BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 429 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 429 (Hernandez) - As Amended: June 6, 2013 Policy Committee: Environmental Safety Vote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill extends the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (Authority) from July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2030. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state costs. The Authority estimates the ability to extend the operating agreement until 2030 may result in an increase of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and others for cleanup projects. COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Act and Authority was established in 1992 to, among other duties, implement groundwater cleanup through a cooperative agreement with the US EPA. According to the author, PRPs and US EPA continue negotiating settlement agreements to obtain and allocate water treatment and remediation funding. The Author and the Authority are concerned that PRPs and federal agencies may not be willing to enter final terms and conditions with an agency that may change or sunset in three years. The Department of Toxic Substance Control and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board are also participating in this groundwater clean-up agreement and concur that extending the sunset date will put the Authority in a better negotiating position. SB 429 Page 2 2)Background. The San Gabriel Valley is a suburban, portion of Los Angeles County with over one million residents in an approximately 170 square-mile area. Four areas of groundwater contamination in the San Gabriel Valley have been placed on the US EPA's National Priorities List. The South El Monte cleanup project is part of the San Gabriel Valley Area 1 Superfund Site established to address contaminated groundwater under the cities of South El Monte, El Monte, and Rosemead. The groundwater contamination is the result of decades of improper chemical handling and disposal practices by hundreds of industrial facilities. Primary chemical contaminants in the Site's groundwater are tetrachloroethene (PERC) and trichloroethene (TCE), both industrial solvents; 1, 4-dioxane, used as a stabilizer in chlorinated industrial solvents; and perchlorate, used in fireworks and rocket fuel. EPA's ongoing remedy includes extracting and treating contaminated groundwater. Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081