BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2071
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
AB 2071 (Levine) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Recycled water: pasture animals.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH) to establish standards for the use of treated recycled
water for use by pasture animals. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CDPH, in consultation with the Department of Food
and Agriculture, to determine if the use of tertiary treated
recycled water for the purpose of providing water to pasture
animals would be safe for public and animal health.
2)Provides that in the event that the CDPH determines that the
use of tertiary treated recycled water for the purpose of
providing water to pasture animals would harm public health,
the State Department of Public Health shall establish uniform
statewide recycling criteria for the use of recycled water for
the purpose of providing water to pasture animals.
3)In evaluating the use of tertiary treated recycled water for
the purpose of providing water to pasture animals, the CDPH
shall consider the recommendations from several sources,
including:
a) The State of California Constituents of Emerging Concern
Recycled Water Policy Science Advisory Panel;
b) State-funded research on water recycling; and,
c) Research by the State Water Resources Control Board
(State Water Board) regarding unregulated pollutants.
4)Requires the completion of the regulations for pasture animals
prior to December 31, 2016.
5)Prohibits the use of recycled water as a water supply for
dairy animals and provided that recycled water is optional for
all other pasture uses.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Requires the CDPH to investigate and report to the
Legislature, by December 31, 2016, on the feasibility of
developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable
reuse.
2)Requires the CDPH, in developing uniform recycling criteria
for surface water augmentation, to consider specified reports,
monitoring results, studies, risk assessments, research and
recommendations of advisory panels, water institutes, the
State of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA), and other relevant research and studies regarding
indirect potable reuse of recycled water.
3)Requires dairy farm water supply for drinking by livestock
shall not be stagnant, polluted with manure, urine drainage,
decaying vegetable or animal matter, or pathogenic bacteria of
any source.
4)Requires that the water supply for a milk house or room and
dairy barn shall be of a safe and sanitary quality and that
the bacterial quality shall conform to drinking water
standards.
5)Specifies that tertiary treated recycled water is wastewater
that has been filtered and subsequently disinfected and meets
requirements for bacterial content.
6)Pursuant to the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000 (Proposition
13), directed the State Water Board to set aside funds to the
Water Recycling Sub-account and provides the State Water
Board with the authority to undertake research, including the
design, acquisition, installation, or construction of
monitoring and testing equipment and related facilities
relating to water recycling.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not known.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the author, "This bill is
needed because unprecedented drought conditions are creating
enormous pressure on limited water resources and because there
is uncertainty about the use of, and possibly a challenging
regulatory process to use, tertiary treated recycled water for
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livestock watering." The author maintains that this bill will
ensure that there is a health standard for the use of tertiary
recycled water for livestock watering and that, moreover, the
steps necessary to use this resource will be made clear.
Background . In 2010, the Legislature passed SB 918 (Pavley,
Chapter 700, Statutes of 2010), which requires the CDPH to adopt
uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable use for
groundwater recharge by December 31, 2013, and to adopt uniform
water recycling criteria for surface water augmentation by
December 31, 2016. That legislation specifies that the CDPH
shall not adopt uniform water recycling criteria for surface
water augmentation unless the expert panel adopts a finding that
the proposed criteria would adequately protect public health.
That legislation also requires that the adoption of uniform
water recycling criteria by the CDPH is subject to the state
laws governing the adoption of state regulations. These latter
requirements include public notice of the proposed regulations,
an opportunity to comment, and a review by the Office of
Administrative Law.
According to the World Health Organization, the health hazards
associated with direct and indirect wastewater use are of two
kinds: the rural health and safety problem for those working on
the land or living on or near the land where the water is being
used, and the risk that contaminated products from the
wastewater use area may subsequently infect humans or animals
through consumption or handling of the foodstuff or through
secondary human contamination by consuming foodstuffs from
animals that used the area.
A panel of experts recently completed an analysis of the risks
associated with the use of treated waste water on livestock in
California, ( Risks and Benefits of Tertiary Sewage Effluent as
Drinking Water for Livestock in California - February 2014 ).
The experts considered whether tertiary treated recycled water
presented an elevated or unacceptable level of risk relative to
other available livestock watering sources. The report prepared
at the request of the WateReuse Association concluded that using
tertiary treated recycled water as a temporary water source
during a drought emergency was a minimal risk in almost all
cases and certainly a better alternative than losing animals due
to lack of water. As a permanent water source, they opined
tertiary treated recycled water might warrant additional
monitoring and concluded that advanced means of mitigation, such
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as activated carbon filters, or implementing reverse osmosis, or
advanced oxidation, would be ideal but might be expensive and
labor intensive. The experts also recognized that animals may
have potentially similar or higher exposures to estrogens and
other contaminants from drinking water in streams and ponds
where animals have defecated and urinated.
Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs ). One challenge in
developing a water reuse policy is how to provide for the new
classes of chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care
products, currently used pesticides and industrial chemicals,
collectively referred to as CECs.
To address the continued concern about CECs in treated waste
water, the State Water Board established a science advisory
committee to make recommendations for the testing of recycled
water. The panel report recommends monitoring of selected CECs
in recycled water based on evaluation of CECs found in recycled
water ( Monitoring Strategies for Chemicals of Emerging Concern
(CECs) in Recycled Water , June 25, 2010). The panel also
recommends monitoring of selected performance indicator CECs to
evaluate the performance of treatment processes to remove CECs,
and recommends monitoring of surrogate/operational parameters,
such as turbidity, dissolved organic carbon, and conductivity,
to verify that treatment units are working as designed.
Bill is double-referred. This bill was referred to the
Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, as well as the
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. The bill
was approved by the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife on a
15 to 0 vote on April 8, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Sonoma County Farm Bureau
California Farm Bureau Federation
Opposition
None.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
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