BILL NUMBER: AB 890 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Perez
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 116755) to Part
12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to the
City of Maywood.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 890, as amended, John A. Perez. City of Maywood: drinking
water.
Existing law, the Calderon-Sher Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996,
requires the State Department of Public Health to, among other
things, adopt regulations relating to primary and secondary drinking
water standards for contaminants in drinking water, which are based
upon specified criteria.
This bill would authorize the City of Maywood, if the
city determines that the drinking water being supplied to the city
fails to meet certain minimum water quality requirements relating to
the color, taste, and odor of the water, to prepare and transmit to
the appropriate public water supplier a written determination that
specifies the nature of the water quality problems. If the public
water supplier, upon notification, fails to correct the water quality
problems within a specified period of time, the city would be
authorized to void the agreement with the public water supplier that
governs the terms and conditions of the supplier's commitment to
provide water to the city. The bill would require the state
department to adopt regulations to carry out these provisions,
including regulations that specify requirements relating to the
color, taste, and odor of the water being supplied to the city. The
state department would also be authorized to establish procedures
pursuant to which the city may take action to void the drinking water
supply agreement and to ensure that the public water supplier has an
adequate opportunity to correct the water quality problems
require the department, upon a request by a majority of the
Maywood City Council, to determine whether a public water system
serving residents within the city's jurisdiction possesses the
adequate financial, managerial, and technical capability to ensure
the delivery of safe, wholesome, and potable drinking water and, if
the department finds that the public water system does not meet this
requirement, to take specified actions .
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations,
including findings and declarations concerning the need for special
legislation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
(a) Californians are protected from drinking water contamination
through the establishment of legal maximum allowable concentrations
of harmful chemicals.
(b) These standards effectively protect the health and safety of
Californians, but do not address cosmetic issues in water quality
such as color, taste, and odor, which force some Californians to
drink water that is unpalatable though not necessarily harmful.
(c) The City of Maywood is currently being supplied water that
does not meet the basic requirements of its inhabitants.
(d) The City of Maywood has an obligation and responsibility to
ensure the quality of drinking water that is supplied to that city
and the state should provide adequate standards by which the City of
Maywood may determine the quality of its city water supply.
SECTION 1. California law requires that, in order
to be issued a permit to supply drinking water, a public water system
must demonstrate adequate financial, managerial, and technical
capability to deliver safe, wholesome, and potable drinking water to
the community. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide the
government of the City of Maywood with appropriate powers necessary
to ensure safe, wholesome, and potable drinking water for its
residents.
SEC. 2. Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 116755) is added to
Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.1. THE CITY OF MAYWOOD SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT
116755. (a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited
, and may be cited, as the City of Maywood Safe
Drinking Water Act.
(b) For the purpose of this section, "city" means the City of
Maywood.
(c) If the city determines that the drinking water being supplied
to the city fails to meet the minimum water quality requirements
established pursuant to subdivision (e), the city may prepare and
transmit to the appropriate public water supplier a written
determination that specifies the nature of the water quality
problems.
(d) If the public water supplier does not correct the problem
within 60 days of the receipt of the written determination, or within
any longer time period established pursuant to subdivision (e), the
city, in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to
subdivision (e), may void the agreement with the public water
supplier that governs the terms and conditions of the supplier's
commitment to provide drinking water to the city and may enter into
another agreement with one or more alternate public water suppliers.
(e) (1) The State Department of Public Health shall adopt
regulations to carry out this section.
(2) The regulations shall include requirements relating to the
color, taste, odor, and other features of the drinking water being
supplied to the city that may contribute to the water being
unpalatable.
(3) The regulations shall establish procedures pursuant to which
the city may take action pursuant to subdivision (d).
(4) The regulations shall also establish procedures to ensure that
the public water supplier has an adequate opportunity to correct the
water quality problems upon being notified pursuant to subdivision
(c). For the purpose of making this determination, the State
Department of Public Health shall take into consideration the
availability of funds to correct the water quality problems. As
necessary, the State Department of Public Health, by regulation, may
extend the 60-day time period specified in subdivision (d) within
which the public water supplier is required to correct the water
quality problems.
(c) The department shall, upon a request made by a majority of the
city council, review permits issued to public water systems serving
the residents within the city's jurisdiction to consider whether the
public water system possesses the adequate financial, managerial, and
technical capability to ensure the delivery of safe, wholesome, and
potable drinking water.
(d) If the department determines that the public water system does
not possess adequate financial, managerial, and technical capability
to ensure the delivery of pure, wholesome, and potable drinking
water, the department shall impose conditions on the public water
system leading to the ability of the water system to meet the
requirements of this section. The department shall require the public
water system to comply with the conditions within a specified period
of time. If the public water system does not agree to the conditions
or fails to meet the requirements established, the department shall
revoke the public water system's permit.
(e) A public water system found, through the review process
required by this section, not to meet the requirements for holding a
permit shall have 30 days to appeal the department's finding, and
shall not be required to adopt the conditions required pursuant to
subdivision (d) until the appeal process has been concluded. Upon
receipt of an appeal, the department shall review the appeal and
determine whether the public water system has demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the department and the city that it possesses the
requisite financial, managerial, and technical capability to deliver
safe, wholesome, and potable drinking water.
(f) The department shall develop and adopt necessary regulations
to enforce this section.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that this act, which is
applicable only to the City of Maywood and the public water
suppliers that supply drinking water to that city, is necessary
because of the poor taste, color, and odor associated with the
drinking water being provided to that city. It is, therefore,
declared that a general law within the meaning of Section 16 of
Article IV of the California Constitution cannot be made applicable
and that the enactment of this special law is necessary for the
public good.