Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1707

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilk

February 13, 2014

An act to amend Section begin delete 13201 of the Water end delete begin insert 57004 of the Health and Safety end insert Code, relating to water quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1707, as amended, Wilk. Water quality: begin delete organization and membership of regional boards end delete begin insert scientific peer review end insert .

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Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Among other things, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program.

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Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency, or a board, department, or office within the agency, to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, the University of California, the California State University, or any similar scientific institution of higher learning, or any combination of those entities, or with a scientist or group of scientists of comparable stature and qualifications that are recommended by the President of the University of California, to conduct an external scientific peer review of the scientific basis for any proposed rule, as prescribed. Under existing law, a proposed rule is defined to include, among other things, a policy adopted by the state board that has the effect of a regulation and that is adopted in order to implement or make effective a statute.

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This bill would add the adoption of a total maximum daily load to the definition of “rule” for the purposes of the above provisions.

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Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards to prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (state act). The state act requires regional boards to consist of 7 members appointed by the Governor, 6 of them on the basis of demonstrated interest or proven ability in the field of water quality and one as a public member not specifically associated with any enumerated qualification.

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This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 57004 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

57004.  

(a)  For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1)  “Rule” means begin delete either end delete begin insert any end insert of the following:

(A)  A regulation, as defined in Section 11342.600 of the
Government Code.

(B)  A policy adopted by the State Water Resources Control
Board pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
(Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code)
that has the effect of a regulation and that is adopted in order to
implement or make effective a statute.

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(C) A total maximum daily load adopted to implement Section
303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec.
1313(d)).

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(2)  “Scientific basis” and “scientific portions” mean those
foundations of a rule that are premised upon, or derived from,
empirical data or other scientific findings, conclusions, or
assumptions establishing a regulatory level, standard, or other
requirement for the protection of public health or the environment.

(b)  The agency, or a board, department, or office within the
agency, shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy
of Sciences, the University of California, the California State
University, or any similar scientific institution of higher learning,
any combination of those entities, or with a scientist or group of
scientists of comparable stature and qualifications that is
recommended by the President of the University of California, to
conduct an external scientific peer review of the scientific basis
for any rule proposed for adoption by any board, department, or
office within the agency. The scientific basis or scientific portion
of a rule adopted pursuant to Chapter 6.6 (commencing with
Section 25249.5) of Division 20 or Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 39650) of Division 26 shall be deemed to have complied
with this section if it complies with the peer review processes
established pursuant to these statutes.

(c)  No person may serve as an external scientific peer reviewer
for the scientific portion of a rule if that person participated in the
development of the scientific basis or scientific portion of the rule.

(d)  No board, department, or office within the agency shall take
any action to adopt the final version of a rule unless all of the
following conditions are met:

(1)  The board, department, or office submits the scientific
portions of the proposed rule, along with a statement of the
scientific findings, conclusions, and assumptions on which the
scientific portions of the proposed rule are based and the supporting
scientific data, studies, and other appropriate materials, to the
external scientific peer review entity for its evaluation.

(2)  The external scientific peer review entity, within the
timeframe agreed upon by the board, department, or office and the
external scientific peer review entity, prepares a written report that
contains an evaluation of the scientific basis of the proposed rule.
If the external scientific peer review entity finds that the board,
department, or office has failed to demonstrate that the scientific
portion of the proposed rule is based upon sound scientific
knowledge, methods, and practices, the report shall state that
finding, and the reasons explaining the finding, within the
agreed-upon timeframe. The board, department, or office may
accept the finding of the external scientific peer review entity, in
whole, or in part, and may revise the scientific portions of the
proposed rule accordingly. If the board, department, or office
disagrees with any aspect of the finding of the external scientific
peer review entity, it shall explain, and include as part of the
rulemaking record, its basis for arriving at such a determination
in the adoption of the final rule, including the reasons why it has
determined that the scientific portions of the proposed rule are
based on sound scientific knowledge, methods, and practices.

(e)  The requirements of this section do not apply to any
emergency regulation adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 11346.1 of the Government Code.

(f)  Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to, in any way,
limit the authority of a board, department, or office within the
agency to adopt a rule pursuant to the requirements of the statute
that authorizes or requires the adoption of the rule.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 13201 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

13201.  

(a) There is a regional board for each of the regions
described in Section 13200. Each board shall consist of seven
members appointed by the Governor, each of whom shall represent,
and act on behalf of, all the people and shall reside or have a
principal place of business within the region.

(b) Except as specified in subdivision (c), each member shall
be appointed on the basis of his or her demonstrated interest or
proven ability in the field of water quality, including water
pollution control, water resource management, water use, or water
protection. The Governor shall consider appointments from the
public and nonpublic sectors. In regard to appointments from the
nonpublic sector, the Governor shall consider including members
from key economic sectors in a given region, such as agriculture,
industry, commercial activities, forestry, and fisheries.

(c) At least one member shall be appointed as a public member
who is not required to meet the criteria established pursuant to
subdivision (b).

(d) All persons appointed to a regional board shall be subject
to Senate confirmation, but shall not be required to appear before
any committee of the Senate for purposes of such confirmation
unless specifically requested to appear by the Senate Committee
on Rules.

(e) Insofar as practicable, appointments shall be made in such
manner as to result in representation on the board from all parts
of the region.

(f) Insofar as practicable, appointments shall be made in a
manner as to result in representation on the board from diverse
experiential backgrounds.

(g) Each member shall be appointed on the basis of his or her
ability to attend substantially all meetings of the board and to
actively discharge all duties and responsibilities of a member of
the board.

(h) The reduction in the number of members of each regional
board required by the act that added this subdivision shall be
achieved according to the ordinary expiration of the terms of
incumbents and other vacancies. Notwithstanding Section 13202
the Governor shall not fill a vacancy on a regional board until the
number of members serving on that regional board falls below
seven members. When the numbers of members serving on the
regional board falls below seven members, the Governor shall
appoint or reappoint individuals pursuant to this section.

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