Amended in Senate August 19, 2013

Amended in Senate July 2, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 8, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 9, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1200

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 22, 2013

An act to add begin delete and repeal end delete Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 13590) begin delete of end delete begin insert to end insert Division 7 of the Water Code, relating to recycled water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1200, as amended, Levine. Recycled water: agricultural irrigation impoundments: pilot project.

Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards as the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality.

This bill would, before October 1, 2014, permit the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board to authorize a voluntary pilot project for the purposes of investigating potential water quality impacts associated with maximizing the supplementation of agricultural irrigation impoundments with disinfected tertiary treated recycled water, if the regional board finds that the proposed pilot project satisfies specified criteria. This bill would require the pilot project to include a stakeholder advisory group, composed as prescribed, to review and provide input on pilot project design, implementation, and data analysis. This bill would require a prescribed final report to be issued to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state board, as specified, and upon review of the final report would authorize the regional board to develop a formula for future waste discharge requirements to be issued for similar purposes and report to the state board and the Legislature with any recommendations, as prescribed. begin delete This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2018. end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California faces increasing demands on its freshwater
resources. These demands are compounded by a growing state
population, limited groundwater and surface water supplies,
increased ecosystem conflicts, and a changing climate.

(b) Water recycling represents a tremendous opportunity to
increase California’s water supply and to overcome the growing
water resource challenges that threaten continued economic,
ecosystem, and community prosperity.

(c) Recognizing the opportunity presented by water recycling,
the State Water Resources Control Board adopted a recycled water
policy in 2009 that mandates an increase in annual recycled water
use by 200,000 acre-feet by 2020. The board also adopted a goal
of increasing the use of recycled water over 2002 levels by one
million acre-feet per year by 2020.

(d) Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District in the County of
Sonoma produces an average of 3.5 million gallons of tertiary
recycled water daily, much of which is produced in the winter
months and discharged to a tributary to San Pablo Bay.

(e) The Napa Sanitation District in the County of Napa produces
612 million gallons annually of tertiary treated recycled water.

(f) In order to maximize the beneficial use of this resource in
the Counties of Napa and Sonoma and in order to help inform
future regulatory frameworks for the use of recycled water across
California, it is in the state’s interest to promote pilot projects
intended to quantify the impacts and benefits of innovative recycled
water projects.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 13590) is added
to Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:

 

Chapter  7.7. Agricultural Irrigation Impoundments
Pilot Project

 

13590.  

Before October 1, 2014, the San Francisco Bay Regional
Water Quality Control Board may authorize a voluntary pilot
project for the purposes of investigating potential water quality
impacts and water supply benefits associated with maximizing the
supplementation of agricultural irrigation impoundments with
disinfected tertiary treated recycled water, if the San Francisco
Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board finds that the proposed
pilot project satisfies all of the following criteria:

(a) The pilot project is consistent with any applicable waste
discharge requirements, including, but not limited to, having a
NPDES permit, pursuant to Section 1251 et seq. of Title 33 of the
United States Code for discharges covered by the pilot project,
and performs all tasks as needed to obtain the NPDES permit,
including, but not limited to, preproject modeling and habitat
evaluations, and other data collection efforts.

(b) The pilot project shall measure, analyze, and report water
quality data collected upstream and downstream of agricultural
irrigation impoundments before, during, and following at least five
storm events that result in the release of commingled disinfected
tertiary recycled water and surface water runoff from up to four
agricultural irrigation impoundments into waters of the state.

(c) The pilot project includes a process for selecting up to four
existing agricultural irrigation impoundments within the Counties
of Napa and Sonoma for the purposes of the pilot project. A
selected agricultural irrigation impoundment shall meet all of the
following requirements:

(1) Have existed prior to January 1, 2013.

(2) Be not more than 200 acre-feet in volume.

(3) Be within a primarily agricultural region that currently
receives disinfected tertiary treated recycled water, consistent with
any waste discharge requirements, for the purposes of discharge,
agricultural irrigation, and ecosystem restoration.

(d) The pilot project is designed to measure, analyze, and report
at least the following water quality and environmental parameters:

(1) Constituents addressed by total maximum daily loads
completed for the San Francisco Bay, Napa River watershed, and
the Sonoma Creek watershed, including, but not limited to,
mercury, Polychlorinated biphenyls, pathogens, nutrients, and
selenium.

(2) Constituents associated with municipal recycled water,
including, but not limited to, total suspended solids, total ammonia,
copper, pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, total
chlorine residual, copper, nickel, and cyanide.

(e) The pilot project incorporates a stakeholder advisory group
to review and provide input on pilot project design,
implementation, and data analysis, and consists of the following
membership:

(1) One representative from each of three nongovernmental
organizations focused on San Francisco Bay region water quality
and habitat issues.

(2) One representative from a regional agricultural organization.

(3) Two private landowners.

(4) A representative from the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation
District.

(5) A representative from the Napa Sanitation District.

(6) A representative from the Sonoma County Water Agency.

(7) A representative from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board.

(f) The pilot project will include an analysis of local water
management implications associated with increasing the use of
recycled water for agricultural irrigation impoundments, including,
but not limited to, reduced reliance on surface and groundwater
resources, reduced ecosystem conflicts, and increased local
resilience to climate change.

begin delete

(g) The proposed pilot project identifies all costs associated
with the pilot project and project proponents will have secured
funding prior to pilot project implementation.

end delete begin insert

(g) The project proponents have identified and secured funding
for all costs associated with the development and implementation
of the pilot project.

end insert

13591.  

(a) Within 12 months of final data collection pursuant
to the pilot project authorized in Section 13590, data shall be
analyzed and compiled and a draft report shall be made available
for stakeholder advisory group review.

(b) A final report shall be issued to the San Francisco Bay
Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state board within
three months of the release of the draft report pursuant to
subdivision (a) and shall include consideration of comments made
by the stakeholder advisory group.

(c) (1) Upon review of the final report, the San Francisco Bay
Regional Water Quality Control Board may work to develop a
formula for future waste discharge requirements to be issued for
similar purposes and report to the state board and the Legislature
with any recommendations for similar policies within the regional
board’s region or statewide.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

begin delete

13592.  

This chapter shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.

end delete