BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 429
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 429
AUTHOR: Hernandez
AMENDED: As Introduced
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 3, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rachel Machi
Wagoner
SUBJECT : SAN GABRIEL BASIN WATER QUALITY
AUTHORITY ACT
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality
Authority Act:
1)Provides that the Act sunsets July 1, 2017.
2)Requires the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority
(SGBWQA) to develop and adopt a groundwater quality
management and remediation plan that includes certain
components, such as characterization of basin contamination,
development and implementation of a comprehensive basin
cleanup plan, a financing plan, and a public information and
participation plan.
3)Requires SGBWQA to provide a status report to the State
Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the Los Angeles
Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) every six
months on activities undertaken pursuant to the basin
groundwater quality management and remediation plan. The
report must include certain information, such as an overview
of contamination, coordination with other agencies, funding
from potentially responsible parties and other sources,
status of certain plans, and project activities information.
4)Requires SWRCB to provide a biennial report, in consultation
with the LARWQCB, on the SGBWQA's progress in implementing
the Act, including any recommendations for improving the
SGBWQA's progress.
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This bill extends SGBWQA July 1, 2017 sunset to July 1, 2030.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, SGBWQA has an
urgent and compelling need to extend its legislatively
granted charter from the current sunset date of 2017 to
2030.
The author states that this extension provides negotiating
incentive to the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), as
well as the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), to
finish negotiating settlement agreements and project
funding. According the author, the PRPs and federal
agencies would otherwise be cautious to enter final terms
and conditions with an entity that could disappear or
change in three years. The author argues that all parties
need to know they are negotiating with a long-term agency
that possesses renewed authority and responsibility. In
terms of dollars and impact, SGBWQA estimates the value of
the operating agreement extension to be a minimum of
$400-$500 million in funding from PRPs and others for
cleanup projects over the life of the bill.
2) Background . AB 1010 (Hernandez) Chapter 404, Statutes of
2007, extended the sunset for the SGBWQA from 2010 to 2017;
requires routine updates of the authority's Internet
website, and requires routine reporting.
SB 1679 (Russell) Chapter 776, Statutes of 1992, enacted
the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority Act. SWRCB
and LARWQCB had investigated the groundwater conditions
since 1979. The basin is the primary drinking water source
for residents and the US EPA had placed four areas of the
basin on its Superfund list in 1984. US EPA released a
"San Gabriel Basin-Wide Technical Plan" in 1990, describing
a strategy to remediate groundwater pollution. The above
three entities prepared a "white paper" describing
institutional and financial aspects of a comprehensive
local groundwater management program and concluded that a
local program must possess powers to construct and operate
cleanup works, to coordinate and regulate groundwater
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extraction and cleanup, and to finance activities.
The three water agencies in the basin formed a joint powers
authority (JPA) and the watermaster (i.e., a judicially
created association of private and public groundwater
users) obtained authority to regulate pumping for water
quality protection. However, because of concerns that the
JPA was not effective, SB 1679 created the act with certain
powers to address the contamination problems.
In 1992, the Legislature was also considering SB 44
(Torres), a bill giving SGBWQA more power to address the
problem. AB 2173 (Margett) Chapter 281, Statutes of 1996,
extended a 1998 sunset to 2002, reduced the cap on the
annual pumping right assessment from $35 to $20 per acre
foot, and established a "limited function status"
provision. AB 2544 (Calderon) Chapter 905, Statutes of
2000, increased the number of board members from five to
seven and required two members to be producer members,
reduced the annual pumping right assessment cap from $20 to
$13, revised the board voting practices for certain
actions, and made various other changes to the act. SB 334
(Romero) Chapter 192, Statutes of 2003, reduced the annual
pumping right assessment cap from $13 to $10.
SB 822 (Margett) Chapter 271, Statutes of 2005, authorized
the SGBWQA to receive state funds for the purpose of
meeting certain nonfederal matching fund requirements.
SOURCE : San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority
SUPPORT : Association of California Water Agencies
California Water Association
OPPOSITION : None on file