BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2986
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 2986 (Leno) - As Amended: March 25, 2008
SUBJECT : Water discharge requirements.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to review, grade and monitor specified sewage collection
systems and treatment plants, to make information regarding the
systems and plants available to the public and to impose fees
upon owners and operators of plants and systems to finance the
implementation of the bill's provisions. Requires specified
satellite sewer systems to monitor discharges. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Defines terms for the purposes of the chapter.
2)Requires the State Water Resources Control Board and each
regional water quality control board to post on their
respective Internet Web sites copies of specified water
quality, waste discharge, inspection, administrative
enforcement and judicial complaint documents and documents
generated as a requirement of this bill.
3)Requires the SWRCB, commencing January 1, 2011, to annually
issue a letter grade of "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F" for each
separate sanitary sewer system, sewage treatment plant,
combined sewer system, and combined sewer system treatment
plant. Specifies criteria upon which each type of system or
plant is graded. Requires the SWRCB to propose by January 1,
2009 and to establish by January 1, 2010 the letter grading
methodology. Requires the SWRCB to review the established
methodology every five years.
4)Requires the SWRCB, by July 1, 2009, to establish a
methodology for measuring peaking factors, as defined, and to
establish, as necessary, monitoring and reporting requirements
to measure peaking factors.
5)Requires the SWRCB, by July 1, 2010, and annually each year
thereafter, to establish a list of all sewage treatment plants
that treat waste collected from separate sanitary sewer
systems for which the SWRCB makes specified findings relating
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to peaking factors and peak wet weather flows. Requires the
SWRCB to review every five years the designated peaking factor
used to establish the list.
6)Requires any satellite sewer system that discharges sewage to
a sewage treatment plant that has been placed on that list to
install and operate flow meters, unless the SWRCB or the
appropriate regional board makes a specified finding regarding
the satellite sewer system or the sewage treatment plant to
which it discharges is removed from the list.
7)Requires the SWRCB to impose fees upon owners and operators of
systems covered by this bill and to establish a fee schedule
to finance the implementation of the bill's provisions.
8)Establishes the California Clean Water Act Fund in the State
Treasury into which fees are deposited. Requires the moneys
in the fund to be continuously appropriated to the SWRCB for
expenditure and allocation to the regional boards to implement
the bill's provisions.
9)Specifies Proposition 84 funding eligibility for projects that
1) install flow meters to measure stormwater impacts in
satellite sewer systems serving severely disadvantaged
communities or 2) assist with sanitary sewer system and
combined sewer system improvements in severely disadvantaged
communities that received an "F" grade.
EXISTING LAW
1)Under the federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of
1972 and 1987, known as the Clean Water Act, establishes
federal guidelines for surface water quality protection.
a) Authorizes water quality programs, requires federal
effluent limitations and state water quality standards,
requires permits for the discharge of pollutants into
navigable waters, provides enforcement mechanisms, and
authorizes funding for wastewater treatment works
construction grants and state revolving loan programs, as
well as funding to states and tribes for their water
quality programs.
b) Authorizes state agencies to administer many of the
Clean Water Act's provisions, including authorizing the
SWRCB and the Regional Boards to regulate proposed
federally-permitted activities that may result in a
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discharge to water bodies.
c) Provides that states, their political subdivisions and
interstate agencies are not preempted from adopting or
enforcing standards, limitations or requirements as long as
they are no less stringent than their federal counterparts.
1)Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act,
establishes a comprehensive state program to protect both
surface and ground water quality and the beneficial uses of
water. Grants regulatory authority to the SWRCB and the nine
semi-autonomous California regional water quality control
boards as the "principal state agencies with primary
responsibility for the coordination and control of water
quality."
2)Under state law, requires that Proposition 84 Storm Water
Grant Program funds be used to provide matching grants to
local public agencies for the reduction and prevention of
storm water contamination of rivers, lakes, and streams.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown, however the bill imposes fees upon
owners and operators of systems covered by this bill to finance
the implementation of the bill's provisions.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose : According to the author, "On January 25 and
January 31, 2008, more than five million gallons of untreated
and partially treated sewage was discharged into Richardson Bay
from a public treatment plant run by the Sewerage Agency of
Southern Marin. Thereafter, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency released inspection reports showing that poorly
maintained tributary sewer systems are overwhelming the Marin
treatment plant with inflows of storm water.
The Marin spills are indicative of a statewide problem with
sewage treatment plant capacities, sanitary sewer overflows, and
system leaks that compromise health, safety, and water quality
in our rivers, estuaries, bays, and the ocean.
When sewers fail, it is usually a surprise to the rate payers
served by that system. The average voter has no easily
understandable means of discerning the health and performance of
their wastewater treatment infrastructure. AB 2986 seeks to
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inform every community in California about the health of their
sewer systems and ensures that problem systems will be clearly
identified to voters and rate payers."
2) Aging sewage systems : The nation's million-mile network of
sewage collection pipes is designed to carry roughly 50 trillion
gallons of raw sewage daily to about 20,000 treatment plants.
In 2001, however, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
estimated there were 40,000 sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) and
400,000 backups of untreated sewage into basements. Many sewage
pipes are between 50 and 100 years old and can develop cracks or
joint openings from the weight and vibration of roads, soil, and
structures above them, and from the corrosive actions of water,
bacteria and chemicals from inside and out. Plant roots can
widen these openings, allowing raw sewage to escape into
groundwater. Rainwater entering the pipes through cracks and
openings, or from illegal connections, can overwhelm the
capacity of the system, forcing raw sewage to purge through
manholes into streets and streams, back up into basements, or
otherwise bypass treatment plants. Even during dry weather,
clogged, malfunctioning, or overloaded systems can discharge raw
sewage; during wet weather many of these aging systems are
simply overwhelmed causing significant spills into California's
waterways.
According to SWRCB statistics, in the Bay Area alone there have
been 276 sewage spills this year that either flowed into Bay
Area waterways or contained at least 1,000 gallons of effluent.
In total, these spills account for more than 14 million gallons
of sewage entering the environment, the statistics show. These
numbers don't include the Jan. 26 and Jan. 31 spills of 5.15
million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage by the
Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin treatment plant in Mill
Valley.
3) Impacts of sewage spills : A small drop of fecal matter can
contain millions of microorganisms of many types, some of which
are pathogenic. Microbial pathogens in raw or inadequately
treated sewage can cause illnesses ranging from temporary
stomach cramps to life-threatening conditions such as
inflammation of the heart. Inadequately treated human sewage
can also contaminate edible filter-feeding shellfish, which
filter viruses from water and can then infect humans with
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concentrations of viruses that are 100 to 900 times greater than
in the surrounding water. High concentrations of infectious
viruses can cause disease in unsuspecting consumers far from the
spill.
Also in sewage are the myriad chemical wastes discharged into
sewage collection systems from industrial, commercial,
institutional, and household activities. Industrial chemicals
include a wide range of substances, from heavy metals such as
mercury, lead, and cadmium; to agents that have been
manufactured such as sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid; to more
recently engineered compounds such as the toxic plastic additive
di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP).
Sewage spills can also damage homes and businesses and threaten
waterways and beaches.
4) Support: According to Friends of the Earth, "Aging sewer
systems, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, regularly
spill millions of gallons of raw or partially treated sewage
into streets, homes, local creeks and the Bay. These spills
pose a grave threat to human health and to the environment.
Inadequately treated sewage contains high levels of
disease-carrying microorganisms and toxic chemicals such as
mercury, cyanide and PCBs. Large spills, like the Marin spills
in January 2008, can also contaminate shellfish, weaken fish,
and deplete water oxygen levels. Unfortunately, the adage "out
of sight, out of mind" has applied to our sewers, and most
Californians are unaware of how common sewage spills are or how
their community's own system is performing. Baykeeper believes
that AB 2986 will increase the public's understanding of the
importance of investing in sewage infrastructure and will
increase accountability for those agencies responsible for
protecting our water."
5) Proposed Committee Amendments:
1. Technical amendment: Clarify on page 4, line 19 that
the sewer system and combined sewer system receives the
letter grade, not the small, disadvantaged community.
2. Technical amendment: Clarify on page 8, line 1 that a
letter grading methodology must be established for each
type of system or plant, not each individual system or
plant.
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3. Technical amendment: Clarify on page 9, line 9 that the
SWRCB shall review and modify the designated peaking
factor.
4. Technical amendment: Clarify on page 10, line 4 that
the SWRCB shall impose fees on owners and operators of
sanitary sewer systems and sewage treatment plants and on
permittees filing documents pursuant to Section 14081.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Baykeeper (Co-sponsor)
Friends of the Earth (Co-sponsor)
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Monterey Coastkeeper
Ocean Conservancy
Russian Riverkeeper
Charles McGlashan, Marin County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965