BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 482
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:   June 28, 2011

           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
                                Bob Wieckowski, Chair
                     SB 482 (Kehoe) - As Amended:  June 20, 2011

           SENATE VOTE  :   25-14
           
          SUBJECT  :   Public beach contamination:  standards:  testing:  
          closing.

           SUMMARY  :   Transfers primary jurisdiction for the beach water 
          quality monitoring and testing program from the California 
          Department of Public Health (DPH) to the State Water Resources 
          Control Board (SWRCB).   Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires DPH to also consult with the SWRCB when establishing, 
            maintaining, and amending as necessary, minimum standards for 
            the sanitation of public beaches.

          2)Transfers, commencing on January 1, 2010, primary jurisdiction 
            for state administration of beach monitoring and testing, as 
            specified, from DPH to the SWRCB.

          3)Gives SWRCB primary jurisdiction for the identification of 
            options for funding the monitoring needed to fulfill minimum 
            standards for the sanitation of public beaches, including 
            options for integrating and streamlining existing monitoring 
            programs or requirements associated with waste discharge 
            requirements, Total Maximum Daily Load implementation, or 
            other monitoring programs. 

          4)Specifies that if a regional water quality control board or 
            the SWRCB issues waste discharge requirements that require 
            monitoring to meet testing requirements, the monitoring shall 
            only be required to the extent that the discharge has the 
            potential to cause or contribute to exceedances of minimum 
            standards for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci 
            bacteria, or for other microbiological indicators. 

          5)Authorizes DPH, if it is aware of an untreated sewage release 
            that has reached recreational waters adjacent to a public 
            beach, and that the local health officer has not taken action 
            to close the beach, to take action to close those waters until 
            the waters are in compliance.








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          6)Makes technical, conforming changes.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires DPH, by regulation and in consultation with local 
            health officers and the public, to establish minimum standards 
            for the sanitation of public beaches.  Requires the 
            regulations to, at a minimum, require testing of the waters 
            adjacent to all public beaches for microbiological 
            contaminants; establish protective minimum standards for 
            microbiological indicators; and, establish protocols for beach 
            monitoring and testing and for public notification of health 
            hazards at public beaches.

          2)Requires the local health officer to implement and enforce the 
            beach water quality program by, among other requirements, 
            inspecting public beaches and testing beach water for 
            compliance with water quality standards; posting warning signs 
            near, restricting the use of or closing beaches where water 
            quality standards have not been met; and submitting a survey 
            documenting all beach closings and closures due to water 
            quality issues to the SWRCB.  Specifies that this requirement 
            is only mandatory during a fiscal year in which the 
            Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as determined 
            by the State Director of Health Services (now DPH), in the 
            annual Budget Act or otherwise for local agencies to cover the 
            costs to those agencies associated with the performance of 
            these duties.

          3)Authorizes the SWRCB and the regional water quality control 
            boards to establish waste discharge requirements for the 
            discharge of stormwater by municipalities and industries in 
            accordance with the federal Clean Water Act.  Requires the 
            SWRCB to, on a monthly basis, make available to the public 
            information on beach water quality provided by the local 
            health officers.  Requires the SWRCB to assess waste discharge 
            fees at a level sufficient to pay for the amount appropriated 
            in the Budget Act from the Waste Discharge Permit Fund (WDPF).

          4)Authorizes any city or county to adopt standards for the 
            sanitation of public beaches within its jurisdiction that are 
            stricter than the standards adopted by the DPH.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown.








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           COMMENTS  :

           Need for the bill  :  According to the author's office, 
          "Recreating in waters with increased bacteria concentrations has 
          been directly linked to human health impacts, ranging from 
          nausea and skin rashes to pinkeye, respiratory infections, 
          meningitis and hepatitis.  Poor beach water quality in Los 
          Angeles and Orange Counties alone is associated with as many as 
          1.5 million excess cases of gastrointestinal illness a year.  
          This equates to an economic loss of $21 to $51 million per year. 
           California depends heavily on coastal tourism revenue ($9.9 
          billion a year), which could be jeopardized by a lack of routine 
          monitoring.  Clean beaches are a vital source of tourism and 
          livelihood for the state, with between 150 million and nearly 
          400 million visits made to California beaches each year.  A 
          beach water quality monitoring program allows agencies to 
          collect samples at least on a weekly basis and post the 
          necessary health warnings.  In other words, this program keeps 
          the millions of beach-goers in California safe."
           
          California beach water quality program  :  The SWRCB touts 
          California's beach water quality program as the most extensive 
          and comprehensive monitoring and regulatory program for beaches 
          in the nation.  Under this program, DPH is required to 
          promulgate regulations to establish standards for beach water 
          quality, require testing of public beach water for 
          microbiological contaminants, and establish protocols for public 
          notification of health hazards at public beaches.  Local health 
          officers are required to conduct the public health beach 
          monitoring and regulatory program within their jurisdictions and 
          to report beach water quality and closure information to the 
          SWRCB.  The SWRCB is then required to provide the information 
          provided by the local health officers to the public.

          This bill would realign responsibilities for administering the 
          beach monitoring program by leaving the responsibility for 
          setting standards for the sanitation of public beaches with DPH, 
          and by transferring the responsibility for administering 
          provisions related to monitoring protocols, site locations and 
          frequency to the SWRCB.
           Funding the beach water quality program  :  Under current law, 
          local public health officers are only responsible for conducting 
          beach water quality testing during fiscal years in which the 
          state has provided adequate funds for that purpose.  In fiscal 








                                                                  SB 482
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          year 2008-09, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed from the DPH budget 
          $1 million in General Funds for this program.  Since then, the 
          SWRCB has provided temporary funding for local beach monitoring 
          using bond monies from Proposition 13, federal stimulus funds, 
          and the Cleanup and Abatement Account to keep the program 
          running.  Currently, bond funds that can be used to continue 
          beach monitoring have been exhausted, and there is no ongoing 
          source of revenue available to support these programs.

          This bill would create the opportunity to continue funding for 
          the beach water quality program through water quality fees that 
          are assessed by the SWRCB.  Under current law, the SWRCB is 
          required to assess waste discharge fees at a level sufficient to 
          pay for the amount appropriated in the Budget Act from the Waste 
          Discharge Permit Fund (WDPF).  This bill would provide the 
          opportunity for the State Water Board to propose, through the 
          Budget process, increased expenditure authority from the WDPF to 
          pay for its responsibilities under the bill, and thereby provide 
          for continued funding for the beach water quality program.

           Arguments in support  :  Supporters argue that SB 482 will help to 
          provide stability to the highly successful beach water quality 
          monitoring program under which local environmental health 
          agencies test the quality of the water off our most popular 
          beaches and warn beach users when it is not safe to swim.  They 
          argue that since General Fund funding has been eliminated and 
          temporary funding will end on January 1, 2012, this important 
          public health service is at risk.  They contend that this bill 
          will authorize the SWRCB to secure sustainable funding for this 
          important program that not only safeguards public health but 
          helps to protect the multi-billion dollar coastal recreational 
          industry that is so heavily dependent on clean and safe beaches.

           Arguments in opposition  : Opponents argue that SB 482 would have 
          the effect of transferring the cost of a program of general 
          interest onto water quality permit holders, going beyond a 
          reasonable nexus of the potential impacts of their discharges on 
          water quality.  They contend that local wastewater and 
          stormwater resources already contribute to these monitoring 
          efforts.  The Orange County Sanitation District asserts that it 
          already contributes to local monitoring efforts and that they 
          work collaboratively with the County Health Department.  They 
          claim that SB 482 could impede their local efforts.

           Related legislation  :  AB 1200 (Ma) requires a local public 








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          agency operating a combined sewer and stormwater system to 
          implement a notification plan to inform the public of a 
          discharge from the system that occurs near a recreational beach, 
          which includes notification at the recreational beach.  This 
          bill is pending hearing in the Senate Environmental Quality 
          Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support:

           California Association of Environmental Health Administrators 
          (sponsor)
          Alameda County, Department of Environmental Health
          California Coastal Coalition
          California Coastkeeper Alliance
          Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research and Education
          Humboldt County, Department of Public Health
          Los Angeles County, Department of Health and Human Services
          Marin County, Environmental Health Services
          Monterey County, Board of Supervisors
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          San Diego County
          San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper
          Save Our Shores
          Sierra Club California

           Opposition:
           
          California Association of Sanitation Agencies
          Orange County Sanitation District


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 
          319-3965