SB 623: Water quality: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2017-08-21
(1)Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services. Existing law declares it to be the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office. state board. The bill would require the board to administer the fund to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards, as specified. secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure. The bill would authorize the state board to provide for the deposit into the fund of federal contributions and contributions, voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests. bequests, and settlements from parties responsible for contamination of drinking water supplies. The bill would require the state board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to eligible applicants with projects relating to the provision of safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the state board, as prescribed. The bill would require the state board annually to prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. assessment of funding need that estimates the anticipated funding needed for the next fiscal year to achieve the purposes of the fund. The bill would require, by January 1, 2019, the state board, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, to make available a map of aquifers that are used or likely to be used as a source of drinking water that are at high risk of containing contaminants. For purposes of the map, the bill would require local health officers and other relevant local agencies to provide all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by certified laboratories to the board, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local health officers and local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend the bill to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells are located in agricultural areas.(2)The act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the state board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. The act generally does not apply to state small water systems, except that the act requires the board to adopt regulations specifying minimum requirements for operation of a state small water system, which are authorized to be less stringent than the requirements for public water systems, requires the enforcement of these requirements, and authorizes the reasonable costs of the local health officer to be recovered. The act, within 3 years after September 19, 1985, required the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems, as defined, for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures and required the local health officer, in consultation with the department, to conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals and to develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The act provided that these provisions were operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriated sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies during that year due to these provisions.This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2019, to promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The bill would require testing to be prioritized based on local water quality conditions and would require the state board to review these regulations at least every 5 years. The bill would exempt these provisions from the above-described inoperative provision.(2)Existing law, the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges.
This bill would impose, until July 1, 2020, a safe and affordable drinking water fee in specified amounts on each customer of a public water system, to be administered by the state board, in consultation with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, in accordance with the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The bill would exempt from the fee a customer that self-certifies under penalty of perjury the customers satisfaction of specified criteria relating to income. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2020, the state board to annually determine the amounts of the safe and affordable drinking water fee not to exceed the amounts imposed until July 1, 2020, and not to exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the state board pursuant to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund provisions, as prescribed. The bill would require the state board, by July 1, 2020, to adopt regulations, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, relating to an exemption from the fee for low-income households, as specified. The bill would require a public water system to collect the fee and to remit these moneys to the state board to be deposited into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The bill would authorize a public water system to apply to the state board to use an alternative method to calculate the fee. By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law that imposes criminal penalties for various acts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law requires every person who manufactures or distributes fertilizing materials to be licensed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and to pay a license fee that does not exceed $300. Existing law requires every lot, parcel, or package of fertilizing material to have a label attached to it, as required by the secretary. Existing law requires a licensee who sells or distributes bulk fertilizing materials to pay to the secretary an assessment not to exceed $0.002 per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials, as prescribed, for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of provisions relating to fertilizing materials. In addition to that assessment, existing law authorizes the secretary to impose an assessment in an amount not to exceed $0.001 per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials for the purpose of providing funding for research and education regarding the use of fertilizing materials. Existing law specifies that a violation of the fertilizing material laws or the regulations adopted pursuant to those laws is a misdemeanor.
This bill, until January 1, 2033, would require a licensee to pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of $0.005 per dollar of sale for all sales of fertilizing materials. The bill, on and after January 1, 2033, would reduce the fee to $0.002 per dollar of sale and would authorize the secretary to reduce the fee as necessary to not exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the board pursuant to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund provisions. The bill would require these moneys to be deposited into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The bill would authorize the secretary to adopt regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of these provisions. Because a violation of these provisions or regulations adopted pursuant to these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4)Existing law regulates the production, handling, and marketing of milk and dairy products and requires every milk handler subject to that regulatory scheme to pay specified assessments and fees to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to cover the costs of regulating milk. Existing law governing milk defines handler as any person who, either directly or indirectly, receives, purchases, or otherwise acquires ownership, possession, or control of market milk from a producer, a producer-handler, or another handler for the purpose of manufacture, processing, sale, or other handling. Existing law defines market milk as milk conforming to specified standards and manufacturing milk as milk that does not conform to the requirements of market milk. Existing law provides that a violation of that regulatory scheme or a regulation adopted pursuant to that regulatory scheme is a misdemeanor.
This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2020, until January 1, 2035, each handler subject to that regulatory scheme to deduct from payments made to producers for market and manufacturing milk the sum of $0.01355 per hundredweight of milk as a dairy safe drinking water fee. On and after January 1, 2035, the bill would reduce the fee to $0.00678 per hundredweight of milk and would authorize the secretary to reduce the fee as necessary to not exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the board pursuant to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund provisions. The bill would require these moneys to be deposited into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The bill would authorize the secretary to take specified enforcement actions and would require the secretary to adopt regulations for the administration and enforcement of these provisions. Because a violation of these provisions or regulations adopted pursuant to these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3)(5)Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Under the act, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. The act requires, upon the order of a regional board, a person who has caused or permitted, causes or permits, or threatens to cause or permit any waste to be discharged or deposited where it is, or probably will be, discharged into the waters of the state and creates, or threatens to create, a condition of pollution or nuisance, to clean up the waste or abate the effects of the waste, or in the case of threatened pollution or nuisance, to take other remedial action.
This bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board, until January 1, 2028, from subjecting an agricultural operation, as defined, to specified enforcement for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if that agricultural operation demonstrates that it has satisfied certain mitigation requirements, including, among other requirements, the timely payment of any applicable fee, assessment, or charge the fertilizer safe drinking water fee or the dairy safe drinking water fee, as applicable, into the fund. The bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board, beginning January 1, 2028, until January 1, 2033, from subjecting an agricultural operation to specified enforcement for creating or threatening to create a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater if that agricultural operation demonstrates that it has satisfied the prescribed mitigation requirements. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2027, to conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control.
(6)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(1)Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office. The bill would require the board to administer the fund to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests. The bill would require the board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed. The bill would require the board annually to prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend the bill to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
(2)The act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the state board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. The act generally does not apply to state small water systems, except that the act requires the board to adopt regulations specifying minimum requirements for operation of a state small water system, which are authorized to be less stringent than the requirements for public water systems, requires the enforcement of these requirements, and authorizes the reasonable costs of the local health officer to be recovered. The act, within 3 years after September 19, 1985, required the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems, as defined, for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures and required the local health officer, in consultation with the department, to conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals and to develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The act provided that these provisions were operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriated sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies during that year due to these provisions.
This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2019, to promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The bill would require testing to be prioritized based on local water quality conditions and would require the state board to review these regulations at least every 5 years. The bill would exempt these provisions from the above-described inoperative provision.
(3)Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Under the act, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. The act requires, upon the order of a regional board, a person who has caused or permitted, causes or permits, or threatens to cause or permit any waste to be discharged or deposited where it is, or probably will be, discharged into the waters of the state and creates, or threatens to create, a condition of pollution or nuisance, to clean up the waste or abate the effects of the waste, or in the case of threatened pollution or nuisance, to take other remedial action.
This bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board board, until January 1, 2028, from subjecting an agricultural operation, as defined, to specified enforcement for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if that agricultural operation demonstrates that it has satisfied certain mitigation requirements, including, among other requirements, the timely payment of any applicable fee, assessment, or charge into the fund. The bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board, beginning January 1, 2028, until January 1, 2033, from subjecting an agricultural operation to specified enforcement for creating or threatening to create a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater if that agricultural operation demonstrates that it has satisfied the prescribed mitigation requirements. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2027, to conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
(1)Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation, to the board. continuously appropriated to the office. The bill would require the board to administer the fund and to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests. The bill would require the board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed. The bill would require the board annually to prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend the bill to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
(2)The act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the state board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. The act generally does not apply to state small water systems, except that the act requires the board to adopt regulations specifying minimum requirements for operation of a state small water system, which are authorized to be less stringent than the requirements for public water systems, requires the enforcement of these requirements, and authorizes the reasonable costs of the local health officer to be recovered. The act, within 3 years after September 19, 1985, required the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems, as defined, for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures and required the local health officer, in consultation with the department, to conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals and to develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The act provided that these provisions were operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriated sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies during that year due to these provisions.
This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2019, to promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The bill would require testing to be prioritized based on local water quality conditions and would require the state board to review these regulations at least every 5 years. The bill would exempt these provisions from the above-described inoperative provision.
(3)Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Under the act, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. The act requires, upon the order of a regional board, a person who has caused or permitted, causes or permits, or threatens to cause or permit any waste to be discharged or deposited where it is, or probably will be, discharged into the waters of the state and creates, or threatens to create, a condition of pollution or nuisance, to clean up the waste or abate the effects of the waste, or in the case of threatened pollution or nuisance, to take other remedial action.
This bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board from subjecting an agricultural operation, as defined, to specified enforcement for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance if that agricultural operation demonstrates that it has satisfied certain mitigation requirements, including, among other requirements, the timely payment of any applicable fee, assessment, or charge into the fund. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2027, to conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office. available, upon appropriation, to the board. The bill would require the board to administer the fund and authorize the board to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests. The bill would require the board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed. The bill would require the board annually to prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the board. office. The bill would require the board to administer the fund and authorize the board to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests. The bill would require the board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed. The bill would require the board annually to prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health.
This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the board. By creating a new continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
(a)It is the intent of the Legislature to require licensees of bulk fertilizing materials, and to authorize licensees of packaged fertilizing materials, to pass the fertilizer safe drinking water fee on to the end user of the fertilizer.
(b)For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1)Bulk fertilizing material has the same meaning as applies to bulk material in Section 14517.
(2)Fertilizing material has the same meaning as defined in Section 14533.
(3)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established by Section 116767 of the Health and Safety Code.
(4)Packaged has the same meaning as defined in Section 14551.
14616.(a)In addition to the assessments provided in Section 14611, a licensee whose name appears on the label of bulk or packaged fertilizing materials shall pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of five mills ($0.005) per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials to be deposited into the fund.
(b)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2033, deletes or extends that date.
14616.(a)In addition to the assessments provided in Section 14611, a licensee whose name appears on the label of bulk or packaged fertilizing materials shall pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of two mills ($0.002) per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials to be deposited into the fund.
(b)The secretary may reduce the fertilizer safe drinking water fee as necessary to not exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 116769 of the Health and Safety Code. By October 1 of each year, the secretary shall notify all licensees of the amount of the fertilizer safe drinking water fee to be assessed in the following calendar year.
(c)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2033.
14617.(a)(1)A licensee whose name appears on the label who sells or distributes bulk fertilizing materials shall charge an unlicensed purchaser the fertilizer safe drinking water fee as a charge that is separate from, and not included in, any other fee, charge, or other amount paid by the purchaser. This fee shall be included on the bill of sale as a separate line item.
(2)A licensee whose name appears on the label of packaged fertilizing materials may include the fertilizer safe drinking water fee as a charge that is separate from, and not included in, any other fee, charge, or other amount paid by the purchaser.
(b)The secretary may prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this article.
(c)The secretary may retain up to 2 percent of the moneys collected pursuant to this article for reasonable costs associated with the implementation and enforcement of this article.
SEC. 2.Article 14.5 (commencing with Section 62215) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:14.5.Dairy Safe Drinking Water Fee62215.(a)It is the intent of the Legislature that the dairy safe drinking water fee be paid for all milk purchased in the state, regardless of grade.
(b)For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1)Fee means the dairy safe drinking water fee.
(2)Manufacturing milk has the same meaning as defined in Section 32509.
(3)Market milk has the same meaning as defined in Section 32510.
(4)Milk includes market milk and manufacturing milk.
62216.(a)Beginning January 1, 2020, each handler, including a producer-handler, subject to the provisions of a stabilization and marketing plan shall deduct the sum of $0.01355 per hundredweight of milk from payments made to producers for milk, including the handlers own production, as a dairy safe drinking water fee.
(b)The secretary shall adopt regulations necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this section by January 1, 2020.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2035, deletes or extends that date.
62216.(a)Each handler, including a producer-handler, subject to the provisions of a stabilization and marketing plan shall deduct the sum of $0.00678 per hundredweight of milk from payments made to producers for milk, including the handlers own production, as a dairy safe drinking water fee.
(b)The secretary may reduce the fee, and may adjust the fee reduction from time to time, as necessary to not exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 116769 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c)The secretary shall adopt regulations necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this section.
(d)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2035.
62217.(a)A handler shall pay the dairy safe drinking water fee to the secretary on or before the 45th day following the last day of the month in which the milk was received.
(b)The secretary shall remit the moneys paid to him or her pursuant to this article to the State Water Resources Control Board for deposit into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established by Section 116767 of the Health and Safety Code. The secretary may retain up to 2 percent of the total amount that is paid to the secretary for the purposes of covering administrative costs borne by the secretary for implementing this section.
(c)The secretary may require handlers, including cooperative associations acting as handlers, to make reports at any intervals and in any detail that he or she finds necessary for the accurate collection of the fee.
(d)For the purposes of enforcing this article, the secretary, through his or her duly authorized representatives and agents, shall have access to the records of every producer and handler. The secretary shall have at all times free and unimpeded access to any building, yard, warehouse, store, manufacturing facility, or transportation facility in which any milk or milk product is produced, bought, sold, stored, bottled, handled, or manufactured.
(e)Any books, papers, records, documents, or reports made to, acquired by, prepared by, or maintained by the secretary pursuant to this article that would disclose any information about finances, financial status, financial worth, composition, market share, or business operations of any producer or handler, excluding information that solely reflects transfers of production base and pool quota among producers, is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person other than the person from whom the information was received, except pursuant to the final order of a court with jurisdiction, or as necessary for the proper determination of any proceeding before the secretary.
SEC. 2.SEC. 3.Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) is added to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:4.6.Safe and Affordable Drinking Water1.Legislative Findings and Declarations116765.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that it is the policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
(b)For all public water systems, the operation and maintenance costs to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards on a routine and consistent basis may be significant.
(c)All public water systems are currently required to set, establish, and charge a schedule of rates and fees that are sufficient to recover the operation and maintenance costs required to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards on a routine and consistent basis.
(d)Hundreds of public water systems in the state cannot charge rates and fees that are affordable and sufficient to recover the full operation and maintenance costs required to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards on a routine and consistent basis due to a combination of low income levels of customers, high treatment costs for contaminated water sources, and a lack of economies of scale that result in high unit costs for water service. Many schools that serve as their own regulated public water systems and have contaminated water sources cannot afford the full operation and maintenance costs required to provide water that meets federal and state drinking water standards.
(e)Nearly all state or federal drinking water project funding sources prohibit the use of that funding for operation and maintenance costs, and as a result, those systems that cannot afford required operation and maintenance costs are unable to access funding for capital projects to meet federal and state drinking water standards.
(f)As a result, hundreds of thousands of Californians, particularly those living in small disadvantaged communities, may be exposed to unsafe drinking water in their homes and schools, which impacts human health, household costs, and community economic development.
(g)A significant number of California residents rely on state small water systems and domestic wells to provide their drinking water.
(h)State small water systems and domestic wells are not currently subject to any comprehensive federal or state requirements for chemical water quality monitoring. Many local agencies do not require any monitoring beyond what is required by state law, and there are wide discrepancies among local jurisdictions in well monitoring programs.
(i)The state small water systems and individual domestic wells face a serious threat of contamination because they often draw their water from shallow groundwater sources and have fewer or no chemical monitoring requirements.
(j)To ensure that the right of every Californian to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes is protected, it is in the interest of the State of California to identify where Californians are at high risk of lacking reliable access to safe drinking water or are known to lack reliable access to safe drinking water, whether they rely on a public water system, state small water system, or domestic well for their potable water supply.
(k)Long-term sustainability of drinking water infrastructure and service provision is necessary to secure safe drinking water for all Californians and therefore it is in the interest of the state to discourage the proliferation of new, unsustainable public water systems and state small water systems, to prevent waste, and to encourage consolidation and service extension when feasible.
(l)It is in the interest of all Californians to establish a fund with a stable source of revenue to provide financial support, particularly for operation and maintenance, necessary to secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure.
2.Definitions116765.116766.For the purposes of this chapter:
(a)Agricultural operations has the same meaning as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code.(a)Administrator has the same meaning as defined in Section 116686.
(b)Board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(c)Community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(d)Customer has the same meaning as defined in Section 10612 of the Water Code.
(d)(e)Disadvantaged community has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(f)Domestic well means a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or water systems with no more than four service connections.
(e)(g)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766. 116767.
(h)Fund implementation plan means the fund implementation plan adopted pursuant to Section 116769.
(f)(i)Nontransient noncommunity water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(g)(j)Public water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(h)(k)Replacement water includes, but is not limited to, bottled water, point-of-use, or point-of-entry treatment units.
(i)Safe Drinking Water Plan means the plan prepared pursuant to Section 116355.(l)Safe drinking water has the same meaning as defined in Section 116681.
(m)Service connection has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(n)Small community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(o)State small water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
3.Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund116766.116767.The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board without regard to fiscal years, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund.
116767. 116768.(a)The board shall administer the fund for the purposes of this chapter to provide a stable source of funding to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed secure access to safe drinking water standards, the treatment of which would otherwise make the cost of water service unaffordable. for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure. The board shall prioritize the use of this funding to assist low-income disadvantaged communities and low-income individual domestic well users. In addition, order to maximize the use of other funding sources for capital construction projects when available, the board shall prioritize the use of this funding for costs other than those related to capital construction costs. An costs, except for capital construction costs associated with consolidation and service extension to reduce the ongoing unit cost of service and to increase sustainability of drinking water infrastructure and service delivery. Beginning January 1, 2019, an expenditure from the fund shall be consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. On and after January 1, 2020, the total unencumbered amount in the fund shall not exceed the boards total estimated need for moneys in the fund over a two-year period. plan.
(b)In accordance with subdivision (a), the board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water eligible applicants with any of the following:
(1)The provision of replacement water, as needed, to ensure immediate protection of health and safety as a short-term solution.
(2)The development, implementation, and sustainability of long-term solutions, including, but not limited to, technical assistance, planning, construction, and operation and maintenance costs associated with replacing, blending, or treating contaminated wells and drinking water sources, consolidating water systems. systems, or extending drinking water services to other public water systems, domestic wells, or state small water systems. Technical assistance and planning costs may include, but are not limited to, analyses to identify, and efforts to further, opportunities to reduce the unit cost of providing drinking water through organizational and operational efficiency improvements, system consolidation and service extension, implementation of new technology, and other options and approaches to reduce costs.
(3)Identifying and providing outreach to Californians without access to safe drinking water who are eligible to receive assistance from the fund and providing outreach to them. fund.
(4)Testing the drinking water quality of individual domestic wells serving low-income households. households with an income equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level in high risk areas identified pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 116770).
(c)Eligible applicants for funding include public water systems; public agencies, including, but not limited to, local educational agencies; nonprofit organizations, public utilities, organizations; federally recognized Indian tribes, tribes; state Indian tribes listed on the Native American Heritage Commissions California tribal consultation list, Tribal Consultation List; administrators; and groundwater sustainability agencies, and mutual water companies. agencies.
(d)The board may expend moneys from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund. Beginning July 1, 2020, the board may expend up to no more than 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
(e)The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1)Provide for the deposit of any of the following available and necessary moneys into the fund:
(A)Federal contributions.
(B)Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(C)Settlements from parties responsible for contamination of drinking water supplies.
(2)Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3)Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4)Direct portions of the fund to a subset of eligible applicants as required or appropriate based on funding source and consistent with the annual fund implementation plan.
(4)(5)Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
(f)In administering the fund, the board shall make reasonable efforts to ensure all of the following:
(1)That parties responsible for contamination of drinking water supplies affecting an eligible applicant can be directly or easily identified by the board to pay or reimburse costs associated with contamination.
(2)That funds are used to secure the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure, including, but not limited to, requiring adequate technical, managerial, and financial capacity of eligible applicants as part of funding agreement outcomes. Funding shall be prioritized to implement consolidations and service extensions when feasible, and administrative and managerial contracts entered into pursuant to Section 116686 where applicable. Funds shall not be used to delay, prevent, or avoid the consolidation or extension of service to public water systems where it is feasible and the least-cost alternative. The board may set appropriate requirements as a condition of funding, including, but not limited to, a system technical, managerial, or financial capacity audit, improvements to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, an evaluation of alternative treatment technologies, and a consolidation or service extension feasibility study. As a condition of funding, the board may require a domestic well with nitrate contamination where ongoing septic system failure may be causing or contributing to contamination of a drinking water source to conduct an investigation and project to address the septic system failure if adequate funding sources are identified and accessible.
(3)That funds are not used to subsidize large-scale nonpotable use, to the extent feasible.
(g)At least once every 10 years, the board shall conduct a public review and assessment of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, including, but not limited to, the effectiveness of the fund, the appropriateness of fees deposited into the fund, and any actions needed to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The board shall post the information it gathers on its Internet Web site and shall submit the information to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
116768.It is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this section to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells have been impacted by nitrate contamination and whose wells are located in agricultural areas.116769.116769.Annually, By July 1 of each year, the board shall do all of the following:
(a)Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b)Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. This annual assessment shall incorporate information contained in the Safe Drinking Water Plan and include a list of community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems without access to safe drinking water, as well as identification of small communities and rural populations not served by public water systems that do not have access to safe drinking water. need, based on available data, that includes all of the following:
(1)Identification of systems and populations potentially in need of assistance, including all of the following:
(A)A list of systems that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(i)Any public water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(ii)Any community water system that serves a disadvantaged community that must charge fees that exceed the affordability threshold established in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan in order to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards.
(iii)Any state small water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(B)A list of programs that assist, or that will assist, households supplied by a domestic well that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. This list shall include the number and approximate location of households served by each program without identifying exact addresses or other personal information.
(C)A list of public water systems and state small water systems that may be at risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(D)An estimate of the number of households that are served by domestic wells or state small water systems in high risk areas identified pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 116770). The estimate shall identify approximate locations of households, without identifying exact addresses or other personal information, in order to identify potential target areas for outreach and assistance programs.
(2)An analysis of anticipated funding needed for known projects, services, or programs by eligible applicants, consistent with the fund implementation plan, including any funding needed for existing long-term funding commitments from the fund. The board shall identify and consider other existing funding sources able to support any projects, services, or programs identified, including, but not limited to, local funding capacity, state or federal funding sources for capital projects, funding from responsible parties, and specialized funding sources contributing to the fund.
(3)An estimate of the funding needed for the next fiscal year based on the amount available in the fund, anticipated funding needs, other existing funding sources, and other relevant data and information.
(c)(1)Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund. The
(2)The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, residents served by community water systems in disadvantaged communities, state small water systems, domestic wells, and the public, to establish priorities for the plan.
(2)The fund implementation plan shall prioritize eligibility for expenditures of the fund based on the following:(A)A water systems current or projected water rates needed to ensure safe drinking water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the median household income for that water system and the water system qualifies as a disadvantaged community.(B)The costs for providing potable water for an individual domestic well exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the households income and the households income is less than 80 percent of the statewide household median income.4.Information on High Risk Areas116770.(a)(1)By January 1, 2019, the board, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, shall use available data to make available a map of aquifers that are at high risk of containing contaminants and that exceed primary federal and state drinking water standards that are used or likely to be used as a source of drinking water for a state small water system or a domestic well. The board shall update the map at least annually based on any newly available data.
(2)The board shall make the map of high risk areas, as well as the data used to make the map, publicly accessible on its Internet Web site in a manner that does not identify exact addresses or other personal information and that complies with the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code). The board shall notify local health officers and county planning agencies of high risk areas within their jurisdictions.
(b)(1)A local health officer or other relevant local agency shall provide all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by certified laboratories for a state small water system or domestic well that is in the possession of the local health officer or other relevant local agency in an electronic format to the board by January 1, 2019.
(2)On and after January 1, 2019, a local health officer or other relevant local agency shall require all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by a certified laboratory for a state small water system or domestic well that is submitted to the local health officer or other relevant local agency to also be submitted directly to the board in electronic format.
5.Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fee116771.(a)(1)Until July 1, 2020, there is hereby imposed a safe and affordable drinking water fee on each person or entity that purchases water from a public water system, as follows:
(A)For a customer with a water meter that is less than or equal to one inch in size, the fee shall be ninety-five cents ($0.95) per month.
(B)For a customer with a water meter that is greater than one inch and less than or equal to two inches in size, the fee shall be four dollars ($4) per month.
(C)For a customer with a water meter that is greater than two inches and less than or equal to four inches in size, the fee shall be six dollars ($6) per month.
(D)For a customer with a water meter that is greater than four inches in size, the fee shall be ten dollars ($10) per month.
(E)For a customer without a water meter, the fee shall be ninety-five cents ($0.95) per month.
(2)A customer that self-certifies under penalty of perjury to the public water system collecting the fee that he or she meets either of the following criteria shall be exempt from the payment of the fee:
(i)The customers household income is equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
(ii)The customer operates a deed-restricted multifamily housing development that is required to provide housing exclusively to tenants with household incomes equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
(3)(A)A customer that is already enrolled in a program offered by a public water system that is designed specifically to reduce the cost of water service incurred by customers who meet established income guidelines is exempt from the payment of the fee.
(B)A connection or meter that is used exclusively for fire flow or uses nonpotable water, including, but not limited to, recycled water, is exempt from the fee.
(4)A customer that has multiple connections or meters serving a single address shall only pay a single monthly fee based on the customers largest metered connection.
(b)(1)(A)Beginning July 1, 2020, each person or entity that purchases water from a public water system shall be assessed a fee according to a fee schedule established by the board for the purposes of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
(B)The fee schedule shall not exceed the amounts established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(C)The board shall review and revise the fee schedule each fiscal year as necessary to not exceed the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need.
(D)The fee schedule shall establish that a customer that has multiple connections or meters serving a single address shall only pay a single monthly fee pursuant to this section, based on its largest metered connection.
(E)(i)The fee schedule shall exempt any connection or meter that is used exclusively for fire flow or utilizes nonpotable water, including, but not limited to, recycled water.
(ii)By July 1, 2020, the board, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall adopt regulations to exempt households with incomes equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level from the fee established in the fee schedule pursuant to this subdivision. The Public Utilities Commission shall provide consultation, as well as relevant data, from the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program established pursuant to Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code and from the water utility low-income rate payer assistance programs developed pursuant to Section 739.8 of the Public Utilities Code to the board to aid in development and implementation of the regulations for exemption pursuant to this clause.
(2)(A)Beginning July 1, 2022, the fee schedule shall be set at an amount that does not result in the total uncommitted amount in the fund exceeding two times the anticipated funding need in the most recent assessment of funding need.
(B)For purposes of this paragraph, total uncommitted amount in the fund does not include moneys in the fund from the fertilizer safe drinking water fee established by Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 14615) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code until January 1, 2033, and does not include moneys in the fund from the dairy safe drinking water fee established by Article 14.5 (commencing with Section 62215) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code until January 1, 2035.
(c)A public water system shall collect the fee from each of its customers and may retain an amount, as approved by the board, as reimbursement for the reasonable costs incurred by the public water system associated with the collection of the fee. For small community water systems, reasonable public water system administrative cost reimbursement shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) or 2 percent of the total revenue collected, whichever is greater. For all other public water systems, reasonable public water system administrative cost reimbursement shall not exceed 1 percent of the total revenue from the fees collected. The public water system shall remit the remainder to the board on an annual schedule.
(d)The board may approve an exemption for a community water system and its customers from the requirements of this section if the board finds that the amount that would be required to be remitted to the board pursuant to this section would be de minimis.
(e)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a fee shall not be imposed pursuant to this article on a person or entity that is itself a public water system if that public water system is only purchasing water from a public water system to supply its own customers that are themselves being assessed the fee.
(f)All moneys remitted to the board under this article shall be deposited in the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The moneys remitted to the board under this article shall not be available for appropriation or borrowed for use for any purpose not established in this chapter unless that use of the moneys receives an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership in each house of the Legislature.
116772.(a)A public water system may apply to the board to authorize the public water system to use an alternative method to calculate the amount owed by each customer for the charge imposed by Section 116771 by submitting an application, in a form prescribed by the board, that demonstrates both of the following:
(1)That the method required by statute, regulation, or fee schedule adopted by the board would be impractical for the public water system to collect.
(2)That the method proposed by the public water system would provide an approximately equivalent level of total revenue and is consistent with the fee restrictions in this article, including, but not limited to, amount maximums and exemptions.
(b)The board shall review any application submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) to determine whether the justifications demonstrated pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subparagraph (a) are valid. If the board denies the application, that denial shall be in writing and shall not be reviewable. If the board approves the application, the public water system may use the alternative method for an amount of time prescribed by the board, not to exceed five years.
(c)There is not a limit on the number of applications the board is authorized to approve pursuant to this section to establish or renew an alternative method of fee calculation.
116773.(a)The board, in consultation with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, shall administer and collect the fees imposed by this article in accordance with the Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).
(b)For purposes of administration of the fee imposed by this article, the following references in the Fee Collection Procedures Law shall have the following meanings:
(1)Board or State Board of Equalization means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(2)Fee means the safe and affordable drinking water fee imposed pursuant to this article.
(3)Feepayer means a customer liable to pay the fee.
(c)The board, in consultation with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, may prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this article, including, but not limited to, collections, reporting, refunds, and appeals.
(d)The initial regulations adopted by the board to implement this article shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and shall not rely on the statutory declaration of emergency in subdivision (e).
(e)Except as provided in subdivision (d), the regulations adopted pursuant to this section, any amendment to those regulations, or subsequent adjustments to the annual fees or adoption of fee schedule, shall be adopted by the board as emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of these regulations is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Any emergency regulations adopted by the board, or adjustments to the annual fees made by the board pursuant to this section, shall remain in effect until revised by the board.
SEC. 3.SEC. 4.Section 13050 of the Water Code is amended to read:13050.As used in this division:
(a)State board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)Regional board means any California regional water quality control board for a region as specified in Section 13200.
(c)Person includes any city, county, district, the state, and the United States, to the extent authorized by federal law.
(d)Waste includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation, including waste placed within containers of whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of, disposal.
(e)Waters of the state means any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state.
(f)Beneficial uses of the waters of the state that may be protected against quality degradation include, but are not limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural agricultural, and industrial supply; power generation; recreation; aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; and preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other aquatic resources or preserves.
(g)Quality of the water refers to chemical, physical, biological, bacteriological, radiological, and other properties and characteristics of water which affect its use.
(h)Water quality objectives means the limits or levels of water quality constituents or characteristics which are established for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of water or the prevention of nuisance within a specific area.
(i)Water quality control means the regulation of any activity or factor which may affect the quality of the waters of the state and includes the prevention and correction of water pollution and nuisance.
(j)Water quality control plan consists of a designation or establishment for the waters within a specified area of all of the following:
(1)Beneficial uses to be protected.
(2)Water quality objectives.
(3)A program of implementation needed for achieving water quality objectives.
(k)Contamination means an impairment of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. Contamination includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste, whether or not waters of the state are affected.
(l)(1)Pollution means an alteration of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects either of the following:
(A)The waters for beneficial uses.
(B)Facilities which serve these beneficial uses.
(2)Pollution may include contamination.
(m)Nuisance means anything which meets all of the following requirements:
(1)Is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
(2)Affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.
(3)Occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes.
(n)Recycled water means water which, as a result of treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or a controlled use that would not otherwise occur and is therefor considered a valuable resource.
(o)Citizen or domiciliary of the state includes a foreign corporation having substantial business contacts in the state or which is subject to service of process in this state.
(p)(1)Hazardous substance means either of the following:
(A)For discharge to surface waters, any substance determined to be a hazardous substance pursuant to Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(B)For discharge to groundwater, any substance listed as a hazardous waste or hazardous material pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code, without regard to whether the substance is intended to be used, reused, or discarded, except that hazardous substance does not include any substance excluded from Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act because it is within the scope of Section 311(a)(1) of that act.
(2)Hazardous substance does not include any of the following:
(A)Nontoxic, nonflammable, and noncorrosive stormwater runoff drained from underground vaults, chambers, or manholes into gutters or storm sewers.
(B)Any pesticide which is applied for agricultural purposes or is applied in accordance with a cooperative agreement authorized by Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code, and is not discharged accidentally or for purposes of disposal, the application of which is in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
(C)Any discharge to surface water of a quantity less than a reportable quantity as determined by regulations issued pursuant to Section 311(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(D)Any discharge to land which results, or probably will result, in a discharge to groundwater if the amount of the discharge to land is less than a reportable quantity, as determined by regulations adopted pursuant to Section 13271, for substances listed as hazardous pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code. No discharge shall be deemed a discharge of a reportable quantity until regulations set a reportable quantity for the substance discharged.
(q)(1)Mining waste means all solid, semisolid, and liquid waste materials from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals. Mining waste includes, but is not limited to, soil, waste rock, and overburden, as defined in Section 2732 of the Public Resources Code, and tailings, slag, and other processed waste materials, including cementitious materials that are managed at the cement manufacturing facility where the materials were generated.
(2)For the purposes of this subdivision, cementitious material means cement, cement kiln dust, clinker, and clinker dust.
(r)Master recycling permit means a permit issued to a supplier or a distributor, or both, of recycled water, that includes waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 and water recycling requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13523.1.
(s)(1)Agricultural operation means either of the following:
(A)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both, of land that is irrigated to produce crops or pasture for commercial purposes or a nursery.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an irrigated lands regulatory program order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269.
(B)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both of a facility that is used for the raising or harvesting of livestock.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269 that regulates the discharges of waste from a facility identified in clause (i) to protect ground and surface water.
(2)Agricultural operation does not include any of the following:
(A)An off-farm facility that processes crops or livestock.
(B)An off-farm facility that manufacturers, synthesizes, stores, or processes fertilizer.
(C)Any portions of land or activities occurring on those portions of land that are not covered by an order adopted by the state board or a regional board identified in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1).
SEC. 4.SEC. 5.Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 13278) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:4.5.Discharges of Nitrate to Groundwater from Agricultural Operations13278.(a)For the purposes of this article, the Legislature finds all of the following:
(1)Implementation of currently known best management practices for some crops can reduce but not always completely prevent nitrogen in organic and synthetic fertilizers that transform to nitrates from reaching groundwater at concentrations above the water quality objectives established pursuant to this division.
(2)It is acknowledged that discharges of nitrate from agricultural operations could reach groundwater and could cause or contribute to exceedances of drinking water standards for nitrate,and nitrate, and could cause conditions of pollution of or nuisance in those waters as defined and applied in accordance with this division, or both.
(3)Nitrate contamination of groundwater impacts drinking water sources for hundreds of thousands of Californians and it is necessary to protect current and future drinking water users from the impacts of nitrate contamination.
(4)Despite progress in controlling discharges of nitrogen that lead to nitrate formation, some groundwater sources of drinking water will continue to be adversely impacted by nitrates and it is important to have in place a program for mitigating these impacts.
(5)The regional boards will continue to regulate discharges to reduce nitrogen loading and protect beneficial uses of water and groundwater basins; the state board, regional boards, and courts will ensure compliance with those orders; and dischargers will pay for mitigation of pollution by funding replacement water for affected communities.
(b)The Legislature declares its intent in establishing this article to do both of the following:(1)To subsequently amend this article to establish an agricultural assessment to be paid by agricultural operations for a period of 15 years to provide funding, as a portion of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, to make available alternative supplies of safe drinking water to persons affected by discharges of nitrogen from agricultural operations that may occur in amounts that may cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality objective or cause conditions of pollution or nuisance.(2)To limit to limit enforcement actions that a regional board or the state board could otherwise initiate during that 15-year period against an agricultural operation paying the agricultural assessment, while maintaining the overall framework of this division to protect beneficial uses, implement water quality objectives in waters of the state, and regulate activities and factors that affect water quality to attain the highest water quality that is reasonable.13278.1.(a)An agricultural operation shall not be subject to enforcement undertaken or initiated by the state board or a regional board under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
(1)The agricultural operation has timely paid any applicable fee, assessment, or charge fertilizer safe drinking water fee established by Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 14615) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code or dairy safe drinking water fee established by Article 14.5 (commencing with Section 62215) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund or an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. established by Section 116767 of the Health and Safety Code. For the purposes of this paragraph, timely paid means that an agricultural operation has paid all applicable fees, assessments, or charges, no later than 90 days after their respective due dates, since the application of the fee, assessment, or charge to the agricultural operation.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed by a regional board or the state board in an order adopted pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)Requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control.
(B)Best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(C)Timelines.
(3)The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(b)(1)The mitigation requirement contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not include any generalized prohibition contained in an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)(A)An agricultural operation is not in compliance with the mitigation requirement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the agricultural operation has been subject to an enforcement action under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) within the preceding 12 months for any violation of an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
(B)Subparagraph (A) does not apply to an enforcement action commenced after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2018, inclusive, alleging that a discharge from an agricultural operation caused or contributed, or threatened to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater, conditions of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater, or both.
(3)An agricultural operation does not qualify for the enforcement exemption set forth in this subdivision if the operation fails to continue to make applicable payments into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to the extent that the agricultural operation maintains a continuance of farming operation.
(c)Both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharger is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
(1)The discharge shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)The discharge shall not be considered by the state board or a regional board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the state boards or a regional boards authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
(e)This section shall not be deemed to change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(f)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.
13278.2.(a)An agricultural operation shall not be subject to enforcement undertaken or initiated by the state board or a regional board under Section 13304 for creating or threatening to create a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
(1)The agricultural operation has timely paid any applicable fee, assessment, or charge fertilizer safe drinking water fee established by Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 14615) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code or dairy safe drinking water fee established by Article 14.5 (commencing with Section 62215) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund or an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. established by Section 116767 of the Health and Safety Code. For the purposes of this paragraph, timely paid means that an agricultural operation has paid all applicable fees, assessments, or charges, no later than 90 days after their respective due dates, since the application of the fee, assessment, or charge to the agricultural operation.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed by a regional board or the state board in an order adopted pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)Requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control.
(B)Best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(C)Timelines.
(3)The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(b)(1)The mitigation requirement contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not include any generalized prohibition contained in an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)An agricultural operation is not in compliance with the mitigation requirement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the agricultural operation has been subject to an enforcement action under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) within the preceding 12 months for any violation of an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
(3)An agricultural operation does not qualify for the enforcement exemption set forth in this subdivision if the operation fails to continue to make applicable payments into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to the extent that the agricultural operation maintains a continuance of farming operation.
(c)Both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharger is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
(1)The discharge shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)The discharge shall not be considered by the state board or a regional board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the state boards or a regional boards authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
(e)This section shall not be deemed to change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(f)(1)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2028.
(2)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2033, deletes or extends that date.
13278.3.By January 1, 2027, the state board shall conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control.
13278.4.Nothing in this article limits the liability of a discharger under any other law, including, but not limited to, Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code.
SEC. 6.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)The large water system testing program has discovered chemical contamination of the states drinking water with increasing frequency.
(2)A significant number of California residents rely on the states small water systems and individual domestic wells to provide their water.
(3)The small systems and individual domestic wells, because they tend to be located in outlying rural areas where pesticide use is prevalent, and because they draw their water from shallow aquifers, face a serious threat of contamination.
(4)Unchecked water sources that may be contaminated pose a potentially serious threat to the health of the citizens of California, particularly those living in outlying rural areas.
(5)It is in the interest of all Californians that a testing program for small public water systems and individual domestic wells be implemented and carried out as expeditiously as possible.
(6)Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that every Californian has the right to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
(7)To ensure that the right of every Californian to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes is met, it is in the interest of the State of California to identify water quality threats in the states drinking water supply, to the extent feasible, whether those supplies serve a public water system, state small water system, or an individual domestic well.
(b)(1)For purposes of this section, small public water system means a system with 200 connections or less, and is one of the following:
(A)A community water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents.
(B)A state small water system.
(C)A noncommunity water system such as a school, labor camp, institution, or place of employment, as designated by the state board.
(2)For the purposes of this section, individual domestic well means a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or systems of four or less service connections.
(c)The state board shall conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures. The state board shall, at a minimum, provide health officers with guidelines for evaluating systems and instructions for sampling.
(d)The state board shall develop a schedule for conduct of the programs by the local health officers. The schedule shall establish a program to address first those systems with the most serious potential for contamination. The state board shall enter into agreements with the local health agencies to conduct the necessary work to be performed pursuant to the schedule. The department shall begin the program no later than three months after September 19, 1985. All local health officers shall complete the evaluation, sampling, testing, review of sampling results, and notification to the public water systems within their jurisdiction in accordance with the agreements entered into with the state board and within the schedule established by the state board. All work required by this subdivision shall be completed within three years after September 19, 1985.
(e)By January 1, 2019, the state board shall promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The state board shall prioritize testing based on local water quality conditions. The state board shall review these regulations at least every five years.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section shall be operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies pursuant to this section during that year.
(2)Subdivisions (a), (b), (e), and (f) shall not become inoperative.
SEC. 2.Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) is added to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:4.6.Safe and Affordable Drinking Water116765.For the purposes of this chapter:
(a)Agricultural operations has the same meaning as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code.
(b)Board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(c)Community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(d)Disadvantaged community has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(e)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766.
(f)Nontransient noncommunity water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(g)Public water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(h)Replacement water includes, but is not limited to, bottled water, point-of-use, or point-of-entry treatment units.
(i)Safe Drinking Water Plan means the plan prepared pursuant to Section 116355.
116766.The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board without regard to fiscal years, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund.
116767.(a)The board shall administer the fund for the purposes of this chapter to provide a stable source of funding to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards, the treatment of which would otherwise make the cost of water service unaffordable. The board shall prioritize the use of this funding to assist low-income communities and low-income individual domestic well users. In addition, the board shall prioritize the use of this funding for costs other than those related to capital construction costs. An expenditure from the fund shall be consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. On and after January 1, 2020, the total unencumbered amount in the fund shall not exceed the boards total estimated need for moneys in the fund over a two-year period.
(b)In accordance with subdivision (a), the board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water with any of the following:
(1)The provision of replacement water, as needed, to ensure immediate protection of health and safety as a short-term solution.
(2)The development, implementation, and sustainability of long-term solutions, including, but not limited to, planning, construction, and operation and maintenance costs associated with replacing, blending, or treating contaminated wells and consolidating water systems.
(3)Identifying Californians without access to safe drinking water who are eligible to receive assistance from the fund and providing outreach to them.
(4)Testing the drinking water quality of individual domestic wells serving low-income households.
(c)Eligible applicants for funding include public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, federally recognized Indian tribes, state Indian tribes listed on the Native American Heritage Commissions California tribal consultation list, groundwater sustainability agencies, and mutual water companies.
(d)The board may expend up to 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
(e)The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1)Provide for the deposit of any of the following available and necessary moneys into the fund:
(A)Federal contributions.
(B)Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(2)Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3)Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4)Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
116768.It is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this section to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells have been impacted by nitrate contamination and whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
116769.Annually, the board shall do all of the following:
(a)Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b)Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. This annual assessment shall incorporate information contained in the Safe Drinking Water Plan and include a list of community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems without access to safe drinking water, as well as identification of small communities and rural populations not served by public water systems that do not have access to safe drinking water.
(c)(1)Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund. The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, and the public, to establish priorities for the plan.
(2)The fund implementation plan shall prioritize eligibility for expenditures of the fund based on the following:
(A)A water systems current or projected water rates needed to ensure safe drinking water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the median household income for that water system and the water system qualifies as a disadvantaged community.
(B)The costs for providing potable water for an individual domestic well exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the households income and the households income is less than 80 percent of the statewide household median income.
SEC. 3.Section 13050 of the Water Code is amended to read:13050.As used in this division:
(a)State board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)Regional board means any California regional water quality control board for a region as specified in Section 13200.
(c)Person includes any city, county, district, the state, and the United States, to the extent authorized by federal law.
(d)Waste includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation, including waste placed within containers of whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of, disposal.
(e)Waters of the state means any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state.
(f)Beneficial uses of the waters of the state that may be protected against quality degradation include, but are not limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial supply; power generation; recreation; aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; and preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other aquatic resources or preserves.
(g)Quality of the water refers to chemical, physical, biological, bacteriological, radiological, and other properties and characteristics of water which affect its use.
(h)Water quality objectives means the limits or levels of water quality constituents or characteristics which are established for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of water or the prevention of nuisance within a specific area.
(i)Water quality control means the regulation of any activity or factor which may affect the quality of the waters of the state and includes the prevention and correction of water pollution and nuisance.
(j)Water quality control plan consists of a designation or establishment for the waters within a specified area of all of the following:
(1)Beneficial uses to be protected.
(2)Water quality objectives.
(3)A program of implementation needed for achieving water quality objectives.
(k)Contamination means an impairment of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. Contamination includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste, whether or not waters of the state are affected.
(l)(1)Pollution means an alteration of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects either of the following:
(A)The waters for beneficial uses.
(B)Facilities which serve these beneficial uses.
(2)Pollution may include contamination.
(m)Nuisance means anything which meets all of the following requirements:
(1)Is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
(2)Affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.
(3)Occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes.
(n)Recycled water means water which, as a result of treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or a controlled use that would not otherwise occur and is therefor considered a valuable resource.
(o)Citizen or domiciliary of the state includes a foreign corporation having substantial business contacts in the state or which is subject to service of process in this state.
(p)(1)Hazardous substance means either of the following:
(A)For discharge to surface waters, any substance determined to be a hazardous substance pursuant to Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(B)For discharge to groundwater, any substance listed as a hazardous waste or hazardous material pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code, without regard to whether the substance is intended to be used, reused, or discarded, except that hazardous substance does not include any substance excluded from Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act because it is within the scope of Section 311(a)(1) of that act.
(2)Hazardous substance does not include any of the following:
(A)Nontoxic, nonflammable, and noncorrosive stormwater runoff drained from underground vaults, chambers, or manholes into gutters or storm sewers.
(B)Any pesticide which is applied for agricultural purposes or is applied in accordance with a cooperative agreement authorized by Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code, and is not discharged accidentally or for purposes of disposal, the application of which is in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
(C)Any discharge to surface water of a quantity less than a reportable quantity as determined by regulations issued pursuant to Section 311(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(D)Any discharge to land which results, or probably will result, in a discharge to groundwater if the amount of the discharge to land is less than a reportable quantity, as determined by regulations adopted pursuant to Section 13271, for substances listed as hazardous pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code. No discharge shall be deemed a discharge of a reportable quantity until regulations set a reportable quantity for the substance discharged.
(q)(1)Mining waste means all solid, semisolid, and liquid waste materials from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals. Mining waste includes, but is not limited to, soil, waste rock, and overburden, as defined in Section 2732 of the Public Resources Code, and tailings, slag, and other processed waste materials, including cementitious materials that are managed at the cement manufacturing facility where the materials were generated.
(2)For the purposes of this subdivision, cementitious material means cement, cement kiln dust, clinker, and clinker dust.
(r)Master recycling permit means a permit issued to a supplier or a distributor, or both, of recycled water, that includes waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 and water recycling requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13523.1.
(s)(1)Agricultural operation means either of the following:
(A)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both, of land that is irrigated to produce crops or pasture for commercial purposes or a nursery.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an irrigated lands regulatory program order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269.
(B)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both of a facility that is used for the raising or harvesting of livestock.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269 that regulates the discharges of waste from a facility identified in clause (i) to protect ground and surface water.
(2)Agricultural operation does not include any of the following:
(A)A An off-farm facility that processes crops or livestock.
(B)A An off-farm facility that manufacturers, synthesizes, stores, or processes fertilizer.
(C)Any portions of land or activities occurring on those portions of land that are not covered by an order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269. identified in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1).
SEC. 4.Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 13278) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:4.5.Discharges of Nitrate to Groundwater from Agricultural Operations13278.(a)For the purposes of this article, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)Implementation of currently known best management practices for some crops can reduce but not always completely prevent nitrogen in organic and synthetic fertilizers that transform to nitrates from reaching groundwater at concentrations above the water quality objectives established pursuant to this division.
(2)It is acknowledged that discharges of nitrate from agricultural operations could reach groundwater and could cause or contribute to exceedances of drinking water standards for nitrate,and could cause conditions of pollution of or nuisance in those waters as defined and applied pursuant to in accordance with this division, or both.
(3)Nitrate contamination of groundwater impacts drinking water sources for hundreds of thousands of Californians and it is necessary to protect current and future drinking water users from the impacts of nitrate contamination.
(3)(4)Despite substantial progress in controlling discharges of nitrogen that lead to nitrate formation, some groundwater sources of drinking water will continue to be adversely impacted by nitrates and it is important to have in place a program for mitigating these impacts.
(4)The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is established pursuant to Section 116766 of the Health and Safety Code in consideration of and in furtherance of the human right to water that has previously been codified as an established policy of the state.(5)The regional boards will continue to regulate discharges to reduce nitrogen loading and protect beneficial uses of water and groundwater basins; the state board, regional boards, and courts will ensure compliance with those orders; and dischargers will pay for mitigation of past and ongoing pollution by funding replacement water for affected communities.
(b)It is the intent of the The Legislature declares its intent in establishing this article to do both of the following:
(1)To subsequently amend this article to establish an agricultural assessment to be paid by agricultural operations for a period of 10 15 years to provide funding, as a portion of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, to make available alternative supplies of safe drinking water to persons affected by discharges of nitrogen from agricultural operations that may occur in amounts that may cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality objective or cause conditions of pollution or nuisance.
(2)To limit certain administrative enforcement actions that a regional board or the state board could otherwise initiate during that 10-year 15-year period against an agricultural operation paying the nitrate mitigation agricultural assessment, while maintaining the overall framework of this division to protect beneficial uses, implement water quality objectives in waters of the state, and regulate activities and factors that affect water quality to attain the highest water quality that is reasonable.
13278.1.(a)An agricultural operation shall not be subject to enforcement undertaken or initiated by the state board or a regional board under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
(1)The agricultural operation has timely paid any applicable fee, assessment, or charge into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund or an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. For the purposes of this paragraph, timely paid means that an agricultural operation has paid all applicable fees, assessments, or charges, no later than 90 days after their respective due dates, since the application of the fee, assessment, or charge to the agricultural operation.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed by a regional board or the state board in an order adopted pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)Requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control.
(B)Best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(C)Timelines.
(3)The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(b)(1)The mitigation requirement contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not include any generalized prohibition contained in an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)(A)An agricultural operation shall not be is not in compliance with the mitigation requirement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the agricultural operation has been subject to an enforcement action under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) within the preceding 12 months for any violation of an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
(B)Subparagraph (A) does not apply to an enforcement action commenced after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2018, inclusive, alleging that discharges a discharge from an agricultural operation caused or contributed, or threatened to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater, conditions of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater, or both.
(3)An agricultural operation does not qualify for the enforcement exemption set forth in this subdivision if the operation fails to continue to make applicable payments into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to the extent that the agricultural operation maintains a continuance of farming operation.
(c)Both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharger is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
(1)The discharge of nitrogen shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)The discharge of nitrogen shall not be considered by the state board or a regional board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the state boards or a regional boards authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
(e)This section shall not be deemed to change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(f)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.
13278.2.(a)An agricultural operation shall not be subject to enforcement undertaken or initiated by the state board or a regional board under Section 13304 for creating or threatening to create a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
(1)The agricultural operation has timely paid any applicable fee, assessment, or charge into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund or an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. For the purposes of this paragraph, timely paid means that an agricultural operation has paid all applicable fees, assessments, or charges, no later than 90 days after their respective due dates, since the application of the fee, assessment, or charge to the agricultural operation.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed by a regional board or the state board in an order adopted pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)Requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control.
(B)Best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(C)Timelines.
(3)The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(b)(1)The mitigation requirement contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not include any generalized prohibition contained in an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)An agricultural operation is not in compliance with the mitigation requirement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the agricultural operation has been subject to an enforcement action under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) within the preceding 12 months for any violation of an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
(3)An agricultural operation does not qualify for the enforcement exemption set forth in this subdivision if the operation fails to continue to make applicable payments into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to the extent that the agricultural operation maintains a continuance of farming operation.
(c)Both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharger is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
(1)The discharge shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)The discharge shall not be considered by the state board or a regional board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the state boards or a regional boards authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
(e)This section shall not be deemed to change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(f)(1)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2028.
(2)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2033, deletes or extends that date.
13278.2.13278.3.By January 1, 2027, the state board shall conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control.
13278.3.13278.4.Nothing in this article limits the liability of a discharger under any other law, including, but not limited to, Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code.
13278.4.This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2028, deletes or extends that date. REVISIONS: HeadingLine 3.(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)The large water system testing program has discovered chemical contamination of the states drinking water with increasing frequency.
(2)A significant number of California residents rely on the states small water systems and individual domestic wells to provide their water.
(3)The small systems, systems and individual domestic wells, because they tend to be located in outlying rural areas where pesticide use is prevalent, and because they draw their water from shallow aquifers, face a serious threat of contamination.
(4)Unchecked water sources that may be contaminated pose a potentially serious threat to the health of the citizens of California, particularly those living in outlying rural areas.
(5)It is in the interest of all Californians that a testing program for small public water systems and individual domestic wells be implemented and carried out as expeditiously as possible.
(6)Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that every Californian has the right to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
(7)To ensure that the right of every Californian to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes is met, it is in the interest of the State of California to identify water quality threats in the states drinking water supply, to the extent feasible, whether those supplies serve a public water system, state small water system, or an individual domestic well.
(b)(1)For purposes of this section, small public water system means a system with 200 connections or less, and is one of the following:
(1)(A)A community water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents.
(2)(B)A state small water system.
(3)(C)A noncommunity water system such as a school, labor camp, institution, or place of employment, as designated by the department. state board.
(2)For the purposes of this section, individual domestic well means a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or systems of four or less service connections.
(c)The department state board shall conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures. The department state board shall, at a minimum, provide health officers with guidelines for evaluating systems and instructions for sampling.
(d)The department state board shall develop a schedule for conduct of the programs by the local health officers. The schedule shall establish a program to address first those systems with the most serious potential for contamination. The department state board shall enter into agreements with the local health agencies to conduct the necessary work to be performed pursuant to the schedule. The department shall begin the program no later than three months after September 19, 1985. All local health officers shall complete the evaluation, sampling, testing, review of sampling results, and notification to the public water systems within their jurisdiction in accordance with the agreements entered into with the department state board and within the schedule established by the department. state board. All work required by this section subdivision shall be completed within three years after September 19, 1985.
(e)In consultation with the department, the local health officer shall conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to:(1)A review of the historical water quality data of each system to determine possible evidence of degradation.(2)A review, to be coordinated with the State Water Resources Control Board, and the California regional water quality control boards, of past and present waste disposal practices that may potentially affect the respective well water supply.(3)A review of other organic chemicals used in the water supply area that have potential health risks and that may have the potential for contaminating drinking water supplies because of environmental persistence or resistance to natural degradation under conditions existing in California.(f)Based upon the evaluation of each system, the local health officers shall develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The health officer shall collect samples in accordance with the plan and shall submit the samples for analysis to a certified laboratory designated by the department. When applicable, the laboratory shall test water samples using the Environmental Protection Agencys 13 approved analytical techniques established under subdivision (h) of Section 304 of the Clean Water Act to qualitatively identify the complete range of contaminants in the same class as the specific contaminant or class of contaminants being analyzed.(g)Within 10 days of the receipt from the laboratory of the testing results, the local health officer shall notify the small public water system, the department and the California regional water quality control board for that region of the results.(h)Following a review of the testing results, the local health officer may order the public water system to conduct a periodic water sampling and analysis program in accordance with conditions specified by the local health officer. The department shall provide ongoing advice and assistance to local health officers in interpreting test results and determining appropriate notification and followup activities in those instances where contaminants are found.(e)By January 1, 2019, the state board shall promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The state board shall prioritize testing based on local water quality conditions. The state board shall review these regulations at least every five years.
(i)This(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section shall be operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies pursuant to this section during that year.
(2)Subdivisions (a), (b), (e), and (f) shall not become inoperative.
SECTION 1.SEC. 2.Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) is added to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:4.6.Safe and Affordable Drinking Water116765.For the purposes of this chapter:
(a)Agricultural operations has the same meaning as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code.
(a)(b)Board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)(c)Community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(d)Disadvantaged community has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(c)(e)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766.
(d)(f)Nontransient noncommunity water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(e)(g)Public water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(h)Replacement water includes, but is not limited to, bottled water, point-of-use, or point-of-entry treatment units.
(i)Safe Drinking Water Plan means the plan prepared pursuant to Section 116355.
116766.The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the board for the purposes of this chapter. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board without regard to fiscal years, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund.
116767.(a)The board shall administer the fund for auditing purposes and for the purposes of this chapter. the purposes of this chapter to provide a stable source of funding to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards, the treatment of which would otherwise make the cost of water service unaffordable. The board shall prioritize the use of this funding to assist low-income communities and low-income individual domestic well users. In addition, the board shall prioritize the use of this funding for costs other than those related to capital construction costs. An expenditure from the fund shall be consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. On and after January 1, 2020, the total unencumbered amount in the fund shall not exceed the boards total estimated need for moneys in the fund over a two-year period.
(b)In accordance with subdivision (a), the board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water with any of the following:
(1)The provision of replacement water, as needed, to ensure immediate protection of health and safety as a short-term solution.
(2)The development, implementation, and sustainability of long-term solutions, including, but not limited to, planning, construction, and operation and maintenance costs associated with replacing, blending, or treating contaminated wells and consolidating water systems.
(3)Identifying Californians without access to safe drinking water who are eligible to receive assistance from the fund and providing outreach to them.
(4)Testing the drinking water quality of individual domestic wells serving low-income households.
(c)Eligible applicants for funding include public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, federally recognized Indian tribes, state Indian tribes listed on the Native American Heritage Commissions California tribal consultation list, groundwater sustainability agencies, and mutual water companies.
(b)(d)The board may expend up to 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
(c)(e)The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1)Provide for the deposit of any of the following available and necessary moneys into the fund:
(A)Federal contributions.
(B)Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(2)Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3)Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4)Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
116768.The board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. To the extent that funding is available, the assistance shall include the following:(a)The provision of replacement water on an interim basis pending implementation of long-term solutions.(b)Planning costs for the development of long-term solutions.(c)Capital costs of implementing long-term solutions.(d)Costs associated with maintaining and operating interim solutions and long-term solutions.(e)Outreach and technical assistance to those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.116768.It is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this section to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells have been impacted by nitrate contamination and whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
116769.Annually, the board shall do all of the following:
(a)Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b)Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. This annual assessment shall incorporate information contained in the Safe Drinking Water Plan and include a list of community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems without access to safe drinking water, as well as identification of small communities and rural populations not served by public water systems that do not have access to safe drinking water.
(c)(1)Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund. The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, and the public, to establish priorities for the plan.
(2)The fund implementation plan shall prioritize eligibility for expenditures of the fund based on the following:
(A)A water systems current or projected water rates needed to ensure safe drinking water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the median household income for that water system and the water system qualifies as a disadvantaged community.
(B)The costs for providing potable water for an individual domestic well exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the households income and the households income is less than 80 percent of the statewide household median income.
SEC. 3.Section 13050 of the Water Code is amended to read:13050.As used in this division:
(a)State board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)Regional board means any California regional water quality control board for a region as specified in Section 13200.
(c)Person includes any city, county, district, the state, and the United States, to the extent authorized by federal law.
(d)Waste includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation, including waste placed within containers of whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of, disposal.
(e)Waters of the state means any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state.
(f)Beneficial uses of the waters of the state that may be protected against quality degradation include, but are not limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial supply; power generation; recreation; aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; and preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other aquatic resources or preserves.
(g)Quality of the water refers to chemical, physical, biological, bacteriological, radiological, and other properties and characteristics of water which affect its use.
(h)Water quality objectives means the limits or levels of water quality constituents or characteristics which are established for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of water or the prevention of nuisance within a specific area.
(i)Water quality control means the regulation of any activity or factor which may affect the quality of the waters of the state and includes the prevention and correction of water pollution and nuisance.
(j)Water quality control plan consists of a designation or establishment for the waters within a specified area of all of the following:
(1)Beneficial uses to be protected.
(2)Water quality objectives.
(3)A program of implementation needed for achieving water quality objectives.
(k)Contamination means an impairment of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. Contamination includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste, whether or not waters of the state are affected.
(l)(1)Pollution means an alteration of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects either of the following:
(A)The waters for beneficial uses.
(B)Facilities which serve these beneficial uses.
(2)Pollution may include contamination.
(m)Nuisance means anything which meets all of the following requirements:
(1)Is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
(2)Affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.
(3)Occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes.
(n)Recycled water means water which, as a result of treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or a controlled use that would not otherwise occur and is therefor considered a valuable resource.
(o)Citizen or domiciliary of the state includes a foreign corporation having substantial business contacts in the state or which is subject to service of process in this state.
(p)(1)Hazardous substance means either of the following:
(A)For discharge to surface waters, any substance determined to be a hazardous substance pursuant to Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.).
(B)For discharge to groundwater, any substance listed as a hazardous waste or hazardous material pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code, without regard to whether the substance is intended to be used, reused, or discarded, except that hazardous substance does not include any substance excluded from Section 311(b)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act because it is within the scope of Section 311(a)(1) of that act.
(2)Hazardous substance does not include any of the following:
(A)Nontoxic, nonflammable, and noncorrosive stormwater runoff drained from underground vaults, chambers, or manholes into gutters or storm sewers.
(B)Any pesticide which is applied for agricultural purposes or is applied in accordance with a cooperative agreement authorized by Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code, and is not discharged accidentally or for purposes of disposal, the application of which is in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
(C)Any discharge to surface water of a quantity less than a reportable quantity as determined by regulations issued pursuant to Section 311(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(D)Any discharge to land which results, or probably will result, in a discharge to groundwater if the amount of the discharge to land is less than a reportable quantity, as determined by regulations adopted pursuant to Section 13271, for substances listed as hazardous pursuant to Section 25140 of the Health and Safety Code. No discharge shall be deemed a discharge of a reportable quantity until regulations set a reportable quantity for the substance discharged.
(q)(1)Mining waste means all solid, semisolid, and liquid waste materials from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals. Mining waste includes, but is not limited to, soil, waste rock, and overburden, as defined in Section 2732 of the Public Resources Code, and tailings, slag, and other processed waste materials, including cementitious materials that are managed at the cement manufacturing facility where the materials were generated.
(2)For the purposes of this subdivision, cementitious material means cement, cement kiln dust, clinker, and clinker dust.
(r)Master recycling permit means a permit issued to a supplier or a distributor, or both, of recycled water, that includes waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 and water recycling requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13523.1.
(s)(1)Agricultural operation means either of the following:
(A)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both, of land that is irrigated to produce crops or pasture for commercial purposes or a nursery.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an irrigated lands regulatory program order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269.
(B)A discharger that satisfies both of the following conditions:
(i)The discharger is an owner, operator, or both of a facility that is used for the raising or harvesting of livestock.
(ii)The discharger is enrolled or named in an order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269 that regulates the discharges of waste from a facility identified in clause (i) to protect ground and surface water.
(2)Agricultural operation does not include any of the following:
(A)A facility that processes crops or livestock.
(B)A facility that manufacturers, synthesizes, or processes fertilizer.
(C)Any portions of land or activities occurring on those portions of land that are not covered by an order adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269.
SEC. 4.Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 13278) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:4.5.Discharges of Nitrate to Groundwater from Agricultural Operations13278.(a)For the purposes of this article, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)Implementation of currently known best management practices for some crops can reduce but not always completely prevent nitrogen in organic and synthetic fertilizers that transform to nitrates from reaching groundwater at concentrations above the water quality objectives established pursuant to this division.
(2)It is acknowledged that discharges of nitrate from agricultural operations could reach groundwater and could cause or contribute to exceedances of drinking water standards for nitrate, cause conditions of pollution of or nuisance in those waters as defined and applied pursuant to this division, or both.
(3)Despite substantial progress in controlling discharges of nitrogen that lead to nitrate formation, some groundwater sources of drinking water will continue to be adversely impacted by nitrates and it is important to have in place a program for mitigating these impacts.
(4)The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is established pursuant to Section 116766 of the Health and Safety Code in consideration of and in furtherance of the human right to water that has previously been codified as an established policy of the state.
(5)The regional boards will continue to regulate discharges to reduce nitrogen loading and protect beneficial uses of water and groundwater basins; the state board, regional boards, and courts will ensure compliance with those orders; and dischargers will pay for mitigation of past and ongoing pollution by funding replacement water for affected communities.
(b)It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing this article to do both of the following:
(1)To subsequently amend this article to establish an agricultural assessment to be paid by agricultural operations for a period of 10 years to provide funding, as a portion of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, to make available alternative supplies of safe drinking water to persons affected by discharges of nitrogen from agricultural operations that may occur in amounts that may cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality objective or cause conditions of pollution or nuisance.
(2)To limit certain administrative enforcement actions that a regional board or the state board could otherwise initiate during that 10-year period against an agricultural operation paying the nitrate mitigation assessment, while maintaining the overall framework of this division to protect beneficial uses, implement water quality objectives in waters of the state, and regulate activities and factors that affect water quality to attain the highest water quality that is reasonable.
13278.1.(a)An agricultural operation shall not be subject to enforcement by the state board or a regional board under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
(1)The agricultural operation has timely paid any applicable fee, assessment, or charge into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund or an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. For the purposes of this paragraph, timely paid means that an agricultural operation has paid all applicable fees, assessments, or charges, no later than 90 days after their respective due dates, since the application of the fee, assessment, or charge to the agricultural operation.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed by a regional board or the state board in an order adopted pursuant to Section 13263 or 13269, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)Requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control.
(B)Best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(C)Timelines.
(3)The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
(b)(1)The mitigation requirement contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not include any generalized prohibition on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)(A)An agricultural operation shall not be in compliance with the mitigation requirement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the agricultural operation has been subject to an enforcement action under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13330) within the preceding 12 months for any violation of an order adopted under Section 13263 or 13269 authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
(B)Subparagraph (A) does not apply to an enforcement action commenced after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2018, inclusive, alleging that discharges from an agricultural operation caused or contributed, or threatened to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater, conditions of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater, or both.
(3)An agricultural operation does not qualify for the enforcement exemption set forth in this subdivision if the operation fails to continue to make applicable payments into the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to the extent that the agricultural operation maintains a continuance of farming operation.
(c)Both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharger is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
(1)The discharge of nitrogen shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
(2)The discharge of nitrogen shall not be considered by the state board or a regional board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 13300) with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
(d)Nothing in this section alters the state boards or a regional boards authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
(e)This section shall not be deemed to change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13240).
13278.2.By January 1, 2027, the state board shall conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrates in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control.
13278.3.Nothing in this article limits the liability of a discharger under any other law, including, but not limited to, Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code.
13278.4.This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2028, deletes or extends that date.
For the purposes of this chapter:
(a)Board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)Community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(c)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766.
(d)Nontransient noncommunity water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(e)Public water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
116766.The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board without regard to fiscal years, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund. Moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the board for the purposes of this chapter.
116767.(a)The board shall administer the fund for auditing purposes and for the purposes of this chapter.
(b)The board may expend up to 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
(c)The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1)Provide for the deposit of any of the following available and necessary moneys into the fund:
(A)Federal contributions.
(B)Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(2)Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3)Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4)Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
116768.The board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. To the extent that funding is available, the assistance shall include the following:
(a)The provision of replacement water on an interim basis pending implementation of long-term solutions.
(b)Planning costs for the development of long-term solutions.
(c)Capital costs of implementing long-term solutions.
(d)Costs associated with maintaining and operating interim solutions and long-term solutions.
(e)Outreach and technical assistance to those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.
116769.Annually, the board shall do all of the following:
(a)Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b)Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. This annual assessment shall include a list of community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems without access to safe drinking water, as well as identification of small communities and rural populations not served by public water systems that do not have access to safe drinking water.
(c)Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund. The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, and the public, to establish priorities for the plan.
For the purposes of this chapter:
(a)Board means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(b)Community water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(c)Fund means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766.
(d)Nontransient noncommunity water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
(e)Public water system has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.
116765.116766.The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the State Water Resources Control Board Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board without regard to fiscal years. years, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund.
116767.(a)The board shall administer the fund for auditing purposes and for the purposes of this chapter.
(b)The board may expend up to 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
(c)The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1)Provide for the deposit of any of the following available and necessary moneys into the fund:
(A)Federal contributions.
(B)Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(2)Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3)Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4)Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
116768.The board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. To the extent that funding is available, the assistance shall include the following:
(a)The provision of replacement water on an interim basis pending implementation of long-term solutions.
(b)Planning costs for the development of long-term solutions.
(c)Capital costs of implementing long-term solutions.
(d)Costs associated with maintaining and operating interim solutions and long-term solutions.
(e)Outreach and technical assistance to those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.
116769.Annually, the board shall do all of the following:
(a)Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b)Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water. This annual assessment shall include a list of community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems without access to safe drinking water, as well as identification of small communities and rural populations not served by public water systems that do not have access to safe drinking water.
(c)Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund. The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, and the public, to establish priorities for the plan.
The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the State Water Resources Control Board without regard to fiscal years.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2017 | From committee: Without recommendation. |
| Aug 23, 2017 | August 23 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Aug 21, 2017 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jul 12, 2017 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (July 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jul 3, 2017 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M. |
| Jun 26, 2017 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M. |
| Jun 12, 2017 | Referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M. |
| May 31, 2017 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 30, 2017 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1275.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| May 26, 2017 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 25, 2017 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 1188.) (May 25). |
| May 19, 2017 | Set for hearing May 25. |
| May 15, 2017 | May 15 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| May 4, 2017 | Set for hearing May 15. |
| May 3, 2017 | May 8 hearing postponed by committee. |
| May 1, 2017 | Set for hearing May 8. |
| Apr 26, 2017 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 25, 2017 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 784.) (April 19). |
| Mar 30, 2017 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on EQ. |
| Mar 28, 2017 | Set for hearing April 19. |
| Mar 27, 2017 | April 5 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Mar 15, 2017 | Set for hearing April 5. |
| Mar 2, 2017 | Referred to Com. on EQ. |
| Feb 21, 2017 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23. |
| Feb 17, 2017 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2017 | Without recommendation, and be re-referred to Committee on [Rules] | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jul 11, 2017 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials |
Passed |
|
| May 30, 2017 | Senate 3rd Reading SB623 Monning et al. | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 25, 2017 | Do pass | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| May 15, 2017 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 19, 2017 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Alameda County Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Alliance of Child and Family Services | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| American Heart Association | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| American Rivers | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| American Stroke Association | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| American Water Works Association, California-Nevada Section | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| arvin community services district | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Asian Pacific Environmental Network | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Asociacin de Gente Unida por el Agua | ** Support | Apr 17, 2017 |
| asociacion de gente unida por el agua | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Association Of California Water Agencies | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| association of people united for water | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Audubon California | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Bella Vista Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Better Watts Initiative | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| black women for wellness | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Alliance | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| California Audubon | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Bicycle Coalition | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Citrus Mutual | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| California Environmental Justice Alliance | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Food Policy Advocates | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Housing Partnership Corporation | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| California League Of Conservation Voters | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Pan-Ethnic Health Network | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Rice Commission | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Sportfishing Protection Alliance | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Water Foundation | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| California Water Impact Network | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| California Water Services Company | ** Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Calleguas Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Carbon Cycle Institute | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Center for Race Poverty and the Environment | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Central California Asthma Collaborative | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| central california environmental justice association | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Central California Environmental Justice Network | ** Support | Apr 17, 2017 |
| central california environmental network | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Centro La Familia Advocacy Services | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Ceres, Inc. | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| City of Alpaugh | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| City of Alvin | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| City Of Arvin | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| City of Fairfield | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| City of Indio | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| City of Porterville | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| City of Roseville | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| City Of Sanger | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Clean Water Action | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Comite Civico Del Valle | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Community Alliance for Agroecology | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Community of Alpa | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Community Water Center | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Council for a Strong America | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| County of Tulare | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Cucamonga Valley Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Cultiva La Salud | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Defenders Of Wildlife | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Desert Water Agency | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Dolores Huerta Foundation | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Down Rural Counties of California | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| East Valley Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Eastern Coachella Valley | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Eastern Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| El Dorado Irrigation District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| El Quinto Sol De America | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Environmental Defense Fund | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Environmental Justice Coalition for Water | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Esperanza Community Housing Corporation | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Faith in the Valley | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| foresthill public utility district | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Fresno Barrios Unidos | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| fresno building healthy communities | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Friends against Fracking | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Friends Committee on Legislation in California | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| friends of calwa | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Heal The Bay | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Humboldt Baykeeper | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Indian Wells Valley Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Indio Water Authority | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Inland Empire Waterkeeper | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Kern County Water Agency | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| la canada irrigation district | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Las Virgenes Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Latino Coalition for a Healthy California | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Leadership Council for Justice & Accountability | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Leadership Counsel | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| League of Women Voters | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Lutheran Office of Public Policy | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Merced, County Of | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Mesa Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Mi Familia Vota | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| mission readiness: council for a strong america | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Mission: Readiness | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Monte Vista Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Monterey Coastkeeper | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Monterey County | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Next Gen Climate | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| NextGen California | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Pacific Institute | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Pacific Water Quality Association | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Padre Dam Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Pesticide Action Network | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Photoville California | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Placer County Water Agency | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Planning And Conservation League | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| PolicyLink | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Poplar Community Services District | ** Support | Apr 17, 2017 |
| Public Community Service District | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Public Health Advocates | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Public Interest Law Project | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| pueblo unido | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Pueblo Unido CDC | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| RCAC | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Regional Water Authority | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Rowland Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Rural Community Assistance Corporation | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Russian Riverkeeper | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| san gabriel county water district | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| San Juan Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Santa Barbara Channelkeeper | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Santa Margarita Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Self-Help Enterprises | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Service Employees International Union | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Sierra Club California | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Southern California Water Committee | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Strategic Actions for a Just Economy | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Sunflower Alliance | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Sustainable Rural Communities Project | ** Support | Apr 17, 2017 |
| The Nature Conservancy | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| The Otter Project | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Three Valleys Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Transform | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Trust For Public Land, The | * Support | Apr 19, 2017 |
| Valley Center Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Vista Irrigation District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Water Quality Association | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Watts Labor Community Action Committee | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| western center on law & poverty | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Western Growers Association | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Western Municipal Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Western United Dairymen | * Support | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Wholly H20 | ** Support | Jul 7, 2017 |
| Wholly H2O | ** Support | May 27, 2017 |
| Yorba Linda Water District | ** Against | Jul 7, 2017 |
Date of Hearing: August 23, 2017
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 623
Author:(Monning) – As Amended Ver:August 21, 2017
Policy Committee: | Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials | Vote: | 5 - 1 |
|
| ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and imposes water, fertilizer and dairy fees to fund safe drinking water programs. Among other provisions, this bill:
- Imposes a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fee (water fee) on each customer of a public water system until July 1, 2020 as follows:
- $0.95 per month for customers with water meters up to one inch or customers without water meters;
- $4 per month for customers with water meters greater than one and up to two inches;
- $6 per month for customers with water meters greater than two and up to four inches;
- $10 per month for customers with water meters greater than four inches.
- Exempts specified low-income customers, fire flow, or nonpotable uses such as recycled water from the water fee. Requires a customer with multiple meters or connections at a single address to pay a single monthly fee based on the largest metered connection.
- Requires, beginning July 1, 2020, each person who purchases water from a public water system to be assessed a water fee established by SWRCB that does not exceed the previous water fee. Requires SWRCB, in consultation with the California Public Utilities Commission to adopt regulations to exempt low-income customers, as specified, by July 1, 2020. Requires SWRCB to periodically update the water fee. Allows SWRCB to adopt all water fee regulations as emergency regulations.
- Requires, beginning July 1, 2022, the water fee schedule to be set an amount that does not result in the total uncommitted amount in the fund exceeding two times the most recent assessment of need, as defined.
- Allows for public water system cost reimbursement and alternative fee calculation methods.
- Imposes a $0.005 per dollar of sale Fertilizer Safe Drinking Water Fee (fertilizer fee) on all fertilizer materials to be paid by licensees who sell or distribute bulk fertilizer until January 1, 2033 and $0.002 per dollar of sale after. Authorizes the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to reduce the fee as specified, adopt regulations, and retain up to 2% for implementation and enforcement.
- Imposes a $0.01355 per hundredweight of milk Dairy Safe Drinking Water Fee (dairy fee) by requiring every milk handler already subject to specified regulatory milk fees from January 1, 2020 through January 1, 2035, to deduct this amount from payments made to producers of milk. Requires the Secretary of CDFA to adopt regulations to implement and enforce dairy fee by January 1, 2020. Imposes a $0.00678 per hundred weight dairy fee after January 1, 2035. Authorizes the CDFA Secretary to reduce the lower dairy fee as specified, adopt regulations, and retain up to 2% for implementation and enforcement.
- Establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, requires the revenues (minus any allowed administrative costs) of the water, fertilizer and dairy fee to be deposited in the fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the Fund to SWRCB. Allows for the deposit of federal and voluntary contributions, gifts, settlements, grants and bequests into the fund.
- Requires SWRCB, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, to develop and annually update a map of aquifers at high risk of containing contaminants that exceed state and federal primary drinking water standards.
- Requires local health officers or other relevant local agencies to provide all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by certified laboratories for a state small water system or domestic well that is in the possession of the local health office or other local agency in electronic format to SWRCB by January 1, 2019.
- Prohibits SWRCB or regional water quality boards from specified enforcement actions against agricultural operations for exceeding nitrate groundwater objectives or other groundwater pollution standards as specified if the operation demonstrates certain mitigation requirements are met, including the timely payment of the fertilizer or dairy fee until January 1, 2033.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- Increased ongoing annual revenue of approximately $100 million resulting from the water fee. Increased SWRCB costs of up to $6 million per year.
- Increased ongoing revenue of approximately $17 million per year from 2018 until 2033 and $6.8 million per year after resulting from the new fertilizer fee. Annual CDFA costs are capped at 2%.
- Increased ongoing revenue of approximately $5.3 million per year for from 2020 until 2035 and $2.3 million per year after resulting from the new dairy fee. Annual CDFA administrative costs are capped at 2%.
- Unknown, potentially significant, one-time reimbursable state mandated costs for all local health officers and other agencies to compile data, convert into electronic format, and submit it to SWRCB.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. Although most of the state’s residents receive drinking water that meets federal and state drinking water standards, many drinking water systems in the state consistently fail to provide safe drinking water to their customers. Lack of safe drinking water is a problem that disproportionately affects residents of California’s disadvantaged communities. More than 300 drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities, serving approximately 200,000 people, are unable to provide safe drinking water. These systems include 30 schools and daycare centers that serve over 12,000 children.
Disadvantaged communities often lack the rate base, as well as the technical, managerial, and financial capacity to show they can afford and effectively manage operations and maintenance costs related to water treatment. Without being able to pay for maintenance, these communities are effectively barred from accessing capital improvement funding. In contrast, larger water systems have the financial capacity both to pay treatment costs and to provide for a well-trained and technically competent workforce of water system operators.
According to the author, “SB 623 seeks to provide an ongoing funding stream to ensure that disadvantaged communities have access to clean, safe, affordable, drinking water."
- Background.
The Milk Pooling Branch (Branch) Administers the California Pooling Plan for Market Milk which, together with the Dairy Marketing Branch, promotes, fosters and encourages the intelligent production and orderly marketing of fluid milk. Currently, there are 7 mandatory deductions subtracted from a producer’s check to pay for programs and services provided by the State for the benefit of the industry. SB 623 will add an eighth, to this list of mandated deductions. The following are mandated deductions:
- Dairy Council of California - (formula, $0.0065 - $0.01625 / hundredweight)
- National Dairy Promotion - $0.05 / hundredweight
- State Dairy Promotion (CMAB) - $0.10 / hundredweight
- Pool Administration Fee (CDFA) - $0.012 / hundredweight
- Market Milk Administration Fee (CDFA) - $0.008 / hundredweight
- Dairy Inspection Fee (CDFA or County Inspectors) - $216.90 per month ($0.135 / hundredweight, on first 482,000 lbs of milk produced each quarter, which almost every dairy exceeds)
This bill adds another mandated deduction for safe drinking water.
The Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program at CDFA is an industry-funded program that ensures consumers receive fertilizing materials that are safe and effective and meet the quality and quantity guaranteed by the manufacturer. The program's three arms include registration, inspection and research. Currently, there is an assessment on fertilizer of 2 mill ($0.002) for enforcement and one mill ($0.001) for research and education. This bill adds an additional 5 mill and later 2 mill assessment for the fertilizer fee.
Although over the years a statewide water user fee, or public goods charge, has been contemplated in different arenas to pay for a variety of water infrastructure projects, one has never been charged. This bill proposes the first of its kind water user fee.
- The Polluter Pays Principle. In California, many of our environmental laws are guided by the polluter pays principle, which refers to the principle that if pollution occurs, the person or organization that causes it should pay for the consequences and for avoiding it in future.
While this bill requires the Agriculture and Dairy industries to pay towards clean-up through industry assessments, the total contribution of both are likely less than 20% of the total revenue raised by this bill. In exchange for the timely payment of this fee and other activities, the industries receive SWRCB enforcement relief.
The author may wish to consider increasing industries’ contributions to better reflect the polluter pays principle.
- Brand New Bill. This bill has moved through the legislative process essentially as a placeholder, only containing the creation of the fund, the prohibition on enforcement, and intent to create fees on agriculture. The last set of amendments add the agriculture fees, but also add a fee on public water system customers, a mandate on local health officers, a required map of aquifers and a risk assessment, and the removal of funding eligibility for individual domestic well users. Due to the timing of the recess, this bill will only have been in print for three days at the time of this hearing.
The Committee may wish to consider whether there has been adequate time to for the public to review the provisions of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: July 11, 2017
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Bill Quirk, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 623
Author:(Monning) – As Amended Ver:July 3, 2017
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: Water quality: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
SUMMARY: Creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards. Specifically, this bill:
1) Finds that to ensure that the right of every Californian to have sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water, it is in the interest in the State of California to identify water quality threats in the state's drinking water supply, whether those supplies serve a public water system, state small water system, or an individual domestic well.
2) Defines "individual domestic well" as a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or small water systems of four or less service connections.
3) Requires the State Water Board, by January 1, 2019, to promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. Requires the State Water Board to prioritize testing based on local water quality conditions and requires the State Water Board to review these regulations at least every five years.
4) Defines "Disadvantaged community" as an entire service area of a community water system, or a community therein, in which the median household income is less than 80 percent of the statewide average.
5) Creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (Fund) in the State Treasury and continuously appropriates all moneys in the Fund to the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Board, without regard to fiscal years.
6) Requires the State Water Board to administer the Fund to provide a stable source of funding to assist communities and individual domestic well users to address contaminants in drinking water that exceed safe drinking water standards. Requires the State Water Board to prioritize the use of this funding to assist low-income communities and low-income individual domestic well users, and to prioritize funding for costs other than those related to capital construction costs. Requires expenditure of the fund to be consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed by the State Water Board.
7) Requires the State Water Board to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those communities and individual domestic well owners that rely on contaminated drinking water to have access to safe and affordable drinking water. Expenditures can be any of the following: replacement water; long-term solutions to replacing or treating contaminated wells; testing drinking water quality of individual domestic wells serving low-income households; and, identifying those Californians without access to safe drinking water who are eligible to receive assistance from the Fund and provide outreach to them.
8) Eligible applicants for receiving funds include public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, federally recognized Indian tribes, state Indian tribes listed on the Native American Heritage Commission's California tribal consultation list, groundwater sustainability agencies, and mutual water companies.
9) States the intent of the Legislature to further amend this bill to subsequently seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic wells users whose wells have been impacted by nitrate contamination and whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
10) Requires the State Water Board, annually, to do all of the following:
a) Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the Fund;
b) Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water; and,
c) Adopt, after a public hearing, a Fund implementation plan (Plan) with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the Fund.
11) Requires the State Water Board to work with a multi-stakeholder advisory group that shall be open to participation by representatives of entities paying into the Fund, public water systems, technical assistance providers, local agencies, affected persons, nongovernmental organizations, and the public, to establish priorities for the Plan. Requires the Plan to prioritize eligibility for expenditures from the Fund based on the following:
a) A water system, that qualifies as a disadvantaged community, and whose current or projected water rates needed to ensure safe drinking water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the median household income for that water system; and,
b) An individual domestic well owner, whose costs of providing potable water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of its household's income and its household's income is less than 80 percent of the statewide household median income.
12) Defines an "agricultural operation" as either a discharger that is an owner, operator, or both, of land that is irrigated to produce crops or pasture for commercial purposes or a nursery, and is enrolled or named in an irrigated lands regulatory program order adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board); or a discharger that is an owner, operator, or both, of a facility that is used for the raising or harvesting of livestock, and is enrolled or named in an order regulating discharges of water from a facility to protect ground and surface water, adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board.
13) States that an "agricultural operation" does not include a facility that processes crops or livestock; a facility that manufacturers, synthesizes, or processes fertilizer; or, any portion of land or activities occurring on those portions of land that are not covered by an order adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board.
14) States that discharges of nitrate from agricultural operations could reach groundwater and could cause or contribute to exceedances of drinking water standards for nitrate, and could cause conditions of pollution of or nuisance in those waters.
15) States that nitrate contamination of groundwater impacts drinking water sources for hundreds of thousands of Californians and it is necessary to protect current and future drinking water users from the impacts of nitrate contamination.
16) Requires the Regional Water Boards to continue to regulate discharges to reduce nitrogen loading and protect beneficial uses of water and groundwater basins.
17) Requires the State Water Board, Regional Water Boards, and courts to ensure compliance with orders to regulate discharges to reduce nitrogen loading and to protect beneficial uses of water and groundwater basins.
18) Requires dischargers to pay for mitigation of pollution by funding replacement water for affected communities.
19) States that this bill will be subsequently amended to establish an agricultural assessment to be paid by agricultural operations for a period of 15 years to provide funding, as a portion of the Fund, for alternative supplies of safe drinking water to persons affected by discharges of nitrogen from agricultural operations.
20) States the intent of the Legislature to limit enforcement actions that a Regional Water Board or the State Water Board could otherwise initiate, during a period of 15 years, against an agricultural operation paying the agricultural assessment.
21) Prohibits the State Water Board or Regional Water Boards from undertaking or initiating an enforcement action against an agricultural operation for causing or contributing to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrates in groundwater if an agricultural operation that discharges or threatens to discharge, or has discharged or previously threatened to discharge, nitrate to groundwater demonstrates that it has satisfied all of the following mitigation requirements:
a) The agricultural operation has timely paid any fee, assessment, or charge into the Fund, or, an applicable agricultural assessment is providing funding into the Fund;
b) The agricultural operation is in compliance with all applicable provisions prescribed in an order adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board, including but not limited to: requirements to implement best practicable treatment or control; best efforts, monitoring, and reporting requirements; and, timelines.
c) The agricultural operation is in compliance with an applicable program of implementation for achieving groundwater quality objectives for nitrate that is part of an applicable water quality control plan adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board.
22) Provides that within the mitigation requirement for an agricultural operation to comply with an order by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board, the order shall not include a prohibition on causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater.
23) Provides that an agricultural operation does not meet the mitigation requirements needed for the enforcement exemption if the agricultural operation has been the subject to an enforcement action within the preceding twelve months for any violation of an order authorizing discharges from agricultural operations.
24) Provides that an agricultural operation does meet the mitigation requirements needed for the enforcement exemption if it was subject to an enforcement action commenced after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2018, alleging that a discharge from an agricultural operation caused or contributed, or threatened to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater, conditions of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater, or both.
25) Prohibits an agricultural operation, that maintains a continuance of a farming operation, from qualifying for the enforcement exemption if it fails to continue to make payments into the Fund.
26) Provides that both of the following apply to a discharge of nitrogen by an agricultural operation that occurs when the discharge is in full compliance with the mitigation requirements:
a) The discharge shall not be admissible in a future enforcement action against the agricultural operation by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board to support a claim that the agricultural operation is causing or contributing, or threatening to cause or contribute, to an exceedance of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater; and,
b) The discharge shall not be considered by the State Water Board or a Regional Water Board to apportion responsibility and shall not be used by any person to diminish responsibility in any enforcement action initiated with respect to discharges of nitrogen, regardless of source, that did not occur in compliance with the mitigation requirements.
27) Provides that the enforcement exemption to agricultural operations does not alter the State Water Board's or Regional Water Board's authority to require or conduct investigations, to require reports on or to establish other requirements for best practicable treatment or control, or to require monitoring and reporting requirements to protect water quality.
28) Provides that the enforcement exemption to agricultural operations does not change or alter a water quality objective that is part of a water quality control plan adopted by the State Water Board or Regional Water Board.
29) Provides that enforcement relief for agricultural operations and mitigation requirements will no longer be in effect as of January 1, 2028.
30) Provides that nothing in the bill limits the liability of a discharger under any other law, including, but not limited to, the state's nuisance laws.
31) Provides for more limited enforcement relief, beginning on January 1, 2028 and ending on January 1, 2033, for agricultural operations, if those agricultural operations meet specified mitigation requirements.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes the California Safe Drinking Water Act (California SDWA) and requires the State Water Board to maintain a drinking water program. (Health & Safety Code (HSC) § 116270, et seq.)
2) Requires, pursuant to the federal SDWA and California SDWA, drinking water to meet specified standards for contamination (maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs) as set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) or the State Water Board. (HSC § 116270, et seq.)
3) Establishes as the policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. (Water Code (WC) § 106.3)
4) Establishes the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants to surface waters unless the discharger obtains a permit from the State Water Board. (WC § 1300 et seq.)
5) Requires a person discharging waste, or proposing to discharge waste, within any region that could affect the quality of the waters of the state, to report the discharge to the Regional Water Board. (WC § 13260).
6) Authorizes the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards to waive discharge requirements as to a specific discharge or type of discharge if the State Water Board or Regional Water Board determines that the waiver is consistent with any applicable state or regional water quality control plan and is in the public interest. (WC § 13269)
7) Establishes MCLs for the various forms of nitrate. (California Code of Regulations § 63341)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author,
"Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that every Californian has the right to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. However, drinking water safety and affordability issues currently affect California communities across the state, with low-income communities and communities of color experiencing the greatest impact.
Recent data by the State Water board identified roughly 300 California public water systems serving communities and schools that are currently out of compliance with drinking water standards, some of which have been unable to provide safe drinking water for years, including some for more than a decade. These systems serve 692,807 people, or almost 1.8% of all Californians.
The lack of a sustainable funding source means disadvantaged communities and others have no outside support to draw upon, forcing their typically small, rural and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged ratepayer bases to bear the entire cost of ongoing drinking water treatment. As a result, disadvantaged communities and others in need of drinking water treatment may be unable to meet drinking water standards because they are unable to afford the cost of drinking water treatment, or their drinking water rates may be over 1.5% of median household income (MHI), which is the level of affordability incorporated into California’s SDWSRF loan forgiveness eligibility standards. What is more, families in these disadvantaged communities may be forced to purchase bottled water in addition to paying their monthly water bill, creating a doubled financial burden.
Ongoing source of operations and maintenance funding for drinking water treatment for disadvantaged communities needs to be stable and sustainable, since communities, particularly disadvantaged communities, cannot afford to build drinking water treatment plants and then have funding disappear. SB 623 seeks to provide an ongoing funding stream to ensure that disadvantaged communities have access to clean, safe, affordable, drinking water."
Human right to water: In 2012, California became the first state to enact a Human Right to Water law, AB 685 (Chapter 524, Statutes of 2012). Public policy continues to be focused on the right of every human being to have safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitation. Water supply, contaminants, costs of treatment and distribution systems, the number and nature of small public water systems (PWS), especially in disadvantaged communities, and many other factors will continue to challenge progress in addressing the Human Right to Water.
Drinking water contamination in disadvantaged communities: According to the State Water Board report, "Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater," released in January 2013, 682 community public water systems, which serve nearly 21 million people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. The report points out that an additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from either a private domestic well or a smaller groundwater-reliant system that is not regulated by the state, the water quality of which is uncertain. The findings from State Water Board report, and a 2012 University of California at Davis study, "Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water," suggest that drinking water contamination in California disproportionally affects small, rural, and low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as their drinking water source.
Nitrates: Nitrate is commonly used in fertilizers because plants need nitrates to live and grow. Once consumed, nitrate is converted into nitrite in the body. Nitrogen is applied to cropland in the form of synthetic fertilizers or as animal manure. The nitrogen in these fertilizers transforms to nitrate and is carried to groundwater by the percolation of water through the soil column, any time water from irrigation or rainfall percolates below the root zone.
The problem with nitrates is that nitrite can interfere with the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen to the tissues of the body, producing a condition called methemoglobinemia. The greatest threat is to infants, whose immature stomach environment enables conversion of nitrate to nitrite, which is then absorbed into the blood stream. The effects of nitrite are often referred to as the "blue baby syndrome" because their bodies are not absorbing enough oxygen. High nitrate levels may also affect the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood of pregnant women.
Legal limits on nitrates: The current state MCLs for nitrates were adopted by the California Department of Health Services in 1994 based on the US EPA's MCLs promulgated in 1991.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) established its public health goals (PHGs) for nitrate and nitrite in 1997. The PHGs, based on methemoglobinemia in infants, are 45 parts per million (ppm) for nitrate (equivalent to 10 ppm nitrate-nitrogen), 1 ppm for nitrite-nitrogen and 10 ppm for joint nitrate/nitrite (expressed as nitrogen) in drinking water. The PHGs are the same as the drinking water MCLs. Typically PHGs inform the development of MCLs. In this case, the MCL predated the PHG.
Causes of nitrate contamination: High concentrations of nitrate in groundwater are primarily caused by human activities, including fertilizer application (synthetic and manure), animal operations, industrial sources (wastewater treatment and food processing facilities), and septic systems. Agricultural fertilizers and animal wastes applied to cropland are by far the largest regional sources of nitrate in groundwater, although other sources can be locally important.
Where is nitrate contamination?: Nitrate in drinking water is widespread in numerous areas of the state. PWSs, because they are regulated by the State Water Board (unlike private wells), are required to analyze drinking water sources for nitrates and report the results to the State Water Board's Division of Drinking Water. Among regulated contaminants detected at levels greater than their MCLs in California, nitrates rank high.
The 2012 University of California at Davis (UC Davis) report, "Addressing Nitrate in California’s Drinking Water," indicated that about 2.6 million people in the four-county Tulare Lake Basin and the Monterey County portion of the Salinas Valley rely on groundwater for drinking water, including those in some of the poorest communities in California. The report found that nitrate contamination is increasing and currently poses public health concerns for about 254,000 people in the study area.
According to the report, Communities That Rely on a Contaminated Groundwater Source For Drinking Water, most of the community PWSs with violations of drinking water standards are located in the Southern California Inland Empire, the east side of San Joaquin Valley, the Salinas Valley, and the Santa Maria Valley. In the Salinas Valley, 58% of raw groundwater has been found to be contaminated with nitrates, along with other contaminants including arsenic. Nitrate levels in the groundwater are particularly high south of Salinas, with levels as high as 690 ppm.
An additional two million Californians rely on groundwater from either a private domestic well or a smaller groundwater-reliant system that is not regulated by the state. Most of these residents lack an assessment of their water because they are not required to test its quality.
Costs for nitrate cleanup: The 2012 UC Davis nitrate report calculated that up to $36 million per year is needed for safe drinking water solutions to address nitrate contamination. The report elaborated that, "Costs for safe drinking water solutions to nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley are roughly $20 and $36 million per year for the short- and long-term solutions, respectively. About $17 to $34 million per year will be needed to provide safe drinking water for 85 identified community public and state small water systems in the study area that exceed the nitrate drinking water MCL (serving an estimated 220,000 people). The annualized cost of providing nitrate-compliant drinking water to an estimated 10,000 affected rural households (34,000 people) using private domestic wells or local small water systems is estimated to be at least $2.5 million for point-of-use treatment for drinking use only. The total cost for alternative solutions translates to $80 to $142 per affected person per year, $5 to $9 per irrigated acre per year, or $100 to $180 per ton of fertilizer nitrogen applied in these groundwater basins."
State Water Board settlement with Salinas Valley growers: On April 6, 2017, the State Water Board announced a temporary program to produce a replacement drinking water plan for Salinas Valley residents whose groundwater supplies are contaminated with unsafe levels of nitrate. The program will be organized and funded by the members of the Salinas Basin Agricultural Stewardship Group, a coalition of local agricultural owners and operators, and it will run for up to two years while the parties work toward permanent solutions to respond to the challenges of nitrate accumulation in the Salinas basin groundwater. The temporary program, also known as the Interim Replacement Water Settlement Agreement (Agreement), covers small water systems and some domestic wells used by about 850 residents in the rural area.
The State Water Board’s Office of Enforcement and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board are suspending their current replacement water enforcement actions against parties that join the stewardship group for as long as two years while this new Agreement is instituted. Landowners who wish to become a member of the stewardship group are still able to join. Furthermore, the goal of the Agreement is for the Salinas Basin Agricultural Stewardship Group and State Water Board to work cooperatively towards the development and implementation of a funding mechanism and solutions for the provision of long-term replacement water.
Lack of clean safe drinking water: Although most of the state’s residents receive drinking water that meets federal and state drinking water standards, many drinking water systems in the state consistently fail to provide safe drinking water to their customers. Lack of safe drinking water is a problem that disproportionately affects residents of California’s disadvantaged communities. More than 300 drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities, serving approximately 200,000 people, are unable to provide safe drinking water. These systems include 30 schools and daycare centers that serve over 12,000 children.
Disadvantaged communities often lack the rate base, as well as the technical, managerial, and financial capacity to show they can afford and effectively manage operations and maintenance costs related to water treatment. Without being able to pay for maintenance, these communities are effectively barred from accessing capital improvement funding. In contrast, larger water systems have the financial capacity both to pay treatment costs and to provide for a well-trained and technically competent workforce of water system operators. SB 623 seeks to provide an on-going funding source specifically to address the drinking water needs in disadvantaged communities.
Identifying Communities Struggling to Provide Clean Drinking Water: In an effort to make the public aware of the problems public water systems are facing when it comes to providing clean and reliable drinking water, the State Water Board has developed a Human Right to Water web portal. This new web portal includes downloadable information and a map that shows water systems that may not meet primary drinking water standards. The site also includes a link to the draft Safe Drinking Water Operations and Maintenance Needs Estimate spreadsheet, and an explanation document which lays out the methodology. Total needs are estimated at $45 million annually, with 309 public water systems included in the analysis, serving approximately 200,000 people statewide.
Irrigated lands regulatory program: Water discharges from agricultural operations in California include: irrigation runoff, flows from tile drains, and storm water runoff. These discharges can affect water quality by transporting pollutants, including pesticides, sediment, nutrients, salts (including selenium and boron), pathogens, and heavy metals, from cultivated fields into surface waters. Many surface water bodies are impaired because of pollutants from agricultural sources. Groundwater bodies have suffered pesticide, nitrate, and salt contamination.
To prevent agricultural discharges from impairing the waters that receive these discharges, the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP), administered by the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards, regulates discharges from irrigated agricultural lands. This is done by issuing waste discharge requirements (WDRs), or conditional waivers of WDRs (Orders), to growers. These Orders contain conditions requiring water quality monitoring of receiving waters and corrective actions when impairments are found. The number of acres of agricultural land enrolled in the ILRP is about six million acres. The number of growers enrolled is approximately 40,000.
Waiver of waste discharge requirements: State law authorizes the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards to conditionally waive WDRs if this is in the public interest. Over the years, the Regional Water Boards issued waivers for more than 40 categories of discharges. Although waivers are always conditional, the historic waivers had few conditions. In general, they required that discharges not cause violations of water quality objectives, but did not require water quality monitoring. Senate Bill 390 (Alpert, Chapter 686, Statutes of 1999), required the Regional Water Boards to review their existing waivers and to renew them or replace them with WDRs. Under SB 390, waivers not reissued automatically expired on January 1, 2003. To comply with SB 390, the Regional Water Boards adopted revised waivers. The most controversial waivers were those for discharges from irrigated agriculture.
Outstanding issues: While SB 623 is very comprehensive, there are still a few issues to work on. The bill identifies, in a few sections, that there will be subsequent changes to impose some type of fee or assessment on agricultural operations as a fund source for the grant/loan program the bill creates. However, it is also likely there will be additional sources of revenue this bill would seek to raise. Additionally, this bill requires the State Water Board to develop regulations, within one year, to test small water systems and individual domestic wells. There may be challenges with meeting this timeframe that the author and the Administration may wish to address. Also, the bill authorizes enforcement relief, which takes effect on January 1, 2018; however, that enforcement relief is contingent upon an agricultural operation making timely payments on a fee or assessment that may not be imposed until 2019 or later. The author may wish to consider syncing up these two timeframes in some manner. Additionally, when providing this enforcement relief, it is important to ensure that the wording correct, so that the enforcement relief is not broader than intended, preserving all rights of a person to bring a civil claim today, should the bill become law.
SB 623 contains two major provisions, creating a fund source and grant/loan program to provide assistance to small and domestic water wells, in order for them to have clean, safe, affordable drinking water; and providing enforcement relief from the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards for agricultural operations, if they meet certain requirements and pay an assessment that is used to support the new grant/loan program for small and domestic wells that this bill creates. Ensuring that everyone in California has access to clean, safe, affordable drinking water has been a subject of bills heard before this committee in the past and has been a goal shared by many. However, the provision of the bill that provides enforcement relief is a bit more complicated. While an agricultural operation will have to meet many requirements of the State Water Board and Regional Water Board, as well as paying some type of fee or assessment, it is important to understand that this bill will restrict certain enforcement actions by the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards. SB 623 takes a very comprehensive approach to tackle the very challenging issue of nitrate contamination in drinking water and groundwater. This is a very laudable goal.
Related legislation:
AB 1605 (Caballero, 2017). Provides legal relief for signatories participating in a state program to provide drinking water. This bill was held in the Assembly Judiciary Committee as a two-year bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alliance of Child and Family Services
American Heart Association
American Rivers
American Stroke Association
Arvin Community Services District
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Asociacion de Gente Unida por el Agua
Black Women for Wellness
California Audubon
California Bicycle Coalition
California Environmental Justice Alliance
California Food Policy Advocates
California League of Conservation Voters
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Water Service
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton
Central California Environmental Network
Center for Race Poverty and the Environment
City of Arvin
City of Porterville
Clean Water Action
Comité Civico del Valle
Community Alliance for Agroecology
Community Water Center
Council for a Strong America
County of Tulare
Cultiva la Salud
Dolores Huerta Foundation
El Quinto Sol de America
Environmental Defense Fund
Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
Faith in the Valley
Friends Committee on Legislation in California
Friends of Calwa
Fresno Building Healthy Communities
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
League of Women Voters
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Mission: Readiness
Pacific Institute
Pacific Water Quality Association
Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles
Planning and Conservation League
PolicyLink
Public Health Advocates
Pueblo Unido CDC
Self-Help Enterprises
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy
Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education
Sunflower Alliance
RCAC
The Nature Conservancy
TransForm
Water Quality Association
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Western Growers Association
Wholly H20
Opposition
Alameda County Water District
American Water Works Association, California-Nevada Section
Association of California Water Agencies
Bella Vista Water District
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
California Water Impact Network
Calleguas Municipal Water District
City of Fairfield
City of Indio
City of Roseville
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Desert Water Agency
East Valley Water District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Foresthill Public Utility District
Humboldt Baykeeper
Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District
Indian Wells Valley Water District
Indio Water Authority
Inland Empire Waterkeeper
Kern County Water Agency
La Canada Irrigation District
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Mesa Water District
Monte Vista Water District
Monterey Coastkeeper
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association
Padre Dam Municipal Water District
Placer County Water Agency
Regional Water Authority
Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District
Rowland Water District
Russian Riverkeeper
San Gabriel County Water District
San Juan Water District
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Margarita Water District
Southern California Water Committee
The Otter Project
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Valley Center Municipal Water District
Vista Irrigation District
Western Municipal Water District
Yorba Linda Water District
Analysis Prepared by: Josh Tooker / E.S. & T.M. /
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 623
:
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/19/17
AYES: Wieckowski, Stone, Bates, Hill, Lara, Skinner, Stern
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/25/17
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener
DIGEST:
- This bill creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which upon appropriation by the Legislature, may be used by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to provide grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.
Existing law, under the California Safe Drinking Water Act:
- Requires the SWRCB to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies.
- Requires SWRCB to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act.
- Authorizes SWRCB, where a public water system or a state small water system within a disadvantaged community, consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, to order consolidation with a receiving water system. Provides that the consolidation may be physical or operational.
- Authorizes SWRCB to contract with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to a designated public water system, as defined, to assist with the provision of an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water.
- Establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions (office) within SWRCB with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill:
- Establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and provides that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office.
- Requires SWRCB to administer the fund.
- Authorizes SWRCB to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
- Requires SWRCB to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed.
- Requires SWRCB to annually prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water.
Background
- Transfer of the Drinking Water Program. SB 861 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 35, Statutes of 2014) transferred the Drinking Water Program from the California Department of Public Health (DPH) to SWRCB, giving SWRCB primary enforcement authority (primacy) to enforce federal and state safe drinking water acts, and is responsible for the regulatory oversight of about 8,000 public water systems throughout the state.
The 2014-15 Budget Act and SB 861 transferred $200.3 million ($5 million General Fund) and 291.2 positions for the administration of the Drinking Water Program from DPH to SWRCB.
The goal of transferring the Drinking Water Program was to achieve the following objectives:
- Establish a single water quality agency to enhance accountability for water quality issues.
- Better provide comprehensive technical and financial assistance to help communities, especially small disadvantaged communities, address an array of challenges related to drinking water, wastewater, water recycling, pollution, desalination, and stormwater.
- Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water, groundwater, water recycling, and water quality programs.
- Safe Drinking Water Plan for California. In 1993, the California Department of Health Services (DHS) (now DPH) submitted to the Legislature the report entitled, “Drinking Water into the 21st Century: Safe Drinking Water Plan for California” (1993 Plan). In 1996, the Legislature enacted SB 1307 (Calderon, Chapter 755, Statutes of 1996) requiring a periodic update of the original Plan.
DPH assembled a team of experts that conducted extensive reviews and analyses, resulting in a draft plan that included an overview of drinking water regulation, reviews and plans for drinking water quality/monitoring and threats, treatment technologies, funding aspects and financial assistance, and a focus on the challenges faced by small drinking water systems.
Following the July 1, 2014, transition of the Drinking Water Program to the SWRCB, the draft plan’s recommendations and implementation plan has been enhanced based on the synergies and resources resulting from incorporation of the program into SWRCB.
The Safe Drinking Water Plan for California includes SWRCB’s assessment of the overall quality of the state’s drinking water, the identification of specific water quality problems, an analysis of the known and potential health risks that may be associated with drinking water contamination in California, and specific recommendations to improve drinking water quality.
- The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1). Proposition 1, approved by the voters in November, 2014, authorized $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance, wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration.
- Clean, Safe and Reliable Drinking Water. Proposition 1 authorized $520 million for expenditures, grants and loans for projects that improve water quality or help provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to all Californians and provides that the projects eligible for funding pursuant to this section shall help improve water quality for a beneficial use. The purposes of this section are to:
- Reduce contaminants in drinking water supplies regardless of the source of the water or the contamination.
- Assess and prioritize the risk of contamination to drinking water supplies.
- Address the critical and immediate needs of disadvantaged, rural, or small communities that suffer from contaminated drinking water supplies, including, but not limited to, projects that address a public health emergency.
- Leverage other private, federal, state, and local drinking water quality and wastewater treatment funds.
- Reduce contaminants in discharges to, and improve the quality of, waters of the state.
- Prevent further contamination of drinking water supplies.
- Provide disadvantaged communities with public drinking water infrastructure that provides clean, safe, and reliable drinking water supplies that the community can sustain over the long term.
- Ensure access to clean, safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water for California’s communities.
- Meet primary and secondary safe drinking water standards or remove contaminants identified by the state or federal government for development of a primary or secondary drinking water standard.
- Clean, Safe and Reliable Drinking Water. Proposition 1 authorized $520 million for expenditures, grants and loans for projects that improve water quality or help provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to all Californians and provides that the projects eligible for funding pursuant to this section shall help improve water quality for a beneficial use. The purposes of this section are to:
The funds are to be allocated as follows:
- $260 million shall be available for deposit into the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund for grants for wastewater treatment projects. Priority shall be given to projects that serve disadvantaged communities and severely disadvantaged communities, and to projects that address public health hazards. Projects may include, but not be limited to, projects that identify, plan, design, and implement regional mechanisms to consolidate wastewater systems or provide affordable treatment technologies.
- $260 million shall be available for grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. Priority shall be given to projects that provide treatment for contamination or access to an alternate drinking water source or sources for small community water systems or state small water systems in disadvantaged communities whose drinking water source is impaired by chemical and nitrate contaminants and other health hazards identified by SWRCB.
- Specifies that at least 10% of the funds must be allocated for severely disadvantaged communities and up to 15% of the funds must be allocated for technical assistance to disadvantaged communities.
- Benefitting By Economies of Scale. As of January 2014, there were 7,642 public water systems in California classified into three different categories: 3,015 Community Water Systems serving communities with full-time residents; 1,489 Non-Transient Non-Community Water Systems serving the same non-residents at least six months per year (e.g., schools, places of work, and prisons); and 3,138 Transient Non-Community Water Systems serving non-residents at least 60 days per (e.g., restaurants & campgrounds). When the larger systems exceed maximum contaminant levels, those problems are usually corrected promptly. In contrast, over time, small water systems, because of their small base of rate payers, are much less able to remain compliant with state drinking water standards. This is especially true when water system users include disadvantaged communities, defined as any community where the median household income is below 80% of the statewide median household income. This problem with small water systems experiencing the bulk of violations extends across water system categories. In addition to the community systems where residents may have repeated long-term exposure to contaminants in impure water, many Non-Transient Non-Community systems include schools, where vulnerable populations may also get substantial repeated exposure to contaminants. In 2014, 68 schools or day-care facilities with their own water systems served contaminated water to more than 24,000 people. According to SWRCB, for common sources of drinking water contamination, such as arsenic and nitrates, expensive systems must be installed and operated to treat the water to meet drinking water standards. In many cases, technological advances have not yet been sufficient to make such treatment systems affordable, especially to small, disadvantaged communities. In addition, many small disadvantaged communities do not have the technical, managerial, or financial capability to operate what are sometimes complex drinking water systems. Disadvantaged communities also often lack the rate base to pay for operation and maintenance costs, meaning that they are effectively prohibited from accessing capital improvement funding that requires demonstration of ability to fund such costs. SB 88 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2015) trailer bill that permits SWRCB to order water system consolidation or extension of services. SWRCB maintains that consolidating public water systems and extending service from existing public water systems to communities and areas which currently rely on under-performing or failing small water systems, as well as private wells, reduces costs and improves reliability. Consolidation does this by extending costs to a larger pool of ratepayers.
- New tools in 2016 for addressing drinking water system failures: Last year the Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed two additional bills to help stop the proliferation of new small water systems and provide greater oversight and assistance to those that are not currently candidates for consolidation.
SB 1263 (Wieckowski, Pavley, Chapter 843, Statutes of 2016) now requires SWRCB to review permit applications for new water systems and authorizes SWRCB to deny a permit if it is found that the service area of the public water system can be served by one or more currently permitted public water systems, as specified.
SB 552 (Wolk, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2016) which, in addition to the consolidation authority provided by SB 88, provides SWRCB another tool to address the systemic issues affecting public water systems serving small, disadvantaged communities, by authorizing SWRCB to identify public water systems that are consistently unable to provide an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water and, once funding is available, contract with a competent administrator to provide managerial and technical expertise to that system.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “recent SWRCB data identified 292 California public water systems serving communities and schools that are currently out of compliance with drinking water standards, some of which have been unable to provide safe drinking water for years or even over a decade. These systems serve 692,807 people, or almost 1.8% of the California population. Small water systems are often unable to meet drinking water standards because they are unable to afford the cost of drinking water treatment, as there is no existing source of funding to support critical needs like ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M).
“This data does not include the nearly 2 million Californians not served by a public water system. These state small systems and domestic wells have few regulatory requirements and are not eligible for most assistance programs, leaving them particularly vulnerable to unsafe drinking water. In addition to water safety challenges, increasing numbers of low-income California households struggle to pay their water bills, often due to the high cost of drinking water.
The author states “drinking water safety and affordability issues affect California communities across the state, with low-income communities and communities of color feeling the greatest impact. SB 623 will take necessary steps to ensure that Californians will have access to safe and affordable drinking water, free from contaminants, that they should be able to trust is what they receive.”
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- Approximately $140,000 (General Fund) to the SWRCB to perform tasks necessary to develop the required report.
- Unknown costs, equal to up to 5 percent of any funds appropriated, to SWRCB to administer the program.
- Cost pressures in the millions (special fund) to fund the program.
Alliance of Child and Family Services
American Heart Association
American Rivers
American Stroke Association
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Asociación de Gente Unida por el Agua
Association of People United for Water
Audubon California
Better Watts Initiative
California Alliance
California Environmental Justice Alliance
California Food Policy Advocates
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California League of Conservation Voters
California Rice Commission
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Carbon Cycle Institute
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Central California Environmental Justice Association
Centro La Familia Advocacy Services
Clean Water Action
Comite Civico del Valle
Community Alliance for Agroecology
Community Water Center
Council for a Strong America
Cultiva la Salud
Defenders of Wildlife
El Quinto Sol de America
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Faith in the Valley
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Friends Committee on Legislation of CA
Heal the Bay
Latino Coalition for a Healthy America
Leadership Counsel
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Mi Familia Vota
Mission Readiness: Council for a Strong America
Natural Resources Defense Council
Pesticide Action Network
Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles
Policy Link
Public Health Advocates
Public Interest Law Project
Pueblo Unido
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Self Help Enterprises
Sierra Club California
Sunflower Alliance
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Western Growers
Wholly H2O
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/24/17)
None received
5/27/17 15:23:13
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
SB 623 (Monning) - Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
Version: April 26, 2017 | Policy Vote: E.Q. 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: No |
Hearing Date: May 15, 2017 | Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary:
- SB 623 creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which upon appropriation by the Legislature, may be used by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to provide grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.
Fiscal Impact:
- Approximately $140,000 (General Fund) to the SWRCB to perform tasks necessary to develop the required report.
- Unknown costs, equal to up to 5 percent of any funds appropriated, to SWRCB to administer the program.
- Cost pressures in the millions (special fund) to fund the program.
Background:
California Safe Drinking Water Act. The California Safe Drinking Water Act requires the SWRCB to regulate drinking water to protect public health, and requires SWRCB to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act. If a public water system within a disadvantaged community consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, the SWRCB may order the water system to consolidate with a receiving water system. The SWRCB may also contract with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to a designated public water system, as defined, to assist with the provision of an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water.
The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1). Proposition 1, approved by the voters in November of 2014, authorized $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance, wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration.
Proposition 1 authorized $520 million for expenditures, grants, and loans for projects that improve water quality or help provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to all Californians, and provides that eligible projects must help improve water quality for a beneficial use. At least 10% of the funds must be allocated for severely disadvantaged communities and up to 15% of the funds must be allocated for technical assistance to disadvantaged communities. The funds are to be allocated as follows:
- $260 million for the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund for grants for wastewater treatment projects. Priority is given to projects that serve disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged communities, and to projects that address public health hazards.
- $260 million available for grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. Priority is given to projects that provide treatment for contamination or access to an alternate drinking water source or sources for small community water systems or state small water systems in disadvantaged communities whose drinking water source is impaired by chemical and nitrate contaminants and other health hazards identified by SWRCB.
Proposed Law: This bill:
- Defines terms for the purposes of the bill.
- Creates the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which upon appropriation by the Legislature, may be used by the SWRCB to implement the bill.
- Requires the SWRCB to administer the fund.
- Authorizes the SWRCB to expend up to 5 percent of the annual expenditures from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of the fund.
- Authorizes the SWRCB to undertake specified actions to implement the fund.
- Accept federal contributions, voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
- Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
- Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
- Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
- Requires the SWRCB to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with the annual fund implementation plan developed pursuant to Section 116769. To the extent that funding is available, the assistance must include the following:
- The provision of replacement water on an interim basis pending implementation of long-term solutions.
- Planning costs for the development of long-term solutions.
- Capital costs of implementing long-term solutions.
- Costs associated with maintaining and operating interim solutions and long-term solutions.
- Outreach and technical assistance to those without access to safe and affordable drinking water.
- Requires SWRCB, to annually do all of the following:
- Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
- Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water, and specifies required components.
- Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund, and specifies that the SWRCB must work with a multistakeholder advisory group to establish priorities for the plan.
Related Legislation:
SB 5 (de León) enacts the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018, which places a $3.5 billion bond before voters at the June 2018 statewide direct primary election. Among other expenditures, SB 5 allocates funds for clean water projects. Pending hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 778 (Hertzberg) creates the Safe Drinking Water Fund, and requires the SWRCB, on or before March 1, 2018, to submit a report to the Legislature on consolidations of water systems. Pending hearing in Senate Appropriations Committee.
Staff Comments:
A fund without funding. SB 623 creates the Safe Drinking Water Fund, which upon appropriation by the Legislature, would provide moneys for SWRCB to contract with an administrator to specified services to designated public water systems. This new fund is not necessary to achieve the bill’s intent. However, it does result in minor costs to develop and administer the fund, and significant cost pressure to provide funding.
Two Bills Creating the Same Fund. SB 778 (Hertzberg, 2017) also creates a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to provide grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist communities without access to safe and affordable drinking water. Since these two bills create identical funds, the authors will need to reconcile the two bills language to prevent one from chaptering out.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: SB 623
Author: | Monning | ||
Version: | 3/30/2017 | Hearing Date: | 4/19/2017 |
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Rachel Machi Wagoner | ||
SUBJECT: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law, under the California Safe Drinking Water Act,
- Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies.
- Requires SWRCB to ensure that all public water systems are operated in compliance with the act.
- Authorizes SWRCB, where a public water system or a state small water system within a disadvantaged community, consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, to order consolidation with a receiving water system. Provides that the consolidation may be physical or operational.
- Authorizes SWRCB to contract with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to a designated public water system, as defined, to assist with the provision of an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water.
- Establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions (office) within SWRCB with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
This bill:
- Establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the office.
- Requires SWRCB to administer the fund.
- Authorizes SWRCB to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
- Requires SWRCB to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water consistent with a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, as prescribed.
- Requires SWRCB to annually prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund and to adopt annually, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding needed to ensure all Californians have access to safe drinking water.
Background
- Transfer of the Drinking Water Program.
SB 861 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 35, Statutes of 2014) transferred the Drinking Water Program from the California Department of Public Health (DPH) to SWRCB, giving SWRCB primary enforcement authority (primacy) to enforce federal and state safe drinking water acts, and is responsible for the regulatory oversight of about 8,000 public water systems throughout the state.
The 2014-15 Budget Act and SB 861 transferred $200.3 million ($5 million General Fund) and 291.2 positions for the administration of the Drinking Water Program from DPH to SWRCB.
The goal of Transferring the Drinking Water Program was to achieve the following objectives:
- Establish a single water quality agency to enhance accountability for water quality issues.
- Better provide comprehensive technical and financial assistance to help communities, especially small disadvantaged communities, address an array of challenges related to drinking water, wastewater, water recycling, pollution, desalination, and stormwater.
- Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water, groundwater, water recycling, and water quality programs.
- Safe Drinking Water Plan for California.
In 1993, the California Department of Health Services (DHS) (now DPH) submitted to the Legislature the report entitled, “Drinking Water into the 21st Century: Safe Drinking Water Plan for California” (1993 Plan). In 1996, the Legislature enacted SB 1307 (Calderon, Chapter 755, Statutes of 1996) requiring a periodic update of the original Plan.
DPH assembled a team of experts that conducted extensive reviews and analyses, resulting in a draft plan that included an overview of drinking water regulation, reviews and plans for drinking water quality/monitoring and threats, treatment technologies, funding aspects and financial assistance, and a focus on the challenges faced by small drinking water systems.
Following the July 1, 2014 transition of the Drinking Water Program to the SWRCB, the draft plan’s recommendations and implementation plan has been enhanced based on the synergies and resources resulting from incorporation of the program into SWRCB.
The Safe Drinking Water Plan for California includes SWRCB’s assessment of the overall quality of the state’s drinking water, the identification of specific water quality problems, an analysis of the known and potential health risks that may be associated with drinking water contamination in California, and specific recommendations to improve drinking water quality.
- The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1).
Proposition 1, approved by the voters in November, 2014, authorizes $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance, wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration.
- Clean, Safe and Reliable Drinking Water. Proposition 1 authorizes $520 million for expenditures, grants and loans for projects that improve water quality or help provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to all Californians and provides that the projects eligible for funding pursuant to this section shall help improve water quality for a beneficial use. The purposes of this section are to:
- Reduce contaminants in drinking water supplies regardless of the source of the water or the contamination.
- Assess and prioritize the risk of contamination to drinking water supplies.
- Address the critical and immediate needs of disadvantaged, rural, or small communities that suffer from contaminated drinking water supplies, including, but not limited to, projects that address a public health emergency.
- Leverage other private, federal, state, and local drinking water quality and wastewater treatment funds.
- Reduce contaminants in discharges to, and improve the quality of, waters of the state.
- Prevent further contamination of drinking water supplies.
- Provide disadvantaged communities with public drinking water infrastructure that provides clean, safe, and reliable drinking water supplies that the community can sustain over the long term.
- Ensure access to clean, safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water for California’s communities.
- Meet primary and secondary safe drinking water standards or remove contaminants identified by the state or federal government for development of a primary or secondary drinking water standard.
The funds are to be allocated as follows:
- $260 million shall be available for deposit into the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund for grants for wastewater treatment projects. Priority shall be given to projects that serve disadvantaged communities and severely disadvantaged communities, and to projects that address public health hazards. Projects may include, but not be limited to, projects that identify, plan, design, and implement regional mechanisms to consolidate wastewater systems or provide affordable treatment technologies.
- $260 million shall be available for grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards, ensure affordable drinking water, or both. Priority shall be given to projects that provide treatment for contamination or access to an alternate drinking water source or sources for small community water systems or state small water systems in disadvantaged communities whose drinking water source is impaired by chemical and nitrate contaminants and other health hazards identified by SWRCB.
- Specifies that at least 10% of the funds must be allocated for severely disadvantaged communities and up to 15% of the funds must be allocated for technical assistance to disadvantaged communities.
- Benefitting By Economies of Scale. As of January 2014, there were 7,642 public water systems in California classified into three different categories: 3,015 Community Water Systems serving communities with full-time residents; 1,489 Non-Transient Non-Community Water Systems serving the same non-residents at least six months per year (e.g., schools, places of work, and prisons); and 3,138 Transient Non-Community Water Systems serving non-residents at least 60 days per (e.g., restaurants & campgrounds). When the larger systems exceed maximum contaminant levels, those problems are usually corrected promptly. In contrast, over time, small water systems, because of their small base of rate payers, are much less able to remain compliant with state drinking water standards. This is especially true when water system users include disadvantaged communities, defined as any community where the median household income is below 80% of the statewide median household income. This problem with small water systems experiencing the bulk of violations extends across water system categories. In addition to the community systems where residents may have repeated long-term exposure to contaminants in impure water, many Non-Transient Non-Community systems include schools, where vulnerable populations may also get substantial repeated exposure to contaminants. In 2014, 68 schools or day-care facilities with their own water systems served contaminated water to more than 24,000 people.
According to SWRCB, for common sources of drinking water contamination, such as arsenic and nitrates, expensive systems must be installed and operated to treat the water to meet drinking water standards. In many cases, technological advances have not yet been sufficient to make such treatment systems affordable, especially to small, disadvantaged communities. In addition, many small disadvantaged communities do not have the technical, managerial, or financial capability to operate what are sometimes complex drinking water systems. Disadvantaged communities also often lack the rate base to pay for operation and maintenance costs, meaning that they are effectively prohibited from accessing capital improvement funding that requires demonstration of ability to fund such costs.
SB 88 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2015) trailer bill that permits SWRCB to order water system consolidation or extension of services.
SWRCB maintains that consolidating public water systems and extending service from existing public water systems to communities and areas which currently rely on under-performing or failing small water systems, as well as private wells, reduces costs and improves reliability. Consolidation does this by extending costs to a larger pool of ratepayers.
- New tools in 2016 for addressing drinking water system failures: Last year the legislature passed and Governor Brown signed two additional bills to help stop the proliferation of new small water systems and provide greater oversight and assistance to those that are not currently candidates for consolidation.
SB 1263 (Wieckowski, Pavley, Chapter 843, Statutes of 2016) now requires SWRCB to review permit applications for new water systems and authorizes SWRCB to deny a permit if it is found that the service area of the public water system can be served by one or more currently permitted public water systems, as specified.
SB 552 (Wolk, Chapter 773, Statutes of 2016) which, in addition to the consolidation authority provided by SB 88, provides SWRCB another tool to address the systemic issues affecting public water systems serving small, disadvantaged communities, by authorizing SWRCB to identify public water systems that are consistently unable to provide an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water and, once funding is available, contract with a competent administrator to provide managerial and technical expertise to that system.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “recent SWRCB data identified 292 California public water systems serving communities and schools that are currently out of compliance with drinking water standards, some of which have been unable to provide safe drinking water for years or even over a decade. These systems serve 692,807 people, or almost 1.8% of the California population. Small water systems are often unable to meet drinking water standards because they are unable to afford the cost of drinking water treatment, as there is no existing source of funding to support critical needs like ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M).
“This data does not include the nearly 2 million Californians not served by a public water system. These state small systems and domestic wells have few regulatory requirements and are not eligible for most assistance programs, leaving them particularly vulnerable to unsafe drinking water. In addition to water safety challenges, increasing numbers of low-income California households struggle to pay their water bills, often due to the high cost of drinking water.”
The author states “drinking water safety and affordability issues affect California communities across the state, with low-income communities and communities of color feeling the greatest impact. SB 623 will take necessary steps to ensure that Californians will have access to safe and affordable drinking water, free from contaminants, that they should be able to trust is what they receive.”
- Funding From Where? Funding For What? SB 623 establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund; provides that moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated; authorizes SWRCB to provide for the deposit of federal contributions and voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests in the fund; requires SWRCB to expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water pursuant to a fund implementation plan adopted annually by the board, and then finally requires SWRCB to annually publicly prepare and make available a report of expenditures of the fund.
It appears that this new fund is created, accepting donations, federal funds and state general funds to provide continuously appropriated money for an unidentified plan to solve the full range of drinking water challenges within the State of California.
A bill is unnecessary to appropriate general fund and allow SWRCB to accept donations to solve the drinking water challenges that the Division of Drinking Water has already been tasked and authorized to tackle (as well as been given a host of new statutory authorities in the last three years per SWRCB request).
If it is the will of the Legislature to appropriate general funds and authorize donations for these tasks, it is more appropriately done through the budget process. In fact, the one new statutory authority granted by this bill (the continuous appropriation) aims to bypass the Legislature altogether by continuously appropriating the moneys in this fund for the wide range of activities that are to be defined by a future SWRCB plan.
This bill needs to specify what activities the SWRCB is expected to fund and identify the appropriate source of revenue for funding those activities. Additionally, an amendment is needed to remove the continuous appropriation thereby restoring legislative, budgetary oversight of the fund and its activities.
- Two Bills Creating the Same Fund. SB 778 (Hertzberg) also creates a Safe Drinking Water Fund, and would continuously appropriate moneys (unidentified source of revenue) in the fund for the purposes of contracting with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to designated public water systems and ordering the designated public water system to accept the administrative and managerial services. As these two bills create the same account for the same purposes, the authors need to reconcile which bill will proceed.
Related Legislation
SB 5 (de León) enacts the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018, which places a $3 billion bond before voters at the June 2018 statewide direct primary election. Among other expenditures, SB 5 specifies $1 billion to be appropriated for clean water projects, $250 million for each of the following programs, created by Proposition 1 (2014): Clean, Safe, and Reliable Drinking Water; Regional Water Security, Climate, and Drought Preparedness, Water Recycling, and Groundwater Sustainability (Chapter 11). SB 5 was passed out of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water on March 7, 2017 on a vote of 7-2, passed out of the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance on March 22, 2017 on a vote 5-1 and is set to be heard in the Senate Committee on Appropriations on April 17, 2017.
SB 778 (Hertzberg) creates the Safe Drinking Water Fund, and would continuously appropriate moneys in the fund for the purposes of contracting with an administrator to provide administrative and managerial services to designated public water systems and ordering the designated public water system to accept the administrative and managerial services and requires, on or before March 1, 2018, SWRCB to submit a report to the Legislature on - consolidations of water systems, including the resulting outcomes of the consolidations and whether the consolidations have succeeded or failed in providing an adequate supply of safe drinking water to the communities served by the consolidated water systems. SB 778 is set to be heard in the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality on April 19, 2017.
SOURCE:
Author
SUPPORT:
Alliance of Child and Family Services
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
American Rivers
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Asociación de Gente Unida por el Agua
Better Watts Initiative
California Audubon
California Environmental Justice Alliance
California Food Policy Advocates
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California League of Conservation Voters
California Rice Commission
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Carbon Cycle Institute
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Central California Environmental Justice Network
Centro La Familia Advocacy Services
City of Arvin
Clean Water Action
Comite Civico del Valle
Community Alliance for Agroecology
Community Water Center
Council for a Strong America
Cultiva la Salud
Defenders of Wildlife
El Quinto Sol de America
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Faith in the Valley
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Heal the Bay
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
MiFamilia Vota
Natural Resources Defense Council
Pesticide Action Network
Physicians for Social Responsibility – LA
PolicyLink
Poplar Community Services District
Public Health Advocates
Public Interest Law Project
Pueblo Unido CDC
RCAC
Self-Help Enterprises
Sierra Club
Sunflower Alliance
Sustainable Rural Communities Project
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Western Growers Association
Wholly H2O
OPPOSITION:
None received
-- END --
Discussed in Hearing
1H
Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations
18MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations
7MIN
Senate Floor
48MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
2MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
32MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):
