BILL NUMBER: AB 890 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2009
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. An act to add Section
116335 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to public water
systems.
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. Violation of certain provisions
relating to public water systems is a crime.
This bill would 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. It
would, however, provide that the department shall undertake its
duties under the bill only to the extent that the department receives
payment from the city to cover all the costs.
This bill would require the public water systems serving the City
of Maywood to conduct a study on the City of Maywood's water
addressing the impacts of manganese on water quality, would require
the city to conduct a public hearing, and would require the public
water systems to respond in writing to public comment received at the
hearing. The bill would require the study and comments to be posted
on the public water systems' Internet Web sites. By requiring the
City of Maywood to comply with these provisions and by expanding the
definition of existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations,
including findings and declarations concerning the need for special
legislation.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for specified reasons.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Manganese is a mineral that naturally occurs in rocks and soil
and can be present in well water as a naturally occurring
groundwater mineral or due to underground pollution sources.
(b) Manganese may become noticeable in tap water at concentrations
greater than 0.05 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of water by imparting
a rust color, off-taste, or odor to the water and by causing staining
of plumbing fixtures and clothing. However, health effects from
manganese are not a concern until concentrations are approximately 10
times higher.
(c) Exposure to high concentrations of manganese over the course
of years has been associated with toxicity to the nervous system,
producing a syndrome that resembles Parkinsonism. This type of effect
may be more likely to occur in the elderly. Young children may also
have greater potential exposure due to their bodies absorbing more
manganese than older age groups but excreting less.
(d) Manganese levels are not regulated in public water supplies.
However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has
established an aesthetic water quality standard of 50 μg/L.
(e) The drinking water in the City of Maywood has levels of
manganese consistently above 0.05 milligrams per liter, rendering the
water distasteful and unusable for drinking, laundry, and other
residential and commercial purposes.
(f) While the public water systems serving the City of Maywood
have not been found to date to exceed federal and state primary
drinking water standards and are therefore not in violation of their
permits, they have failed to address the concerns of the community
regarding the presence of manganese in drinking water.
(g) Therefore, further study is necessary to determine the extent
of manganese contamination in the City of Maywood's drinking water
and the potential actions needed to address that contamination.
SEC. 2. Section 116335 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
116335. (a) The public water systems serving the City of Maywood
shall conduct, publish, and submit to the City of Maywood, the State
Department of Public Health, the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, and
the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials a
study on the City of Maywood's water by December 21, 2010,
addressing the impacts of manganese on the quality of the City of
Maywood's water. The report shall contain all of the following:
(1) Testing information and results on manganese for all of the
sources of drinking water for the City of Maywood.
(2) The amount of manganese being contributed by each water source
that serves the City of Maywood.
(3) Immediate and long-term steps that can be taken by the public
water systems to reduce the amount of manganese in the drinking water
supply to be at least as low as a level that is consistent with the
average level in communities within a 20-mile radius of the City of
Maywood.
(4) Infrastructure improvements that can be made to reach the
immediate and long-term goals to reduce the level of manganese and
other contaminants in the water to be consistent with the average
level in communities within a 20-mile radius of the City of Maywood.
(5) Actions that the public water systems will take to pursue
funding in order to achieve those improvements.
(b) The City Council of Maywood shall conduct a public hearing on
the results of the study.
(c) The public water systems shall respond in writing to public
comments made at the hearing to the City Council of Maywood.
(d) The study and comments shall be posted on the public water
systems' Internet Web sites.
(e) All current notifications sent to the rate payers within the
City of Maywood concerning water contaminants shall also be sent to
occupants, in the same manner as set forth in subdivision (f) of
Section 116450, and shall be distributed in English and the primary
language of the residents of the city as well as posted on the public
water systems' Internet Web sites.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency
or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new
crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the
penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime
within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
Moreover, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, no reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because those additional costs, if any, are the result
of a program for which legislative authority was requested by the
local agency or school district within the meaning of Section 17556
of the Government Code and Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
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, as the
City of Maywood Safe Drinking Water Act.
(b) For the purpose of this section, "city" means the City of
Maywood.
(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.
(g) The department shall undertake the actions in subdivisions
(c) to (f), inclusive, only to the extent that payment is received
from the city to cover all incurred costs.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. 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.