BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1
Page 1
Date of Hearing: February 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis A. Alejo, Chair
AB 1 (Alejo) - As Introduced: December 3, 2012
SUBJECT : Water quality: integrated plan: Salinas Valley.
SUMMARY : Appropriates $2 million from the Waste Discharge
Permit Fund (WDPF) to the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) for use by the Greater Monterey County Regional Water
Management Group to develop an integrated plan to address the
drinking water and wastewater needs of the disadvantaged
communities in the Salinas Valley. Specifically, this bill :
1)Appropriates to the SWRCB $2 million from the fines and
penalties moneys deposited into the WDPF for use by the
Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management Group to
develop an integrated plan to address the drinking water and
wastewater needs of disadvantaged communities in the Salinas
Valley whose waters have been affected by waste discharges.
2)Requires that the appropriated funds be available for
assessment and feasibility studies necessary to develop the
plan.
3)Requires the Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management
Group to develop the plan in consultation with appropriate
stakeholders, including the SWRCB, the State Department of
Public Health (DPH), and representatives of disadvantaged
communities.
4)Requires that the plan include identification of disadvantaged
communities without safe drinking water and recommendations
for planning, infrastructure, and other water management
actions that achieve affordable, sustainable solutions for
disadvantaged communities, including communities without
public water systems.
5)Requires, on or before January 1, 2016, the Greater Monterey
County Regional Water Management Group to submit to the
Legislature the plan, as specified.
6)Provides that this is an urgency measure. 2/3 vote required.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the SWRCB and the regional water quality control
boards (RWQCBs) to impose civil liability, and fines and
penalties under a variety of Water Code (WC) and Health and
Safety Code (HSC) sections for certain statutory and/or
regulatory water quality and underground storage tank
violations.
2)Creates the WDPF, into which waste discharge permit fees are
deposited. Provides that the money in the fund is available
for expenditure by the SWRCB, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to assist in cleaning up or abating the effects
of waste in waters in the state (WC § 13260 (d)(2) (A)).
3)Requires that funds generated by the imposition of fines,
penalties and liabilities be deposited into the WDPF.
Requires these moneys to be separately accounted for, and to
be expended by the SWRCB, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to assist regional boards, and other public
agencies with authority to clean up waste or abate the effects
of the waste, in cleaning up or abating the effects of the
waste on waters of the state (WC § 13264, 13268, 13350, and
13385).
4)Establishes, in the Integrated Regional Water Management
Planning Act, the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM)
program. Authorizes a regional water management group to
prepare and adopt an integrated regional water management plan
(WC § 10530 et al).
5)Allocates, from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and
Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act
of 2006 (Proposition 84) funds, $2 million to DPH to contract
with the SWRCB to implement the Tulare Lake Basin and the
Salinas Valley pilot projects and to prepare a report to the
Legislature on nitrate contamination. (WC § 83002 (b)(2)(D)).
6)Requires DPH to allocate $2 million of Proposition 84 funds to
Tulare County for the development of an integrated water
quality and wastewater treatment program plan to address the
drinking water and wastewater needs of disadvantaged
communities in the Tulare Lake Basin. Requires the Department
of Water Resources (DWR), in consultation with DPH, to submit
the plan to the Legislature by January 1, 2011 (WC § 83002
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(b)(3)(D)).
7)Requires the SWRCB, in order to improve understanding of the
causes of groundwater contamination, to identify potential
remediation solutions and funding sources to recover costs
expended by the state to clean up or treat groundwater, and to
ensure the provision of safe drinking water to all
communities, the SWRCB, in consultation with other specified
agencies, to develop pilot projects in the Tulare Lake Basin
and the Salinas Valley that focus on nitrate contamination and
fulfill specific statutory requirements (WC § 83002.5).
8)Requires the SWRCB to prepare and submit a report to the
Legislature that will improve understanding of the causes of
nitrate groundwater contamination, identify potential
remediation solutions and funding sources to recover costs
expended by the state to clean up or treat groundwater, and
ensure the provision of safe drinking water to all communities
(WC § 83002.5).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill : According to the author's office, "The
Salinas Valley is one of the regions in the country with the
largest agricultural production. However, years of intensive
fertilizer and pesticide use have left a legacy of water
pollution in the region's surface and groundwater. Nitrate
groundwater contamination not only imposes serious health risks
but it also results in major costs for small rural communities
like the ones in the Salinas Valley. The purpose of this bill
is to identify affordable and efficient ways in which Salinas
Valley water quality can be improved and communities can have
access to safe drinking water."
Nitrate contamination in California : While many contaminants
are present in California's groundwater and drinking water,
nitrate contamination has been the focus of recent study.
Senate Bill SB X2 1 (Perata) Chapter 1, Statutes of 2008 Second
Extraordinary Session, required the SWRCB, in consultation with
other agencies, to prepare a report to the Legislature focusing
on nitrate groundwater contamination in the state and potential
remediation solutions (WC § 83002.5). In response, the SWRCB
contracted with the University of California at Davis (UCD) to
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gather information for the report, which was released in January
2012. The study showed that nitrate loading to groundwater in
the four-county Tulare Lake Basin and the Monterey County
portion of the Salinas Valley is widespread and chronic, and is
overwhelmingly the result of crop and animal agricultural
activities. Due to long transit times, the impact of nitrates
on groundwater resources will likely worsen in scope and
concentration for several decades.
According to the UCD study, infants who drink water containing
nitrate in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for
drinking water may quickly become seriously ill and, if
untreated, may die because high nitrate levels can decrease the
capacity of an infant's blood to carry oxygen
(methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby syndrome"). High nitrate
levels may also affect pregnant women and susceptible adults.
In addition, nitrate and nitrite ingestion in humans has been
linked to goitrogenic (anti-thyroid) actions on the thyroid
gland, fatigue, reduced cognitive functioning, maternal
reproductive complications including spontaneous abortion, and a
variety of carcinogenic outcomes.
Addressing groundwater and drinking water contamination : The
slow response of groundwater quality to source reduction efforts
implies that the most immediate path toward attaining safe
drinking water in nitrate contaminated areas is in the form of
safe drinking water actions. However, the costs to provide safe
drinking water to affected communities in this region are high,
due to the large number of groundwater-contaminating nitrate
sources, the dispersed population, and the high incidence of
elevated nitrate levels in drinking water.
The fact that many of the affected communities are small and
impoverished adds to the challenges of providing safe drinking
water to these areas. Many of the community public water
systems are small water systems, which often already face
chronic financial problems. They have difficulty in applying
for and meeting the eligibility requirements for receiving
existing State funds because they lack economies of scale and
often have inadequate technical, managerial, and financial
capacity. Even when funding is provided, these systems often
lack the capacity to manage operation and maintenance costs or
make loan repayments.
The UCD study proposed a range of actions that could be taken to
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address groundwater and drinking water contamination, including
policy and regulatory changes and funding options. To examine
these proposed actions and to "identify specific, creative,
viable solutions," in June 2012, Governor Jerry Brown convened a
Drinking Water Stakeholder Group. The Drinking Water
Stakeholder Group, comprised of representatives from, among
others, California state and local agencies, the agricultural
community, the environmental justice community, academia, and
other water related entities, proposed three "urgent legislative
concepts," which were discussed and agreed upon at the August 1,
2012 meeting of the full Stakeholder Group. The Stakeholder
Group subsequently submitted an eight-page "Report of the
Drinking Water Stakeholder Group," dated August 20, 2012, of
which one of the proposed concepts was:
"Directly target funding for IRWMs (or other entity where
appropriate) to develop an inventory of need and a plan for
local solutions (including shared solutions) for
disadvantaged communities in unincorporated areas in each
hydrologic region of the state as is being used in the
Tulare Lake Basin Disadvantaged Community Water Study (SBX2
1 (Perata, 2008)). Begin with the Salinas Valley."
AB 1 is based on this recommendation from the Drinking Water
Stakeholder Group.
Integrated regional water management (IRWM): The IRWM program
was created by SB 1672
(Costa) Chapter 767, Statutes of 2002, to promote integrated
regional water management to ensure sustainable water uses,
reliable water supplies, better water quality, environmental
stewardship, efficient urban development, protection of
agriculture, and a strong economy. Subsequently, voter approved
initiatives Proposition 50 (2002), Proposition 84 (2006) and
Proposition 1E (2006) have funded IRWM projects; however, most
of these funds have been allocated.
Nineteen organizations, including government agencies, nonprofit
organizations, educational organizations, water service
districts, private water companies, and organizations
representing agricultural, environmental, and community
interests created a "region" for the purposes of IRWM planning
and project implementation in Monterey County. In addition,
about 250 individuals representing more than 150 agencies,
organizations, and interest groups, are included on the
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stakeholder list for the Greater Monterey County IRWM planning
effort. Stakeholders are invited to attend Regional Water
Management Group meetings, participate in workshops, and provide
input and comments on the IRWM Plan.
The goal of the Regional Water Management Group for the Greater
Monterey County is to create a comprehensive IRWM plan for the
Greater Monterey County region. According to the Regional Water
Management Group, the region includes the entire Salinas River
watershed north of the San Luis Obispo County line, and includes
the entire Monterey County exclusive of the Pajaro River
Watershed IRWM region and Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay, and
the South Monterey Bay IRWM region established under Proposition
50.
The Regional Water Management Group for the Greater Monterey
County is designated as the recipient of the funds appropriated
in AB 1.
Tulare Lake Basin Pilot Project : SB X2 1 required the DWR to
award $2 million of Proposition 84 funds to the County of Tulare
to develop a plan for regional water and wastewater solutions in
the Tulare Lake basin, including areas in Fresno, Kern, Kings
and Tulare Counties (WC § 83002). The bill also delineated
specific requirements that the Tulare Lake basin pilot project
must include, including requiring the funds to be available for
assessment and feasibility studies necessary to develop the
plan, and requiring the plan to include recommendations for
planning, infrastructure, and other water management actions and
for regional drinking water treatment facilities, regional
wastewater treatment facilities, conjunctive use sites and
groundwater recharge, groundwater for surface water exchanges,
related infrastructure, and cost-sharing mechanisms. SB X2 1
also requires Tulare County to consult with appropriate
stakeholders, including representatives of disadvantaged
communities, when preparing the plan. SB X2 1 did not, however,
allocate any funding to Salinas Valley for a similar pilot
project, even though the bill did require the SWRCB to study
drinking water contamination in the region.
AB 1 allocates $2 million for a similar project to the Tulare
Lake basin pilot project in Salinas Valley.
Waste Discharge Permit Fund (WDPF): Current law authorizes the
SWRCB and the RWQCBs to impose civil liability, and fines and
penalties under a variety of Water Code and Health and Safety
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Code sections for certain statutory and/or regulatory water
quality and underground storage tank violations. Revenues from
these fines and penalties are statutorily required to be
deposited into the Cleanup and Abatement Account (CAA) or a
special account in the WDPF, depending upon which statute is
being used to impose the fine or penalty. The WDPF also is
funded by regulatory fees.
Current law allows the SWRCB to allocate moneys in the CAA and
the fines and penalties portion of the WDPF to public agencies
and to the RWQCBs for cleaning up or abating waste that
adversely affects water quality, for addressing water pollution
problems that pose a public health threat, and for overseeing
the cleanup or abatement of water pollution problems. Funds in
the WDPF are subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
Fines and penalty funds in the WDPF are statutorily required to
be tracked separately from the fees collected and deposited in
the fund. According to the SWRCB, there is currently a balance
of $3.429 million in fines and penalties monies in the WDPF.
However, the Governor's 2013-14 budget proposes expenditures of
$700,000 for DPH for SB 918 (Pavley) Chapter 700, Statutes of
2010, implementation (this is in addition to the $700, 000 that
was in the FY 12/13 budget for DPH for the same program). After
those allocations, there will be a balance of $2.729 million of
fines and penalty monies in the fund. In addition, the balance
of the fund will increase over time as a result of continued
enforcement actions and assessment and payment of penalties.
This bill appropriates $2 million of fines and penalty funds
within the WDPF to the Greater Monterey County Regional Water
Management Group.
Prior legislation : This bill is a reintroduction of AB 403
(Alejo, 2012), as amended in the Senate on August 24, 2012. AB
403 passed out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on
a 6 - 0 vote, but was not taken up by the Senate Appropriations
Committee and subsequently died on file.
Related current legislation :
1)AB 21 (Alejo). Creates the Safe Drinking Water Small
Community Emergency Grant Fund to address contaminated water
in small communities. Authorizes DPH to assess a specified
annual charge in connection with loans (in lieu of interest)
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for certain drinking water projects funded by the SDWSRF.
This bill is scheduled for hearing in the Assembly ESTM
Committee on February 12, 2013.
2)AB 69 (Perea). Establishes the Nitrate at Risk Area Fund, to
be administered by the SWRCB, for developing and implementing
sustainable and affordable solutions for disadvantaged
communities. This bill has not yet been referred to
Committee.
3)AB 115 (Perea). Authorizes funding, through the SDWSRF, of
projects to benefit a disadvantaged community that is not the
applying agency, extending applicant eligibility to larger
agencies with the expertise to assist disadvantaged
communities that suffer from contamination of their drinking
water sources. This bill has been referred to the Assembly
ESTM Committee.
4)AB 118 (ESTM). Authorizes DPH to adopt interim regulations for
purposes of implementing provisions relating to the SDWSRF,
and amends other statutory provisions relating to the drinking
water program. This bill has been referred to the Assembly
ESTM Committee.
5)AB 145 (Perea-Rendon). Transfers the State drinking water
program under the California Safe Drinking Water Act,
including the SDWSRF, from DPH to the SWRCB. Makes findings
regarding the need for consolidation of programs for safe
drinking water and clean water. This bill has been double
referred to the Assembly Committees on Water, Parks and
Wildlife Committee and on ESTM.
6)SB 117 (Rubio). Transfers the various duties and
responsibilities imposed on DPH by the California Safe
Drinking Water Act to the SWRCB, and makes conforming changes.
This bill has been double referred to Senate Committees on
Health and on Environmental Quality.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support:
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
Big Sur Land Trust
California Chamber of Commerce
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Latino Water Coalition
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California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California Water Association
California Water Service Company
Central Coast Wetlands Group
City of Salinas
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Environmental Working Group
Garrapata Creek Watershed Council
Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management Group
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Nilsen and Associates
Pesticide Action Network
PolicyLink
Resource Conservation District of Monterey County
Rich Guillen Associates
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Safe Water Alliance
Sierra Club California
Western Growers
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Opposition : None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965