BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 951 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 951 (Wilk) As Amended June 10, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 | (May 7, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 | (August 31, | | | | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: L. GOV. SUMMARY: Requires all regular and special meetings of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District (SCVSD), where decisions are being made upon policy items relating to a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of any pollutant, to be held within the boundaries of the SCVSD. The Senate amendments narrow this bill's requirement to apply only to meetings where decisions are being made upon policy items relating to a TMDL of any pollutant, and make conforming and technical changes. EXISTING LAW: 1)Requires, pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act), that regular and special meetings of a legislative body must be AB 951 Page 2 held within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except that the local agency may meet at its principal office if that office is located outside the territory over which the agency exercises jurisdiction. 2)Provides, pursuant to the County Sanitation District Act (CSD Act), for the formation, consolidation, officers, and powers of county sanitation districts (CSDs), which must comply with the Brown Act. 3)Requires, pursuant to Proposition 42 as passed by voters on June 3, 2014, that all local governments comply with the California Public Records Act (CPRA) and the Brown Act and with any subsequent changes to those Acts. Proposition 42 also eliminated reimbursement to local agencies for costs of complying with these acts. 4)Requires, pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, each state to identify those waters for which prescribed effluent limitations are not stringent enough to implement applicable water quality standards and to establish, with regard to those waters, TMDLs, subject to the approval of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for certain pollutants at a level necessary to implement those water quality standards. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS: 1)Bill Summary. This bill requires all regular and special meetings of the SCVSD, where decisions are being made upon policy items relating to a TMDL of any pollutant, to be held within the boundaries of the SCVSD. By placing this AB 951 Page 3 requirement in the Brown Act (rather than the County Sanitation District Act), this bill falls under the requirements of Proposition 42 that eliminated reimbursement to local agencies for the costs of complying with the Brown Act. This bill is sponsored by the author. 2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) has been locked in a 15-year battle with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) to reduce the level of chloride that can be discharged into the Santa Clara River. The LARWQCB arbitrarily set a limit of 100 PPM of chloride, claiming any amount higher than that level harms the crops of Ventura County farmers - a finding yet to be supported by science. "In any event, the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District Board (SCVSD) charged with the responsibility to come up with a plan to comply with the proposed limit, chose and sited a plan to reduce the chloride level by drilling and storing brine underground below the communities of Westridge and Stevenson Ranch. It was then discovered that neither the community nor its leaders had much information about the proposed location and that those decisions made by SCVSD in regard to this issue had been made, more than likely, 50 miles from SCV in Whittier where the SCVSD Board regularly meets. While an occasional local meeting was scheduled and announced, on the chloride issue, meetings took place outside the view of SCV residents and ratepayers. Naturally, the distance discourages public comment from the effected residents and their ability to be informed of all the facts and in this case specifically, the Westridge and Stevenson Ranch portions of SCV were left in the dark about a decision that would have a major impact not only on their water rates, but as to the deep well brine injection, their property values, earthquake insurance, and quiet enjoyment of their properties. "Assembly Bill 951 would require the SCVSD, when any issue is to be discussed or decided upon that effects its residents and ratepayers, to hold their Board meetings within the boundaries AB 951 Page 4 of that district. To do otherwise and continue to hold any of those meetings in Whittier makes public testimony and access to information a burden for residents living in the SCV. Had this measure already been law, residents and ratepayers would have had constructive knowledge of the proposal and the ability to comment on its efficacy, saving both the residents and the SCVSD valuable time and money." 3)Background. The SCVSD is one of 24 independent special districts that make up the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (Sanitation Districts), a public agency created under state law to manage wastewater and solid waste on a regional scale. Its member agencies combined serve about 5.5 million people in Los Angeles County. The service area covers approximately 824 square miles and encompasses 78 cities and unincorporated territory within the county. The Sanitation Districts treat about half the wastewater in Los Angeles County. To maximize efficiency and reduce costs, the 24 Sanitation Districts work cooperatively under a Joint Administration Agreement with one administrative staff headquartered near the City of Whittier. Each individual Sanitation District has a Board of Directors consisting of the mayor of each city and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors for unincorporated territory. Each Sanitation District pays its proportionate share of joint administrative costs. 4)SCVSD. The SCVSD is a local agency that collects wastewater from Santa Clarita Valley's homes and businesses. The wastewater travels through sewer pipes to two sewage treatment plants, the Saugus and Valencia Water Reclamation Plants (WRPs), where it is cleaned and disinfected to produce high quality recycled water. The recycled water is returned to the environment through the Santa Clara River or provided to local water agencies for irrigating landscape. Property owners pay for their sewer services, including operating the sewage treatment plants, through a sewer service charge. AB 951 Page 5 The SCVSD is regulated by the EPA through a delegated authority to the State Water Resources Control Board, assisted by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board). The Federal Water Pollution Control Act requires California to identify waters for which prescribed effluent limitations are not stringent enough to implement applicable water quality standards and to establish TMDLs for those waters, subject to the approval of the EPA, for certain pollutants at a level necessary to implement those water quality standards. Both the Saugus and Valencia WRPs discharge their recycled water to the Santa Clara River, which is designated as a water of the United States. Accordingly, each plant must have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Regional Water Board. This permit designates a number of requirements that must be met before the recycled water can be discharged. Failure to comply with the terms of the permit can result in significant state and federal fines. 5)State-Mandated Chloride (Salt) Limit. The state is requiring the Santa Clarita Valley to reduce the chloride levels in the treated wastewater discharged to the Santa Clara River and has set strict deadlines that the Santa Clarita Valley must meet. Salt levels in the Santa Clarita Valley's treated sewage are above the state-mandated chloride limit. For more than 10 years, the SCVSD challenged the state's chloride limit and deadlines. However, the state rejected all of SCVSD's challenges and subsequently fined SCVSD $225,000 for failing to comply with the state-mandated chloride limit. This fine was paid by ratepayers. SCVSD began to prepare a Chloride Compliance Facilities Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to evaluate possible alternatives for complying with the state's chloride mandate. According to the SCVSD, this process "included extensive public outreach involving homeowner organizations, neighborhood councils, the business community, and other AB 951 Page 6 stakeholder groups who offered invaluable input on different alternatives and financial impacts. Based on this input and following a lengthy public hearing, a project involving ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, microfiltration/reverse osmosis (MF/RO), and brine disposal by deep well injection was selected as the least expensive alternative that would comply with the state's strict chloride mandate." The portion of the compliance project that involves brine (salty water) disposal by deep well injection into very salty, unusable water 1-2 miles below the ground is not considered fracking. Brine is a normal by-product of the MF/RO treatment. According to the SCVSD, "On April 24, 2013, the (SCVSD) released the proposed plans for public review and comment, and provided many opportunities for public input. The extended 90-day public comment period closed on July 24, 2013. A revised plan, including responses to all public input and recommendations, was released on October 10, 2013." The SCVSD Board of Directors unanimously agreed to certify the Final EIR and approve the Final Chloride Compliance Facilities Plan on October 28, 2013. Also according to the SCVSD, "The SCVSD conducted a local planning process that encouraged community input. Four information meetings were held to provide an opportunity to learn more about the process and discuss the process with (SCVSD) staff. Over 25 presentations were given to local groups and organizations to discuss the alternatives and gather input. Four public hearings were held to receive official public comment, (and SCVSD) staff also responded to numerous phone calls, e-mails and requests for information. These and other public outreach efforts led to the submission of 492 different comments from 114 separate individuals, community organizations, and government agencies." Despite these efforts, the proposed deep well injection site AB 951 Page 7 at the Tournament Players Club in Stevenson Ranch and Westridge engendered fierce opposition from those communities. SCVSD's Board subsequently voted to reject that site and seek an alternative location. 6)Meeting Locations of the SCVSD Board. Traditionally, the Sanitation Districts' boards meet in Whittier at the Joint Administration Office. The meetings are grouped on different days of the month, so some, though not all, of the boards usually meet together. The joint board meetings are an efficient and cost effective way to conduct business because many of the directors serve on multiple boards. This is because most of the district boundaries were set up to reflect drainage boundaries rather than political boundaries. (Again, there are a few exceptions where an entire city is in the boundary of one district and the whole city council serves as that district's board.) The board of SCVSD is composed of the mayor, a city council member, and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors. One reason that the board meets in Whittier for routine matters is that the Chair of the Board of Supervisors also sits on five other CSD boards that meet on the same day, so it is very efficient for him to attend all six board meetings. If there is a need for a board meeting to be held in a different, more distant location (e.g. Santa Clarita), it can be challenging for the supervisor to attend. That said, it has been the SCVSD Board's practice to hold board meetings in Whittier on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, and to hold special board meetings and public hearings in Santa Clarita on matters of community interest, such as the Chloride TMDL, the Chloride Compliance Project, and rate-setting. The Board meetings held in Whittier typically include routine matters such as materials and equipment purchasing, routine actions for construction related to operations, and annexations. AB 951 Page 8 7)Proposition 42. Proposition 42 was passed by voters on June 3, 2014, and requires all local governments to comply with the CPRA and the Brown Act and with any subsequent changes to those Acts. Proposition 42 also eliminated reimbursement to local agencies for costs of complying with the CPRA and the Brown Act. This bill contains language stating that the Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of the bill furthers the purposes of the California Constitution as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. This bill also includes a finding that states, "Because of the need to hold certain meetings of the SCVSD in a location within the boundaries of the territory over which the district exercises jurisdiction instead of at the principal office of the district, which is over 50 miles away, this act would further the purpose of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution." This bill also specifies that no reimbursement for local agencies to implement the bill's provisions is necessary because "the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district? would result from a legislative mandate that is within the scope of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution." 8)Policy Considerations. The Legislature might wish to consider the following: a) Brown Act Precedent. The Brown Act currently requires regular and special meetings of a legislative body to be held within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except that the local agency may meet at its principal office if that office is located outside the territory over which the agency exercises jurisdiction. This bill amends the Brown Act to require a single agency, the SCVSD, to hold its regular and AB 951 Page 9 special meetings within the SCVSD's territory when those meetings include decisions regarding policy items relating to a TMDL of any pollutant. This provision is a precedent for the Brown Act, which does not otherwise specify meeting locations for a particular entity. The Legislature may wish to consider whether the circumstances that prompted this bill warrant a precedent of this kind. b) Is Legislation Necessary? It appears from information published online and provided by the SCVSD that the public input process was effective in the instance of the proposed deep well injection site. Affected parties communicated their concerns and the SCVSD eventually stopped the plan and is now considering and vetting an alternative site. The Legislature may wish to consider whether this bill is necessary. c) Appropriate Statutory Location. The provisions of this bill have been placed in the Brown Act. The Legislature may wish to consider whether they would more appropriately be placed in the County Sanitation District Act. 9)Previous Legislation. SB 475 (Runner), Chapter 393, Statutes of 2006, established a process by which the SCVSD may require the removal of all residential water softening or conditioning appliances that discharge to the public sewer system, in an effort to reduce the volume of chloride discharged to the Santa Clara River. 10)Arguments in Support. None on file. 11)Arguments in Opposition. None on file. Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN: 0001361 AB 951 Page 10