(a) In protecting and restoring California rivers, lakes, streams, and watersheds, the purposes of this chapter are to:

(1) Protect and increase the economic benefits arising from healthy watersheds, fishery resources, and instream flow.

(2) Implement watershed adaptation projects in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on California’s communities and ecosystems.

(3) Restore river parkways throughout the state, including, but not limited to, projects pursuant to the California River Parkways Act of 2004 (Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 5750) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code), in the Urban Streams Restoration Program established pursuant to Section 7048, and urban river greenways.

(4) Protect and restore aquatic, wetland, and migratory bird ecosystems, including fish and wildlife corridors and the acquisition of water rights for instream flow.

(5) Fulfill the obligations of the State of California in complying with the terms of multiparty settlement agreements related to water resources.

(6) Remove barriers to fish passage.

(7) Collaborate with federal agencies in the protection of fish native to California and wetlands in the central valley of California.

(8) Implement fuel treatment projects to reduce wildfire risks, protect watersheds tributary to water storage facilities, and promote watershed health.

(9) Protect and restore rural and urban watershed health to improve watershed storage capacity, forest health, protection of life and property, stormwater resource management, and greenhouse gas reduction.

(10) Protect and restore coastal watersheds, including, but not limited to, bays, marine estuaries, and nearshore ecosystems.

(11) Reduce pollution or contamination of rivers, lakes, streams, or coastal waters, prevent and remediate mercury contamination from legacy mines, and protect or restore natural system functions that contribute to water supply, water quality, or flood management.

(12) Assist in the recovery of endangered, threatened, or migratory species by improving watershed health, instream flows, fish passage, coastal or inland wetland restoration, or other means, such as natural community conservation plan and habitat conservation plan implementation.

(13) Assist in water-related agricultural sustainability projects.

(b) Funds provided by this chapter shall only be used for projects that will provide fisheries or ecosystem benefits or improvements that are greater than required applicable environmental mitigation measures or compliance obligations.

(Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 188, Sec. 8. (AB 1471) Approved in Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, election.)