BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                SB 565
                                                                       

                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                        Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
                              2009-2010 Regular Session
                                           
           BILL NO:    SB 565
           AUTHOR:     Pavley
           AMENDED:    April 13, 2009
           FISCAL:     Yes               HEARING DATE:     April 27, 2009
           URGENCY:    No                CONSULTANT:       Bruce Jennings
            
           SUBJECT  :    WATER RECYCLING

            SUMMARY  :    
           
            Existing law  :

           1) Establishes a statewide goal to recycle a total of 700,000  
              acre-feet of water per year by 2000, and one million  
              acre-feet of water by 2010, pursuant to the Water Recycling  
              Act of 1991.

           2) Requires urban water management plans to include, to the  
              extent available, information on recycled water and its  
              potential for use as a water source in the service area,  
              pursuant to revisions of the Urban Water Management  
              Planning Act.

           3) Requires the state plan to include current and projected  
              supplies of water provided by water recycling and reuse,  
              pursuant to revisions of the California Water Plan.

           4) Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to advise  
              DWR concerning opportunities for using recycled water in  
              industrial and commercial applications and in identifying  
              impediments and constraints to increasing the industrial  
              and commercial use of recycled water, pursuant to the AB  
              331 and the creation of the Recycled Water Task Force  
              (2002).

            This bill  :

           1) Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),  
              in collaboration with the Department of Public Health (DPH)  
              and DWR, to adopt a statewide plan to ensure that at least  








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              50 percent of the wastewater annually discharged directly  
              into the ocean, as of the year 2009, is recycled and put to  
              beneficial use by the year 2030.  The plan would require  
              the state board to:

              a)    Identify all regulatory, financial, engineering,  
                 jurisdictional, and other impediments to meeting the  
                 statewide ocean discharge recycling goal.

              b)    Identify all impediments to direct potable reuse of  
                 the water.

              c)    Develop specific actions and strategies to remove  
                 those impediments.  In developing the plan, the SWRCB  
                 would be required to seek input from wastewater  
                 dischargers, urban water suppliers, local government  
                 agencies, and other interested parties.  The SWRCB would  
                 be authorized to appoint an advisory committee, task  
                 force, or any other group or groups that the board deems  
                 necessary or desirable to assist the board in carrying  
                 out this part.  Upon adoption of the plan, the SWRCB  
                 would be required to submit copies of the plan to the  
                 Governor and the Legislature.

           2) Requires the SWRCB, to impose an annual fee on discharges  
              of wastewater into the ocean, to reimburse the SWRCB, DWR,  
              and DPH for the costs of developing the plan and any  
              measures implementing the plan subject to the following  
              requirements:

              a)    The fee would be imposed on each person who  
                 discharges wastewater directly into the ocean.

              b)    The fee shall be in addition to any other fees  
                 imposed by the SWRCB.  The SWRCB would be required to  
                 adopt regulations to implement the fee provisions.

           3) Makes various findings and declarations regarding the  
              importance of water recycling.

            COMMENTS  :

            1) Purpose of Bill  .  Each year, urban California discharges  
             approximately 3 - 4 million acre-feet of wastewater into  








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             the ocean.  Unlike discharges into rivers or streams that  
             can be recaptured downstream and then be reused, ocean  
             discharges are lost to additional use.  This water is truly  
             wasted.

           At the same time, urban California continues to grow.  The  
             California Department of Finance projects California's  
             population to reach almost 60 million people by 2050, adding  
             over 25 million since the 2000 decennial census.  These new  
             Californians are going to need water.  It is critical that  
             California finds new ways to accommodate growth, with its  
             resultant increase in water demand, in as an environmentally  
             benign as possible.  It is also critical that we focus on  
             strategies that support greater regional independence.  SB  
             565 does just that.

            2) Background  .  The Recycled Water Task Force was chaired by a  
              member of the SWRCB, with representatives from DWR and the  
              Department of Health Services serving as Co-Vice Chairs.

           The result of the Task Force was a 2003 report that included  
              recommendations for additional state and federal funding  
              for recycling projects and research, public outreach and  
              education, changes in plumbing codes, and legislation to  
              increase local flexibility to regulate water softeners.

           On February 3, 2009, the SWRCB adopted a water recycling  
              policy.  According to that policy, "The purpose of this  
              Policy is to provide direction to the Regional Water  
              Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards), proponents  
              of recycled water projects, and the public regarding the  
              appropriate criteria to be used by the State Water Board  
              and the Regional Water Boards in issuing permits for  
              recycled water projects."

            3) Arguments in Support  .  Natural Resources Defense Council  
              observes, "Water recycling is an important element of  
              California's water future, in light of the likely impacts  
              of climate change and the ecosystem collapse in the  
              Bay-Delta.  The Delta Vision Strategic Plan recommended  
              substantial investment in water recycling as part of a  
              package to reduce the state's unsustainable reliance on  
              from the Bay Delta.  Orange County's existing water  
              recycling plant currently provides a "drought proof" source  








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              of water for nearly 500,000 people, and the recently  
              enacted Omnibus Public Lands Act authorizes the federal  
              Bureau of Reclamation to assist in development of 7 water  
              recycling projects in California."

            4) Arguments In Opposition  .  Opponents' comments include  
              several issues:  the challenge of reaching the target under  
              current law, and the imposition of fees to cover the costs  
              of developing and implementing the plan, and the issues  
              surrounding the use of recycled water.   The California  
              Association of Sanitation Districts' (CASD) states:  

            "There are many reasons that we are not achieving our  
              recycling goals, the principle one being a lack of adequate  
              funding for treatment and distribution infrastructure.  The  
              State cannot reach the volumes of recycling called for in  
              the bill through irrigation, due to the seasonality of the  
              demand plus the very high cost of dual plumbing systems.   
              Approaching the ambitious goal of recycling 50 percent of  
              the water currently going to the ocean will require that  
              California expand eligible uses of recycled water, to  
              include reservoir augmentation and other potable reuse  
              options? the California Department of Public Health, rather  
              than the State Water Board, would be tasked with developing  
              regulations to govern these uses.  We are also concerned  
              about the prospect of yet another regulatory fee being  
              imposed on local governments, which have already been hard  
              hit by the economic climate and are facing staffing  
              decreases, severe budget cuts, and declining revenues."

           The County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles argue, in part,  
              that their work to date on water recycling is not properly  
              credited in SB 565, but more largely that achieving the  
              goals of this bill require a very substantial effort:

           The Sanitation Districts believe that it would be very helpful  
              for this bill to focus on increasing funding for recycled  
              water capital projects via the water bond discussions  
              currently underway and addressing new ways to dramatically  
              increase water recycling in the future, such as through  
              direct potable reuse.  The latter will require a whole new  
              regulatory framework?"

            5) Water Recycling.  The Legacy of Chemical Contaminants  .  One  








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              of the likely avenues for advancing water recycling  
              involves groundwater storage.  In this regard, the author  
              needs to be mindful of the substantial problems with  
              introducing recycled waters to groundwater basins.  And  
              even if recycled waters are not stored, there remain  
              complex issues concerning the identification and analysis  
              of chemical contaminants in the state's waters.   
              Identifying chemical contaminants in California's waters -  
              a universe of substances which is not known with any  
              precision -- likely numbers into the many hundreds, if not  
              thousands, of substances.  Given this context, it is easy  
              to discern that even a recycled water policy that rests on  
              meeting both drinking water standards as well as other  
              water quality objectives may be wholly inadequate for  
              protecting the quality of California's waters. 

           As a consequence, a policy that simply expedites the recycling  
              of water without providing some basis for rapid diagnostics  
              coupled with a comprehensive analysis of chemical  
              contaminants may well compromise the quality of the state's  
              waters.  The recent national reporting on pharmaceutical  
              contaminants illustrates but one dimension of the problem  
              posed by unregulated and uncharacterized contaminants in  
              water.

           In light of the state board's Recycled Water Policy adopted in  
              February of this year, it may be prudent to amend SB 565 to  
              specifically reference and include the Board's continuing  
              work on Contaminants of Emerging Concern as well as the  
              Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to inform  
              the development of the plan.

            6) Clarification: Developing a Plan Consistent with Existing  
              Law  .  Without question, various authoritative sources note  
              the need for California to better utilize its waters.   
              There may be instances, nevertheless, in which ocean  
              discharges of water may constitute a benefit, such as with  
              respect to the biological impact on aquatic ecology.  Since  
              the potential environmental and health consequences of  
              water recycling must be considered in the context of the  
              California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the bill  
              should be amended to explicitly note that the development  
              of the statewide plan is consistent with CEQA as well as  
              the State's water quality laws.








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            SOURCE  :        Senator Pavley and Planning and Conservation  
                          League  

           SUPPORT  :       California Coastkeeper Alliance
           Heal the Bay
           Natural Resources Defense Council 
           Sierra Club California
           Sonoma County Water Agency
           1 Individual
            
           OPPOSITION  :    Association of California Water Agencies
           California Association of Sanitation Agencies
           California Chamber of Commerce
           California Taxpayers' Association
           Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
           Southern California Water Committee