BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 434
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
434 (Eduardo Garcia)
As Amended August 18, 2015
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(April 30, |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 31, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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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repealed or amended by the State Water Resources Control Board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
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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.
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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
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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