BILL ANALYSIS �
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:
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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)
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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,
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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
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