BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 434
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Eduardo Garcia |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|-----------+-----------------------+-------------+----------------|
|Version: |4/6/2015 |Hearing |6/17/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
|-----------+-----------------------+-------------+----------------|
|Urgency: |Yes |Fiscal: |Yes |
------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: Drinking water: point-of-entry and point-of-use
treatment.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), requires the
federal Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set
standards for drinking water quality and oversee the states,
localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.
California has authority over drinking water, delegated by US
EPA.
2) Establishes the Drinking Water Program within the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) (formerly within the Department
of Public Health) to regulate public drinking water systems.
3) Authorizes point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) devices
for water treatment to meet drinking water standards as
specified by state and federal law.
4) Requires regulations adopted under the SDWA to include
requirements governing the POU and POE treatment by public
water systems in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be
demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately
economically feasible and is limited to: a) less than 200
service connections, b) use allowed under the SDWA's
implementing regulations, c) water systems that have submitted
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 2 of
?
pre-applications with the Drinking Water Program for funding to
correct the violations for which the POU/POE treatment is
provided, and d) use is limited to 3 years or until centralized
treatment is achieved, whichever comes first.
This bill:
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:
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 Department of
Public Health (DPH) before January 1, 2014, operative, and
requires that they remain in effect until repealed or amended
by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
3) Strikes the requirement that a POE or POU permit be 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. Exempts the
regulations from the Administrative Procedures Act.
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 3 of
?
Background
1) Drinking Water Contamination in California. According to DPH,
98% of the population of California served by community water
systems receives drinking water that meets all primary drinking
water standards. However, for the nearly one million
Californians without clean water, contaminants such as
nitrates, hexavalent chromium and arsenic threaten public
drinking water safety. The most impacted populations are
located in disadvantaged communities and are served by small
water systems that have difficulty finding the sufficient
resources for maintenance and operation or to undertake repairs
and upgrades. DPH currently utilizes funds from the Safe
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Propositions 50 and 84
bond funds to assist in drinking water system upgrades. While
these funds have provided and continue to provide significant
assistance in the improvement of water systems, there is a
greater need than funding available. US EPA as well as DPH are
working to explore how to reach critical drinking water
standards while also acknowledging the need for affordability
of conveyance, especially in these small communities.
In acknowledgement of the strain that small water systems face
when trying to upgrade systems to meet necessary water quality
improvements, AB 2515 (V. M. Perez, Chapter 601, Statutes of
2010), was enacted as a stop gap to provide a temporary measure
while a permanent, safer and more effective centralized
treatment could be devised for these small disadvantaged
communities.
2) Point-of-Use/ Point-of-Entry Treatment. A POU treatment device
is any unit installed on a single water faucet or bubbler that
changes the water quality. A POE treatment device is any unit
installed that changes the water quality of all potable water
entering a building. POE and POU treatment devices such as
carbon filters are sometimes installed to enhance the aesthetic
quality (taste and odor) of potable water supplied by a local
water system. In other cases, POE and POU treatment devices
are installed to meet drinking water standards in place of
centralized treatment.
3) Limitations of POU/POE Treatment. While POU/POE treatment has
advanced in recent years it cannot provide equivalent treatment
to centralized treatment.
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 4 of
?
a) Multiple Contaminants. POU/POE treatment technologies
can provide sufficient treatment for one specific
contaminant. However, they are not designed to treat the
complex myriad contaminants that may be in drinking water.
So while it may address the primary contaminant of concern,
other contaminants may not be sufficiently removed.
Additionally, contaminants in water affect the water quality
individually and cumulatively. POU/POE treatment systems
are not designed to address the cumulative impacts to water
quality.
b) Adjustment for Quality. Water quality levels are not
static. Centralized treatment systems are regularly
monitored and the treatment is adjusted as changes in the
water quality and levels of the range of contaminants
change. POU/POE treatment systems cannot be adjusted as the
water quality changes, so their efficacy may vary.
c) POU Does Not Treat All Water. Because POU treatment
systems attach to the faucet, their treatment is limited to
water that comes through that faucet. Showers, washing
machines and other faucets, such as those in bathrooms, will
not be treated. POU treatment devices are not appropriate
in households where the treated contaminant presents health
risks when inhaled, such as volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) or hexavalent chromium, that may be released into the
air and inhaled, especially in warm water like a shower
because in those households only the drinking water would be
treated. With many contaminants that could pose an
additional risk, especially in homes with children, these
systems are meant as a very temporary stopgap measure until
centralized water treatment can be provided.
d) Lack of Accountability and Monitoring. Centralized
treatment facilities are regularly inspected and monitored
to ensure sufficient maintenance by either DPH or the county
environmental health jurisdictions. There is no built in
inspection, monitoring or maintenance when water systems use
POU/POE treatment. Ensuring proper working order to POU/POE
devices is crucial. If filters are not changed when needed,
some systems can build up contaminants in the system and
release them into the water in high concentrations.
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 5 of
?
Who is expected to make sure that the systems are always
working properly? Is it practical to expect that water
systems will regularly monitor and repair each of the
POU/POE devices?
4) Two Classes of Drinking Water Quality. Improving California's
drinking water quality is crucially important. As solutions
for meeting drinking water standards to protect public health
are contemplated, it is important to ensure that solutions that
compromise standards are not used.
Expanded or long-term use of POU/POE treatment devices
essentially creates two classes for drinking water in
California -- those that get centralized treatment that is
monitored and accountable for meeting drinking water standards
and those that get a lower standard of quality and
accountability.
5) Safe Drinking Water Program Transfer. On July 1, 2014, the
Safe Drinking Water Program was transferred from DPH to SWRCB.
SWRCB 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.
Upon the transfer, all regulations and administrative actions
were vested with SWRCB and are fully effective and enforceable
unless and until readopted, amended, or repealed by the SWRCB.
According to SWRCB, the board is in the process of reviewing the
POU/POE regulations.
The authority granted by this bill would allow SWRCB to do it
more quickly by re-granting emergency regulation authority.
Comments
1)Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "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). US EPA
established a level of 10 ppb as the Maximum Contaminant Level
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 6 of
?
for arsenic. It has been proven that consuming unsafe levels of
arsenic increases the probability of cancer, skin problems, and
circulatory system issues."
The author states that "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."
The author states that "this bill 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."
2)Amendments. The existing POU/POE authority limits the use of
this technology for three years or until centralized treatment
is installed, whichever is earlier. This limitation was added
acknowledging that this technology provides a temporary, however
imperfect solution for water treatment. AB 434 removes the
3-year limit. Without this limit, there is no requirement that
the water system find a permanent centralized treatment
solution. An amendment is needed to restore the 3-year limit on
using POU/POE technology.
SOURCE: Pueblo Unido, Community Development
Corporation
SUPPORT:
Association of California Water Agencies
Pionetics Corporation
OPPOSITION:
None received
AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 7 of
?
-- END --