BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 434 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 434 (Eduardo Garcia) As Amended August 18, 2015 2/3 vote. Urgency -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(April 30, |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 31, | | | |2015) | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M. 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)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Department of Public Health (CDPH) before January 1, 2014 operative, and requires that they remain in effect until repealed or amended by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board). 2)Deletes references to regulations as "emergency" that would be obsolete if aforementioned policy change is enacted. 3)Establishes this as an urgency act based on the necessity to provide quality drinking water as soon as possible. AB 434 Page 2 The Senate amendments: 1)Restore current law requiring a PWS to 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)Make technical amendments to delete obsolete references to CDPH and replaces with references to the Water Board. EXISTING LAW: 1)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 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); and that have pre-applied for funding to correct the maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations for which POE and POU treatment is provided. (Health and Safety Code (H&S) Section 116380) 2)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 Section 116552) 3)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 Section 116271) FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. AB 434 Page 3 COMMENTS: Need for this 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? 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 AB 434 Page 4 drinking water distributed throughout the house or building. Centralized treatment treats all of the water produced by the PWS. 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. This bill provides appropriate technical code cleanup to clarify the Water Board's statutory authority to adopt or revise regulations governing POE and POU treatment devices. Analysis Prepared by: Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0001446