BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1210
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 1210 (Garrick) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
SUBJECT : Water quality: stormwater discharge: civil
engineering activities.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that all civil engineering activities
performed in the preparation, submission, execution, and
enforcement of stormwater pollution plans shall be performed by
a licensed civil engineer.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Professional Engineers Act and provides for
the regulation and licensure of professional engineers by the
Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists.
2)Specifies that civil engineers includes the preparation or
submission of designs, plans, and specifications and
engineering reports in connection with fixed works for
irrigation, drainage, waterpower, water supply, flood control,
foundations, grading, etc.
3)Prohibits a person from practicing civil, electrical, or
mechanical engineering without a license and makes it a
misdemeanor to practice or offer to practice civil,
electrical, or mechanical engineering in California without
legal authorization.
4)Establishes the State Water Resources Control Board (State
Water Board) to set statewide policy on water quality and to
allocate surface water rights.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "The
sponsor, American Council of Engineering Companies of California
(ACEC CA), is concerned that recent regulations promulgated by
AB 1210
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the State Water Board related to Storm Water Pollution
Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) allow the practice of civil
engineering by non-licensed professionals. It is ACEC CA's
contention that SWPPP documents contain calculations and work
products that must be produced by civil engineers. SWPPP
documents include water flow calculations, water load
calculations, drainage and flow rate calculations, soils
analysis and soil stability calculations, and other civil
engineering work. Therefore, they should be done by, or be
created under the responsible charge of, a licensed professional
engineer."
Background . The State Water Board passed a regulation effective
as of July 1, 2010, requiring a Construction Activities Storm
Water General Permit (CGP) for specified construction
activities. The regulation further required that the Qualified
SWPPP Developer (QSD) and the Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP)
responsible for creating, revising, overseeing, and implementing
the SWPPP must attend a SWRCB sponsored or approved QSP and/or
QSP training course by September 2, 2011.
The sponsor contends that the SWPPP documents contain
calculations and work products that must be produced by civil
engineers because of required calculations on water flow, water
load, soil, etc., that must be performed by a professional
engineer. Existing law already makes it a misdemeanor to
practice or offer to practice civil engineering in California
without legal authorization. In addition, the 2009 CGP requires
that all engineering work must be performed by a California
licensed engineer.
Support . According to the sponsor, ACEC CA, "Civil engineers go
through years of training to identify structural and
non-structural controls that will be put in place to minimize
negative impacts caused by offsite storm water discharges to the
environment in a SWPPP. The purpose of these controls is to
minimize erosion and run-off of pollutants and sediment. A
SWPPP establishes procedures for minimizing the potential for
pollutants to be carried away in storm water discharges. These
procedures emphasize the use of Best Management Practices to
provide the flexibility to address varying sources of pollutants
at different categories. SWPPPs may include water flow
calculations, water load calculations, drainage and flow rate
calculations, soils analysis and soil stability calculations,
which is civil engineering. It is ACEC contention that SWPPP
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documents contain calculations and work products that must be
created or under the responsible charge of a licensed civil
engineer."
Opposition . According to the Southern California Contractors
Association, "The state requires construction contractors to
develop SWPPPs in order to prevent the contamination of local
waterways from a construction site's storm water runoff. This
requirement, as outlined in the CGP Order 2009-0009, also
requires that only qualified individuals prepare and inspect the
SWPPP. QSDs and QSPs are required to attend a state-sponsored
or approved training course by September 2, 2011, and also must
meet one of several prerequisite qualifications? AB 1210
completely supplants these qualifications except one - the
registered civil engineer. Under AB 1210, no longer could a
registered professional hydrologist, for example, be qualified
as a QSF. As 1210 only authorizes registered civil engineers to
be either a QSD or QSP? The State Water Board has spent years
drafting CGP 2009-0009. It also gave the construction industry
two years, until September 2011, to adequately train and test
employees to conduct QSD and QSP work. To change the rules now
is akin to yanking the rug out from beneath the industry's feet
and is unfair to those companies and individuals that invested
resources into ensuring compliance."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC
CA) (sponsor)
Opposition
Southern California Contractors Association
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301