BILL NUMBER: AB 2222 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT CHAPTER 670 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 14, 2008 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 10, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Caballero FEBRUARY 20, 2008 An act to add Section 10782 to the Water Code, relating to groundwater. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2222, Caballero. Groundwater quality: monitoring. The Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 requires the State Water Resources Control Board to integrate existing monitoring programs and design new program elements, as necessary, to establish a comprehensive monitoring program capable of assessing each groundwater basin in the state through direct and other statistically reliable sampling approaches. This bill would require the state board, on or before June 1, 2009, to identify and recommend to the Legislature funding options to extend the comprehensive monitoring program until January 1, 2024, and make recommendations to enhance public accessibility of information on groundwater conditions. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2012, in consultation with specified agencies, to submit to the Legislature a prescribed report. The bill would require the state board to provide an opportunity for public comment prior to finalizing the report and submitting it to the Legislature. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 10782 is added to the Water Code, to read: 10782. (a) On or before June 1, 2009, the state board shall do both of the following: (1) Identify and recommend to the Legislature funding options to extend, until January 1, 2024, the comprehensive monitoring program established in accordance with Section 10781. (2) Make recommendations to enhance the public accessibility of information on groundwater conditions. (b) On or before January 1, 2012, the state board, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and any other agencies as appropriate, shall submit to the Legislature a report that does all of the following: (1) Identifies communities that rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking water. (2) Identifies in the groundwater sources for the communities described in paragraph (1) the principal contaminants and other constituents of concern, as identified by the state board, affecting that groundwater and contamination levels. (3) Identifies potential solutions and funding sources to clean up or treat groundwater or to provide alternative water supplies to ensure the provision of safe drinking water to communities identified in paragraph (1). (c) The state board shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the report required pursuant to subdivision (b), prior to finalizing the report and submitting it to the Legislature.