetland habits versus mature blue carbon ecosystems; determining how macro-algae and kelp forests contribute to carbon export and burial; and, better mapping of existing California blue carbon habitats and field measurements of their GHG emissions.

AB 45 would allow the Coastal Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.

1. Committee amendments. To ensure expectations are appropriately managed as it relates to the quality and quantity of data that the projects resulting from this bill could generate, the Committee may wish to amend (e) - (f) of Section 1 as follows:

(e) However, according to the The State Air Resources Board’s draft 2022 scoping plan update, blue carbon is not currently included does not specifically include blue carbon in the state’s natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.

(f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, it is critically important to conduct blue carbon demonstration projects in California to help generate the data and knowledge to understand may help the state better understand how blue carbon may could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.

1. Related legislation.

AB 2593 (Boerner Horvath, 2022) would have authorized the Commission to approve blue carbon projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the state’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 2649 (C. Garcia, 2022) would set annual targets for natural carbon sequestration starting in 2030 by requiring the removal of 60 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, increasing to 75 MMT annually in 2035. Defines “natural carbon sequestration” as "the removal and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalents by vegetation and soils on natural, working, and urban lands.” Much of the policy language from this bill was codified in the Budget Act to require ARB to establish goals for carbon sequestration in natural and working lands. The bill was subsequently held in the Senate.

AB 1298 (Mullin, 2020) would have appropriated an unspecified amount to the Ocean Protection Council for blue carbon projects that increase the ability of the ocean and coastal ecosystems to capture, sequester, and store carbon dioxide. This bill was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limits on how many bills policy committee could hear.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

350 Bay Area Action

Buena Vista Audubon Society

San Diego Audubon Society

San Diego Unified Port District

Surfrider Foundation

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. /