BILL NUMBER: SB 267	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 17, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Rubio

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2011

    An act to amend Section 13376 of the Water Code, relating
to water quality.   An act to amend Section 10912 of
the Water Code, relating to water, and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 267, as amended, Rubio.  Waste discharges: report.
  Water supply planning: renewable energy plants. 

   (1) Existing law requires a city or county that determines a
project is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act to
identify any public water system that may supply water for the
project and to request those public water systems to prepare a
specified water supply assessment. If no public water system is
identified, the city or county is required to prepare the water
supply assessment.  
   Existing law defines "project" for purposes of the above
provisions as, among other things, a proposed industrial,
manufacturing, or processing plant, or industrial park planned to
house more than 1,000 persons, occupying more than 40 acres of land,
or having more than 650,000 square feet of floor area.  
   This bill would revise the definition of "project" to exclude a
renewable energy plant that would not demand an amount of water
equivalent to, or greater than, the amount of water required by a 500
dwelling unit project.  
   The bill, by revising the definition of "project," would impose
new duties on local agencies with respect to determining whether a
project is subject to the water supply assessment requirements,
thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.  
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.  
   (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.  
   Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and
the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste
discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act
and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (state act). The
state act requires a person who proposes to discharge pollutants or
dredged or fill material or to operate a publicly owned treatment
works or other treatment works treating domestic sewage to file a
report at least 180 days in advance of the date on which it is
desired to commence the discharge of pollutants or dredged or fill
material or the operation of the treatment works.  
   This bill would instead require that waste discharge report to be
filed at least 185 days before the discharge or operation of the
treatment work. 
   Vote:  majority   2/3  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 10912 of the   Water
Code   is amended to read: 
   10912.  For the purposes of this part, the following terms have
the following meanings:
   (a) "Project" means any of the following:
   (1) A proposed residential development of more than 500 dwelling
units.
   (2) A proposed shopping center or business establishment employing
more than 1,000 persons or having more than 500,000 square feet of
floor space.
   (3) A proposed commercial office building employing more than
1,000 persons or having more than 250,000 square feet of floor space.

   (4) A proposed hotel or motel, or both, having more than 500
rooms.
   (5) A proposed industrial, manufacturing, or processing plant, or
industrial park planned to house more than 1,000 persons, occupying
more than 40 acres of land, or having more than 650,000 square feet
of floor area , except a renewable energy plant not meeting the
condition described in paragraph (7). A renewable energy plant
pending approval on the effective date of the amendments made to this
section at the 2011-  12 Regular Session is not a project
unless the condition described in paragraph (7) applies  .
   (6) A mixed-use project that includes one or more of the projects
specified in this subdivision.
   (7) A project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to,
or greater than, the amount of water required by a 500 dwelling unit
project.
   (b) If a public water system has fewer than 5,000 service
connections, then "project" means any proposed residential, business,
commercial, hotel or motel, or industrial development that would
account for an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of the
public water system's existing service connections, or a mixed-use
project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to, or
greater than, the amount of water required by residential development
that would represent an increase of 10 percent or more in the number
of the public water system's existing service connections.
   (c) "Public water system" means a system for the provision of
piped water to the public for human consumption that has 3000 or more
service connections. A public water system includes all of the
following:
   (1) Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facility
under control of the operator of the system which is used primarily
in connection with the system.
   (2) Any collection or pretreatment storage facility not under the
control of the operator that is used primarily in connection with the
system.
   (3) Any person who treats water on behalf of one or more public
water systems for the purpose of rendering it safe for human
consumption.
   SEC. 2.    No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code. 
   SEC. 3.    This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
 
   In order to ensure renewable energy projects are approved in a
timely manner, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
 
  SECTION 1.    Section 13376 of the Water Code is
amended to read:
   13376.  A person who discharges pollutants or proposes to
discharge pollutants to the navigable waters of the United States
within the jurisdiction of this state or a person who discharges
dredged or fill material or proposes to discharge dredged or fill
material into the navigable waters of the United States within the
jurisdiction of this state shall file a report of the discharge in
compliance with the procedures set forth in Section 13260. Unless
required by the state board or a regional board, a report need not be
filed under this section for discharges that are not subject to the
permit application requirements of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as amended. A person who proposes to discharge
pollutants or dredged or fill material or to operate a publicly owned
treatment works or other treatment works treating domestic sewage
shall file a report at least 185 days in advance of the date on which
it is desired to commence the discharge of pollutants or dredged or
fill material or the operation of the treatment works. A person who
owns or operates a publicly owned treatment works or other treatment
works treating domestic sewage, which treatment works commenced
operation before January 1, 1988, and does not discharge to navigable
waters of the United States, shall file a report within 45 days of a
written request by a regional board or the state board, or within 45
days after the state has an approved permit program for the use and
disposal of sewage sludge, whichever occurs earlier. The discharge of
pollutants or dredged or fill material or the operation of a
publicly owned treatment works or other treatment works treating
domestic sewage by any person, except as authorized by waste
discharge requirements or dredged or fill material permits, is
prohibited. This prohibition does not apply to discharges or
operations if a state or federal permit is not required under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.