BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 964
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 964 (Huffman) - As Amended: March 17, 2011
SUBJECT : State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund: onsite
sewer improvement projects.
SUMMARY : Requires financial assistance provided from the State
Water Pollution Control Fund (SRF) for onsite sewer improvements
to be provided only for projects for which a public agency has
adopted a sewer system management plan that includes a
prescribed 10-year plan for sewer upgrades, and requires a
public agency receiving financial assistance from the fund for
that purpose to report to the board on its progress with respect
to developing and implementing a 10-year plan for sewer
upgrades. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires financial assistance provided from the SRF for
purposes of onsite sewer improvements to be provided only for
projects for which a public agency has adopted a sewer system
management plan that, in addition to other applicable
requirements, includes a ten-year plan for sewer upgrades.
2)Defines ten-year plan for sewer upgrades as a plan that
includes, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
a) An evaluation that identifies and prioritizes the areas
where onsite sewer improvements are needed in order to
prevent, within ten years, sanitary sewer overflows due to
excessive infiltration and inflow through cracked and
leaking sewer laterals;
b) Strategies for public outreach to private property
owners to make repairs to, or replacement of, as necessary,
private sewers laterals for the purpose of prevention or
abatement of sewage contamination; and,
c) Guidelines for managing and accounting for funding made
available to property owners for the purposes of lateral
repairs or replacements
3)Defines "onsite sewer improvements" as permanent sewer
improvements fixed to real property that convey sewage from
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the property's interior plumbing to the point of discharge
into the public agency's sewer facilities, and may include,
but is not limited to, pipes, pumps, other equipment, sewer
laterals, or one-time charges for sewage treatment capacity
associated with the improvements.
4)States that onsite sewer and improvements may be installed to
modify or replace existing onsite sewer improvements.
5)Defines "public agency" as city, county, city and county,
municipal utility district, community services district,
sanitary district, sanitation district, or water district, as
defined.
6)Defines "sewer system management plan" as a system-specific
plan that meets the requirements of the Statewide General
Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems (Order
No. 2006-0003-DWQ of the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB)), as that order may be amended.
7)Requires, commencing January 1, 2014, a public agency
receiving financial assistance from the SRF for onsite sewer
improvements to report to the SWRCB on the progress of
developing and implementing the ten-year plan for sewer
upgrades.
8)Makes legislative findings and declarations related to water
quality and financing onsite sewer system improvements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates SRF, as provided by the federal Clean Water Act, as a
perpetual water pollution control revolving fund which is
partially capitalized by federal contributions. The money in
SRF is used for projects to mitigate water quality issues.
2)Requires the SWRCB, for the purposes of administering the SRF,
to give favorable consideration to certain types of eligible
projects, including projects undertaken in response to an
administrative enforcement order.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
1)The State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund is a program
funded by federal grants and State bond funds. The purpose of
the SRF loan program is to implement the Federal Clean Water
Act (CWA) and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act by
providing financial assistance for the construction of
facilities or implementation of measures necessary to address
water quality problems and to prevent pollution in the waters
of the state. SRF loans are intended to fund the following
types of projects: construction of wastewater treatment
facilities, the implementation of nonpoint source projects or
programs, and stormwater treatment, estuary conservation and
management plans, and other point source projects. SRF
provides low-interest loans of between $200 to $300 million
annually for construction of these types of projects.
2)According to the author, the goal of this bill is to help
address the chronic water quality impacts caused by sanitary
sewer overflows (SSOs) from aging cracked and damaged sewer
laterals by encouraging public agencies to facilitate
locally-administered low cost loan programs to finance the
installation of onsite sewer improvements.
An SSO is any overflow, spill, release, discharge or diversion
of untreated or partially treated wastewater from a sanitary
sewer system. As stated by the SWRCB: "SSOs often contain high
levels of suspended solids, pathogenic organisms, toxic
pollutants, nutrients, oil, and grease. SSOs pollute surface
and ground waters, threaten public health, adversely affect
aquatic life, and impair the recreational use and aesthetic
enjoyment of surface waters.
Typical consequences of SSOs include the closure of beaches
and other recreational areas, inundated properties, and
polluted rivers and streams."
3)Counties around the state are riddled with old and damaged
sewer lines. Repair or replacement of the lateral is typically
the responsibility of the homeowner. Yet, rehabilitation of
laterals is important in preventing backups and overflows
system wide. The SWRCB requires sanitation agencies to
maintain public sewer lines, but there is no statewide program
that mandates private lateral rehabilitation.
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4)According to the author, costs of sewer lateral replacements
are expensive. A typical private sewer lateral replacement
will cost somewhere in the range of $1,500 to $4,000. The
costs can increase significantly if there are obstructions to
the contractor such as extensive landscaping, driveways, or
structures built over the lateral.
The author's office reports that local wastewater agencies in
the North Bay Watershed Association have already invested more
than $200 million on improving publicly owned sewer mains and
treatment facilities and have budgeted another $50 million or
so in the next several years. But the problem cannot be
resolved simply by upgrading the public sewer system. Private
property owners must also address their sewer laterals so that
public facilities are not overwhelmed, and overflows and sewer
spills are avoided. The author believes that a public purpose
will be served through this measure, by supporting locally
administered low cost loan programs through the use of State
Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds
5)Support arguments: The California Association of Sanitation
Agencies, states that "because there are often high costs
associated with the replacement or rehabilitation of private
sewer lines, many homeowners are unable or unwilling to
proceed with the necessary fixes to their properties. By
providing a funding mechanism for agencies to alleviate the
difficulty of financing these projects, this bill is a welcome
alternative for agencies facing this dilemma."
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that prohibiting
a local agency from receiving monies from the SRF for onsite
sewer improvements, unless the local agency has adopted a
sewer system management plan that includes a prescribed
10-year plan for sewer upgrades, might unfairly disadvantage
local agencies who need the funding quickly to deal with
sanitary sewer overflows but do not have the time or the
funding to create the required sewer management plan.
6 This bill is double-referred to the Committee on Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
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CA Association of Sanitation AgenciesNone on file
CA Association of REALTORS
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958