BILL NUMBER: AB 2528 CHAPTERED 09/22/04 CHAPTER 679 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lowenthal (Coauthors: Assembly Members Daucher and Maddox) FEBRUARY 20, 2004 An act to repeal and add Section 116455 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public water systems. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2528, Lowenthal. Public water systems. Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Department of Health Services to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water and public water systems and, among other things, to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water and to monitor regulated and unregulated contaminants. Existing law requires every public water system serving more than 10,000 service connections that detects one or more contaminants in drinking water that exceed the public health goal to prepare a brief written report. Existing law requires the person operating a public water system to, within 30 days of the closure of a well or of discovery of a contaminant exceeding the maximum containment level or action level, as defined, in a well that is used for drinking water, notify the governing body of the local agency in which users of drinking water reside. This bill would delete this requirement and would, instead, require the operator of wholesale or retail public water systems, as defined, to provide notice relating to contamination of any drinking water that exceeds the maximum containment level, a response level, or a notification level, as defined, including, but not limited to, notification to the Public Utilities Commission if the public water system is a regulated public utility. Existing law requires the notification to include the location of the affected water well, its name, its type, and its operational status immediately before its closure. This bill, instead, would require the notification to identify the drinking water source, among other things, and to provide a brief and plainly worded statement of health concerns. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 116455 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 116455 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 116455. (a) A public water system shall comply with the requirements of this section within 30 days after it is first informed of a confirmed detection of a contaminant found in drinking water delivered by the public water system for human consumption that is in excess of a maximum contaminant level, a notification level, or a response level established by the department. (1) If the public water system is a wholesale water system, then the person operating the wholesale water system shall notify the wholesale water system's governing body and the water systems that are directly supplied with that drinking water. If the wholesale water system is a water company regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, then the wholesale water system shall also notify the commission. The commission in the exercise of its general and specific powers to ensure the health, safety, and availability of drinking water served by the utilities subject to its jurisdiction, may order further action that is not inconsistent with the standards and regulations of the department to ensure a potable water supply. (2) If the public water system is a retail water system, then the person operating the retail water system shall notify the retail water system's governing body and the governing body of any local agency whose jurisdiction includes areas supplied with drinking water by the retail water system. If the retail water system is a water company regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, then the retail water system shall also notify the commission. The commission, in the exercise of its general and specific powers to ensure the health, safety, and availability of drinking water served by the utilities subject to its jurisdiction, may order further action that is not inconsistent with the standards and regulations of the department to ensure a potable water supply. (b) The notification required by subdivision (a) shall identify the drinking water source, the origin of the contaminant, if known, the maximum contaminant level, response level, or notification level, as appropriate, the concentration of the detected contaminant, and the operational status of the drinking water source, and shall provide a brief and plainly worded statement of health concerns. (c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Drinking water source" means an individual groundwater well, an individual surface water intake, or in the case of water purchased from another water system, the water at the service connection. (2) "Local agency" means a city or county, or a city and county. (3) "Notification level" means the concentration level of a contaminant in drinking water delivered for human consumption that the department has determined, based on available scientific information, does not pose a significant health risk but warrants notification pursuant to this section. Notification levels are nonregulatory, health-based advisory levels established by the department for contaminants in drinking water for which maximum contaminant levels have not been established. Notification levels are established as precautionary measures for contaminants that may be considered candidates for establishment of maximum contaminant levels, but have not yet undergone or completed the regulatory standard setting process prescribed for the development of maximum contaminant levels and are not drinking water standards. (4) "Response level" means the concentration of a contaminant in drinking water delivered for human consumption at which the department recommends that additional steps, beyond notification pursuant to this section, be taken to reduce public exposure to the contaminant. Response levels are established in conjunction with notification levels for contaminants that may be considered candidates for establishment of maximum contaminant levels, but have not yet undergone or completed the regulatory standard setting process prescribed for the development of maximum contaminant levels and are not drinking water standards. (5) "Retail water system" means a public water system that supplies water directly to the end user. (6) "Wholesale water system" means a public water system that supplies water to other public water systems for resale.