BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1200|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1200
Author: Levine (D)
Amended: 8/27/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/26/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Fuller, Hancock,
Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/12/13
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Padilla
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/24/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Recycled water: agricultural irrigation
impoundments: pilot project
SOURCE : Sonoma County Water Agency
DIGEST : This bill permits 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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/27/13 add back the sunset date
removed in previous amendments.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires, under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act, the
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the Regional
Water Quality Control Boards (regional boards) to enforce
water quality laws and regulations for the state's waterways.
2. Establishes the Water Recycling Act of 1991, creating a
statewide goal to recycle a total of 700,000 acre-feet of
water per year by 2000 and 1,000,000 acre-feet of water per
year by 2010.
3. Requires each urban water supplier to prepare, and update
every five years, an urban water management plan with
specified components, including information on recycled water
and its potential for use as a water source in the service
area of the urban water supplier.
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 Bay tributary, and that this pilot project would
help maximize recycled water use.
3. Permits, before October 1, 2014, the SF Regional Board to
authorize a voluntary pilot project 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.
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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 (Agency) and the SF Regional Board to
review and provide input on project design, implementation,
and data analysis.
6. Requires the project proponents to identify and secure
funding for all costs associated with the development and
implementation of the pilot project.
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. Permits the SF Regional Board, upon review of the final
report, 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.
9. Repeals authority for the pilot project on January 1, 2018,
unless that date is statutorily deleted or extended.
Background
Recycled water . According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA), water recycling is reusing treated
waste water for beneficial purposes such as agricultural and
landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, and
replenishing a ground water basin (ground water recharge).
Water is sometimes recycled and reused on site; for example,
when an industrial facility recycles water used for cooling
processes. A common type of recycled water is water that has
been reclaimed from municipal waste water, or sewage. The term
water recycling is generally used synonymously with water
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reclamation and water reuse.
US EPA notes that recycled water can satisfy most water demands,
as long as it is adequately treated to ensure quality
appropriate for the use. In uses where there is a greater
chance of human exposure to the water, more treatment is
required. As for any water source that is not properly treated,
health problems could arise from drinking or being exposed to
recycled water if it contains disease-causing organisms or other
contaminants.
Recycled water regulation in California . In California, SWRCB
establishes general policies governing the permitting of
recycled water projects consistent with its role of protecting
water quality and sustaining water supplies. SWRCB exercises
general oversight over recycled water projects, including review
of regional board permitting practices (including National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits), and leads the
effort to meet the recycled water use goals set forth in state
recycled water policy. SWRCB is also charged by statute with
developing a general permit for irrigation uses of recycled
water.
While SWRCB is responsible for the bulk of recycled water
regulation, it shares jurisdiction over the use of recycled
water with the regional boards and with the Department of Public
Health. In addition, the Department of Water Resources and the
Public Utilities Commission have roles to play in encouraging
the use of recycled water.
California's recycled water policy . On February 3, 2009, SWRCB
adopted Resolution 2009-11, a policy for water quality control
for recycled water. In adopting the resolution, SWRCB made a
finding that the Strategic Plan Update 2008-12 for the state and
regional boards includes a priority to increase sustainable
local water supplies available for meeting existing and future
beneficial uses and to ensure adequate water flows for fish and
wildlife habitat. SWRCB found that increasing the acceptance
and promoting the use of recycled water is a means towards
achieving sustainable local water supplies and can result in the
reduction in greenhouse gases. It also found that the recycled
water policy is intended to encourage beneficial use of, rather
than solely disposal of, recycled water.
According to SWRCB, the purpose of the Recycled Water Policy
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(Policy) is to increase the use of recycled water from municipal
wastewater sources in a manner that implements state and federal
water quality laws. When used in compliance with the Policy and
applicable state and federal water quality laws, SWRCB argues
that recycled water is safe for approved uses, and strongly
supports recycled water as a safe alternative to potable water
for such approved uses. The Policy establishes a mandate to
increase the use of recycled water in California by 200,000
acre-feet per year (afy) by 2020 and by an additional 300,000
afy by 2030.
Recycled water in the proposed pilot project region . The
District currently holds a NPDES permit for point source
discharges into surface waters (Order No. R2-2008-0090). The
District owns and the Agency operates wastewater treatment plant
and collection systems. The plant provides secondary treatment
to the wastewater collected from the City of Sonoma,
unincorporated areas of Glen Ellen, Boyes Hot Springs, El
Verano, and Agua Caliente. Treatment processes consist of flow
equalization; pretreatment by screening and grit removal;
extended aeration activated sludge treatment; secondary
sedimentation; and effluent disinfection by chlorination and
de-chlorination.
Comments
According to the Agency and its agricultural landowner partners
risk being penalized if small irrigation ponds storing high
quality recycled water overflow during a rain event, despite the
fact that they currently hold water quality permits allowing for
discharge, tidal habitat restoration, and agricultural
irrigation within the same watershed and using the same recycled
water. The Agency argues that the financial risk to it and its
landowner partners has limited its ability to use highly treated
recycled water to its greatest potential.
The Agency asserts that by authorizing a water quality
monitoring pilot project in the Los Carneros wine grape region,
this bill can provide state and regional regulatory entities,
the public, and their partners in the agricultural sector with
data necessary to advance innovative recycled water reuse
projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time costs up to $65,000 to the Waste Discharge Permit
Fund (special) for the SF Regional Board to permit the pilot
project and participate in the stakeholder advisory group.
Ongoing cost pressures of $65,000 annually for three years
to the Waste Discharge Permit Fund (special) for the SF
Regional Board to consider the development of a formula for
future waste discharge permits for discharges similar to the
pilot project.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/13)
Sonoma County Water Agency (source)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Farm Bureau Federation
Irvine Ranch Water District
League of Women Voters California
Napa County Supervisor, Brad Wagenknecht, District 1
Napa Valley Vintners
North Bay Water Reuse Authority
Novato Sanitary District
Russian Riverkeeper
Wine Institute
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Existing law treats recycled water as a waste. Regional water
quality control boards issue permits with this in mind. The
result in Sonoma and Napa valleys, regulated under the San
Francisco Bay regional water quality control board, is that
storage is underutilized and use is not maximized. This is a
particularly poor use of resources because the use of less
recycled water means the use of more raw or groundwater. The
bill would allow for a pilot project that examines from a
scientific approach the effect of increased storage in up to
four small existing ponds.
The issue with current law is that the regional board does not
feel that they can move forward with allowing storage until
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there is information about any impacts of recycled water
storage overflow. The regional board needs information on the
impacts of storage to approve storage, but the only way to get
the information on the impacts of storage is to move forward
with storage. This creates a situation where it would be
administratively possible to move forward with a pilot
project, but that administrative possibility is not going to
occur.
Recycled water is currently used in this watershed for
agricultural and habitat restoration. Recycled water that is
not used is discharged into the same watershed.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/24/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan,
Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonta, Grove, Holden, Skinner, Waldron, Wilk,
Vacancy, Vacancy
RM:k 8/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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