BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 434|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 434
Author: Eduardo Garcia (D)
Amended: 8/18/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/17/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Drinking water: point-of-entry and point-of-use
treatment
SOURCE: Pueblo Unido, Community Development Corporation
DIGEST: This bill requires the State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB) to adopt regulations, similar to those previously
authorized for adoption by the State Department of Public
Health, governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use
treatment by a public water system in lieu of centralized
treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized
treatment is not immediately economically feasible, with
specified limitations.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires, under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA),
the federal Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set
standards for drinking water quality and oversee the states,
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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 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
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 three years or until
centralized treatment is achieved, whichever comes first.
This bill:
1)Requires the SWRCB to adopt regulations, similar to those
previously authorized for adoption by the State Department of
Public Health (DPH), governing the use of POE and POU
treatment by a public water system in lieu of centralized
treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized
treatment is not immediately economically feasible, with
specified limitations.
2)Requires the SWRCB to adopt emergency regulations governing
the permitted use of POU and POE treatment by public water
systems in lieu of centralized treatment, as specified, and
requires that these emergency regulations remain in effect
until the earlier of January 1, 2018, or the effective date of
the required nonemergency regulations.
3)Prohibits the use of POE treatment absent a SWRCB
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determination of no community opposition.
4)Declares that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency
statute.
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. The 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. The
US EPA, as well as the DPH, is 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)POU/POE 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
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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.
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 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.
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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.
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 the DPH to
the SWRCB. The 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 the SWRCB and are fully effective and
enforceable unless and until readopted, amended, or repealed
by the SWRCB.
According to the SWRCB, the Board is in the process of
reviewing the POU/POE regulations.
The authority granted by this bill allows the SWRCB to do it
more quickly by re-granting emergency regulation authority.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal:No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
Pueblo Unido, Community Development Corporation (source)
Association of California Water Agencies
Pionetics Corporation
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Gomez
Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/19/15 20:55:43
**** END ****
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