Amended in Assembly March 31, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2022

Introduced by Assembly Member Gordon

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Jones, Kim, and Olsen)

(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Hertzberg, and Wolk)

February 16, 2016

An act to add Section 13570 to the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2022, as amended, Gordon. Advanced purified demonstration water.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to, on or before December 31, 2013, adopt uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge and to investigate and, on or before December 31, 2016, report to the Legislature on the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse. Existing law transferred these powers and responsibilities to the State Water Resources Control Board on July 1, 2014.

Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates water bottlers, distributors, and vendors. Existing law prescribes various quality and labeling standards for bottled water and limits the levels of certain contaminants that may be contained in those water products. Violation of these provisions is a crime.

This bill would authorize the operator of an advanced water purification facility begin delete producing advanced purified demonstration water end delete to cause begin delete that end delete begin insert advanced purified demonstration end insert water to be bottled and distributed as samples for educational purposes and to promote water recycling, as specified. The bill would prohibit the advanced purified demonstration water begin insert in each bottle from exceeding 8 ounces and would prohibit that water end insert from being distributed unless the water, among other requirements, meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards and goals. The bill would authorize advanced purified demonstration water to be bottled at a licensed water-bottling plant in compliance with specified provisions. The bill would further establish bottling and labeling requirements for advanced purified demonstration water and would prohibit a facility from bottling more than 1,000 gallons of the water in a calendar year. The bill would require an operator of an advanced water purification facility seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water to establish a collection and recycling program for distributed bottles. The bill would specify that a violation of these provisions does not constitute a crime.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 13570 is added to the Water Code, to
read:

13570.  

(a) As used in this section, “advanced purified
demonstration water” means product water from an advanced water
purification facility that satisfies both of the following
requirements:

(1) The product water is treated by means of all of the following
treatment processes:

(A) Microfiltration, ultrafiltration, or other filtration processes
to remove particulates before reverse osmosis.

(B) Reverse osmosis.

(C) Advanced oxidation.

(2) The product water meets or exceeds all federal and state
drinking water standards and is produced in accordance with the
advanced treatment criteria for purified water specified in Section
60320.201 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(b) As used in this section, “advanced water purification facility”
means a water recycling treatment plant that produces advanced
purified demonstration water in accordance with the advanced
treatment criteria specified in Section 60320.201 of Title 22 of the
California Code of Regulations.

(c) As used in this section, “batch” means an increment of
advanced purified treatment water that has completed the treatment
process, is separate from incoming water, and is not receiving any
additional source water.

(d) Except as expressly set forth in this section, the operator of
an advanced water purification facility may cause begin delete that end delete begin insert advanced
purified demonstration end insert water to be bottled and distributed as
samples for educational purposes and to promote water recycling,
without complying with the requirements of Article 12
(commencing with Section 111070) of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of
Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code. begin insert end insert begin insert The volume of
advanced purified demonstration water in each bottle shall not
exceed eight ounces. end insert

(e) Any operator of an advanced water purification facility
seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water shall
collect water samples from the batch prior to the commencement
of the bottling process, and test that batch in accordance with
Section 111165 of the Health and Safety Code. Advanced purified
demonstration water shall not be distributed unless the following
requirements are met:

(1) The water meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking
water standards and goals, including all maximum contaminant
levels applicable to public drinking water systems.

(2) All water purification requirements imposed by regulatory
agencies on the advanced water purification facility used to produce
the advanced purified demonstration water, including the removal
of constituents of emerging concern where the removal is otherwise
required of an advanced water purification facility by the state
board.

(3) The water is produced using a treatment process that is
consistent with the advanced treatment criteria for purified water
specified in Section 60320.201 of Title 22 of the California Code
of Regulations and, if established by the state board, in accordance
with any uniform statewide water recycling treatment criteria
developed for the direct consumption of advanced purified
demonstration water.

(f) (1) Advanced purified demonstration water may be bottled
only at a licensed water-bottling plant in compliance with Sections
111080, 111120, 111145, and 111155 of the Health and Safety
Code.

(2) Before bottling advanced purified demonstration water, an
advanced water purification facility shall follow all pretreatment
and labeling regulations for water bottling, including the
requirements for bottled water and vended water pursuant to
Section 111080 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) Advanced purified demonstration water shall be handled
from the point of production to the completion of bottling in
accordance with all regulations governing the transportation,
bottling, and handling of bottled water, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 111070 of the Health and Safety Code, including,
but not limited to, subdivisions (b), (f), and (h) of Section 111075
of the Health and Safety Code. A water bottling plant that bottles
advanced purified demonstration water in accordance with this
section may also bottle other potable water, subject to compliance
with Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070) of Chapter 5
of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) Advanced purified demonstration water shall be bottled in
nonreturnable (one-way) bottles or packages with labels containing
the following information in an easily readable format that
complies with all of the following:

(1) The label shall state “sample water--not for sale” and
“advanced purified water meeting all federal and state drinking
water standards.”

(2) The label shall set forth the name, address, telephone
number, and Internet Web site of the operator of the facility
producing the advanced purified demonstration water.

(3) The label shall include a brief description of the advanced
purified demonstration water, including its source and the treatment
processes to which the water is subjected.

(i) A single begin insert advanced end insert water purification facility begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not
bottle more than 1,000 gallons of advanced purified demonstration
water in a calendar year.

(j) Advanced purified demonstration water shall not be sold or
otherwise distributed in exchange for financial consideration.

(k) Any operator of an advanced water purification facility
seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water shall
establish a collection and recycling program for distributed bottles.

(l) A violation of this section shall not be subject to Section
111825 of the Health and Safety Code.

begin insert

(m) This section does not exempt an advanced water purification
facility from any standard for bottling water imposed pursuant to
federal law.

end insert