BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 565|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 565
          Author:   Pavley (D)
          Amended:  6/3/09
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE  :  7-3, 4/14/09
          AYES:  Pavley, Kehoe, Leno, Padilla, Simitian, Wiggins,  
            Wolk
          NOES:  Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Benoit

           SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 4/27/09
          AYES:  Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
          NOES:  Runner, Ashburn

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-5, 5/28/09
          AYES:  Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,  
            Yee
          NOES:  Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wolk


           SUBJECT  :    Water recycling

           SOURCE  :     Planning and Conservation League


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the State Water Resources  
          Control Board, in collaboration with the Department of  
          Public Health and the Department of Water Resources, to  
          adopt a statewide plan to ensure that at least 50 percent  
          of the wastewater is annually discharged directly into the  
                                                           CONTINUED





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          ocean, as of the year 2009, is recycled and put to  
          beneficial use by the year 2030.

           ANALYSIS  :   

           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 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 50 percent of the wastewater annually discharged  
            into the ocean, as of the year 2009, is recycled and put  
            to beneficial use by the year 2030.  The plan requires  
            the SWRCB to:

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








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             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  
                will be required to seek input from wastewater  
                dischargers, urban water suppliers, local government  
                agencies, and other interested parties, integrate  
                research by the SWRCB regarding unregulated  
                pollutants, and consult with the Office of  
                Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), to  
                evaluate the impact of unregulated pollutants and  
                determine whether there is a practical method for  
                eliminating unregulated pollutants from recycled  
                water.

             D.    Ensure that any action authorized pursuant to this  
                chapter is consistent with the California  
                Environmental Quality Act, and integrate research by  
                the SWRCB regarding unregulated pollutants, as  
                developed pursuant to Section 10 of the Recycled  
                Water Policy adopted by the SWRCB.

          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 will be imposed on each person who  
                discharges wastewater directly into the ocean, the  
                San Francisco Bay, or any other enclosed bay in the  
                state.

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

             C.    The fee shall not be imposed on any person that  
                discharges less than 10 million gallons of wastewater  
                per day.

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







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           FISCAL EFFECT :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions             2009-10             2010-11          
              2011-12             Fund

           Plan development                         Fully offset by  
          fees                        Special*

          *Ocean Discharge Recycling Fund (new fund).

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/2/09)

          California Coastkeeper Alliance
          Heal the Bay
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          Sierra Club California
          Sonoma County Water Agency

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  6/2/09)

          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

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The natural Resources Defense  
          Council observes, "Water recycling is an important element  
          in 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 the  
          Bay Delta.  Orange County's existing water recycling plant  
          currently provides a 'drought proof' source of water for  
          nearly 500,000 people, and the recently enacted Omnibus  
          Public Lands Act authorizes the federal Bureau of  
          Reclamation to assist in the development of seven water  
          recycling projects in California."







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           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Opponents' comments include  
          several issues;  the challenge of reaching the target under  
          current law, and the importance 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 into 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 hit  
          hard by the economic climate and are facing staffing  
          decreases, severe budget cuts, and declining revenues."  
           

          CTW:cm  6/2/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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