BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 803 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Senator Jerry Hill, Chair 2013-2014 Regular Session BILL NO: AB 803 AUTHOR: Gomez AMENDED: June 25, 2013 FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 3, 2013 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rachel Machi Wagoner SUBJECT : WATER RECYCLING ACT OF 2013 Existing law : 1)Pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Act, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has the authority over State water rights and water quality policy. Establishes eight Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) to oversee water quality on a day-to-day basis at the local and regional level. 2)Requires, under Porter-Cologne, that tertiary treated recycled water is only reportable at 50,000 gallons or more and that recycled water that is treated to less than a tertiary level is reportable at 1,000 gallons. 3)Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to enforce laws and regulations related to drinking water safety. 4)Requires DPH to establish uniform statewide recycling criteria for each type of use of recycled water use. 5)Requires any person proposing to discharge waste within any region to file a report of waste discharge with the appropriate RWQCB. No discharge may take place until the RWQCB issues waste discharge requirements or a waiver of the waste discharge requirements. SUMMARY : This bill : Modifies SWRCB and RWQCBs regulation of recycled water. Specifically: AB 803 Page 2 1)Designates this act as the Water Recycling Act of 2013. 2)Authorizes SWRCB and RWQCBs to permit Advanced Treated Purified Water (ATPW) projects at the point where the treated water enters a conveyance facility exiting the treatment plant. 3)Authorizes the use of recycled water in cemeteries hose bibs. 4)Requires a cemetery supplied with disinfected tertiary recycled water that installs a hose bib in a public access area to post visible signage and labeling indicating that the water is nonpotable. 5)Provides that ATPW means water of wastewater origin treated with a treatment method at least as effective as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation, disinfection, and engineered reliability features or other suitable treatment as approved by DPH. COMMENTS : 1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "This bill will remove barriers to the increased use of recycled water and ensure protection of public health and safety by aligning existing provisions in law to reduce unnecessary paperwork that results from the reporting of incidental run-off from recycled water projects. The bill clarifies existing Regional Water Quality Control Board authority to permit Advanced Treated Purified Water projects at the point where the highly treated water exits the treatment plant and enters a conveyance facility. In the case of the City of San Diego, the permitting approach acknowledged in the bill will avoid the cost and environmental impact of a $220 million pipeline." Additionally, the author states, that currently, cemetery operators who wish to provide hose bibs for use by visitors to fill flower vases at their sites either: 1) install at considerable cost, a parallel potable water distribution system on-site to a significant number of hose bibs, or 2) AB 803 Page 3 forego the use of recycled water and continue the wasteful use of potable water for irrigation. This bill will require signage to ensure recycled water is not used for potable purposes. 2) City of San Diego project . The City of San Diego is currently considering the final phase of the water reuse program which is the construction of a full-scale advanced water treatment plant and transmission pipeline. According to the City, the treatment plant would take recycled water (acceptable for irrigation and industrial applications) from the North City Water Reclamation Plant and apply additional treatment to produce high quality advanced treated water. A 22-mile pipeline would then transport this advanced treated recycled water to San Vicente Reservoir, where it would blend with imported untreated water and reside for several months prior to being sent to water treatment plants for additional treatment and distribution as potable water. 3) Chemicals of emerging concern . SWRCB adopted a Recycled Water Policy in February 2009, which is intended to provide permitting clarity for recycled water projects. One challenge in developing that policy was how to address new classes of chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals, current use pesticides, and industrial chemicals, collectively referred to as chemicals of emerging concern (CECs). Many CECs are potentially present in recycled water, but the detection of many of these chemicals is so recent that robust methods for their quantification and toxicological data for interpreting potential human or ecosystem health effects are unavailable. 4) Advanced treated purified water . The bill requires recycled water to meet ATPW standards approved by DPH for the purposes of discharge into a conveyance facility. There is currently not a specific DPH standard or process for approving ATPW, nor does DPH or SWRCB law, regulation or policy regarding discharge of the recycled water contemplate different standards for different types of recycled water. Creating this new term in statute would conflict with the existing policy and statutory framework regarding recycled water. SB 918 (Pavley), Chapter 700, AB 803 Page 4 Statutes of 2010, requires DPH to develop uniform criteria for indirect reuse of recycled water and consider direct reuse of recycled water. Because SB 918 did not contemplate different types of recycled water, by inserting a new term for a type of recycled water potentially conflicts with the criteria DPH is developing and thereby may impact the ability to implement that criteria. The bill should be amended to replace ATPW with the correct term as defined in current law. SOURCE : WateReuse SUPPORT : Association of California Water Agencies Burbank Water and Power California Association of Sanitation Agencies California Municipal Utilities Association California State Pipe Trades Council California Water Association Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Contra Costa Water District Desert Water Agency Dublin San Ramon Services District Dublin San Ramon Services District East Bay Municipal Utility District Irvine Ranch Water District Keith Caldwell, Napa County Supervisor Las Virgenes-Triunfo Joint Powers Authority North Bay Water Reuse Program Novato Sanitary District Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District San Diego County Water Authority San Gabriel Valley Water Association The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California California Coastkeeper Alliance Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District OPPOSITION : None on file AB 803 Page 5