BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2282 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 2282 (Gatto) - As Amended: May 8, 2014 Policy Committee: Housing and Community Development Vote: 7 - 0 Business and Professions 14 - 0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Building Standards Commission (CBSC), in consultation with the Department of Water Resources and others, to develop mandatory standards for recycled water infrastructure. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires HCD and CBSC to conduct research to develop and adopt mandatory building standards for the installation of recycled water infrastructure for newly constructed single-family and multifamily residential buildings and commercial and public buildings, respectively. 2)Authorizes the HCD and the CBSC to expend funds from the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund to research, develop, and propose these building standards. 3)Requires HCD to submit proposed building standards for residential buildings to CBSC for consideration in the 2017 triennial building standards cycle. 4)Requires the CBSC to develop and adopt mandatory building standards for commercial and public buildings in the 2017 triennial building standards code cycle. 5)Limits the application of the standards to areas that have, or will have, feasible and cost effective access to a water recycling facility. AB 2282 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor and absorbable costs to HCD to develop the standards if the standards involve existing technologies and are developed during the normal standards adoption cycle. 2)Unknown, but potentially significant costs to HCD if developing the standards requires research and technical work with new technologies with which HCD is not familiar. 3)Significant costs to CBSC in the range of $350,000 for an additional PY at the Associate Construction Analyst level for two years. Developing standards for inclusion in both the California Green Buildings Standards Code and the California Plumbing Code is outside the CBSC's normal scope of rulemaking authority and activity. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . According to the author, "Though recycled water plays a crucial role in the water plans of most California cities, there has been little effort in preparing the commercial and residential building stock for recycled-water use. Buildings can only use recycled water if they have a second set of plumbing, called 'purple pipes,' dedicated to recycled water. It is difficult for local water agencies to finance large recycled-water projects when buildings must undergo expensive retrofits in order to use the water. Conversely, the cost of installing dual plumbing during construction is minimal." This bill requires standards be adopted for installing recycled water infrastructure in newly constructed buildings to cost-effectively prepare buildings to use recycled water. 2)Background . Current water distribution systems utilize three pipelines: one for drinking water delivery, one for wastewater collection, and one for distribution of recycled water, which keeps recycled water completely separate from drinking water. Existing law requires pipes designed to carry recycled water to be colored purple, and the California Plumbing Code, which is part of the California Building Standards Code, requires buildings to install an additional set of plumbing ("purple pipes") in order to use recycled water. Building standards for residential and non-residential buildings AB 2282 Page 3 do not require the installation of recycled water infrastructure. However, any builder or developer may design a residential or nonresidential building to include the installation of recycled water plumbing, as long as a local jurisdiction permits and inspects the installation to meet the California Plumbing Code. In several cities, recycled water has already been approved for irrigation and other non-potable uses. In 2009, 669,000 acre-feet of treated municipal wastewater was beneficially rescued in California, and 51 out of 58 counties have identified recycled water projects in their water plan updates (CA Water Plan 2013 Update, Chapter 12). 3)Support . Supporters, including builders, labor, and environmental groups, believe this bill will help California communities plan for and cost effectively use recycled water. 4)There is no opposition to the bill . Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081