BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 467
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          Date of Hearing:   May 8, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 467 (Stone) - As Amended:  April 11, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Environmental  
          Safety       Vote:                            6-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:   
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill creates the Freshwater Protection Fund (fund) to  
          provide drinking water solutions for disadvantaged/severely  
          disadvantaged communities, fertilizer management and groundwater  
          quality.  Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires the requires the State Water Resources Control Board  
            (SWRCB) to use the funds for:

             a)   Direct and indirect assistance, as defined.
             b)   Emergency response.
             c)   Natural Resource Protection.

          1)Allows administrative costs up to 20% of the annual  
            appropriation from the fund.  Defines administrative costs as:

             a)   Groundwater monitoring for fertilizers.
             b)   Development and enforcement of natural resource  
               protection rules.
             c)   Coordination of state and federal programs.
             d)   Management of fertilizer sales information.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Cost pressures in the hundreds of millions of dollars to  
            fulfill the activities identified in the bill.  This bill does  
            not provide a funding source.

          2) Increased administrative costs for SWRCB in the hundreds of  
            thousands of dollars.









                                                                  AB 467
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            Many of the administrative costs and direct actions defined in  
            the bill are statutory activities of other departments such as  
            the Department of Public Health, the Department of Water  
            Resources, and the Department of Food and Agriculture.   It is  
            likely that SWRCB would have to contract or enter into  
            memorandums of agreement with other state departments and  
            agencies to fulfill the requirements of this bill.

           COMMENTS  

          1)Rationale.     According to the author, high concentrations of  
            nitrates in groundwater are primarily caused by human  
            activities including fertilizer application, animal  
            operations, industrial sources and septic systems.    
            Agricultural fertilizers and animal wastes applied to cropland  
            are the largest sources of nitrates in groundwater, although  
            it varies by community.  
             
            This bill responds to the chronic need for safe drinking water  
            in disadvantaged  and severely disadvantaged communities.

           2)Background  .  Nitrate pollution in groundwater is a widespread  
            water quality problem that can pose serious health risks if  
            consumed at specific concentrations.  According to a February  
            20, 2013 SWRCB report to Legislature, Recommendations  
            Addressing Nitrate in Groundwater, it is critical that a new  
            funding source be established to ensure that all Californians,  
            including those in disadvantaged communities, have access to  
            safe drinking water.

            The Department of Public Health indicates that nitrate  
            contaminated groundwater is a particularly significant problem  
            in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley areas, where about  
            2.6 million people, including many of the poorest communities  
            in California, rely on groundwater for their drinking water.  
            Many other areas of the state also have nitrate contaminated  
            groundwater.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081 












                                                                  AB 467
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