BILL NUMBER: SB 1070 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 750
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe
(Coauthor: Senator Alquist)
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Section 13167 of, and to repeal and add Section
13181 to, the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1070, Kehoe Water quality information.
(1) Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act,
requires the State Water Resources Control Board, in conjunction with
the California regional water quality control boards, to implement a
public information program on matters involving water quality and to
maintain an information file on water quality research and other
pertinent matters.
This bill would require the state board, with the assistance of
the regional boards, to implement a public information program on
water quality matters and to place and maintain on its Internet Web
site a public information file on water quality monitoring,
assessment, research, standards, regulation, enforcement, and other
pertinent matters, as prescribed.
(2) The act requires the state board and the regional boards to
carry out various monitoring functions. The act requires the state
board, to the extent that funds are available, to prepare and
complete, on or before January 1, 2000, an inventory of existing
water quality monitoring activities within state coastal watersheds,
bays, estuaries, and coastal waters. The federal Clean Water Act
prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from approving certain
grants for state pollution control programs in the absence of a
determination that the state has provided or is carrying out an
appropriate monitoring and reporting program, as specified.
This bill would repeal the provision relating to the preparation
of an inventory and would require the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency, on or before December 1,
2007, to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of
establishing the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which
the state board would be required to administer. The bill would
require the monitoring council to review existing water quality
monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts and to recommend
specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and
enhance those efforts. The bill would require the memorandum of
understanding to describe the means by which the monitoring council
shall formulate recommendations to (a) reduce redundancies,
inefficiencies, and inadequacies in existing water quality monitoring
and data management programs and (b) ensure that water quality
improvement projects financed by the state provide specific
information necessary to track project effectiveness with regard to
achieving clean water and healthy ecosystems. The bill would require
the monitoring council to undertake various actions relating to water
quality data collection. The bill would require the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency, commencing December 1,
2008, to conduct a triennial audit of the effectiveness of a
comprehensive monitoring program strategy, which the state board
would be required to develop in accordance with the Clean Water Act.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Legislative Analyst's Office has concluded that ambient
water quality monitoring is the foundation for much of the work of
the State Water Resources Control Board, including basin planning,
standards setting, and permitting.
(b) The Government Accounting Office has determined that the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states
need comprehensive water quality monitoring and assessment
information on environmental changes and conditions over time and
that, in the absence of this information, it is difficult for the EPA
and the states to establish priorities, evaluate the success of
programs and activities, and report on accomplishments.
(c) The National Research Council has similarly recommended the
development of a uniform, consistent approach to ambient water
quality monitoring and data collection, increased resources for water
monitoring, and improved coordination of monitoring.
(d) According to California's 2002 biennial monitoring report to
the EPA, the state can only report on the health of 22 percent of its
coastal shoreline, 34 percent of its lakes and reservoirs, and 15
percent of its rivers and streams due to a lack of monitoring data.
There is no single place where the public can go to get a specific
look at the health of water bodies in its own backyard, or even to
get an overall picture of the health of the state's waters.
(e) State water board funding for ambient surface water monitoring
has fluctuated significantly over the years, and is inadequate to
ensure the assessment of all waters. The monitoring efforts that are
underway could be enhanced significantly with increased coordination
of the many separate monitoring activities that are going on at the
local, state, and federal levels. Historically, the use of different
protocols and data management systems have typically precluded the
full and effective use of available water quality monitoring data.
(f) The development of new programs to control agricultural and
timber pollution, and the implementation of hundreds of new projects
financed by bond funds to improve water quality, may produce water
quality improvements that should be documented. The State of
California cannot afford to waste the opportunities provided by these
and other water quality improvement programs.
(g) Numerous water monitoring efforts are conducted by local,
state, and federal agencies, regulated entities, and citizen
monitoring groups. Many of these efforts are uncoordinated, and as a
result funds and information are not being used as effectively as
they could be. In addition, redundant monitoring activities can occur
because of a lack of basic information relative to the scope of
monitoring activities throughout the state. For example, there are
100 water quality monitoring efforts underway in the central valley
alone, and coordination is minimal.
(h) Better coordination of ongoing monitoring efforts, and more
targeted identification of specific monitoring needs, would place
California in a better position to obtain additional needed
monitoring funding, particularly federal funding. Additional support
can be found through the savings provided by increased coordination
and integration of existing monitoring efforts.
(i) Californians should be able to readily access basic
information that already exists about the state's waters and how
those waters are protected and restored. By their recent approval of
a constitutional amendment (Proposition 59), California voters have
indicated their strong support for open and transparent government.
The "government" of state waters should be carried out in a similarly
open manner. At a minimum, all information that is currently
available to agencies should be made readily available to the public
via the Internet.
SEC. 2. Section 13167 of the Water Code is amended to read:
13167. (a) The state board shall implement, with the assistance
of the regional boards, a public information program on matters
involving water quality, and shall place and maintain on its Internet
Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an
information file on water quality monitoring, assessment, research,
standards, regulation, enforcement, and other pertinent matters.
(b) The information file described in subdivision (a) shall
include, but need not be limited to, copies of permits, waste
discharge requirements, waivers, enforcement actions, and petitions
for review of these actions pursuant to this division. The file shall
include copies of water quality control plans and policies,
including any relevant management agency agreements pursuant to this
chapter and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 13200), and monitoring
data and assessment information, or shall identify Internet links to
that information. The state board, in consultation with the regional
boards, shall ensure that the information is available in single
locations, rather than separately by region, and that the information
is presented in a manner easily understandable by the general
public.
SEC. 3. Section 13181 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 13181 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13181. (a) (1) On or before December 1, 2007, the California
Environmental Protection Agency and the Resources Agency shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding for the purposes of establishing
the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, which shall be
administered by the state board.
(2) As used in this section, "monitoring council" means the
California Water Quality Monitoring Council established pursuant to
this section.
(3) The monitoring council may include representatives from state
entities and nonstate entities. The representatives from nonstate
entities may include, but need not be limited to, representatives
from federal and local government, institutions of higher education,
the regulated community, citizen monitoring groups, and other
interested parties.
(4) The monitoring council shall review existing water quality
monitoring, assessment, and reporting efforts, and shall recommend
specific actions and funding needs necessary to coordinate and
enhance those efforts.
(5) (A) The recommendations shall be prepared for the ultimate
development of a cost-effective, coordinated, integrated, and
comprehensive statewide network for collecting and disseminating
water quality information and ongoing assessments of the health of
the state's waters and the effectiveness of programs to protect and
improve the quality of those waters.
(B) For purposes of developing recommendations pursuant to this
section, the monitoring council shall initially focus on the water
quality monitoring efforts of state agencies, including, but not
limited to, the state board, the regional boards, the department, the
Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, the
State Lands Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of
Pesticide Regulation, and the State Department of Health Services.
(C) In developing the recommendations, the monitoring council
shall seek to build upon existing programs rather than create new
programs.
(6) Among other things, the memorandum of understanding shall
describe the means by which the monitoring council shall formulate
recommendations to accomplish both of the following:
(A) Reduce redundancies, inefficiencies, and inadequacies in
existing water quality monitoring and data management programs in
order to improve the effective delivery of sound, comprehensive water
quality information to the public and decisionmakers.
(B) Ensure that water quality improvement projects financed by the
state provide specific information necessary to track project
effectiveness with regard to achieving clean water and healthy
ecosystems.
(b) The monitoring council shall report, on or before December 1,
2008, to the California Environmental Protection Agency and the
Resources Agency with regard to its recommendations for maximizing
the efficiency and effectiveness of existing water quality data
collection and dissemination, and for ensuring that collected data
are maintained and available for use by decisionmakers and the
public. The monitoring council shall consult with the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in preparing these recommendations.
The monitoring council's recommendations, and any responses submitted
by the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources
Agency to those recommendations, shall be made available to
decisionmakers and the public by means of the Internet.
(c) The monitoring council shall undertake and complete, on or
before April 1, 2008, a survey of its members to develop an inventory
of their existing water quality monitoring and data collection
efforts statewide and shall make that information available to the
public.
(d) All state agencies, including institutions of higher education
to the extent permitted by law, that collect water quality data or
information shall cooperate with the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the Resources Agency in achieving the goals of
the monitoring council as described in this section.
(e) In accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) and implementing guidance, the state board
shall develop, in coordination with the monitoring council, all of
the following:
(1) A comprehensive monitoring program strategy that utilizes and
expands upon the state's existing statewide, regional, and other
monitoring capabilities and describes how the state will develop an
integrated monitoring program that will serve all of the state's
water quality monitoring needs and address all of the state's waters
over time. The strategy shall include a timeline not to exceed 10
years to complete implementation. The strategy shall be comprehensive
in scope and identify specific technical, integration, and resource
needs, and shall recommend solutions for those needs so that the
strategy may be implemented within the 10-year timeframe.
(2) Agreement, including agreement on a schedule, with regard to
the comprehensive monitoring of statewide water quality protection
indicators that provide a basic minimum understanding of the health
of the state's waters. Indicators already developed pursuant to
environmental protection indicators for statewide initiatives shall
be given high priority as core indicators for purposes of the network
described in subdivision (a).
(3) Quality management plans and quality assurance plans that
ensure the validity and utility of the data collected.
(4) Methodology for compiling, analyzing, and integrating readily
available information, to the maximum extent feasible, including, but
not limited to, data acquired from discharge reports, volunteer
monitoring groups, local, state, and federal agencies, and recipients
of state-funded or federally funded water quality improvement or
restoration projects.
(5) An accessible and user-friendly electronic data system with
timely data entry and ready public access via the Internet. To the
maximum extent possible, the geographic location of the areas
monitored shall be included in the data system.
(6) Production of timely and complete water quality reports and
lists that are required under Sections 303(d), 305(b), 314, and 319
of the Clean Water Act and Section 406 of the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, that include all available
information from discharge reports, volunteer monitoring groups, and
local, state, and federal agencies.
(7) An update of the state board's surface water ambient
monitoring program needs assessment in light of the benefits of
increased coordination and integration of information from other
agencies and information sources. This update shall include
identification of current and future resource needs required to fully
implement the coordinated, comprehensive monitoring network,
including, but not limited to, funding, staff, training, laboratory
and other resources, and projected improvements in the network.
(f) The state board shall identify the full costs of
implementation of the comprehensive monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e), and shall identify proposed
sources of funding for the implementation of the strategy, including
federal funds that may be expended for this purpose. Fees collected
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260 may be
used as a funding source for implementation of the strategy to the
extent that the funding is consistent with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 13260.
(g) Data, summary information, and reports prepared pursuant to
this section shall be made available to appropriate public agencies
and the public by means of the Internet.
(h) (1) Commencing December 1, 2008, the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a triennial
audit of the effectiveness of the monitoring program strategy
developed pursuant to subdivision (e). The audit shall include, but
need not be limited to, an assessment of the following matters:
(A) The extent to which the strategy has been implemented.
(B) The effectiveness of the monitoring and assessment program and
the monitoring council with regard to both of the following:
(i) Tracking improvements in water quality.
(ii) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of programs administered
by the state board or a regional board and of state and federally
funded water quality improvement projects.
(2) The Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency shall consult with the Secretary of the Resources Agency in
preparing the audit, consistent with the memorandum of understanding
entered into pursuant to subdivision (a).
(i) The state board shall prioritize the use of federal funding
that may be applied to monitoring, including, but not limited to,
funding under Section 106 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
for the purpose of implementing this section.
(j) The state board shall not use more than 5 percent of the funds
made available to implement this section for the administrative
costs of any contracts entered into for the purpose of implementing
this section.