BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 565|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 565
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 6/2/09
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
SB 565
Page
2
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.
SB 565
Page
3
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.
SB 565
Page
4
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."
SB 565
Page
5
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
**** END ****