BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 30
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 30
AUTHOR: Perea
AMENDED: May 24, 2013
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 12, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rachel Machi
Wagoner
SUBJECT : WATER QUALITY
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA),
a) Establishes the structure for regulating discharges
of pollutants into the waters of the United States and
regulating quality standards for surface waters.
b) Establishes the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) to provide funding to states for water quality
protection projects for wastewater treatment, nonpoint
source pollution control, and watershed and estuary
management.
2) Under the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control
Act (Porter-Cologne):
a) Provides the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) authority over state water rights and water
quality policy. Porter-Cologne also establishes eight
Regional Water Quality Control Boards (regional boards)
to oversee water quality at the local/regional level.
Under the auspices of the US EPA, SWRCB and eight
regional boards also have responsibility for granting
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permits, for certain point-source discharges.
b) Authorizes SWRCB to administer the CWSRF and assess a
surcharge on loans issued from the CWSRF in lieu of
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interest on the loans.
c) Requires revenue from the surcharge to be deposited
into the Small Community Grant (SCG) Fund for the
purpose of providing grants to small communities for the
construction of wastewater collection, treatment, or
disposal projects.
d) Provides that grants from the SCG Fund will give
priority to projects that serve severely disadvantaged
communities.
e) Limits the total revenue to be deposited into the SCG
fund at $50 million.
f) Provides that the authorization to charge a surcharge
in lieu of interest sunsets January 1, 2014.
This bill : Removes the sunset date for the SCG Fund, which
provides grants to small communities for the construction of
wastewater collection, treatment, or disposal projects.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Eliminates the sunset date of January 1, 2014, from SWRCB's
authorization to collect a charge on specified loans in lieu
of interest that provides revenue to the SCG Fund.
2)Removes the current $50 million limitation on the total
revenue that can be allocated to the SCG Fund.
3)Requires that funds in the SCG Fund be spent within four
years of the time the funds are encumbered.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, many
disadvantaged communities are in dire need of new
wastewater facilities to protect drinking water and deal
with an aging wastewater system. These small communities
lack sufficient funds needed to independently finance
wastewater projects and are dependent upon the timely
disbursement of approved state and federal grant and loan
funds to improve and replace inadequate wastewater systems.
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The author argues that unfortunately there is little
funding available to assist these communities. The author
asserts that the CWSRF has historically been a loan-only
program and therefore has been inaccessible to low-income
communities. To address those community needs, SWRCB
administered the SCG Fund. Bond funds have been made
available to fund projects. However, the author notes that
there has been no new bond funding made available for this
fund since the passage of Proposition 50 in 2002 and there
are more than $1 billion worth of wastewater projects that
are currently in need of funding in California.
2) Related legislation .
AB 2208 (Perea) of 2012 extended the sunset date, from 2014
to 2019, of SWRCB's authorization to collect a charge on
specified loans that provides revenue to the State Water
Pollution Control Revolving Fund SCG Fund. This bill was
held in the Senate Rules Committee.
AB 2356 (Arambula), Chapter 609, Statutes of 2008
authorized SWRCB to assess an annual charge in connection
with financial assistance made under the revolving loan
program in lieu of interest that would otherwise be
charged, with proceeds to be deposited in the State Water
Pollution Control Revolving Fund SCG Fund. The fee in lieu
of interest authorized pursuant to this measure sunsets
January 1, 2014.
3) SCG Fund . SWRCB has collected approximately $15.7 million
to-date from the surcharge, and it anticipates collecting
approximately $30 million from the surcharge by the
December 31, 2014 sunset date. If the January 1, 2014
sunset date of the program, the SWRCB expects to collect an
additional $20 million from the surcharge and would reach
the full $50 million originally envisioned in the enactment
of AB 2356.
SWRCB has requested authority to utilize the revenues from
this surcharge through the annual Budget Change Proposal
process. The state Fiscal Year (FY) 2012-13 Budget
appropriated $12 million for grants to small, disadvantaged
community wastewater projects; in FY 2011-12, the SWRCB
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awarded $1,000,000 to the City of Dunsmuir in Siskiyou
County for improvements to the City's wastewater collection
and treatment system; and in FY 2010-11, the SWRCB awarded
$978,386 to Sutter County to upgrade the wastewater
treatment system serving the unincorporated community of
Robbins.
4) Department of Finance . The Department of Finance has
adopted a neutral position on this legislation and notes
that "it is designed to eliminate the cap and sunset date
on an existing program providing grant funding for small
disadvantaged communities for the construction of
wastewater collection, treatment, or disposal projects.
These disadvantaged communities are in need of new
wastewater facilities and they lack sufficient funds to
independently finance wastewater projects. Many of these
communities have old and undersized wastewater treatment
plants that cannot meet current water quality standards.
Such systems can cause significant health and safety
problems, endanger surface water uses, and pose a threat to
groundwater supplies."
5) Double Referral to Senate Health Committee . If this measure
is approved by this committee, the do pass motion must include
the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Health
Committee.
SOURCE : Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
SUPPORT : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
City of Salinas
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Environmental Working Group
Pesticide Action Network, North America
Policy Link
Sierra Club California
Western Growers
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
OPPOSITION : None on file
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