BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 741
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  April 27, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Cameron Smyth, Chair
                    AB 741 (Huffman) - As Amended:  April 11, 2011
           
          SUBJECT  :  Onsite wastewater disposal.

           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes a local agency that is authorized to 
          acquire, construct, maintain and operate sanitary sewers and 
          sewerage systems to use to, at a property owners request, 
          construct all necessary plumbing to connect his or her property 
          to the adjoining public sewer system, the cost of which 
          constitutes a lien on the property.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Authorizes a county, city and county, city, sanitary district, 
            county sanitation district, county service area, sewer 
            maintenance district, and other public corporations and 
            districts that are authorized to acquire, construct, maintain 
            and operate sanitary sewers and sewerage systems to, at a 
            property owners request, construct all necessary plumbing to 
            connect his or her property to the adjoining public sewer 
            system, the cost of which constitutes a lien on the property. 

          2)Specifies that the process listed above in 1) may be used for 
            either of the following purposes, whether or not an order or 
            other action has been issued or taken for an abatement of 
            contamination created by sewage disposal:

             a)   Converting properties from onsite septic systems and 
               connecting them to a sewer system. The conversion 
               improvements and costs may include, but are not limited to, 
               pipes, pumps and other equipment, septic system 
               abandonment, and associated sewage treatment capacity; or,

             b)   Replacing or repairing existing sewer laterals 
               connecting pipes to a sewer system.  The cost of the 
               lateral replacement or repair shall constitute the cost of 
               an improvement for connection to a sewer system.

          3)Specifies that the authority granted by this measure shall be 
            in addition to, shall not be in derogation of, and shall not 
            affect, any authority granted by other law relating to 
            recovering the cost incurred by an entity for connecting 
            properties to the public sewer system, or the entity's 








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            exercise of powers pursuant to any other law. 
          
          4)States that this section shall be deemed to provide a complete 
            and supplemental method for exercising the powers authorized 
            by this section, and shall be deemed supplemental to the 
            powers conferred by other applicable laws.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Specifies that any owner who has his property included within 
            an assessment district for the construction of a main 
            trunkline or collector sewer lines, may request the governing 
            board to construct all necessary plumbing to connect his 
            property to the adjoining street public sewer system. 

          2)Requires the person employed by the governing board to do the 
            work to have a lien upon the property, for work done and 
            materials furnished at the request of the property owner, 

          3)Authorizes the governing board of an agency to pay all, or any 
            part, of the cost or price of the connection to the person or 
            persons who furnished labor, materials, or equipment and, to 
            the extent that the governing board pays the cost or price of 
            the connection; at which time the lien would be transferred to 
            the governing board.

          4)Authorizes, alternatively to the procedures described above, 
            the governing body of the public agency performing the work of 
            connection to the public sewer to, by the power of ordinance 
            approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of the 
            legislative body, do the following:

             a)   Fix the cost of improvement for connection to the 
               sanitation or sewerage facilities,

             b)   Fix the times at which such costs shall become due;

             c)   Provide for the payment of the costs prior to the 
               construction and connection or in installments over a 
               period, not to exceed 15 years;

             d)   Provide a rate of interest, not to exceed 6% per year, 
               to be charged on the unpaid balance of the costs; and,

             e)   Provide that the amount of the costs and the interest 








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               shall constitute a lien against the respective lots or 
               parcels upon which the facilities are constructed.

          5)Specifies that a governing body can alternatively, by 
            ordinance approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of the 
            legislative body, do the following:

             a)   Fix fees or charges for the privilege of connecting to 
               its sanitation or sewerage facilities and improvements 
               constructed by the entity pursuant to specified provisions;

             b)   Fix the time or times at which the fees or charges shall 
               become due; 

             c)   Provide for the payment of the fees or charges prior to 
               connection or in installments over a period of not to 
               exceed 30 years;

             d)   Provide the rate of interest, not to exceed 12% per 
               year, to be charged on the unpaid balance of the fees or 
               charges; and,

             e)   Provide that the amount of the fees or charges and the 
               interest shall constitute a lien against the respective 
               lots or parcels of land to which the facilities are 
               connected at the time and in a specified manner.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           



          COMMENTS  :

          1)According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, septic 
            systems that are properly planned, designed, sited, installed, 
            operated and maintained can provide excellent wastewater 
            treatment.  However, systems that are sited in densities that 
            exceed the treatment capacity of regional soils and systems 
            that are poorly designed, installed, operated or maintained 
            can cause problems.  The most serious documented problems 
            involve contamination of surface waters and ground water with 
            disease-causing pathogens and nitrates.  Other problems 
            include excessive nitrogen discharges to sensitive coastal 








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            waters and phosphorus pollution of inland surface waters, 
            which increases algal growth and lowers dissolved oxygen 
            levels.  Contamination of important shellfish beds and 
            swimming beaches by pathogens is also a concern in some 
            coastal regions.

          2)According to the author's office, converting from a septic to 
            sewer system protects public and environmental health by 
            ensuring that wastewater is collected and conveyed to 
            treatment and disposal facilities with minimal risk and 
            increases water quality benefits.  But the cost to convert a 
            septic system to a sewer system can be expensive.  There can 
            be multiple major costs in converting from a septic system to 
            sewer service, including: the public sewer infrastructure, 
            side sewer construction, septic system abandonment, and 
            connection fees.  The co-sponsor, Irvine Ranch Water District 
            (IRWD), states that the costs to customers of converting their 
            septic systems to a community sewer system, or for replacing 
            aging sewer laterals, are often prohibitive, costing $2,000 to 
            $14,000 for septic conversions and $3,000 to $12,000 for 
            laterals.  If pumps or pump replacements are needed, this can 
            be an additional $10,000. 

          3)AB 741 builds on existing law by authorizing public waste 
            water agencies to offer voluntary private liens to private 
            property owners to finance lateral replacements and 
            conversions from septic to sewer systems.  According to IRWD, 
            this change in law would help private property owners finance 
            the costs of converting from a septic system to a community 
            sewer system and the replacement of sewer laterals.  IRWD 
            believes that by making these improvements feasible AB 741 
            would protect water quality, the environment and public health 
            from contamination caused by leaking septic tanks, eroding 
            pipes and other aging sew infrastructure.  

          4)Support arguments: Supporters argue that AB 741 provides 
            property owners with options on financing the needed sewer and 
            lateral conversions, which will encourage property owners to 
            convert from septic systems to community sewer systems and to 
            replace aging and damaged sewer laterals.  Moreover, 
            supporters believe that the bill protects water quality, the 
            environment, and public health from contamination caused by 
            these aging infrastructures. 

            Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that AB 741 does 








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            not provide any protections to the local agencies when 
            entering into an agreement with a property owner to do these 
            costly upgrades.  The Committee may wish to consider if it 
            might be prudent to require a local agency establishing these 
            liens to verify the credit worthiness of the property owner 
            prior to entering into an agreement.  



           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Irvine Ranch Water District ÝCO-SPONSOR]
          North Bay Watershed Association ÝSPONSOR]
          American Fence Association, CA Chapter
          Association of CA Water Agencies
          CA Association of Realtors
          CA Association of Sanitation Agencies
          CA Fence Contractors
          CA Municipal Utility Association
          CA Special Districts Association
          CA State Association of Counties
          City of San Diego
          Cucamonga Valley Water District
          Desert Water Agency
          East Bay Municipal Utility District
          Eastern Municipal Water District
          El Dorado Irrigation District
          Engineering Contractors Association
          Marin Builders' Association
          Municipal Water District of Orange County
          North Bay Watershed Association
          Novato Sanitary District
          Santa Margarita Water District
          Sonoma County Water Agency
          Three Valleys Municipal Water District

           Opposition 
           
          None on file 
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916) 
          319-3958 








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