BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 434
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
AB 434
(Eduardo Garcia) - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: Drinking water: point-of-entry and point-of-use
treatment
SUMMARY: Repeals the sunset date on emergency regulations
governing the permitted use of point-of-entry (POE) and
point-of-use (POU) treatment by public water systems (PWS) in
lieu of centralized treatment. Specifically, this bill:
1) Deletes the requirement that a PWS pre-apply for funding
to correct the violations for which the POE and POU
treatment is provided as a condition of using a POE or POU
treatment device.
2) Makes the emergency regulations adopted by the
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) before
January 1, 2014 operative, and requires that they remain in
effect until repealed or amended by the State Water
Resources Control Board (Water Board).
3) Strikes the requirement that a POE or POU permit be
AB 434
Page 2
limited to not more than three years or until funding for
centralized treatment is available.
4) Deletes references to regulations as "emergency" that
would be obsolete if aforementioned policy changes are
enacted.
5) Establishes this as an urgency act based on the
necessity to provide quality drinking water as soon as
possible.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes the California Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA). (Health & Safety Code (H&S) § 116270, et seq.)
2) Establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
to provide financial assistance for community water systems
to achieve compliance with the SWDA. (H&S §116760.30)
3) Requires CDPH to adopt emergency regulations for
permitting the use of POE and POU water treatment in lieu
of centralized treatment for PWS that that have less than
200 service connections; for which usage is allowed under
the federal SDWA; and that have pre-applied for funding to
correct the maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations for
which POE and POU treatment is provided. (H&S § 116380)
AB 434
Page 3
4) Prohibits CDPH from issuing a permit to a PWS or
amending a valid existing permit to allow the use of POU
treatment unless CDPH determines, after conducting a public
hearing in the community served by the PWS, that there is
no substantial community opposition to the installation of
POU treatment devices. (H&S § 116552)
5) Vests the Water Board with all of the authority, duties,
powers, purposes, functions, responsibilities, and
jurisdiction of the State Department of Public Health and
its predecessor to enforce the SDWA. (H&S § 116271)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "AB 434 authorizes
the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to adopt
regulations governing point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry
(POE) filtration treatment by public water systems in lieu of
centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that
centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible.
The regulations will apply to water systems with 200 connections
or less.
"This bill attempts to remediate the issue of arsenic
contamination in drinking water. In the Coachella Valley,
arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in many drinking
water wells at levels ranging from 12 to 91 parts per billion
(ppb). The Environmental Protection Agency established a level
of 10 ppb as the Maximum Contaminant Level for arsenic. It has
been proven that consuming unsafe levels of arsenic increases
the probability of cancer, skin problems, and circulatory system
AB 434
Page 4
issues.
"Many of the families most impacted by arsenic contamination in
their drinking water are predominantly farmworkers that live in
the unincorporated part of the east Coachella Valley that is
vastly dedicated to agriculture. In 1992, the Farm Labor Housing
Protection Act enabled farm owners to house up to 12 farmworkers
without many local permits or licenses. Consequently, this
allowed for the establishment of many small mobilehome parks
throughout the eastern Coachella Valley, an area that lacks
access to centralized infrastructure, such as water and sewer.
Because of this, when arsenic was identified as an issue,
point-of-use systems were identified as a solution to help
people access clean water immediately, despite a lack of
infrastructure."
What's the difference: POU vs. POE vs. Centralized treatments:
POU treatment is a treatment device applied to a single tap for
the purpose of reducing contaminants in drinking water at that
tap. When used, a PWS is required to install a POU device that
will treat only the water intended for direct consumption,
typically installed at a single tap such as the kitchen sink.
Faucets without POU devices can be used for cleaning or washing
but cannot be used to provide drinking and cooking water.
POE treatment is applied to the drinking water entering a house
or building for the purpose of reducing contaminants in the
drinking water distributed throughout the house or building.
Centralized treatment treats all of the water produced by the
PWS.
AB 434
Page 5
Funding availability for POE/POU treatment: The Safe Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) is a self-perpetuating
financial assistance program administered by the Water Board.
The purpose of the DWSRF is to provide financial assistance for
the planning/design and construction of drinking water
infrastructure projects that are needed to achieve or maintain
compliance with federal and state drinking water statutes and
regulations.
POE and POU treatment devices are eligible for DWSRF funding.
The Water Board has previously funded seven POE/POU projects,
and one is still in progress. Those eight projects were funded
by DWSRF and Prop 84 funds.
According to Pueblo Unido, the non-profit responsible for the
installation of point-of-use systems in the Coachella Valley,
there are currently five mobile home parks (home to
approximately 300 residents) which have been identified as
immediately needing water treatment systems.
Pueblo Unido is currently using reverse osmosis POU technology
in the eastern Coachella Valley, which costs around $300 per
device, to treat arsenic contamination. These POU units have two
filters, a membrane, and a sediment filter, which cost $85, and
$25, respectively. So, using the mobile home parks in Coachella
Valley as an example, the average annual project costs for a
community to install POU treatment devices would be around
$123,500.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has
estimated that California will need more than $40 billion
dollars in drinking water infrastructure improvements over the
next 20 years. Consistent with that, according to Pueblo Unido,
due to the changing hydrology and geology of the Coachella
Valley aquifer, it is anticipated that the number of residents
grappling with arsenic contamination is ever-growing. POE and
POU treatment devices are recognized as affordable, low-cost
interim treatment options for communities with contaminated
drinking water until more comprehensive drinking water
AB 434
Page 6
infrastructure can be financed and constructed.
Safe Drinking Water Program Transfer: With the transition of the
SDWP from CDPH on July 1, 2014, the Water Board now has the
primary enforcement authority to enforce federal and state safe
drinking water acts, and is responsible for the regulatory
oversight of about 8,000 PWS throughout the state.
Therefore, as of July 1, 2014, all SDWP regulations and
administrative actions were vested with the Water Board, and are
fully effective and enforceable unless and until readopted,
amended, or repealed by the Water Board.
AB 434 provides appropriate technical code cleanup to clarify
the Water Board's statutory authority to adopt or revise
regulations governing POE and POU treatment devices.
Background on the law: The water quality challenges facing small
PWS were a major focus of the 1996 Amendments to the federal
SDWA. One way Congress sought to help systems meet these
challenges was by explicitly allowing systems to install POU and
POE treatment devices to achieve compliance with some of the
MCLs established in the National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations (Section 1412(b)(4)(E)(ii) of SDWA).
At the state level, AB 1540 (Statutes of 2009, Chapter 298)
allowed POU devices for water treatment to meet drinking water
standards to conform the state SDWA with the federal SDWA.
California law, before 2009, did not allow the use of these
devices. By allowing POE and POU treatment for water treatment
to meet drinking water standards, California ensured continued
compliance with federal law, and authorized these affordable
water treatment systems for communities until they can finance
larger water quality infrastructure projects.
AB 434
Page 7
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Pueblo Unido Community Development Corporation - sponsor
Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Group
Coachella Valley Water District
Comité Civico Del Valle
Pacific Water Quality Association
Pionetics Corporation
Water Quality Association
Opposition
None on file
AB 434
Page 8
Analysis Prepared by:Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965