BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 849
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 849 (Gatto) - As Amended: May 2, 2011
SUBJECT : Water: use efficiency: graywater building standards.
SUMMARY : Repeals the authority of a city, county, or other
local agency to adopt building standards that prohibit entirely
the use of graywater and requires that an ordinance enacted
regarding graywater standards must include the local climatic,
geological, topographical, or any other conditions requiring the
more restrictive building standards. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a city, county, or other local agency to adopt,
after a public hearing and enactment of an ordinance or
resolution, building standards that are more restrictive than
the graywater building standards adopted by the Department of
Housing and Community Development (HCD) and published in the
California Building Standards Code.
2)Requires the ordinance to include the local climatic,
geological, topographical, or any other conditions that
require more restrictive building standards than the graywater
building standards adopted by HCD.
3)Repeals the authority of a city, county, or other local agency
to adopt building standards that prohibit entirely the use of
graywater, or building standards that are more restrictive.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a city, county, or other local agency to adopt
building standards that prohibit entirely the use of
graywater, or building standards that are more restrictive.
2)Defines graywater as untreated wastewater, uncontaminated by
toilet discharge or an unhealthy bodily waste, which is not a
threat from unhealthful processing, manufacturing or operating
wastes. Graywater includes wastewater from bathtubs, showers,
bathroom washbasins, clothes washers, and laundry tubs.
Graywater excludes kitchen sink or dishwasher wastewater.
3)Directs HCD to develop building standards for the
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construction, installation, and alteration of graywater
systems for indoor and outdoor use.
4)Authorizes California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) to
approve and adopt building standards. Every three years
building standards rulemaking is undertaken to revise and
update the California Building Standards Code (BSC).
5)Allows a governing body, city or county to make modifications
to the BSC if they make express findings that such a
modification or change is necessary because of local climatic,
geological or topographical conditions.
6)Requires a governing body, city, or county to make a finding
in a public meeting and file a copy of those findings together
with the modifications or change with the CBSC.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)The California Building Standards Law establishes the CBSC and
the process for adopting state building standards. Statewide
building standards are intended to provide uniformity in
building across the state. There are a few exemptions, which
allow a local governing body, city or county to modify state
building standards. A local governing body, city, or county
can adopt an ordinance or a resolution in a public meeting
that finds that a local building standard must be modified
from the state building standard because of local climatic,
geological or topographical conditions and file that ordinance
with the CBSC. The CBSC reviews the findings of the ordinance
to determine if the local governing body followed the correct
procedure.
SB 1258 (Lowenthal), Chapter 72, Statutes of 2008, required
HCD to adopt building standards for graywater systems for
residential indoor and outdoor use. HCD conducted an
extensive outreach and public participation process to develop
the proposed standards, and the CBSC adopted these standards
on July 30, 2009. SB 518 (Lowenthal), Chapter 622, Statutes
of 2010, requires the CBSC to adopt, as specified,
non-residential building standards for graywater systems for
indoor and outdoor use.
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2)In the case of graywater systems local governing bodies,
cities and counties can expressly deny entirely the use of a
graywater system or adopt standards that are more restrictive
than the building standards adopted by HCD and published by
the BSC. AB 849 would eliminate a local government's
authority to do so. A local government could still, under
existing law, adopt an ordinance that made express findings
that such a modification or change is necessary because of
local climatic, geological or topographical conditions and
file that ordinance with the BSC.
3)According to the author, "despite the Legislature setting
state-wide standards to regulate graywater in California,
Health & Safety Code Section 18941.7 allows local governments
to apply stricter regulations to graywater or to ban graywater
altogether. This makes following standards difficult for both
builders and private land owners who wish to utilize graywater
as a means of water conservation in residential and commercial
developments. In some cases, locals living in areas where
graywater is banned have either resorted to using black water
to water their lawns or use home-made graywater systems that
are unregulated and do not necessarily meet state graywater
standards. Local governments should not be able to opt out of
a baseline standard for graywater as a means of water
conservation. This bill seeks to ensure that there is one
baseline standard across the state, and that cities and
counties may apply stricter standards only where local
climatic, geological, or topological conditions make it
necessary, and then only after a public hearing and enactment
of an ordinance. This burden of proof is required of cities
and counties for implementing any other standards which are
stricter than state mandated standards."
4)Support arguments: Supporters state that AB 849 promotes
regional water use efficiency by repealing a legal barrier to
the installation and use of graywater systems.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that there may
be other health and safety reasons a local agency may not want
to allow the use of graywater but this measure would prohibit
them from doing so.
5)This bill was heard by the Housing and Community Development
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Committee on
April 27, 2011, and passed with a 7-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
CA Building Industry Association Ýsupport if amended]
Planning and Conservation League
ReWater Systems
Individual letter (1)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958