BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1200
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1200 (Levine)
As Amended May 22, 2013
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 15-0ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 7-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Rendon, Bigelow, Allen, |Ayes:|Alejo, Dahle, Bloom, |
| |Blumenfield, Bocanegra, | |Donnelly, Lowenthal, |
| |Dahle, Fong, Frazier, | |Stone, Ting |
| |Beth Gaines, Gatto, | | |
| |Gomez, Gray, Patterson, | | |
| |Yamada, Williams | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | |
| |Hall, Rendon, Linder, | | |
| |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality
Control Board (SF Regional Board) to authorize a five year pilot
project in Sonoma County that would study the effects, if any, of
allowing small agricultural irrigation ponds containing recycled
water to occasionally overflow during storm events into an area that
is already irrigated by recycled water. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings including, but not limited to, acknowledging
California's freshwater supplies are limited and oversubscribed
thus creating pressure on economic, ecosystem and community needs
and that recycled water could meet some of those challenges.
2)Recognizes that the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District
(District) produces an average of 3.5 million gallons of tertiary
recycled water daily, much of which discharges into a San Pablo
AB 1200
Page 2
Bay tributary, and that this pilot project would help maximize
recycled water use.
3)Requires, on or before October 1, 2014, that the SF Regional Board
authorize a voluntary pilot project designed to measure, analyze,
and report water quality data collected upstream and downstream of
three to four small agricultural irrigation impoundments of
recycled water before, during, and after at least five storm
events where water overflows and comingles with other surface
waters. Specifies water quality and environmental parameters for
the study.
4)Requires agricultural impoundments that are eligible for the pilot
project to be pre-existing as of January 1, 2013; to hold 200
acre-feet or less of water; and, to be located within an
agricultural area already receiving disinfected tertiary recycled
water.
5)Establishes a 10-person stakeholder advisory group with
representatives from nongovernmental organizations, regional
agriculture, private landowners, the District, the Sonoma County
Water Agency and the SF Regional Board to review and provide input
on project design, implementation, and data analysis.
6)Requires the pilot project to identify expected costs and secure
funding prior to project implementation.
7)Requires, within 12 months of final data collection, that the data
shall be analyzed and a draft report made available for
stakeholder advisory group review and comment. Requires a final
report to the SF Regional Board within three months of the release
of the draft report.
8)Repeals authority for the pilot project on January 1, 2018, unless
that date is statutorily deleted or extended.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Vests the State Water Board, pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Water
Quality Control Act, with authority over state water quality
policy. Also establishes nine Regional Water Quality Control
Boards (Regional Boards) to oversee water quality at the local and
regional level.
2)Requires the Regional Boards or the State Water Board to prepare
AB 1200
Page 3
and periodically update Basin Plans (water quality control plans).
Each Basin Plan identifies the beneficial uses of each water body
to be protected; establishes water quality objectives, for both
surface water and groundwater; and, details the actions necessary
to maintain these standards in order to control point source (end
of pipe) and non-point source pollution to the state's waters.
3)Authorizes that waste-discharge requirements and National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits be issued to
implement Basin Plan requirements, taking into consideration
beneficial uses to be protected.
4)Requires any person proposing to discharge waste within any region
to file a report of waste discharge with the appropriate Regional
Board. Prohibits waste discharges, under penalty of enforcement,
until the Regional Board issues waste discharge requirements or a
waiver of the waste discharge requirements. Defines recycled
water as a waste and therefore subject to waste discharge
prohibitions and requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
there are minor, absorbable costs to the SF Regional Board and State
Water Board to participate in the pilot project.
COMMENTS : Prior legislation, AB 2398 (Hueso) of 2012 proposed to
overhaul and modernize the state's statutes related to recycled
water and bring them together under a new Water Code division. AB
2398 was held in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee
with a commitment to put together a recycled water stakeholder group
to explore the potential administrative and statutory barriers to
more recycled water use. One issue identified by that group was the
need for better technical information to inform recycled water
project permitting.
The author states that this bill will help farmers in the
water-scarce Los Carneros grape-growing region of the Sonoma and
Napa Valleys who want to store and use high-quality recycled water
for irrigation and frost protection, but a lack of environmental
data has made permitting challenging. According to the author, this
bill would authorize a temporary pilot project designed to
determine, through a science-based process, potential impacts
resulting from occasional rainy-season run-off from these ponds.
Other supporters state that this bill helps address an unfortunate
situation where the local water agency and agricultural landowner
AB 1200
Page 4
partners risk being penalized if small irrigation ponds storing
high-quality recycled water overflow during a rain event, despite
the fact that there are current water quality permits allowing for
discharge, tidal habitat restoration, and agricultural irrigation
within the same watershed. Supporters maintain that a fear of
penalties has limited the potential to use highly-treated recycled
water.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0000673