SB 844: Water quality: agricultural safe drinking water fees.

(1)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, during calendar years 2019 to 2033, inclusive, would require a licensee to pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of $0.008 per dollar of sale for all sales of fertilizing materials intended for farm noncommercial use and $0.004 per dollar of sale for all sales of packaged fertilizing materials intended for noncommercial use. The bill, beginning calendar year 2034, would reduce the fee to $0.004 per dollar of sale intended for farm noncommercial use and $0.002 per dollar of sale of packaged materials intended for noncommercial use. The bill, on and after January 1, 2034, would authorize the secretary to adjust the fee as necessary to meet but not exceed 70% of the anticipated funding need for nitrate in the most recent assessment of funding need adopted by the state board pursuant to Senate Bill 845 of the 201718 Regular Session or the sum of $7,000,0000, $7,000,000, whichever is less and 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.

(2)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, 2021, until January 1, 2036, 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, 2036, the bill would reduce the fee to $0.00678 per hundredweight of milk. 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)Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to enforce provisions governing livestock operations. Existing law generally provides that a violation of a provision of the Food and Agricultural Code is a misdemeanor.

This bill, during calendar years 2021 to 2035, inclusive, would require each producer owning a nondairy confined animal facility, as defined, to pay annually to the secretary a safe drinking water fee of $1,000 for the first facility and $750 per each facility thereafter owned by the same producer, not to exceed $12,000. The bill, beginning calendar year 2036, would require the each producer owning a nondairy confined animal facility to pay annually to the secretary a safe drinking water fee of $500 for the first facility and $375 per each facility thereafter owned by the same producer, not to exceed $6,000. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(4)Senate Bill SB 845 of the 201718 Regular Session, if enacted, 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 State Water Resources Control Board for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist eligible applicants with projects relating to the provision of safe and affordable drinking water.

This bill would require the Controller to transfer $3,658,000 from the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund and would require the transferred funds to be used for administrative costs to implement provisions of this bill and SB 845 of the 201718 Regular Session. The bill would provide that the transfer is a loan to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to be repaid by June 30, 2021, as prescribed. The bill would require moneys collected pursuant to the fertilizer safe drinking water fee, the dairy safe drinking water fee, and the safe drinking water fee for nondairy confined animal livestock facilities to be deposited in the fund. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. By depositing these amounts in a continuously appropriated fund, this the bill would make an appropriation.

(5)Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the state board 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, 2029, from subjecting an agricultural operation, as defined, to specified enforcement for causing or contributing to an accedence of a water quality objective for nitrate in groundwater or for causing or contributing to a condition of pollution or nuisance for nitrate in groundwater if that agricultural operation meets certain requirements. The bill would prohibit the state board or a regional board, beginning January 1, 2029, until January 1, 2034, 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 meets the prescribed requirements. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2028, to conduct a public review of regulatory and basin plan amendment implementation programs to evaluate progress toward achieving water quality objectives with respect to nitrate in groundwater and assess compliance with adopted timelines, monitoring requirements, and implementation of best practicable treatment or control.

(6)Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

(7)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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(8)This bill would make its operation contingent on the enactment of Senate Bill SB 845 of the 201718 Regular Session.