Amended in Assembly April 6, 2015

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 begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections end insert 116380 begin insert and 116552 end insert of 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 duties relating to providing a dependable, safe supply of drinking water. begin insert end insert begin insert The act prohibits the state board from issuing a permit to a public water system or amending a valid existing permit to allow the use of point-of-use treatment unless the state board determines that there is no community opposition to the installation of the treatment device. The act also limits the issuance of this permit to no more than 3 years or until funding for centralized treatment is available, whichever occurs first. end insert

This bill would require the state board to adopt begin delete regulations end delete begin insert regulations, similar to those previously authorized for adoption by the State Department of Public Health, end insert governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by begin insert a end insert public water begin delete systems end delete begin insert system end insert in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible, with specified limitations. The bill would 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. begin insert This bill would also prohibit the use of point-of-entry treatment absent the state board determination of no community opposition, and would delete the limitation on the duration of these permits. 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) The State Water Resources Control Board shall
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, limited to the
following:

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

(2) Usage not prohibited by the federal Safe Drinking Water
Act and its implementing regulations and guidance.

begin delete

(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.

end delete

(b) (1) The regulations described in subdivision (a) shall comply
with Section 116552 and shall 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 regulations shall take effect when
filed with the Secretary of State, and shall be published in the
California Code of Regulations.

(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.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 116552 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

116552.  

The begin delete department end delete begin insert State Water Resources Control Board end insert
shall not issue a permit to a public water system or amend a valid
existing permit to allow the use of point-of-use begin insert or point-of-entry end insert
treatment unless the begin delete department end delete begin insert State Water Resources Control
Board end insert determines, after conducting a public hearing in the
community served by the public water system, that there is no
substantial community opposition to the installation of begin delete point-of-use end delete
begin insert the end insert treatment devices. begin delete The issuance of a permit pursuant to this
section shall be limited to not more than three years or until funding
for centralized treatment is available, whichever occurs first. end delete

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