BILL NUMBER: SB 263	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 31, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2011

   An act to amend  Section 13752   Sections
13752 and 13755  of the Water Code, relating to water.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 263, as amended, Pavley. Wells: reports: public availability.
   Existing law requires a person who digs, bores, or drills a water
well, cathodic protection well, or a monitoring well, or abandons or
destroys a well, or deepens or reperforates a well, to file a report
of completion with the Department of Water Resources. Existing law
prohibits those reports from being made available to the public,
except under certain circumstances.
   This bill would instead  make a report relating to a well
constructed, altered, abandoned, or destroyed on or after January 1,
2012, available to the public. The bill, commencing July 1, 2013,
would also make available to the public reports relating to a well
constructed, altered, abandoned, or destroyed before January 1, 2012,
unless the department receives notification by the well owner that
the well owner desires to keep the report confidential  
require the department to make the reports available to the public.
The bill would require the department to provide a specified
disclaimer when providing the reports to the public. The bill would
prohibit the State Department of Public Health from preventing the
disclosure of information provided in the reports  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 13752 of the Water Code is amended to read:

   13752.  (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), a
report made in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of
Section 13751 for well construction, alteration, abandonment, or
destruction completed before January 1, 2012, shall not be made
available for inspection by the public, but shall be made available
to governmental agencies for use in making studies, or to any person
who obtains a written authorization from the owner of the well.
However, a report associated with a well located within two miles of
an area affected or potentially affected by a known unauthorized
release of a contaminant shall be made available pursuant to this
paragraph to any person performing an environmental cleanup study
associated with the unauthorized release, if the study is conducted
under the order of a regulatory agency. A report released pursuant to
this paragraph to a person conducting an environmental cleanup study
shall not be used for any purpose other than for the purpose of
conducting the study.
   (2) Commencing July 1, 2013, the department shall make available
to the public a report described in paragraph (1), unless the
department receives notification by the well owner that the well
owner desires to keep the report confidential.
   (b) Commencing January 1, 2012, the department shall make
available to the public a report made in accordance with paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13751 for well construction,
alteration, abandonment, or destruction completed on or after January
1, 2012. 
    13752.    (a) The department shall make available to
the public a report made in accordance with paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 13751.  
   (b) When providing a report to the public pursuant to subdivision
(a), the department shall also provide a statement that includes all
of the following:  
   (1) The information provided in a report varies in accuracy,
scale, origin, and completeness.  
   (2) The information is provided without warranty of the
suitability of the information for any particular purpose.  

   (3) Use of the information in the report may require professional
interpretation or judgment.  
   (4) Any use of the information provided in a report is at the user'
s own risk. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 13755 of the   Water Code
  is amended to read: 
   13755.   This   (a)    
Except as provided in subdivision (b), this  chapter does not
affect the powers and duties of the State Department of Public Health
with respect to water and water systems pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 116270) of Part 12 of Division 104 of the
Health and Safety Code. Every person shall comply with this chapter
and any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, in addition to standards
adopted by any city or county. 
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 6255 of the Government Code, the State
Department of Public Health shall not prevent the disclosure of
information provided in a report made in accordance with paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13751.