Local agencies maintaining project facilities under the State Water Resources Law of 1945 shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to the provisions of this chapter if the cost of maintenance is increased by the planting or retention of vegetative cover on such levees, if the local agency agrees to maintain such vegetative cover on project levees as may be determined by the department or Reclamation Board, after consultation with any other affected state agencies, to be necessary for wildlife habitat, recreational, aesthetic, and scenic purposes.

(Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 995.)