BILL NUMBER: SB 985 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 7, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley
FEBRUARY 11, 2014
An act to amend Sections 10561, 10562, 10563, and 10573
of, and to add Section 10561.5 Sections
10561.5 and 10565 to, the Water Code, relating to stormwater.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 985, as amended, Pavley. Stormwater resource planning.
Existing law, the Stormwater Resource Planning Act, authorizes a
city, county, or special district, to develop a stormwater resource
plan that meets certain standards.
This bill would require a stormwater resource plan to identify and
prioritize stormwater and dry weather runoff capture projects for
implementation in a prescribed quantitative manner and to prioritize
the use of lands or easements in public ownership for stormwater and
dry weather runoff projects. This bill would eliminate the
requirement that a stormwater resource plan be consistent with any
applicable integrated regional water management plan. This bill would
require an entity developing a stormwater resource plan to identify
in the plan opportunities to use existing publicly owned lands and
easements to capture and reuse use
stormwater. This bill would require the State Water Resources
Control Board, by July 1, 2016, to establish a policy for compliance
with these provisions. This bill would require the development of a
stormwater resource plan and compliance with these provisions to
receive grants for stormwater and dry weather runoff capture projects
from a bond act approved by the voters after January 1, 2014.
This bill would define dry weather runoff and stormwater for the
purposes of the act and conform the definition of stormwater in the
Rainwater Capture Act of 2012.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 10561 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10561. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) In many parts of the state stormwater and dry weather runoff
are underutilized sources of surface water and groundwater supplies.
Instead of being viewed as a resource, they are often seen as a
problem that must be moved to the ocean as quickly as possible or as
a source of contamination, contributing to a loss of usable water
supplies and the pollution and impairment of rivers, lakes, streams,
and coastal waters.
(b) Improved management of stormwater and dry weather runoff can
improve water quality, reduce localized flooding, and increase water
supplies for beneficial uses and the environment.
(c) Most of California's current stormwater drainage systems are
designed to capture and convey water away from people and property
rather than capturing that water for beneficial uses.
(d) Historical patterns of precipitation are predicted to change
and an increasing amount of California's water is predicted to fall
not as snow in the mountains, but as rain in other areas of the
state. This will likely have a profound and transforming effect on
California's hydrologic cycle and much of that water will no longer
be captured by California's reservoirs, many of which are located to
capture snow melt.
(e) When properly designed and managed, the capture and use of
stormwater and dry weather runoff can contribute significantly to
local water supplies through onsite storage and reuse
use , or letting it infiltrate into the ground
to recharge groundwater, either onsite or at regional facilities,
thereby increasing available supplies of drinking water.
(f) New developments and redevelopments should be designed to be
consistent with low-impact development principles to improve the
retention, reuse use , and infiltration
of stormwater and dry weather runoff onsite or at regional
facilities.
(g) Stormwater and dry weather runoff can be managed to achieve
environmental and societal benefits such as wetland creation,
riverside habitats, instream flows, and an increase in urban green
space.
(h) Stormwater and dry weather runoff management through
multiobjective projects can achieve additional benefits, including
augmenting recreation opportunities for communities, increased tree
canopy, reduced urban heat island effect, and improved air quality.
(i) Proper planning and implementation is vital to ensure that the
water supply and other benefits potentially available through better
management of stormwater and dry weather runoff do not come at the
expense of diminished water quality.
(i)
(j) The capture and use of stormwater and dry weather
runoff is not only one of the most cost-effective sources of new
water supplies, it is a supply that can often be provided using
significantly less energy than other sources of new water supplies.
SEC. 2. Section 10561.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10561.5. Solely for the purposes of this part, and unless the
context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the
construction of this part:
(a) "Dry weather runoff" means surface waterflow produced by
nonstormwater resulting from residential, commercial, and industrial
activities involving the use of potable and nonpotable water.
(b) "Stormwater" means temporary surface water runoff and drainage
generated by immediately preceding storms. This definition shall be
interpreted consistent with the definition of "stormwater" in Section
122.26 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 3. Section 10562 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10562. (a) A city, county, or special district, either
individually or jointly, may develop a stormwater resource plan
pursuant to this part.
(b) Stormwater resource plans shall:
(1) Be developed on a watershed basis.
(2) Identify and prioritize stormwater and dry weather runoff
capture projects for implementation in a quantitative manner, using a
metrics-based and integrated evaluation and analysis of multiple
benefits to maximize water supply, water quality, flood management,
environmental, and other community benefits within the watershed.
(3) Provide for multiple benefit project design to maximize water
supply, water quality, and environmental and other community
benefits.
(4) Provide for community participation in plan development and
implementation.
(5) Be consistent with, and assist in, compliance with total
maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans and applicable
national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permits.
(6) Be consistent with all applicable waste discharge permits.
(7) Prioritize the use of lands or easements in public ownership
for stormwater and dry weather runoff projects.
(c) The proposed or adopted plan shall meet the standards outlined
in this section. The plan need not be referred to as a "stormwater
resource plan." Existing planning documents may be utilized as a
functionally equivalent plan, including, but not limited to,
watershed management plans, integrated resource plans, urban water
management plans, or similar plans. If a planning document does not
meet the standards of this section, a collection of local and
regional plans may constitute a functional equivalent.
(d) An entity developing a stormwater resource plan shall identify
in the plan all of the following:
(1) Opportunities to augment local water supply through
groundwater recharge or storage for beneficial reuse
use of stormwater.
(2) Opportunities for source control for both pollution and
stormwater runoff volume, onsite and local infiltration, and
reuse use of stormwater.
(3) Projects to reestablish natural water drainage treatment and
infiltration systems, or mimic natural system functions to the
maximum extent feasible.
(4) Opportunities to develop or enhance habitat and open space
through stormwater management, including wetlands, riverside
habitats, parkways, and parks.
(5) Opportunities to use existing publicly owned lands and
easements, including, but not limited to, parks, public open space,
community gardens, farm and agricultural preserves, schoolsites, and
government office buildings and complexes, to capture and
reuse use stormwater.
(6) Design criteria and best management practices to prevent
stormwater pollution and increase effective stormwater management for
new and upgraded infrastructure and residential, commercial,
industrial, and public development. These design criteria and best
management practices shall accomplish all of the following:
(A) Reduce effective impermeability within a watershed by creating
permeable surfaces and directing stormwater to permeable surfaces,
retention basins, cisterns, and other storage for beneficial
reuse use .
(B) Increase water storage for beneficial use through a variety of
onsite storage techniques.
(C) Increase groundwater supplies through infiltration, where
appropriate and feasible.
(D) Support low-impact development for new and upgraded
infrastructure and development using low-impact techniques.
(7) Activities that generate or contribute to the pollution of
stormwater, or that impair the effective beneficial use of
stormwater.
(8) Projects and programs to ensure the effective implementation
of the stormwater resource plan pursuant to this part and achieve
multiple benefits. These projects and programs shall include the
development of appropriate decision support tools and the data
necessary to use the decision support tools.
(9) Ordinances or other mechanisms necessary to ensure the
effective implementation of the stormwater resource plan pursuant to
this part.
SEC. 4. Section 10563 of the Water Code
is amended to read:
10563. (a) Nothing in this part interferes with or prevents the
exercise of authority by a public agency to carry out its programs,
projects, or responsibilities.
(b) Nothing in this part affects requirements imposed under any
other provision of law.
(c) The development of a stormwater resource plan and compliance
with this part in accordance with Section 10565 shall be required to
receive grants for stormwater and dry weather runoff capture projects
from a bond act approved by the voters after January 1, 2014.
SEC. 5. Section 10565 is added to the
Water Code , to read:
10565. By July 1, 2016, the board shall establish a policy for
compliance with this part that shall include, but is not limited to,
the following:
(a) Identifying local agencies and nongovernmental organizations
that need to be consulted in developing a stormwater resource plan.
(b) Defining appropriate quantitative methods for identifying and
prioritizing opportunities for stormwater and dry weather runoff
capture projects.
(c) Identifying prerequisites necessary for stormwater resource
plans to be considered as a part of an alternative compliance plan
for municipal or stormwater national pollutant discharge elimination
system (NPDES) permits.
(d) Other guidance the board deems appropriate to achieve the
objectives of this part.
SEC. 4. SEC. 6. Section 10573 of the
Water Code is amended to read:
10573. Solely for the purposes of this part, and unless the
context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the
construction of this part:
(a) "Developed or developing lands" means lands that have one or
more of the characteristics described in subparagraphs (A) to (C),
inclusive, of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 56375.3 of
the Government Code.
(b) "Rain barrel system" is a type of rainwater capture system
that does not use electricity or a water pump and is not connected to
or reliant on a potable water system.
(c) "Rainwater" means precipitation on any public or private
parcel that has not entered an offsite storm drain system or channel,
a flood control channel, or any other stream channel, and has not
previously been put to beneficial use.
(d) "Rainwater capture system" means a facility designed to
capture, retain, and store rainwater flowing off a building rooftop
for subsequent onsite use.
(e) "Stormwater" has the same meaning as defined in Section
10561.5.