BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 918|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 918
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 8/20/10
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 6-3, 3/24/10
AYES: Alquist, Cedillo, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley,
Romero
NOES: Strickland, Aanestad, Cox
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/19/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Lowenthal, Pavley,
Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SENATE FLOOR : 24-12, 6/2/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Kehoe,
Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Dutton,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Runner, Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
CONTINUED
SB 918
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SUBJECT : Water recycling
SOURCE : Planning and Conservation League
WaterReuse California
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Public
Health to establish standards for various types of water
recycling.
Assembly Amendments require the Department of Public Health
(DPH), in consultation with the State Water Resources
Control Board, to report to the Legislature from 2011 to
2016, as part of the annual budget process, and require the
board to enter into an agreement with the State Department
of Public Health for the expenditure of funds from the
Waste Discharge Permit Fund for the development of uniform
statewide recycled water use criteria.
ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law
1. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), sets public
health regulatory standards for drinking water.
2. Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), regulates discharge of
pollutants into the waters of the United States and sets
quality standards for surface waters.
Existing California law
1. Requires DPH to enforce laws and regulations related to
drinking water safety.
2. Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs)
to enforce water quality laws and regulations for the
state's waterways.
3. Requires the assessment of penalties for violations of
water quality laws and requires the funds generated by
these civil penalties to be deposited into the Waste
Discharge Permit Fund, to be expended by SWRCB upon
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appropriation by the Legislature for the purpose of
pollution abatement in the state's waters.
4. Establishes the Water Recycling Act of 1991, creating a
statewide goal to recycle a total of 700,000 acre-feet
of water per year by 2000 and 1,000,000 acre-feet of
water per year by 2010. Requires each urban water
supplier to prepare, and update every five years, an
urban water management plan with specified components,
including information on recycled water and its
potential for use as a water source in the service area
of the urban water supplier.
5. Requires DPH to establish uniform statewide recycling
criteria for each type of use of recycled water use.
This bill:
1. Requires the DPH to adopt uniform water recycling
criteria for indirect potable use for groundwater
recharge, by December 31, 2013.
2. Requires the DPH to adopt uniform water recycling
criteria for surface water augmentation by December 31,
2016. The criteria for surface water augmentation would
be subject to review and approval by an expert panel on
uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable
reuse through surface water augmentation convened by the
DPH.
A. The expert panel made up of members with specified
expertise; include at least six members with
following experts:
Toxicologist
Engineer with at least three years of
experience in wastewater treatment
Engineer with at least three years experience
in treatment of drinking water supplies and
knowledge of drinking water standards
Epidemiologist
Microbiologist
Chemist
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B. Authorizes the DPH to convene an advisory group or
task force on the development of uniform water
recycling criteria for indirect potable reuse through
surface water augmentation that must include at least
nine representatives of water agencies, local
governments, environmental, public health,
environmental justice and business. Environmental,
environmental justice and non-governmental public
health member may be compensated for travel expenses.
C. Requires that the criteria for indirect potable
reuse through surface water augmentation developed by
DHS shall consider 10 specified sources of
information on water reuse.
3. Requires the DPH to investigate and then report to the
Legislature on the feasibility of developing uniform
water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse, by
December 31, 2016. The investigation and report to the
Legislature shall include a consideration of a 10
specific factors related to direct potable reuse.
4. Requires the DPH, in consultation with the State Water
Resources Control Board, to annual report in the budget
on progress being made toward adoption of water
recycling criteria.
5. Authorizes the expenditure for the implementation of the
bill from the Waste Discharge Permit Fund pursuant to an
agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this
bill will result in a cost of approximately $500,000 to
$700,000 for DPH planning to be paid from the SWRCB Waste
Discharge Permit Fund. The expenditure of these funds by
DPH will be subject to an interagency agreement between DHP
and the SWRCB.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/10)
Planning & Conservation League (co-source)
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WateReuse (co-source)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Water Association
City of San Jos?
County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Heal the Bay
Irvine Ranch Water District
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
each year, California discharges nearly four million acre
feet of wastewater into the ocean, more than the State
Water Project delivers to the Bay Area, the Central Valley
and Southern Caliornia. Much of that water could be
recylced. However, because the state has not adopted
uniform safety standards, the permitting and design
processes for building and operating water recycling
facilities are unpredictable, discouraging local
communities from tapping into this major water source.
CTW:do 8/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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