6301. The commission has exclusive jurisdiction over all ungranted
tidelands and submerged lands owned by the State, and of the beds of
navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and
straits, including tidelands and submerged lands or any interest
therein, whether within or beyond the boundaries of the State as
established by law, which have been or may be acquired by the State
(a) by quitclaim, cession, grant, contract, or otherwise from the
United States or any agency thereof, or (b) by any other means. All
jurisdiction and authority remaining in the State as to tidelands and
submerged lands as to which grants have been or may be made is
vested in the commission.
The commission shall exclusively administer and control all such
lands, and may lease or otherwise dispose of such lands, as provided
by law, upon such terms and for such consideration, if any, as are
determined by it.
The provisions of this section do not apply to land of the classes
described in Section 6403, as added by Chapter 227 of the Statutes
of 1947.
6301.2. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1969 for the Reorganization of the
Executive Branch of California State Government, if such
reorganization plan becomes effective pursuant to Section 12080.5 of
the Government Code, it shall have no effect whatever upon the
nonmineral management functions, authorities, and responsibilities of
state tidelands and submerged lands lying below such tidelands, and
swamp and overflow lands affected by tides, including any such lands
granted to a local agency (including, but not limited to, any of the
tidelands and submerged lands which have been granted in trust to the
City of Long Beach), currently within the jurisdiction of the
commission. The Legislative Counsel shall include the exclusion of
such functions, authorities, and responsibilities of the commission
from the transfers of functions provided for by Reorganization Plan
No. 2 of 1969 in preparing the bill required pursuant to Section
12081 of the Government Code.
6301.5. The commission may act in behalf of the State of California
pursuant to Section 7 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, an
Act of Congress approved by the President on August 7, 1953 (67 Stat.
462, 43 U.S.C. Section 1336), and negotiate, with the concurrence of
the Attorney General of California, with the Secretary of the
Interior and with the Attorney General of the United States
respecting operations under existing mineral leases, if any there be
in lands in controversy, and the payment and impounding of rents and
other sums payable thereunder, and respecting the issuance or
nonissuance of new mineral leases pending the settlement or
adjudication of any controversy, which now exists or may arise,
between the United States and the State of California as to whether
or not lands are subject to the provisions of said act. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the commission
also may enter into and execute agreements respecting the said
subjects for, in behalf of, and in the name of the State, with the
Secretary of the Interior, who, with the concurrence of the Attorney
General of the United States, is authorized by the said act to enter
into such agreements in behalf of the United States. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the authority
vested in the commission by this section extends to and includes all
tidelands and submerged lands, or any interest therein, along the
coast of the State of California, whether they be within or beyond
the boundaries of the State as established by law, which have been or
may be acquired by the State in any of the manners enumerated in
Section 6301.
No agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall become
effective unless and until it is approved by the Governor.
6301.6. If any funds are impounded pursuant to Section 6301.5 under
the custody and control of the State of California, such impounded
funds may be invested and reinvested by the Director of Finance in
bonds or other obligations of the United States. Such securities may
be sold or exchanged by the Director of Finance if, in his opinion,
such sale or exchange is in the best interests of the State, and
shall be sold by him whenever, and to the extent, necessary to effect
any required transfer or other disposition of the impounded funds.
Securities purchased or otherwise acquired under the authority of
this section shall be deposited and held in the custody and
safekeeping of the State Treasurer, in the name of the account in the
fund from which the investments were made.
Interest earned or other increment derived from investments made
pursuant to this section shall, on order of the State Controller, be
deposited in the fund from which the investments were made to the
credit of the account covering the impounded funds, in augmentation
of such impounded funds.
6301.7. The commission may negotiate with, and with the approval of
the Governor may enter into agreements with, the United States, or
any official, agency, licensee, permittee, or lessee thereof,
concerning the effect, if any, of any then existing or proposed or
projected fill, dredging, or construction operations or other
activities on or adjacent to tide and submerged lands within the
County of Los Angeles or Ventura upon the boundary between
state-owned submerged lands and the outer continental shelf lands
under the jurisdiction of the United States, or concerning the
location of that boundary. The agreements may include, but are not
limited to, a waiver on behalf of the State of California of any
state-owned submerged lands which would otherwise inure to the state
as a result of any such fill, dredging, or construction operations,
or other activities. The commission shall, before entering into any
such agreement, find that the agreement is in the public interest.
6302. The commission may eject from any tide and submerged lands,
beds of navigable channels, streams, rivers, creeks, lakes, bays, and
inlets under its jurisdiction, any person, firm, or corporation,
trespassing upon any such lands, through appropriate action in the
courts of this state. The commission may recover costs of ejectment
through the legal action.
6302.1. (a) The commission may remove from areas under its
jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or other similar watercraft
which is left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or made fast
to land in a position as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic
or in a condition as to create a hazard to other vessels using a
waterway, to public safety, or to the property of another.
(b) The commission may remove from areas under its jurisdiction
any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft, or other similar obstruction
which seriously interferes with, or otherwise poses a critical and
immediate danger to navigation or to the public health, safety, or
welfare.
(c) Through appropriate action in the courts of this state, the
commission may remove or destroy any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft,
or other similar obstruction which hinders navigation or otherwise
creates a public nuisance in areas under the commission's
jurisdiction.
(d) The commission may recover costs incurred in removal actions
undertaken pursuant to this section through appropriate action in the
courts of this state.
(e) For purposes of this section, "appropriate action" means any
cause of action available at law or in equity.
6303. The commission may grant the privilege of depositing material
upon or removing or extracting material from swamp, overflowed,
marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable streams, channels,
rivers, creeks, bays or inlets owned by the State, for improvement of
navigation, reclamation, flood control or, for purposes connected
with the erection or maintenance of structures authorized under
Article 2 (commencing at Section 6321) of this chapter, upon such
terms and conditions and for such consideration as will be for the
best interests of this State.
When a contractor or permittee has a contract with or a permit
from the federal government or any authorized public agency to dredge
swamp, overflowed, marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable
streams, channels, rivers, creeks, bays, or inlets for the
improvement of navigation, reclamation, or flood control, the
commission, may when in the best interests of the State, allow such
contractor or permittee to have sand, gravel, or other spoils dredged
from the sovereign lands of the State located within the areas
specified in such contract or permit upon such terms and conditions
and for such consideration as will be in the best interests of the
State notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6900 and Section 6992
in respect to competitive bidding. The amounts of sand, gravel or
other spoils so removed from sovereign lands shall not exceed those
specified in the contract or permit.
6303.1. Any person who knowingly and willfully fills, dredges, or
reclaims any state-owned land under the jurisdiction of the
commission underlying any navigable waters, or who erects, maintains,
removes, or alters any structure on such land, without written
authorization from the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent public
agencies from performing emergency alteration, maintenance, repair,
or removal of flood control works or structures on state-owned lands
underlying navigable waters.
6304. The commission may cooperate with the Coastal Engineering
Research Board of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and may
expend such moneys as are necessary for cooperative work with that
board out of any appropriation made for the purposes of this section.
6305. The powers granted by this chapter to the commission as to
leasing or granting of rights or privileges with relation to such
lands owned by the State are hereby conferred upon the counties and
cities to which such lands have been granted.
6306. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every county,
city, district, or other political subdivision or agency of the
state to which sovereign trust lands, including tidelands, submerged
lands, or the beds of navigable waters, have been, or in the future
are, granted, conveyed, or transferred by statute, shall establish
and maintain accounting procedures, in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, providing accurate records of all
revenues received from the trust lands and trust assets and of all
expenditures of those revenues. Where a trust grantee has several
trust grants of adjacent lands and operates the granted lands as a
single integrated entity, separation of accounting records for each
trust grant is not required.
(b) All revenues received from trust lands and trust assets shall
be expended only for those uses and purposes consistent with the
public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the
applicable statutory grant or grants.
(c) Unless otherwise prescribed by law, on or before October 1 of
each year, commencing October 1, 1986, each trust grantee shall file
with the commission a detailed statement of all revenues and
expenditures relating to its trust lands and trust assets, including
obligations incurred but not yet paid, covering the fiscal year
preceding submission of the statement. The statement shall be
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and may take the form of an annual audit prepared by or for the trust
grantee.
6306.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State Lands
Commission and the City of Los Angeles, acting by and through its
Board of Harbor Commissioners, may take all actions which are
necessary for mitigation of expansion of the Port of Los Angeles by
the enhancement, restoration, and management of Batiquitos Lagoon in
the County of San Diego. Nothing in this section exempts the
Batiquitos Lagoon Restoration Project from the regulatory
requirements or jurisdiction of any public entity.
If any interests in property are acquired as a part of the
Batiquitos Lagoon mitigation project, these interests are to be held
in trust for the public as sovereign lands by the State Lands
Commission.
The Legislature finds that adequate area for appropriate
mitigation of impacts on biological resources does not presently
exist within Los Angeles Harbor. The City of Los Angeles, acting by
and through its Board of Harbor Commissioners, may expend harbor
revenue funds to enhance, restore, and manage Batiquitos Lagoon. The
Legislature further finds that the enhancement, restoration, and
management of Batiquitos Lagoon will provide benefits to the Port of
Los Angeles and the community because it will (1) facilitate the
development of an outer harbor landfill which is the initial step in
relocating hazardous liquid bulk facilities in the port, thereby
providing substantial safety benefits to the surrounding community,
(2) allow the port, as part of a larger project, to generate
substantial additional revenues to carry out the mandate in the state
tidelands grants that the port promote commerce, navigation, and
fishery; and (3) create future opportunities for recreational
development consistent with tideland grants.
The port shall provide a recreational boating sanitation facility,
navigational aids in the Cabrillo Channel, and a free boating safety
publication. Provision of these facilities shall be considered by
the California Coastal Commission in determining whether the
conditions of coastal permit 5-85-623 have been met.
6306.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
mitigate the effects of the project which is the subject of the
Department of the Army Permit No. 14003E48B, issued July 23, 1986,
the City of Oakland, acting by and through its Board of Port
Commissioners, may use revenue accruing from, or out of, the use of
granted tidelands, for the acquisition of land, or an interest in
land, located outside the geographical boundaries of the trust grant,
or for the enhancement, restoration, or management of land located
outside the trust grant, if the commission makes all of the following
determinations:
(1) That adequate areas for appropriate mitigation do not
presently exist within the geographical boundaries of the port
district trust grants, and that if some of the mitigation can occur
within the geographical boundaries of the port district trust grants,
that mitigation will be included in the mitigation program.
(2) That the proposed offsite mitigation best promotes appropriate
public trust purposes for which sovereign tidelands and submerged
lands are held by the state, its location is appropriate in
consideration of public trust needs, and it addresses the specific
impacts of the project.
(3) That, unless the proposed offsite mitigation is to be located
within another tidelands trust grant, title to any land or interest
in land acquired, as well as any land which is to be enhanced,
restored, or managed, will be transferred to the state, acting by and
through the State Lands Commission, to be held in trust for the
public as land having the legal character of sovereign lands.
(4) That the mitigation is in the best interest of the state.
(b) The State Lands Commission may lease any land or interest in
land transferred to it pursuant to this section, as provided by Part
2 (commencing with Section 6501).
6307. (a) The commission may enter into an exchange, with any
person or any private or public entity, of filled or reclaimed tide
and submerged lands or beds of navigable waterways, or interests in
these lands, that are subject to the public trust for commerce,
navigation, and fisheries, for other lands or interests in lands, if
the commission finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The exchange is for one or more of the purposes listed in
subdivision (c).
(2) The lands or interests in lands to be acquired in the exchange
will provide a significant benefit to the public trust.
(3) The exchange does not substantially interfere with public
rights of navigation and fishing.
(4) The monetary value of the lands or interests in lands received
by the trust in exchange is equal to or greater than that of the
lands or interests in lands given by the trust in exchange.
(5) The lands or interest in lands given in exchange have been cut
off from water access and no longer are in fact tidelands or
submerged lands or navigable waterways, by virtue of having been
filled or reclaimed, and are relatively useless for public trust
purposes.
(6) The exchange is in the best interests of the state.
(b) Pursuant to an exchange agreement, the commission may free the
lands or interest in lands given in exchange from the public trust
and shall impose the public trust on the lands or interests in lands
received in exchange.
(c) An exchange made by the commission pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be for one or more of the following purposes, as determined by
the commission:
(1) To improve navigation or waterways.
(2) To aid in reclamation or flood control.
(3) To enhance the physical configuration of the shoreline or
trust land ownership.
(4) To enhance public access to or along the water.
(5) To enhance waterfront and nearshore development or
redevelopment for public trust purposes.
(6) To preserve, enhance, or create wetlands, riparian or littoral
habitat, or open space.
(7) To resolve boundary or title disputes.
(d) The commission may release the mineral rights in the lands or
interests in lands given in exchange if it obtains the mineral rights
in the lands or interests in lands received in exchange.
(e) The grantee of any lands or interests in lands given in
exchange may bring a quiet title action under Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 6461) of Part 1 of Division 6 of this code or Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 760.010) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code
of Civil Procedure.
6307.1. (a) This section applies only to land in which California
has a sovereign interest that lies within the boundaries of the State
of Arizona and land in which Arizona has a sovereign interest that
lies within the boundaries of the State of California, as a result of
changes in the course of the Colorado River, and the redefinition in
1963 of the boundary between the two states.
(b) The commission may enter into land exchange agreements with
Arizona to transfer California's sovereign interest in land located
within the boundaries of Arizona and to acquire Arizona's sovereign
interest in land located within the boundaries of California.
(c) The fair market value of the land transferred to Arizona shall
be equal to the fair market value of the land acquired from Arizona.
This requirement is not mandatory for each separate exchange
transaction, but to the extent possible shall be complied with upon
completion of all possible exchanges.
(d) The total value of all lands exchanged pursuant to this
section shall be determined according to fair market value. Upon
completion of all possible exchanges, if there is a difference
between the total value of all land transferred to Arizona, and all
land acquired by California, the difference shall be eliminated by
cash payments from or to the Land Bank Fund established by the
Kapiloff Land Bank Act (Division 7 (commencing with Section 8600)).
(e) The commission may release the mineral rights in all the land
transferred if it receives the mineral rights in all the land
acquired.
(f) All land to be acquired by California pursuant to this section
shall become, upon acquisition, sovereign land of California subject
to the public trust. Any exchange shall be void unless the land to
be acquired by Arizona pursuant to the exchange becomes, upon
acquisition, sovereign land of Arizona subject to the public trust.
(g) Any land exchange made pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the exemption from the California Environmental Quality
Act contained in Section 21080.11.
6308. When an action or proceeding is commenced by or against a
county, city, or other political subdivision or agency of the state
involving the title to or the boundaries of tidelands or submerged
lands that have been or may hereafter be granted to it in trust by
the Legislature, the State of California shall be joined as a
necessary party defendant in the action or proceeding. Service of
summons shall be made upon the chair of the State Lands Commission
and upon the Attorney General, and the Attorney General shall
represent the state in all the actions or proceedings. If judgment is
given against the state in the action or proceeding, costs shall not
be recovered from the state.
6309. (a) The commission shall administer the Shipwreck and
Historic Maritime Resources Program, which consists of the activities
of the commission pursuant to this section and Sections 6313 and
6314.
(b) The commission has exclusive jurisdiction with respect to
salvage operations over and upon all tide and submerged lands of the
state. The commission may grant the privilege of conducting salvage
operations upon or over those lands by the issuance of permits. The
commission may adopt rules and regulations in connection with
applications for those permits, and the operations to be conducted in
the salvage operation, that the commission determines to be
necessary to protect those lands and the uses and purposes reserved
to the people of the state.
(c) The commission may issue permits for salvage on granted tide
and submerged lands only after consultation with the grantee and a
determination by the commission that the proposed salvage operation
is not inconsistent with the purposes of the grant.
(d) A salvage permit shall be required of a person or entity to
conduct any salvage operation. As used in this section and Section
6313, "salvage operation" means any activity, including search by
electronic means, or exploration or excavation using tools or
mechanical devices, with the objective of locating, and recovering or
removing vessels, aircraft, or any other cultural object from the
surface or subsurface of state submerged lands.
(e) Salvage permits shall be issued for one year, with the option
to renew the permit for additional one-year periods at the discretion
of the commission upon a showing that the permitholder has
diligently and lawfully pursued the permitted activity and has
achieved to a reasonable extent the purpose for which the permit was
issued.
(f) The commission may require that a person designated by the
commission and paid by the permitholder be present during each phase
of a salvage operation to observe and monitor compliance with the
terms of the permit. The permitholder shall, upon the request of the
commission, provide or pay for a reliable communication system for
the observer to maintain contact with the office of the commission
while on the salvage site.
(g) The commission may issue a permit for the search or recovery
of nonhistoric vessels, aircraft, or submerged objects, and for the
search, archaeological investigation, and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 6313. The commission shall determine
the appropriate type of permit to issue based on its evaluation of
the salvage project and the project's probable impact on the site or
objective, and the impact on the state submerged lands. The
commission shall not require a permit for any recreational diving
activity which does not disturb the subsurface or remove objects or
materials from a submerged archaeological site or submerged historic
resource as defined in Section 6313.
(h) (1) Permits may be revoked by the commission, after notice to
the permitholder, at any time the commission finds that the
permitholder has failed to comply with the terms of the permit or any
law or regulation governing the permitted activity.
(2) A stop work order may be issued by the executive officer of
the commission at the request of the onsite observer provided by
subdivision (f), if the observer determines that the activities of
the permitholder are not within the permitted activity. A stop work
order shall be issued after the nonpermitted activity is brought to
the attention of the person in charge of the onsite operation and
that person fails or refuses after sufficient time and opportunity to
change or correct the activity. Written notice of the stop work
order shall be given to the person in charge of the onsite activity
and a hearing by the executive officer or his or her designee shall
be provided to the permitholder within three business days.
(3) After the hearing the commission may seek enforcement of, or
the permitholder may seek relief from, the stop work order in the
superior court in the county in which the activity is being
conducted. The relief may include damages for failure to comply with
the stop work order. The commission may deny an application for a
permit when it finds that the applicant has failed to provide, for a
period of 60 days, information specifically requested by the
commission which is necessary to complete the application.
(i) When title to the objects, including a vessel, to be recovered
is vested in the state, the commission shall provide for fair
compensation to the permitholder in terms of a percentage of the
reasonable cash value, or a fair share, of the objects recovered. The
reasonable cash value of the objects shall be determined by
appraisal by qualified experts selected by the commission. The
commission shall determine the amount constituting fair compensation,
taking into consideration the circumstances of each case. Title to
all objects recovered is retained by the state until it is released
by the commission.
(j) The commission may fix and collect reasonable fees and costs
for the processing and issuance of permits under this section. The
applicant may be required to post a bond to ensure the completion of
the project or payment of costs, or to deposit funds with the
commission sufficient to cover costs and expenses chargeable to the
applicant by law or by an agreement for reimbursement. If a bond is
posted, the bond shall be held by the commission and shall be
sufficient to cover all potential costs associated with the project,
including preserving, restoring, and protecting the site and its
associated finds.
6310. Whenever tide and submerged lands granted in trust to a
county by the Legislature are included within a city's boundaries as
the result of that city's incorporation, trust title to such lands
shall pass to such city only upon specific authorization and
direction of the Legislature and at that time all papers, records,
and all other documents pertaining to such lands and the
administration thereof shall automatically become the property of the
city and shall be transferred to the possession of the appropriate
city officials by the county officials having possession thereof;
provided, that the city shall pay to the county all costs necessarily
incurred in making such transfer.
6311. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that any
grant of tidelands or submerged lands made after January 1, 1971,
within an area which has been designated by the Department of Boating
and Waterways as the location of a small craft harbor of refuge,
shall contain a reservation and condition requiring the grantee to
submit a plan to the Department of Boating and Waterways, within a
reasonable period of time after the effective date of the grant, for
the construction of facilities necessary or convenient for the use of
the granted lands as a small craft harbor of refuge, and requiring
the construction of facilities to be completed within a specified
period of time after approval of the plan by the Department of
Boating and Waterways.
6312. Neither the state, nor any political subdivision thereof,
shall take possession of lawful improvements on validly granted or
patented tidelands or submerged lands without the tender of a fair
and just compensation for such lawful improvements as may have been
made in good faith by the grantee or patentee or his successors in
interest pursuant to any express or implied license contained in the
grant or patent.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the parties to
a grant or patent of tidelands from agreeing, as a part of such
grant or patent, that there shall be no compensation paid for any
improvement made on those tidelands to which such agreement relates.
Nothing herein contained is intended to increase, diminish, or
affect the title of any person in any validly granted or patented
tidelands or submerged lands.
This section shall not be construed to require compensation for
any change in the use of tidelands or submerged lands as a result of
governmental regulation that prohibits, restricts, delays, or
otherwise affects the construction of any planned or contemplated
improvement.
As used in this section, the term "grant" or "granted" shall not
be construed to apply to legislative grants in trust to local
governmental entities.
6313. (a) The title to all abandoned shipwrecks and all
archaeological sites and historic resources on or in the tide and
submerged lands of California is vested in the state. All abandoned
shipwrecks and all submerged archaeological sites and submerged
historic resources of the state shall be in the custody and subject
to the control of the commission for the benefit of the people of the
state of California. The commission may transfer title, custody, or
control to other state agencies or recognized scientific or
educational organizations, institutions, or individuals by
appropriate legal conveyance.
(b) As used in this section, "submerged archaeological site" and
"submerged historic resource," shall be given the broadest possible
meaning, to include any submerged object, structure, building,
watercraft, aircraft, or vessel and any associated cargo, armament,
tackle, fixture, human remains, or remnant of those objects, or a
site, area, person, or place, which is historically or
archaeologically significant, or significant in the prehistory or
history or exploration, settlement, engineering, commerce,
militarism, recreation, or culture of California and that is
partially or wholly embedded in or resting on state submerged or
tidal lands.
(c) Sites with archaeological or historic significance shall be
determined by reference to their eligibility for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of
Historical Resources. Any submerged archaeological site or submerged
historic resource remaining in state waters for more than 50 years
shall be presumed to be archaeologically or historically significant.
The commission, with the assistance of the State Office of Historic
Preservation, shall identify, compile, and maintain an inventory of
shipwreck sites, or sites of archaeological or historical
significance and shall make the listing available to the public.
(d) Permits for salvage operations involving submerged
archaeological sites or submerged historic resources may be granted
by the commission when the proposed activity is justified by an
educational, scientific, or cultural purpose, or the need to protect
the integrity of the site or the resource. The commission may issue
permits to individuals or organizations representing museums,
universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational
institutions and individuals that demonstrate the capability to
properly carry out archaeological investigations. The commission may
deny an application for a permit to an applicant who the commission
determines has not demonstrated the ability to properly conduct an
archaeological investigation or salvage activities. The commission
may consider the applicant's past conduct with regard to salvage
operations when making this determination.
(e) (1) Prior to the issuance of a permit under subdivision (d),
the applicant shall provide to the commission a detailed project
design that includes all of the following:
(A) The purpose of the project.
(B) A description of the methodology, technology, and equipment to
be employed.
(C) The project funding source.
(D) A timetable for the completion of the project.
(E) The composition, qualifications, and responsibilities of the
project team.
(F) A conservation and curation plan, if applicable.
(G) A plan to document all phases of the project.
(H) A safety plan.
(I) An outline and timetable for preparation and submission of
progress reports and a final report.
(J) Other information that the commission deems necessary to
properly evaluate the application.
(2) All activities permitted under subdivision (d) or required by
this subdivision shall be accomplished under the direct supervision
of a person who meets the qualifications required of a professional
marine archaeologist.
(f) The commission shall forward applications for permits for
archaeological investigation or excavation and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources in state
waters, including the information required by subdivision (e), to the
State Office of Historic Preservation, and may provide the
applications and information to other qualified organizations and
individuals, as appropriate, for technical review of the project
design and recommendation concerning the preservation and protection
of the site or resource.
(g) The commission shall provide for the disposition of all
objects or other materials recovered, which may include provisions
for display in museums, educational institutions, and other
appropriate locations available to the public.
(h) The commission may contract with persons, firms, corporations,
or institutions who, for the privilege of having temporary
possession of recovered archaeological resources, will advance to the
commission the money necessary to conduct salvage operations or to
purchase from a permitholder, from his or her fair share,
archaeological resources which the commission determines should
remain the property of the state. A contract may be made only on the
condition that the commission may, at any time, repay the money
advanced, without interest or additional charges of any kind, and
recover possession of the resources. During the time the resources
are in the possession of the entity advancing the money, the
resources shall be available for viewing by the general public at a
nominal fee or without charge.
(i) The commission may also contract with other state agencies,
qualified public or private institutions, local governments, or
individuals for public display of the archaeological resources
recovered. The commission shall require assurances that appropriate
security, qualified personnel, insurance, and facilities for
preservation, restoration, and display of the resources loaned are
provided under the contract.
6314. (a) A person who removes, without authorization from the
commission, or a person who destroys or damages an archaeological
site or a historic resource, that is located on or in the submerged
lands of, and that is the property of, the state, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both.
(b) The commission, or, at its request, the Attorney General or a
district attorney in whose jurisdiction the violation occurred, may
seek civil damages for the damage, loss, or destruction of an
abandoned shipwreck, its gear or cargo, or an archaeological site or
historic resource located on or in submerged lands of the state. A
vessel used to damage, destroy, or cause the loss of, any shipwreck
or archaeological site or historic resource is subject to a
proceeding in rem by the state for the costs and damages resulting
from that damage, destruction, or loss. Enforcement may include,
where appropriate, a restraining order or injunctive relief to
restrain and enjoin violations or threatened violations of Section
6309, Section 6313, or this section and for the return of items taken
in violation of these sections.
(c) An artifact, object, or material that has been removed from a
state submerged archaeological site or submerged historic resource,
as specified in subdivision (a), and that is found in any watercraft
occupied by persons who do not hold a permit as required by Section
6309 or 6313 or other reasonable evidence of legal possession is
prima facie evidence of a violation of that section and the artifact,
object, or material may be confiscated by a state, federal, or local
law enforcement officer. An artifact, an object, or material
confiscated pursuant to this section shall be returned to the person
claiming ownership, upon proof of ownership or legal right to
possession, within 30 days of its confiscation, unless a prosecuting
attorney determines that it is required as evidence in the
prosecution of a criminal violation.
(d) In a case in which a district attorney, at the request of the
commission, or with its concurrence, enforces subdivision (a), the
commission shall, notwithstanding Section 1463 of the Penal Code, be
entitled to an equal division of the fine imposed.
(e) All state and local law enforcement agencies and officers are
directed to assist in enforcing this section, and are requested to
work with and seek the cooperation of federal law enforcement
agencies, including deputizing federal officers when appropriate.
6301. The commission has exclusive jurisdiction over all ungranted
tidelands and submerged lands owned by the State, and of the beds of
navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and
straits, including tidelands and submerged lands or any interest
therein, whether within or beyond the boundaries of the State as
established by law, which have been or may be acquired by the State
(a) by quitclaim, cession, grant, contract, or otherwise from the
United States or any agency thereof, or (b) by any other means. All
jurisdiction and authority remaining in the State as to tidelands and
submerged lands as to which grants have been or may be made is
vested in the commission.
The commission shall exclusively administer and control all such
lands, and may lease or otherwise dispose of such lands, as provided
by law, upon such terms and for such consideration, if any, as are
determined by it.
The provisions of this section do not apply to land of the classes
described in Section 6403, as added by Chapter 227 of the Statutes
of 1947.
6301.2. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1969 for the Reorganization of the
Executive Branch of California State Government, if such
reorganization plan becomes effective pursuant to Section 12080.5 of
the Government Code, it shall have no effect whatever upon the
nonmineral management functions, authorities, and responsibilities of
state tidelands and submerged lands lying below such tidelands, and
swamp and overflow lands affected by tides, including any such lands
granted to a local agency (including, but not limited to, any of the
tidelands and submerged lands which have been granted in trust to the
City of Long Beach), currently within the jurisdiction of the
commission. The Legislative Counsel shall include the exclusion of
such functions, authorities, and responsibilities of the commission
from the transfers of functions provided for by Reorganization Plan
No. 2 of 1969 in preparing the bill required pursuant to Section
12081 of the Government Code.
6301.5. The commission may act in behalf of the State of California
pursuant to Section 7 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, an
Act of Congress approved by the President on August 7, 1953 (67 Stat.
462, 43 U.S.C. Section 1336), and negotiate, with the concurrence of
the Attorney General of California, with the Secretary of the
Interior and with the Attorney General of the United States
respecting operations under existing mineral leases, if any there be
in lands in controversy, and the payment and impounding of rents and
other sums payable thereunder, and respecting the issuance or
nonissuance of new mineral leases pending the settlement or
adjudication of any controversy, which now exists or may arise,
between the United States and the State of California as to whether
or not lands are subject to the provisions of said act. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the commission
also may enter into and execute agreements respecting the said
subjects for, in behalf of, and in the name of the State, with the
Secretary of the Interior, who, with the concurrence of the Attorney
General of the United States, is authorized by the said act to enter
into such agreements in behalf of the United States. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the authority
vested in the commission by this section extends to and includes all
tidelands and submerged lands, or any interest therein, along the
coast of the State of California, whether they be within or beyond
the boundaries of the State as established by law, which have been or
may be acquired by the State in any of the manners enumerated in
Section 6301.
No agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall become
effective unless and until it is approved by the Governor.
6301.6. If any funds are impounded pursuant to Section 6301.5 under
the custody and control of the State of California, such impounded
funds may be invested and reinvested by the Director of Finance in
bonds or other obligations of the United States. Such securities may
be sold or exchanged by the Director of Finance if, in his opinion,
such sale or exchange is in the best interests of the State, and
shall be sold by him whenever, and to the extent, necessary to effect
any required transfer or other disposition of the impounded funds.
Securities purchased or otherwise acquired under the authority of
this section shall be deposited and held in the custody and
safekeeping of the State Treasurer, in the name of the account in the
fund from which the investments were made.
Interest earned or other increment derived from investments made
pursuant to this section shall, on order of the State Controller, be
deposited in the fund from which the investments were made to the
credit of the account covering the impounded funds, in augmentation
of such impounded funds.
6301.7. The commission may negotiate with, and with the approval of
the Governor may enter into agreements with, the United States, or
any official, agency, licensee, permittee, or lessee thereof,
concerning the effect, if any, of any then existing or proposed or
projected fill, dredging, or construction operations or other
activities on or adjacent to tide and submerged lands within the
County of Los Angeles or Ventura upon the boundary between
state-owned submerged lands and the outer continental shelf lands
under the jurisdiction of the United States, or concerning the
location of that boundary. The agreements may include, but are not
limited to, a waiver on behalf of the State of California of any
state-owned submerged lands which would otherwise inure to the state
as a result of any such fill, dredging, or construction operations,
or other activities. The commission shall, before entering into any
such agreement, find that the agreement is in the public interest.
6302. The commission may eject from any tide and submerged lands,
beds of navigable channels, streams, rivers, creeks, lakes, bays, and
inlets under its jurisdiction, any person, firm, or corporation,
trespassing upon any such lands, through appropriate action in the
courts of this state. The commission may recover costs of ejectment
through the legal action.
6302.1. (a) The commission may remove from areas under its
jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or other similar watercraft
which is left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or made fast
to land in a position as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic
or in a condition as to create a hazard to other vessels using a
waterway, to public safety, or to the property of another.
(b) The commission may remove from areas under its jurisdiction
any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft, or other similar obstruction
which seriously interferes with, or otherwise poses a critical and
immediate danger to navigation or to the public health, safety, or
welfare.
(c) Through appropriate action in the courts of this state, the
commission may remove or destroy any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft,
or other similar obstruction which hinders navigation or otherwise
creates a public nuisance in areas under the commission's
jurisdiction.
(d) The commission may recover costs incurred in removal actions
undertaken pursuant to this section through appropriate action in the
courts of this state.
(e) For purposes of this section, "appropriate action" means any
cause of action available at law or in equity.
6303. The commission may grant the privilege of depositing material
upon or removing or extracting material from swamp, overflowed,
marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable streams, channels,
rivers, creeks, bays or inlets owned by the State, for improvement of
navigation, reclamation, flood control or, for purposes connected
with the erection or maintenance of structures authorized under
Article 2 (commencing at Section 6321) of this chapter, upon such
terms and conditions and for such consideration as will be for the
best interests of this State.
When a contractor or permittee has a contract with or a permit
from the federal government or any authorized public agency to dredge
swamp, overflowed, marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable
streams, channels, rivers, creeks, bays, or inlets for the
improvement of navigation, reclamation, or flood control, the
commission, may when in the best interests of the State, allow such
contractor or permittee to have sand, gravel, or other spoils dredged
from the sovereign lands of the State located within the areas
specified in such contract or permit upon such terms and conditions
and for such consideration as will be in the best interests of the
State notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6900 and Section 6992
in respect to competitive bidding. The amounts of sand, gravel or
other spoils so removed from sovereign lands shall not exceed those
specified in the contract or permit.
6303.1. Any person who knowingly and willfully fills, dredges, or
reclaims any state-owned land under the jurisdiction of the
commission underlying any navigable waters, or who erects, maintains,
removes, or alters any structure on such land, without written
authorization from the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent public
agencies from performing emergency alteration, maintenance, repair,
or removal of flood control works or structures on state-owned lands
underlying navigable waters.
6304. The commission may cooperate with the Coastal Engineering
Research Board of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and may
expend such moneys as are necessary for cooperative work with that
board out of any appropriation made for the purposes of this section.
6305. The powers granted by this chapter to the commission as to
leasing or granting of rights or privileges with relation to such
lands owned by the State are hereby conferred upon the counties and
cities to which such lands have been granted.
6306. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every county,
city, district, or other political subdivision or agency of the
state to which sovereign trust lands, including tidelands, submerged
lands, or the beds of navigable waters, have been, or in the future
are, granted, conveyed, or transferred by statute, shall establish
and maintain accounting procedures, in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, providing accurate records of all
revenues received from the trust lands and trust assets and of all
expenditures of those revenues. Where a trust grantee has several
trust grants of adjacent lands and operates the granted lands as a
single integrated entity, separation of accounting records for each
trust grant is not required.
(b) All revenues received from trust lands and trust assets shall
be expended only for those uses and purposes consistent with the
public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the
applicable statutory grant or grants.
(c) Unless otherwise prescribed by law, on or before October 1 of
each year, commencing October 1, 1986, each trust grantee shall file
with the commission a detailed statement of all revenues and
expenditures relating to its trust lands and trust assets, including
obligations incurred but not yet paid, covering the fiscal year
preceding submission of the statement. The statement shall be
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and may take the form of an annual audit prepared by or for the trust
grantee.
6306.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State Lands
Commission and the City of Los Angeles, acting by and through its
Board of Harbor Commissioners, may take all actions which are
necessary for mitigation of expansion of the Port of Los Angeles by
the enhancement, restoration, and management of Batiquitos Lagoon in
the County of San Diego. Nothing in this section exempts the
Batiquitos Lagoon Restoration Project from the regulatory
requirements or jurisdiction of any public entity.
If any interests in property are acquired as a part of the
Batiquitos Lagoon mitigation project, these interests are to be held
in trust for the public as sovereign lands by the State Lands
Commission.
The Legislature finds that adequate area for appropriate
mitigation of impacts on biological resources does not presently
exist within Los Angeles Harbor. The City of Los Angeles, acting by
and through its Board of Harbor Commissioners, may expend harbor
revenue funds to enhance, restore, and manage Batiquitos Lagoon. The
Legislature further finds that the enhancement, restoration, and
management of Batiquitos Lagoon will provide benefits to the Port of
Los Angeles and the community because it will (1) facilitate the
development of an outer harbor landfill which is the initial step in
relocating hazardous liquid bulk facilities in the port, thereby
providing substantial safety benefits to the surrounding community,
(2) allow the port, as part of a larger project, to generate
substantial additional revenues to carry out the mandate in the state
tidelands grants that the port promote commerce, navigation, and
fishery; and (3) create future opportunities for recreational
development consistent with tideland grants.
The port shall provide a recreational boating sanitation facility,
navigational aids in the Cabrillo Channel, and a free boating safety
publication. Provision of these facilities shall be considered by
the California Coastal Commission in determining whether the
conditions of coastal permit 5-85-623 have been met.
6306.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
mitigate the effects of the project which is the subject of the
Department of the Army Permit No. 14003E48B, issued July 23, 1986,
the City of Oakland, acting by and through its Board of Port
Commissioners, may use revenue accruing from, or out of, the use of
granted tidelands, for the acquisition of land, or an interest in
land, located outside the geographical boundaries of the trust grant,
or for the enhancement, restoration, or management of land located
outside the trust grant, if the commission makes all of the following
determinations:
(1) That adequate areas for appropriate mitigation do not
presently exist within the geographical boundaries of the port
district trust grants, and that if some of the mitigation can occur
within the geographical boundaries of the port district trust grants,
that mitigation will be included in the mitigation program.
(2) That the proposed offsite mitigation best promotes appropriate
public trust purposes for which sovereign tidelands and submerged
lands are held by the state, its location is appropriate in
consideration of public trust needs, and it addresses the specific
impacts of the project.
(3) That, unless the proposed offsite mitigation is to be located
within another tidelands trust grant, title to any land or interest
in land acquired, as well as any land which is to be enhanced,
restored, or managed, will be transferred to the state, acting by and
through the State Lands Commission, to be held in trust for the
public as land having the legal character of sovereign lands.
(4) That the mitigation is in the best interest of the state.
(b) The State Lands Commission may lease any land or interest in
land transferred to it pursuant to this section, as provided by Part
2 (commencing with Section 6501).
6307. (a) The commission may enter into an exchange, with any
person or any private or public entity, of filled or reclaimed tide
and submerged lands or beds of navigable waterways, or interests in
these lands, that are subject to the public trust for commerce,
navigation, and fisheries, for other lands or interests in lands, if
the commission finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The exchange is for one or more of the purposes listed in
subdivision (c).
(2) The lands or interests in lands to be acquired in the exchange
will provide a significant benefit to the public trust.
(3) The exchange does not substantially interfere with public
rights of navigation and fishing.
(4) The monetary value of the lands or interests in lands received
by the trust in exchange is equal to or greater than that of the
lands or interests in lands given by the trust in exchange.
(5) The lands or interest in lands given in exchange have been cut
off from water access and no longer are in fact tidelands or
submerged lands or navigable waterways, by virtue of having been
filled or reclaimed, and are relatively useless for public trust
purposes.
(6) The exchange is in the best interests of the state.
(b) Pursuant to an exchange agreement, the commission may free the
lands or interest in lands given in exchange from the public trust
and shall impose the public trust on the lands or interests in lands
received in exchange.
(c) An exchange made by the commission pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be for one or more of the following purposes, as determined by
the commission:
(1) To improve navigation or waterways.
(2) To aid in reclamation or flood control.
(3) To enhance the physical configuration of the shoreline or
trust land ownership.
(4) To enhance public access to or along the water.
(5) To enhance waterfront and nearshore development or
redevelopment for public trust purposes.
(6) To preserve, enhance, or create wetlands, riparian or littoral
habitat, or open space.
(7) To resolve boundary or title disputes.
(d) The commission may release the mineral rights in the lands or
interests in lands given in exchange if it obtains the mineral rights
in the lands or interests in lands received in exchange.
(e) The grantee of any lands or interests in lands given in
exchange may bring a quiet title action under Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 6461) of Part 1 of Division 6 of this code or Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 760.010) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code
of Civil Procedure.
6307.1. (a) This section applies only to land in which California
has a sovereign interest that lies within the boundaries of the State
of Arizona and land in which Arizona has a sovereign interest that
lies within the boundaries of the State of California, as a result of
changes in the course of the Colorado River, and the redefinition in
1963 of the boundary between the two states.
(b) The commission may enter into land exchange agreements with
Arizona to transfer California's sovereign interest in land located
within the boundaries of Arizona and to acquire Arizona's sovereign
interest in land located within the boundaries of California.
(c) The fair market value of the land transferred to Arizona shall
be equal to the fair market value of the land acquired from Arizona.
This requirement is not mandatory for each separate exchange
transaction, but to the extent possible shall be complied with upon
completion of all possible exchanges.
(d) The total value of all lands exchanged pursuant to this
section shall be determined according to fair market value. Upon
completion of all possible exchanges, if there is a difference
between the total value of all land transferred to Arizona, and all
land acquired by California, the difference shall be eliminated by
cash payments from or to the Land Bank Fund established by the
Kapiloff Land Bank Act (Division 7 (commencing with Section 8600)).
(e) The commission may release the mineral rights in all the land
transferred if it receives the mineral rights in all the land
acquired.
(f) All land to be acquired by California pursuant to this section
shall become, upon acquisition, sovereign land of California subject
to the public trust. Any exchange shall be void unless the land to
be acquired by Arizona pursuant to the exchange becomes, upon
acquisition, sovereign land of Arizona subject to the public trust.
(g) Any land exchange made pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the exemption from the California Environmental Quality
Act contained in Section 21080.11.
6308. When an action or proceeding is commenced by or against a
county, city, or other political subdivision or agency of the state
involving the title to or the boundaries of tidelands or submerged
lands that have been or may hereafter be granted to it in trust by
the Legislature, the State of California shall be joined as a
necessary party defendant in the action or proceeding. Service of
summons shall be made upon the chair of the State Lands Commission
and upon the Attorney General, and the Attorney General shall
represent the state in all the actions or proceedings. If judgment is
given against the state in the action or proceeding, costs shall not
be recovered from the state.
6309. (a) The commission shall administer the Shipwreck and
Historic Maritime Resources Program, which consists of the activities
of the commission pursuant to this section and Sections 6313 and
6314.
(b) The commission has exclusive jurisdiction with respect to
salvage operations over and upon all tide and submerged lands of the
state. The commission may grant the privilege of conducting salvage
operations upon or over those lands by the issuance of permits. The
commission may adopt rules and regulations in connection with
applications for those permits, and the operations to be conducted in
the salvage operation, that the commission determines to be
necessary to protect those lands and the uses and purposes reserved
to the people of the state.
(c) The commission may issue permits for salvage on granted tide
and submerged lands only after consultation with the grantee and a
determination by the commission that the proposed salvage operation
is not inconsistent with the purposes of the grant.
(d) A salvage permit shall be required of a person or entity to
conduct any salvage operation. As used in this section and Section
6313, "salvage operation" means any activity, including search by
electronic means, or exploration or excavation using tools or
mechanical devices, with the objective of locating, and recovering or
removing vessels, aircraft, or any other cultural object from the
surface or subsurface of state submerged lands.
(e) Salvage permits shall be issued for one year, with the option
to renew the permit for additional one-year periods at the discretion
of the commission upon a showing that the permitholder has
diligently and lawfully pursued the permitted activity and has
achieved to a reasonable extent the purpose for which the permit was
issued.
(f) The commission may require that a person designated by the
commission and paid by the permitholder be present during each phase
of a salvage operation to observe and monitor compliance with the
terms of the permit. The permitholder shall, upon the request of the
commission, provide or pay for a reliable communication system for
the observer to maintain contact with the office of the commission
while on the salvage site.
(g) The commission may issue a permit for the search or recovery
of nonhistoric vessels, aircraft, or submerged objects, and for the
search, archaeological investigation, and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 6313. The commission shall determine
the appropriate type of permit to issue based on its evaluation of
the salvage project and the project's probable impact on the site or
objective, and the impact on the state submerged lands. The
commission shall not require a permit for any recreational diving
activity which does not disturb the subsurface or remove objects or
materials from a submerged archaeological site or submerged historic
resource as defined in Section 6313.
(h) (1) Permits may be revoked by the commission, after notice to
the permitholder, at any time the commission finds that the
permitholder has failed to comply with the terms of the permit or any
law or regulation governing the permitted activity.
(2) A stop work order may be issued by the executive officer of
the commission at the request of the onsite observer provided by
subdivision (f), if the observer determines that the activities of
the permitholder are not within the permitted activity. A stop work
order shall be issued after the nonpermitted activity is brought to
the attention of the person in charge of the onsite operation and
that person fails or refuses after sufficient time and opportunity to
change or correct the activity. Written notice of the stop work
order shall be given to the person in charge of the onsite activity
and a hearing by the executive officer or his or her designee shall
be provided to the permitholder within three business days.
(3) After the hearing the commission may seek enforcement of, or
the permitholder may seek relief from, the stop work order in the
superior court in the county in which the activity is being
conducted. The relief may include damages for failure to comply with
the stop work order. The commission may deny an application for a
permit when it finds that the applicant has failed to provide, for a
period of 60 days, information specifically requested by the
commission which is necessary to complete the application.
(i) When title to the objects, including a vessel, to be recovered
is vested in the state, the commission shall provide for fair
compensation to the permitholder in terms of a percentage of the
reasonable cash value, or a fair share, of the objects recovered. The
reasonable cash value of the objects shall be determined by
appraisal by qualified experts selected by the commission. The
commission shall determine the amount constituting fair compensation,
taking into consideration the circumstances of each case. Title to
all objects recovered is retained by the state until it is released
by the commission.
(j) The commission may fix and collect reasonable fees and costs
for the processing and issuance of permits under this section. The
applicant may be required to post a bond to ensure the completion of
the project or payment of costs, or to deposit funds with the
commission sufficient to cover costs and expenses chargeable to the
applicant by law or by an agreement for reimbursement. If a bond is
posted, the bond shall be held by the commission and shall be
sufficient to cover all potential costs associated with the project,
including preserving, restoring, and protecting the site and its
associated finds.
6310. Whenever tide and submerged lands granted in trust to a
county by the Legislature are included within a city's boundaries as
the result of that city's incorporation, trust title to such lands
shall pass to such city only upon specific authorization and
direction of the Legislature and at that time all papers, records,
and all other documents pertaining to such lands and the
administration thereof shall automatically become the property of the
city and shall be transferred to the possession of the appropriate
city officials by the county officials having possession thereof;
provided, that the city shall pay to the county all costs necessarily
incurred in making such transfer.
6311. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that any
grant of tidelands or submerged lands made after January 1, 1971,
within an area which has been designated by the Department of Boating
and Waterways as the location of a small craft harbor of refuge,
shall contain a reservation and condition requiring the grantee to
submit a plan to the Department of Boating and Waterways, within a
reasonable period of time after the effective date of the grant, for
the construction of facilities necessary or convenient for the use of
the granted lands as a small craft harbor of refuge, and requiring
the construction of facilities to be completed within a specified
period of time after approval of the plan by the Department of
Boating and Waterways.
6312. Neither the state, nor any political subdivision thereof,
shall take possession of lawful improvements on validly granted or
patented tidelands or submerged lands without the tender of a fair
and just compensation for such lawful improvements as may have been
made in good faith by the grantee or patentee or his successors in
interest pursuant to any express or implied license contained in the
grant or patent.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the parties to
a grant or patent of tidelands from agreeing, as a part of such
grant or patent, that there shall be no compensation paid for any
improvement made on those tidelands to which such agreement relates.
Nothing herein contained is intended to increase, diminish, or
affect the title of any person in any validly granted or patented
tidelands or submerged lands.
This section shall not be construed to require compensation for
any change in the use of tidelands or submerged lands as a result of
governmental regulation that prohibits, restricts, delays, or
otherwise affects the construction of any planned or contemplated
improvement.
As used in this section, the term "grant" or "granted" shall not
be construed to apply to legislative grants in trust to local
governmental entities.
6313. (a) The title to all abandoned shipwrecks and all
archaeological sites and historic resources on or in the tide and
submerged lands of California is vested in the state. All abandoned
shipwrecks and all submerged archaeological sites and submerged
historic resources of the state shall be in the custody and subject
to the control of the commission for the benefit of the people of the
state of California. The commission may transfer title, custody, or
control to other state agencies or recognized scientific or
educational organizations, institutions, or individuals by
appropriate legal conveyance.
(b) As used in this section, "submerged archaeological site" and
"submerged historic resource," shall be given the broadest possible
meaning, to include any submerged object, structure, building,
watercraft, aircraft, or vessel and any associated cargo, armament,
tackle, fixture, human remains, or remnant of those objects, or a
site, area, person, or place, which is historically or
archaeologically significant, or significant in the prehistory or
history or exploration, settlement, engineering, commerce,
militarism, recreation, or culture of California and that is
partially or wholly embedded in or resting on state submerged or
tidal lands.
(c) Sites with archaeological or historic significance shall be
determined by reference to their eligibility for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of
Historical Resources. Any submerged archaeological site or submerged
historic resource remaining in state waters for more than 50 years
shall be presumed to be archaeologically or historically significant.
The commission, with the assistance of the State Office of Historic
Preservation, shall identify, compile, and maintain an inventory of
shipwreck sites, or sites of archaeological or historical
significance and shall make the listing available to the public.
(d) Permits for salvage operations involving submerged
archaeological sites or submerged historic resources may be granted
by the commission when the proposed activity is justified by an
educational, scientific, or cultural purpose, or the need to protect
the integrity of the site or the resource. The commission may issue
permits to individuals or organizations representing museums,
universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational
institutions and individuals that demonstrate the capability to
properly carry out archaeological investigations. The commission may
deny an application for a permit to an applicant who the commission
determines has not demonstrated the ability to properly conduct an
archaeological investigation or salvage activities. The commission
may consider the applicant's past conduct with regard to salvage
operations when making this determination.
(e) (1) Prior to the issuance of a permit under subdivision (d),
the applicant shall provide to the commission a detailed project
design that includes all of the following:
(A) The purpose of the project.
(B) A description of the methodology, technology, and equipment to
be employed.
(C) The project funding source.
(D) A timetable for the completion of the project.
(E) The composition, qualifications, and responsibilities of the
project team.
(F) A conservation and curation plan, if applicable.
(G) A plan to document all phases of the project.
(H) A safety plan.
(I) An outline and timetable for preparation and submission of
progress reports and a final report.
(J) Other information that the commission deems necessary to
properly evaluate the application.
(2) All activities permitted under subdivision (d) or required by
this subdivision shall be accomplished under the direct supervision
of a person who meets the qualifications required of a professional
marine archaeologist.
(f) The commission shall forward applications for permits for
archaeological investigation or excavation and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources in state
waters, including the information required by subdivision (e), to the
State Office of Historic Preservation, and may provide the
applications and information to other qualified organizations and
individuals, as appropriate, for technical review of the project
design and recommendation concerning the preservation and protection
of the site or resource.
(g) The commission shall provide for the disposition of all
objects or other materials recovered, which may include provisions
for display in museums, educational institutions, and other
appropriate locations available to the public.
(h) The commission may contract with persons, firms, corporations,
or institutions who, for the privilege of having temporary
possession of recovered archaeological resources, will advance to the
commission the money necessary to conduct salvage operations or to
purchase from a permitholder, from his or her fair share,
archaeological resources which the commission determines should
remain the property of the state. A contract may be made only on the
condition that the commission may, at any time, repay the money
advanced, without interest or additional charges of any kind, and
recover possession of the resources. During the time the resources
are in the possession of the entity advancing the money, the
resources shall be available for viewing by the general public at a
nominal fee or without charge.
(i) The commission may also contract with other state agencies,
qualified public or private institutions, local governments, or
individuals for public display of the archaeological resources
recovered. The commission shall require assurances that appropriate
security, qualified personnel, insurance, and facilities for
preservation, restoration, and display of the resources loaned are
provided under the contract.
6314. (a) A person who removes, without authorization from the
commission, or a person who destroys or damages an archaeological
site or a historic resource, that is located on or in the submerged
lands of, and that is the property of, the state, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both.
(b) The commission, or, at its request, the Attorney General or a
district attorney in whose jurisdiction the violation occurred, may
seek civil damages for the damage, loss, or destruction of an
abandoned shipwreck, its gear or cargo, or an archaeological site or
historic resource located on or in submerged lands of the state. A
vessel used to damage, destroy, or cause the loss of, any shipwreck
or archaeological site or historic resource is subject to a
proceeding in rem by the state for the costs and damages resulting
from that damage, destruction, or loss. Enforcement may include,
where appropriate, a restraining order or injunctive relief to
restrain and enjoin violations or threatened violations of Section
6309, Section 6313, or this section and for the return of items taken
in violation of these sections.
(c) An artifact, object, or material that has been removed from a
state submerged archaeological site or submerged historic resource,
as specified in subdivision (a), and that is found in any watercraft
occupied by persons who do not hold a permit as required by Section
6309 or 6313 or other reasonable evidence of legal possession is
prima facie evidence of a violation of that section and the artifact,
object, or material may be confiscated by a state, federal, or local
law enforcement officer. An artifact, an object, or material
confiscated pursuant to this section shall be returned to the person
claiming ownership, upon proof of ownership or legal right to
possession, within 30 days of its confiscation, unless a prosecuting
attorney determines that it is required as evidence in the
prosecution of a criminal violation.
(d) In a case in which a district attorney, at the request of the
commission, or with its concurrence, enforces subdivision (a), the
commission shall, notwithstanding Section 1463 of the Penal Code, be
entitled to an equal division of the fine imposed.
(e) All state and local law enforcement agencies and officers are
directed to assist in enforcing this section, and are requested to
work with and seek the cooperation of federal law enforcement
agencies, including deputizing federal officers when appropriate.
6301. The commission has exclusive jurisdiction over all ungranted
tidelands and submerged lands owned by the State, and of the beds of
navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and
straits, including tidelands and submerged lands or any interest
therein, whether within or beyond the boundaries of the State as
established by law, which have been or may be acquired by the State
(a) by quitclaim, cession, grant, contract, or otherwise from the
United States or any agency thereof, or (b) by any other means. All
jurisdiction and authority remaining in the State as to tidelands and
submerged lands as to which grants have been or may be made is
vested in the commission.
The commission shall exclusively administer and control all such
lands, and may lease or otherwise dispose of such lands, as provided
by law, upon such terms and for such consideration, if any, as are
determined by it.
The provisions of this section do not apply to land of the classes
described in Section 6403, as added by Chapter 227 of the Statutes
of 1947.
6301.2. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1969 for the Reorganization of the
Executive Branch of California State Government, if such
reorganization plan becomes effective pursuant to Section 12080.5 of
the Government Code, it shall have no effect whatever upon the
nonmineral management functions, authorities, and responsibilities of
state tidelands and submerged lands lying below such tidelands, and
swamp and overflow lands affected by tides, including any such lands
granted to a local agency (including, but not limited to, any of the
tidelands and submerged lands which have been granted in trust to the
City of Long Beach), currently within the jurisdiction of the
commission. The Legislative Counsel shall include the exclusion of
such functions, authorities, and responsibilities of the commission
from the transfers of functions provided for by Reorganization Plan
No. 2 of 1969 in preparing the bill required pursuant to Section
12081 of the Government Code.
6301.5. The commission may act in behalf of the State of California
pursuant to Section 7 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, an
Act of Congress approved by the President on August 7, 1953 (67 Stat.
462, 43 U.S.C. Section 1336), and negotiate, with the concurrence of
the Attorney General of California, with the Secretary of the
Interior and with the Attorney General of the United States
respecting operations under existing mineral leases, if any there be
in lands in controversy, and the payment and impounding of rents and
other sums payable thereunder, and respecting the issuance or
nonissuance of new mineral leases pending the settlement or
adjudication of any controversy, which now exists or may arise,
between the United States and the State of California as to whether
or not lands are subject to the provisions of said act. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the commission
also may enter into and execute agreements respecting the said
subjects for, in behalf of, and in the name of the State, with the
Secretary of the Interior, who, with the concurrence of the Attorney
General of the United States, is authorized by the said act to enter
into such agreements in behalf of the United States. With the
concurrence of the Attorney General of California, the authority
vested in the commission by this section extends to and includes all
tidelands and submerged lands, or any interest therein, along the
coast of the State of California, whether they be within or beyond
the boundaries of the State as established by law, which have been or
may be acquired by the State in any of the manners enumerated in
Section 6301.
No agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall become
effective unless and until it is approved by the Governor.
6301.6. If any funds are impounded pursuant to Section 6301.5 under
the custody and control of the State of California, such impounded
funds may be invested and reinvested by the Director of Finance in
bonds or other obligations of the United States. Such securities may
be sold or exchanged by the Director of Finance if, in his opinion,
such sale or exchange is in the best interests of the State, and
shall be sold by him whenever, and to the extent, necessary to effect
any required transfer or other disposition of the impounded funds.
Securities purchased or otherwise acquired under the authority of
this section shall be deposited and held in the custody and
safekeeping of the State Treasurer, in the name of the account in the
fund from which the investments were made.
Interest earned or other increment derived from investments made
pursuant to this section shall, on order of the State Controller, be
deposited in the fund from which the investments were made to the
credit of the account covering the impounded funds, in augmentation
of such impounded funds.
6301.7. The commission may negotiate with, and with the approval of
the Governor may enter into agreements with, the United States, or
any official, agency, licensee, permittee, or lessee thereof,
concerning the effect, if any, of any then existing or proposed or
projected fill, dredging, or construction operations or other
activities on or adjacent to tide and submerged lands within the
County of Los Angeles or Ventura upon the boundary between
state-owned submerged lands and the outer continental shelf lands
under the jurisdiction of the United States, or concerning the
location of that boundary. The agreements may include, but are not
limited to, a waiver on behalf of the State of California of any
state-owned submerged lands which would otherwise inure to the state
as a result of any such fill, dredging, or construction operations,
or other activities. The commission shall, before entering into any
such agreement, find that the agreement is in the public interest.
6302. The commission may eject from any tide and submerged lands,
beds of navigable channels, streams, rivers, creeks, lakes, bays, and
inlets under its jurisdiction, any person, firm, or corporation,
trespassing upon any such lands, through appropriate action in the
courts of this state. The commission may recover costs of ejectment
through the legal action.
6302.1. (a) The commission may remove from areas under its
jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or other similar watercraft
which is left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or made fast
to land in a position as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic
or in a condition as to create a hazard to other vessels using a
waterway, to public safety, or to the property of another.
(b) The commission may remove from areas under its jurisdiction
any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft, or other similar obstruction
which seriously interferes with, or otherwise poses a critical and
immediate danger to navigation or to the public health, safety, or
welfare.
(c) Through appropriate action in the courts of this state, the
commission may remove or destroy any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft,
or other similar obstruction which hinders navigation or otherwise
creates a public nuisance in areas under the commission's
jurisdiction.
(d) The commission may recover costs incurred in removal actions
undertaken pursuant to this section through appropriate action in the
courts of this state.
(e) For purposes of this section, "appropriate action" means any
cause of action available at law or in equity.
6303. The commission may grant the privilege of depositing material
upon or removing or extracting material from swamp, overflowed,
marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable streams, channels,
rivers, creeks, bays or inlets owned by the State, for improvement of
navigation, reclamation, flood control or, for purposes connected
with the erection or maintenance of structures authorized under
Article 2 (commencing at Section 6321) of this chapter, upon such
terms and conditions and for such consideration as will be for the
best interests of this State.
When a contractor or permittee has a contract with or a permit
from the federal government or any authorized public agency to dredge
swamp, overflowed, marsh, tide or submerged lands, beds of navigable
streams, channels, rivers, creeks, bays, or inlets for the
improvement of navigation, reclamation, or flood control, the
commission, may when in the best interests of the State, allow such
contractor or permittee to have sand, gravel, or other spoils dredged
from the sovereign lands of the State located within the areas
specified in such contract or permit upon such terms and conditions
and for such consideration as will be in the best interests of the
State notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6900 and Section 6992
in respect to competitive bidding. The amounts of sand, gravel or
other spoils so removed from sovereign lands shall not exceed those
specified in the contract or permit.
6303.1. Any person who knowingly and willfully fills, dredges, or
reclaims any state-owned land under the jurisdiction of the
commission underlying any navigable waters, or who erects, maintains,
removes, or alters any structure on such land, without written
authorization from the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent public
agencies from performing emergency alteration, maintenance, repair,
or removal of flood control works or structures on state-owned lands
underlying navigable waters.
6304. The commission may cooperate with the Coastal Engineering
Research Board of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and may
expend such moneys as are necessary for cooperative work with that
board out of any appropriation made for the purposes of this section.
6305. The powers granted by this chapter to the commission as to
leasing or granting of rights or privileges with relation to such
lands owned by the State are hereby conferred upon the counties and
cities to which such lands have been granted.
6306. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every county,
city, district, or other political subdivision or agency of the
state to which sovereign trust lands, including tidelands, submerged
lands, or the beds of navigable waters, have been, or in the future
are, granted, conveyed, or transferred by statute, shall establish
and maintain accounting procedures, in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, providing accurate records of all
revenues received from the trust lands and trust assets and of all
expenditures of those revenues. Where a trust grantee has several
trust grants of adjacent lands and operates the granted lands as a
single integrated entity, separation of accounting records for each
trust grant is not required.
(b) All revenues received from trust lands and trust assets shall
be expended only for those uses and purposes consistent with the
public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the
applicable statutory grant or grants.
(c) Unless otherwise prescribed by law, on or before October 1 of
each year, commencing October 1, 1986, each trust grantee shall file
with the commission a detailed statement of all revenues and
expenditures relating to its trust lands and trust assets, including
obligations incurred but not yet paid, covering the fiscal year
preceding submission of the statement. The statement shall be
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and may take the form of an annual audit prepared by or for the trust
grantee.
6306.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State Lands
Commission and the City of Los Angeles, acting by and through its
Board of Harbor Commissioners, may take all actions which are
necessary for mitigation of expansion of the Port of Los Angeles by
the enhancement, restoration, and management of Batiquitos Lagoon in
the County of San Diego. Nothing in this section exempts the
Batiquitos Lagoon Restoration Project from the regulatory
requirements or jurisdiction of any public entity.
If any interests in property are acquired as a part of the
Batiquitos Lagoon mitigation project, these interests are to be held
in trust for the public as sovereign lands by the State Lands
Commission.
The Legislature finds that adequate area for appropriate
mitigation of impacts on biological resources does not presently
exist within Los Angeles Harbor. The City of Los Angeles, acting by
and through its Board of Harbor Commissioners, may expend harbor
revenue funds to enhance, restore, and manage Batiquitos Lagoon. The
Legislature further finds that the enhancement, restoration, and
management of Batiquitos Lagoon will provide benefits to the Port of
Los Angeles and the community because it will (1) facilitate the
development of an outer harbor landfill which is the initial step in
relocating hazardous liquid bulk facilities in the port, thereby
providing substantial safety benefits to the surrounding community,
(2) allow the port, as part of a larger project, to generate
substantial additional revenues to carry out the mandate in the state
tidelands grants that the port promote commerce, navigation, and
fishery; and (3) create future opportunities for recreational
development consistent with tideland grants.
The port shall provide a recreational boating sanitation facility,
navigational aids in the Cabrillo Channel, and a free boating safety
publication. Provision of these facilities shall be considered by
the California Coastal Commission in determining whether the
conditions of coastal permit 5-85-623 have been met.
6306.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
mitigate the effects of the project which is the subject of the
Department of the Army Permit No. 14003E48B, issued July 23, 1986,
the City of Oakland, acting by and through its Board of Port
Commissioners, may use revenue accruing from, or out of, the use of
granted tidelands, for the acquisition of land, or an interest in
land, located outside the geographical boundaries of the trust grant,
or for the enhancement, restoration, or management of land located
outside the trust grant, if the commission makes all of the following
determinations:
(1) That adequate areas for appropriate mitigation do not
presently exist within the geographical boundaries of the port
district trust grants, and that if some of the mitigation can occur
within the geographical boundaries of the port district trust grants,
that mitigation will be included in the mitigation program.
(2) That the proposed offsite mitigation best promotes appropriate
public trust purposes for which sovereign tidelands and submerged
lands are held by the state, its location is appropriate in
consideration of public trust needs, and it addresses the specific
impacts of the project.
(3) That, unless the proposed offsite mitigation is to be located
within another tidelands trust grant, title to any land or interest
in land acquired, as well as any land which is to be enhanced,
restored, or managed, will be transferred to the state, acting by and
through the State Lands Commission, to be held in trust for the
public as land having the legal character of sovereign lands.
(4) That the mitigation is in the best interest of the state.
(b) The State Lands Commission may lease any land or interest in
land transferred to it pursuant to this section, as provided by Part
2 (commencing with Section 6501).
6307. (a) The commission may enter into an exchange, with any
person or any private or public entity, of filled or reclaimed tide
and submerged lands or beds of navigable waterways, or interests in
these lands, that are subject to the public trust for commerce,
navigation, and fisheries, for other lands or interests in lands, if
the commission finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The exchange is for one or more of the purposes listed in
subdivision (c).
(2) The lands or interests in lands to be acquired in the exchange
will provide a significant benefit to the public trust.
(3) The exchange does not substantially interfere with public
rights of navigation and fishing.
(4) The monetary value of the lands or interests in lands received
by the trust in exchange is equal to or greater than that of the
lands or interests in lands given by the trust in exchange.
(5) The lands or interest in lands given in exchange have been cut
off from water access and no longer are in fact tidelands or
submerged lands or navigable waterways, by virtue of having been
filled or reclaimed, and are relatively useless for public trust
purposes.
(6) The exchange is in the best interests of the state.
(b) Pursuant to an exchange agreement, the commission may free the
lands or interest in lands given in exchange from the public trust
and shall impose the public trust on the lands or interests in lands
received in exchange.
(c) An exchange made by the commission pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be for one or more of the following purposes, as determined by
the commission:
(1) To improve navigation or waterways.
(2) To aid in reclamation or flood control.
(3) To enhance the physical configuration of the shoreline or
trust land ownership.
(4) To enhance public access to or along the water.
(5) To enhance waterfront and nearshore development or
redevelopment for public trust purposes.
(6) To preserve, enhance, or create wetlands, riparian or littoral
habitat, or open space.
(7) To resolve boundary or title disputes.
(d) The commission may release the mineral rights in the lands or
interests in lands given in exchange if it obtains the mineral rights
in the lands or interests in lands received in exchange.
(e) The grantee of any lands or interests in lands given in
exchange may bring a quiet title action under Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 6461) of Part 1 of Division 6 of this code or Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 760.010) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code
of Civil Procedure.
6307.1. (a) This section applies only to land in which California
has a sovereign interest that lies within the boundaries of the State
of Arizona and land in which Arizona has a sovereign interest that
lies within the boundaries of the State of California, as a result of
changes in the course of the Colorado River, and the redefinition in
1963 of the boundary between the two states.
(b) The commission may enter into land exchange agreements with
Arizona to transfer California's sovereign interest in land located
within the boundaries of Arizona and to acquire Arizona's sovereign
interest in land located within the boundaries of California.
(c) The fair market value of the land transferred to Arizona shall
be equal to the fair market value of the land acquired from Arizona.
This requirement is not mandatory for each separate exchange
transaction, but to the extent possible shall be complied with upon
completion of all possible exchanges.
(d) The total value of all lands exchanged pursuant to this
section shall be determined according to fair market value. Upon
completion of all possible exchanges, if there is a difference
between the total value of all land transferred to Arizona, and all
land acquired by California, the difference shall be eliminated by
cash payments from or to the Land Bank Fund established by the
Kapiloff Land Bank Act (Division 7 (commencing with Section 8600)).
(e) The commission may release the mineral rights in all the land
transferred if it receives the mineral rights in all the land
acquired.
(f) All land to be acquired by California pursuant to this section
shall become, upon acquisition, sovereign land of California subject
to the public trust. Any exchange shall be void unless the land to
be acquired by Arizona pursuant to the exchange becomes, upon
acquisition, sovereign land of Arizona subject to the public trust.
(g) Any land exchange made pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the exemption from the California Environmental Quality
Act contained in Section 21080.11.
6308. When an action or proceeding is commenced by or against a
county, city, or other political subdivision or agency of the state
involving the title to or the boundaries of tidelands or submerged
lands that have been or may hereafter be granted to it in trust by
the Legislature, the State of California shall be joined as a
necessary party defendant in the action or proceeding. Service of
summons shall be made upon the chair of the State Lands Commission
and upon the Attorney General, and the Attorney General shall
represent the state in all the actions or proceedings. If judgment is
given against the state in the action or proceeding, costs shall not
be recovered from the state.
6309. (a) The commission shall administer the Shipwreck and
Historic Maritime Resources Program, which consists of the activities
of the commission pursuant to this section and Sections 6313 and
6314.
(b) The commission has exclusive jurisdiction with respect to
salvage operations over and upon all tide and submerged lands of the
state. The commission may grant the privilege of conducting salvage
operations upon or over those lands by the issuance of permits. The
commission may adopt rules and regulations in connection with
applications for those permits, and the operations to be conducted in
the salvage operation, that the commission determines to be
necessary to protect those lands and the uses and purposes reserved
to the people of the state.
(c) The commission may issue permits for salvage on granted tide
and submerged lands only after consultation with the grantee and a
determination by the commission that the proposed salvage operation
is not inconsistent with the purposes of the grant.
(d) A salvage permit shall be required of a person or entity to
conduct any salvage operation. As used in this section and Section
6313, "salvage operation" means any activity, including search by
electronic means, or exploration or excavation using tools or
mechanical devices, with the objective of locating, and recovering or
removing vessels, aircraft, or any other cultural object from the
surface or subsurface of state submerged lands.
(e) Salvage permits shall be issued for one year, with the option
to renew the permit for additional one-year periods at the discretion
of the commission upon a showing that the permitholder has
diligently and lawfully pursued the permitted activity and has
achieved to a reasonable extent the purpose for which the permit was
issued.
(f) The commission may require that a person designated by the
commission and paid by the permitholder be present during each phase
of a salvage operation to observe and monitor compliance with the
terms of the permit. The permitholder shall, upon the request of the
commission, provide or pay for a reliable communication system for
the observer to maintain contact with the office of the commission
while on the salvage site.
(g) The commission may issue a permit for the search or recovery
of nonhistoric vessels, aircraft, or submerged objects, and for the
search, archaeological investigation, and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 6313. The commission shall determine
the appropriate type of permit to issue based on its evaluation of
the salvage project and the project's probable impact on the site or
objective, and the impact on the state submerged lands. The
commission shall not require a permit for any recreational diving
activity which does not disturb the subsurface or remove objects or
materials from a submerged archaeological site or submerged historic
resource as defined in Section 6313.
(h) (1) Permits may be revoked by the commission, after notice to
the permitholder, at any time the commission finds that the
permitholder has failed to comply with the terms of the permit or any
law or regulation governing the permitted activity.
(2) A stop work order may be issued by the executive officer of
the commission at the request of the onsite observer provided by
subdivision (f), if the observer determines that the activities of
the permitholder are not within the permitted activity. A stop work
order shall be issued after the nonpermitted activity is brought to
the attention of the person in charge of the onsite operation and
that person fails or refuses after sufficient time and opportunity to
change or correct the activity. Written notice of the stop work
order shall be given to the person in charge of the onsite activity
and a hearing by the executive officer or his or her designee shall
be provided to the permitholder within three business days.
(3) After the hearing the commission may seek enforcement of, or
the permitholder may seek relief from, the stop work order in the
superior court in the county in which the activity is being
conducted. The relief may include damages for failure to comply with
the stop work order. The commission may deny an application for a
permit when it finds that the applicant has failed to provide, for a
period of 60 days, information specifically requested by the
commission which is necessary to complete the application.
(i) When title to the objects, including a vessel, to be recovered
is vested in the state, the commission shall provide for fair
compensation to the permitholder in terms of a percentage of the
reasonable cash value, or a fair share, of the objects recovered. The
reasonable cash value of the objects shall be determined by
appraisal by qualified experts selected by the commission. The
commission shall determine the amount constituting fair compensation,
taking into consideration the circumstances of each case. Title to
all objects recovered is retained by the state until it is released
by the commission.
(j) The commission may fix and collect reasonable fees and costs
for the processing and issuance of permits under this section. The
applicant may be required to post a bond to ensure the completion of
the project or payment of costs, or to deposit funds with the
commission sufficient to cover costs and expenses chargeable to the
applicant by law or by an agreement for reimbursement. If a bond is
posted, the bond shall be held by the commission and shall be
sufficient to cover all potential costs associated with the project,
including preserving, restoring, and protecting the site and its
associated finds.
6310. Whenever tide and submerged lands granted in trust to a
county by the Legislature are included within a city's boundaries as
the result of that city's incorporation, trust title to such lands
shall pass to such city only upon specific authorization and
direction of the Legislature and at that time all papers, records,
and all other documents pertaining to such lands and the
administration thereof shall automatically become the property of the
city and shall be transferred to the possession of the appropriate
city officials by the county officials having possession thereof;
provided, that the city shall pay to the county all costs necessarily
incurred in making such transfer.
6311. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that any
grant of tidelands or submerged lands made after January 1, 1971,
within an area which has been designated by the Department of Boating
and Waterways as the location of a small craft harbor of refuge,
shall contain a reservation and condition requiring the grantee to
submit a plan to the Department of Boating and Waterways, within a
reasonable period of time after the effective date of the grant, for
the construction of facilities necessary or convenient for the use of
the granted lands as a small craft harbor of refuge, and requiring
the construction of facilities to be completed within a specified
period of time after approval of the plan by the Department of
Boating and Waterways.
6312. Neither the state, nor any political subdivision thereof,
shall take possession of lawful improvements on validly granted or
patented tidelands or submerged lands without the tender of a fair
and just compensation for such lawful improvements as may have been
made in good faith by the grantee or patentee or his successors in
interest pursuant to any express or implied license contained in the
grant or patent.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the parties to
a grant or patent of tidelands from agreeing, as a part of such
grant or patent, that there shall be no compensation paid for any
improvement made on those tidelands to which such agreement relates.
Nothing herein contained is intended to increase, diminish, or
affect the title of any person in any validly granted or patented
tidelands or submerged lands.
This section shall not be construed to require compensation for
any change in the use of tidelands or submerged lands as a result of
governmental regulation that prohibits, restricts, delays, or
otherwise affects the construction of any planned or contemplated
improvement.
As used in this section, the term "grant" or "granted" shall not
be construed to apply to legislative grants in trust to local
governmental entities.
6313. (a) The title to all abandoned shipwrecks and all
archaeological sites and historic resources on or in the tide and
submerged lands of California is vested in the state. All abandoned
shipwrecks and all submerged archaeological sites and submerged
historic resources of the state shall be in the custody and subject
to the control of the commission for the benefit of the people of the
state of California. The commission may transfer title, custody, or
control to other state agencies or recognized scientific or
educational organizations, institutions, or individuals by
appropriate legal conveyance.
(b) As used in this section, "submerged archaeological site" and
"submerged historic resource," shall be given the broadest possible
meaning, to include any submerged object, structure, building,
watercraft, aircraft, or vessel and any associated cargo, armament,
tackle, fixture, human remains, or remnant of those objects, or a
site, area, person, or place, which is historically or
archaeologically significant, or significant in the prehistory or
history or exploration, settlement, engineering, commerce,
militarism, recreation, or culture of California and that is
partially or wholly embedded in or resting on state submerged or
tidal lands.
(c) Sites with archaeological or historic significance shall be
determined by reference to their eligibility for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of
Historical Resources. Any submerged archaeological site or submerged
historic resource remaining in state waters for more than 50 years
shall be presumed to be archaeologically or historically significant.
The commission, with the assistance of the State Office of Historic
Preservation, shall identify, compile, and maintain an inventory of
shipwreck sites, or sites of archaeological or historical
significance and shall make the listing available to the public.
(d) Permits for salvage operations involving submerged
archaeological sites or submerged historic resources may be granted
by the commission when the proposed activity is justified by an
educational, scientific, or cultural purpose, or the need to protect
the integrity of the site or the resource. The commission may issue
permits to individuals or organizations representing museums,
universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational
institutions and individuals that demonstrate the capability to
properly carry out archaeological investigations. The commission may
deny an application for a permit to an applicant who the commission
determines has not demonstrated the ability to properly conduct an
archaeological investigation or salvage activities. The commission
may consider the applicant's past conduct with regard to salvage
operations when making this determination.
(e) (1) Prior to the issuance of a permit under subdivision (d),
the applicant shall provide to the commission a detailed project
design that includes all of the following:
(A) The purpose of the project.
(B) A description of the methodology, technology, and equipment to
be employed.
(C) The project funding source.
(D) A timetable for the completion of the project.
(E) The composition, qualifications, and responsibilities of the
project team.
(F) A conservation and curation plan, if applicable.
(G) A plan to document all phases of the project.
(H) A safety plan.
(I) An outline and timetable for preparation and submission of
progress reports and a final report.
(J) Other information that the commission deems necessary to
properly evaluate the application.
(2) All activities permitted under subdivision (d) or required by
this subdivision shall be accomplished under the direct supervision
of a person who meets the qualifications required of a professional
marine archaeologist.
(f) The commission shall forward applications for permits for
archaeological investigation or excavation and recovery of historic
vessels, aircraft, or other submerged historic resources in state
waters, including the information required by subdivision (e), to the
State Office of Historic Preservation, and may provide the
applications and information to other qualified organizations and
individuals, as appropriate, for technical review of the project
design and recommendation concerning the preservation and protection
of the site or resource.
(g) The commission shall provide for the disposition of all
objects or other materials recovered, which may include provisions
for display in museums, educational institutions, and other
appropriate locations available to the public.
(h) The commission may contract with persons, firms, corporations,
or institutions who, for the privilege of having temporary
possession of recovered archaeological resources, will advance to the
commission the money necessary to conduct salvage operations or to
purchase from a permitholder, from his or her fair share,
archaeological resources which the commission determines should
remain the property of the state. A contract may be made only on the
condition that the commission may, at any time, repay the money
advanced, without interest or additional charges of any kind, and
recover possession of the resources. During the time the resources
are in the possession of the entity advancing the money, the
resources shall be available for viewing by the general public at a
nominal fee or without charge.
(i) The commission may also contract with other state agencies,
qualified public or private institutions, local governments, or
individuals for public display of the archaeological resources
recovered. The commission shall require assurances that appropriate
security, qualified personnel, insurance, and facilities for
preservation, restoration, and display of the resources loaned are
provided under the contract.
6314. (a) A person who removes, without authorization from the
commission, or a person who destroys or damages an archaeological
site or a historic resource, that is located on or in the submerged
lands of, and that is the property of, the state, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both.
(b) The commission, or, at its request, the Attorney General or a
district attorney in whose jurisdiction the violation occurred, may
seek civil damages for the damage, loss, or destruction of an
abandoned shipwreck, its gear or cargo, or an archaeological site or
historic resource located on or in submerged lands of the state. A
vessel used to damage, destroy, or cause the loss of, any shipwreck
or archaeological site or historic resource is subject to a
proceeding in rem by the state for the costs and damages resulting
from that damage, destruction, or loss. Enforcement may include,
where appropriate, a restraining order or injunctive relief to
restrain and enjoin violations or threatened violations of Section
6309, Section 6313, or this section and for the return of items taken
in violation of these sections.
(c) An artifact, object, or material that has been removed from a
state submerged archaeological site or submerged historic resource,
as specified in subdivision (a), and that is found in any watercraft
occupied by persons who do not hold a permit as required by Section
6309 or 6313 or other reasonable evidence of legal possession is
prima facie evidence of a violation of that section and the artifact,
object, or material may be confiscated by a state, federal, or local
law enforcement officer. An artifact, an object, or material
confiscated pursuant to this section shall be returned to the person
claiming ownership, upon proof of ownership or legal right to
possession, within 30 days of its confiscation, unless a prosecuting
attorney determines that it is required as evidence in the
prosecution of a criminal violation.
(d) In a case in which a district attorney, at the request of the
commission, or with its concurrence, enforces subdivision (a), the
commission shall, notwithstanding Section 1463 of the Penal Code, be
entitled to an equal division of the fine imposed.
(e) All state and local law enforcement agencies and officers are
directed to assist in enforcing this section, and are requested to
work with and seek the cooperation of federal law enforcement
agencies, including deputizing federal officers when appropriate.
