AB 69, as amended, Perea. Groundwater: drinking water: Nitrate at Risk Fund.
(1) Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board, or state board, and 9 California regional water quality control boards, and authorizes the state board to adopt regulations to carry out its powers and duties. Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the state board is required to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control. Under existing law the state board is further authorized to develop and implement a groundwater protection program consistent with federal law.
This bill would require the state board, in collaboration with the regional boards, and state and local agencies that collect water quality data or information, to develop a public information program on matters involving groundwater quality monitoring and assessment, as specified, and would also require the state board to develop and maintain on its Internet Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an information file with specific information on groundwater quality.
(2) Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Department of Public Health to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adopting enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies.
This bill would establish the Nitrate at Risk Fund, to be administered by the department. This bill would continuously appropriate, without regard to fiscal years, the fund to the
department for the purposes of loans, principal forgiveness loans, or grants to certain water systems operating in a high-nitrate at-risk area for specified purposes. This bill would require a person who purchases nitrogen fertilizer materials in California to pay a nitrogen fertilizer materials charge, until January 1, 2016, of $0.01 per dollar of materials, and on and after January 1, 2016, the department may increase the amount of the charge, as specified, to an amount no greater than $0.04 per dollar of materials if 80% of the moneys in the fund are committed. This bill would require a seller of nitrogen fertilizer materials to remit the nitrogen fertilizer materials charge to the department to be deposited in the fund.begin delete This bill would prohibit the fertilizer materials charge from being imposed when the department determines that the fund contains more than $100,000,000 and less than $50,000,000 of the moneys in the fund are committed.end delete
This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that includes specified information relating to the fund and contaminated drinking water. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024.
(3) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 13169.5 is added to the Water Code, to
2read:
(a) The state board, in collaboration with the regional
2boards, and state and local agencies that collect water quality data
3or information, shall develop a public information program on
4matters involving groundwater quality monitoring and assessment
5throughout the state by utilizing existing data, including
6groundwater ambient monitoring and assessment results, along
7with the collection of new information as needed.
8(b) The state board shall develop and maintain on its Internet
9Web site, in a format accessible to the general public, an
10information file on groundwater quality monitoring, assessment,
11research, standards, regulation, enforcement, and other
pertinent
12matters.
Article 4 (commencing with Section 13444) is added
14to Chapter 6 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:
15
The Nitrate at Risk Fund is hereby established in the
19State Treasury, to be administered by the State Department of
20Public Health. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
21Code, moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund are continuously
22appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the State Department
23of Public Health for the purposes described in Section 13446.
(a) For purposes of this section, “fertilizer materials
25charge” means the charge imposed pursuant to subdivision (b).
26(b) (1) A person who purchases fertilizer materials in California,
27including, but not limited to, all commercial or retail sales of
28fertilizer materials for agricultural or urban uses, shall pay a
29fertilizer materials charge as follows:
30(A) Until January 1, 2016, a charge of $0.01 per dollar of
31materials.
32(B) On and after January 1, 2016, the State Department of Public
33Health may increase the amount of the charge
to an amount no
34greater than $0.04 per dollar of materials if 80 percent of the
35moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund are committed. In determining
36the amount of the charge, the State Department of Public Health
37shall consider the demand for the moneys in the Nitrate at Risk
38Fund.begin delete The adoption or revision of the charge pursuant to this In determining the charge, the State Department of Public
39subparagraph is exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
40Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
P4 1Code.end delete
2Health shall allow stakeholder participation and make available
3to the public the information upon which the State Department of
4Public Health calculates, bases, or determines the charge.
5(2) A seller of fertilizer materials shall remit
the fertilizer
6materials charge to the State Department of Public Health to be
7deposited in the Nitrate at Risk Fund.
8(c) The fertilizer materials charge shall not be imposed when
9the State Department of Public Health determines that the Nitrate
10at Risk Fund contains more than one hundred million dollars
11($100,000,000) and less than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000)
12of the moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund are committed.
(a) Moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund shall be used
14for loans, principal forgiveness loans, or grants to a water system
15operating in a high-nitrate at-risk area that is one of the following:
16(1) A small community water system serving a disadvantaged
17community.
18(2) An unregulated system of 2 to 15, inclusive, service
19connections.
20(3) A nontransient noncommunity water system owned by a
21public agency.
22(b) Moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund may be used for any of
23the following
purposes:
24(1) Preplanning drinking water projects.
25(2) Planning drinking water projects.
26(3) Interim water solutions.
27(4) Constructing drinking water projects.
28(5) Operating and maintaining drinking water systems. The
29State Department of Public Health shall ensure that moneys used
30for the purposes of this paragraph are for the operation and
31maintenance of drinking water systems in communities that have
32a substantial need and otherwise would not be able to afford to
33operate or maintain their systems. The State Department of Public
34Health shall ensure that moneys available for the operation and
35maintenance
of a particular drinking water system pursuant to this
36paragraph shall not be permanent and shall be phased out over
37time.
38(c) Moneys in the Nitrate at Risk Fund shall not be used for
39loans, principal forgiveness loans, or grants to a water system that
40is a small community water system for the purposes of either
P5 1paragraph (2) or (4) of subdivision (b) unless no other funding
2source is available to that system for that purpose.
(a) On or before January 1, 2022, the state board, in
4consultation with any other state entity or research institution as
5appropriate, shall submit to the Legislature a report that includes
6all of the following information:
7(1) Communities that rely on contaminated drinking water as a
8primary source of drinking water.
9(2) The principal contaminants and other constituents of concern
10affecting groundwater and contamination levels in the groundwater
11sources for the communities described in paragraph (1).
12(3) Potential solutions and funding sources to
clean up or treat
13groundwater or to provide alternative water supplies to ensure the
14provision of safe drinking water to communities identified in
15paragraph (1).
16(4) The effect of the use of the moneys in the Nitrate at Risk
17Fund for the purposes described in Section 13446 on nitrate
18contaminated groundwater used as a source of drinking water.
19(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
20be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
21Code.
If the responsibility for administering Chapter 4
23(commencing with Section 116270) of Part 12 of Division 104 of
24the Health and Safety Code is transferred to the state board, the
25state board shall succeed to and is vested with all of the authority,
26duties, powers, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the State
27Department of Public Health pursuant to this article.
This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
292024, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
30that is enacted before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends that date.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
32immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
33the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
34immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
35To address the public health problem of nitrate contaminated
36drinking water as soon as possible, it is necessary for this act to
37take effect immediately.
O
96