Amended in Assembly March 19, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 434

Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 19, 2015

An act to amend Section 116380 begin delete of, and to add Section 116761.25 to, end delete begin insert of end insert the Health and Safety Code, relating to drinking water, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 434, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Drinking water: point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and begin delete duties, which were previously imposed on the State Department of Public Health, end delete begin insert duties end insert relating to providing a dependable, safe supply of drinking water. begin delete Existing law required the department to adopt regulations to implement the California Safe Drinking Water Act, and to enforce provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, including requirements governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible. Existing law required the department to adopt emergency regulations governing the permitted use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment. Those emergency regulations became inoperative on January 1, 2014. end delete

This bill would begin delete specifically make the emergency regulations adopted by the department before January 1, 2014, operative and would require that the emergency regulations remain in effect until repealed or amended by end delete begin insert require end insert the begin delete State Water Resources Control Board. end delete begin insert state board to adopt regulations governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible, with specified limitations. end insert The bill would begin delete authorize the State Water Resources Control Board to award a grant for point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment, in lieu of centralized treatment, by a public water system that meets certain requirements. end delete begin insert exempt the regulations from the Administrative Procedure Act and would require that the regulations and any amendments to the regulations remain in effect until revised by the state board. end insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 116380 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

116380.  

(a)  begin delete In addition to the requirements set forth in Section
116375, the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
Section 116375 shall include requirements end delete begin insert The State Water
Resources Control Board shall adopt regulations end insert governing the
use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by public water
systems in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be
demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately
economically feasible, limited to the following:

(1) Water systems with less than 200 service connections.

(2) Usage begin delete allowed under end delete begin insert not prohibited by end insert the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act and its implementing regulations and guidance.

(3) Water systems that have submitted preapplications with the
State Department of Public Health for funding to correct the
violations for which the point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment
is provided.

begin delete

(b) The department shall adopt emergency regulations governing
the permitted use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by
public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment.

end delete begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert  The begin delete emergency end delete regulations begin insert described in subdivision (a) end insert
shall comply with Section begin delete 116552, end delete begin insert 116552 end insert and shall begin delete comply with
all of the requirements set forth in subdivision (a) applicable to
nonemergency regulations, but shall end delete not be subject to the
rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The begin delete emergency end delete
regulations shall take effect when filed with the Secretary of State,
and shall be published in the California Code of Regulations.

begin delete

(2) Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code,
the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision by
the State Department of Public Health that became inoperative on
January 1, 2014, shall become operative on the same date as the
act which added this paragraph and shall remain in effect until
repealed or amended by the State Water Resources Control Board.

end delete begin insert

(2) Any regulations or amendments to those regulations adopted
pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until revised by the
State Water Resources Control Board.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 116761.25 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

116761.25.  

(a) The State Water Resources Control Board may
award a grant for point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment, in lieu
of centralized treatment, by a public water system meeting the
requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 116380 and regulations
adopted pursuant to that subdivision, for the full cost of the project,
if that system serves a severely disadvantaged community, as
defined in Section 13476 of the Water Code.

(b) The grant shall specify that equipment purchased under the
grant with remaining useful life after completion of the project
shall be provided for use in other projects meeting the requirements
of subdivision (b) of Section 116380 and regulations adopted
pursuant to that subdivision, and equipment purchased under the
grant with no useful life after completion of the project shall be
disposed of in accordance with state and federal requirements, as
determined by the State Water Resources Control Board.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure the quality of drinking water relating to
point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment, at the earliest possible
time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.