BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2022|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2022
Author: Gordon (D), et al.
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/15/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/1/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Advanced purified demonstration water
SOURCE: Orange County Sanitation District
Orange County Water District
WateReuse California
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the operator of an advanced water
purification facility (facility) to bottle and distribute
advanced purified water as samples for educational purposes,
under specified conditions.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/15/16 define "advanced purified
demonstration water" as product water from an advanced water
purification facility that satisfies specified requirements;
provide that bottled advanced purified demonstration water to
any person under 18 years of age without parental consent;
clarify the amount of bottled advanced purified demonstration
water that a facility may provide; and specify requirements for
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recordkeeping for facilities that provide advanced purified
demonstration water.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1) Authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, to regulate bottled
water products that are in interstate commerce.
2) Authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA), under the Safe Drinking Water Act, to set national
health-based standards for drinking water to protect against
both naturally occurring and anthropogenic contaminants.
3) Requires, when US EPA sets a new standard for a contaminant
in drinking water, that the FDA must establish a new standard
for the same contaminant in bottled water or find that US
EPA's new standard is not applicable to bottled water.
Existing state law:
1) Authorizes the Department of Public Health (DPH) to license
and regulate manufacturers of bottled water and vended water.
Establishes requirements for bottled, vended, hauled and
processed water.
2) Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to
maintain a drinking water program.
3) Declares that a substantial portion of the future water
requirements of this state may be economically met by
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beneficial use of recycled water. Finds that the utilization
of recycled water by local communities for domestic,
agricultural, industrial, recreational, and fish and wildlife
purposes will contribute to the peace, health, safety and
welfare of the people of the state.
4) Requires the SWRCB to establish uniform statewide recycling
criteria for the various uses of recycled water where the use
involves the protection of public health.
5) States that although there has been much scientific research
on public health issues associated with indirect potable
reuse through groundwater recharge, there are a number of
significant unanswered questions regarding indirect potable
reuse through surface water augmentation and direct potable
reuse.
6) Defines "direct potable reuse" as introducing recycled water
either directly into a public water system or into a raw
water supply immediately upstream of a water treatment plant;
"indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge" as using
recycled water to replenish a groundwater basin or an aquifer
that has been designated as a source of water supply for a
public drinking water system; and, "surface water
augmentation" as placing recycled water into a surface water
reservoir used as a source of domestic drinking water supply.
7) Requires SWRCB, by December 31, 2013, to adopt uniform water
recycling criteria for indirect potable reuse for groundwater
recharge.
8) Requires SWRCB, by December 31, 2016, to develop and adopt
uniform water recycling criteria for surface water
augmentation.
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9) Requires, prior to adopting water recycling criteria for
surface water augmentation, SWRCB to submit the proposed
criteria to the expert panel, which is required to review the
proposed criteria and adopt a finding as to whether, in its
expert opinion, the proposed criteria would adequately
protect public health.
10)Prohibits the SWRCB from adopting uniform water recycling
criteria for surface water augmentation unless and until the
expert panel adopts a finding that the proposed criteria
would adequately protect public health.
11)Requires SWRCB, on or before December 31, 2016, to
investigate and report to the Legislature on the feasibility
of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct
potable reuse.
12)Requires SWRCB to convene and administer an expert panel to
advise it on public health issues and scientific and
technical matters regarding development of uniform water
recycling criteria for indirect potable reuse through surface
water augmentation and investigation of the feasibility of
developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct
potable reuse.
This bill:
1) Authorizes the distribution of advanced purified
demonstration water for educational purposes and the
promotion of recycled water, as specified.
2) Defines "advanced purified demonstration water" as product
water from an advanced water purification facility that
satisfies specified requirements; provides that bottled
advanced purified demonstration water to any person under 18
years of age without parental consent; clarifies the amount
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of bottled advanced purified demonstration water that a
facility may provide; and specifies requirements for
recordkeeping for facilities that provide advanced purified
demonstration water.
Background
1) Recycled water. Water recycling is reusing treated
wastewater for direct beneficial or controlled purposes, such
as for agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial
processes, toilet flushing, and replenishing groundwater
basins. According to the US EPA, recycled water can satisfy
most water demands, as long as it is adequately treated to
ensure water quality appropriate for the use. In addition to
providing a dependable, locally controlled water supply,
water recycling can provide environmental benefits. By
providing an additional source of water, water recycling can
decrease the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems.
Other benefits include decreasing wastewater discharges and
reducing and preventing pollution. Recycled water can also be
used to create or enhance wetlands and riparian habitats.
2) State water recycling policy. In 2009, the SWRCB adopted
Resolution No. 2009-0011 to update the state's water
recycling policy. This state policy includes the goal of
increasing the use of recycled water in the state over 2002
levels by at least one million acre feet per year by 2020 and
by at least two million acre feet per year by 2030. State
law recognizes that the use of recycled water for indirect
potable reuse is critical to achieving the SWRCB's goals for
increased use of recycled water for the state. State law
also declares that the achievement of the state's goals
depends on the timely development of uniform statewide
recycling criteria for indirect and direct potable water
reuse. State law states that although there has been much
scientific research on public health issues associated with
indirect potable reuse through groundwater recharge, there
are a number of significant unanswered questions regarding
indirect potable reuse through surface water augmentation and
direct potable reuse.
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3) Recent legislative and regulatory action on recycled water
in California. SB 918 (Pavley, Chapter 700, Statutes of
2010) revised the state's approach to regulating recycled
water by requiring DPH to establish uniform statewide
recycling criteria for each use of recycled water where the
use involves the protection of public health. In 2014, all
authority and responsibility for the state's drinking water
programs were transferred from DPH to SWRCB, including the
recycled water program (Health and Safety Code §1116271).
SB 918 requires SWRCB (formerly DPH) to take action on three
uses of recycled water. First, it required the SWRCB, by
December 31, 2013, to adopt uniform recycled water criteria
for indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge. The
SWRCB has developed uniform regulations authorizing the use
of highly treated wastewater for groundwater recharge, if
specified requirements are met, including a requirement that
the treated wastewater must have a residence time in the
ground of at least two months, before reaching drinking water
intake pumps. These regulations went into effect on June 18,
2014.
Second, SB 918 requires the SWRCB, by December 31, 2016, to
develop and adopt uniform water recycling criteria for
surface water augmentation. The law also requires SWRCB to
convene and administer an expert panel to advise it on public
health, scientific, and technical matters regarding the
development of uniform water recycling criteria for indirect
potable reuse through surface water augmentation. The SWRCB
reports that it is currently working with the expert panel
and it is developing regulations for surface water
augmentation with recycled water. It is on target to adopt
these regulations by December 31, 2016.
Finally, SB 918, and later SB 322 (Hueso, Chapter 637,
Statutes of 2013), require SWRCB, by December 31, 2016, to
investigate and report to the Legislature on the feasibility
of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct
potable reuse.
SWRCB has convened and is currently working with the expert
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panel, and expects to release the required report on direct
potable reuse of recycled water by December 31, 2016. There
is some concern about allowing the bottling and direct
drinking of treated recycled water prior to the release of
the SWRCB's report on the safety of the direct potable reuse
of recycled water.
4) Recycled water for direct consumption. In California,
SWRCB's Division of Drinking Water (DDW), in conjunction with
the appropriate Regional Water Quality Control Boards, which
are the permitting authorities, are responsible for
evaluating the treatment, production, distribution, and use
of recycled water. DDW does not regulate public consumption
of treated recycled water from projects that do not meet the
definition of a public water system per CCR, Title 22,
Section 64400. The SWRCB has not approved the use of any
recycled water, including advanced purified drinking water,
for direct potable reuse. The US EPA does not have
regulations for treating wastewater to drinking water
quality; they leave it up to the states to do so.
While the SWRCB does regulate recycled water, it does not
regulate bottled water or vended water -- these are regulated
as food by DPH's Food and Drug Branch. It is unclear how
bottled advanced purified drinking water would be regulated
under the California bottled water law.
5) Concerns about recycled water for direct consumption. While
recycled water has potential for providing solutions for the
state's limited water resources, recycled water regulations
are currently being developed and potential human health
impacts of the direct consumption of recycled water are being
studied. Numerous contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals,
personal care products (antibacterial soaps, sunscreen, bath
gels, etc.), flame retardants, and other constituents of
emerging concern, are more likely to be present in municipal
wastewater than in other water sources. Although they
typically exist in small concentrations, there is growing
concern about the impact of constituents of emerging concern,
and other unregulated compounds, on public health and the
environment. Since there are currently no state or federal
drinking water standards for these constituents, allowing the
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direct consumption of treated recycled water, as opposed to
consumption after a spatial or temporal buffer as is required
with groundwater or surface water recharging, may be cause
for caution.
6)Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS).
Operational since January 2008, Orange County's GWRS is the
world's largest advanced water purification system for potable
reuse, producing about 100 million gallons a day of highly
purified potable water. A joint project of the Orange County
Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District
(which are also jointly sponsoring this bill), the GWRS takes
treated wastewater from the Orange County Sanitation District
and treats it further using microfiltration, reverse osmosis,
and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide. According to
the Orange County Water District, the product water is
near-distilled-quality. Currently, roughly half of the
purified water from the GWRS is injected into Orange County's
expanded seawater intrusion barrier. The remaining water is
piped to percolation basins in Anaheim where the water filters
through clay and rock into groundwater aquifers. There, the
water blends with the existing groundwater before it is used
as drinking water for northern and central Orange County
residents.
Comments
1) Purpose of bill. According to the author, with the use of
advanced water purification technology, billions of gallons
of water that would otherwise be wasted and sent to the ocean
can be reused as a safe and reliable source of new
precipitation-independent water to help fulfill California's
ever-growing demand. Currently, only someone visiting a
facility may sample the water.
2) Analyzing and preparing for the unanticipated. Both the
federal and state Safe Drinking Water Acts are structured to
set standards for known contaminants that impact source
waters- not emerging issues. Recycling water creates a new
issue. Recycled water is wastewater that goes back into
productive use. Waste water will have been far more likely
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if not definitely contaminated with constituents that do not
have standards set in statute or regulation for treatment.
For example, pharmaceutical constituents are still evading
waste water and water recycling facilities from successful
complete removal of all pharmaceutical constituents.
3) Getting out ahead. SB 918 directed SWRCB to conduct a
feasibility study for the direct potable reuse of water.
That feasibility study and the accompanying scientific review
are due by the end of this year. SWRCB is on target to meet
that mandate. Why would the Legislature go counter to its
own directive and exempt recycled water, even in this limited
context, from the regulatory requirements, accountability and
enforceability of both the Safe Drinking Water Act and the
bottled water requirements under both state and federal less
than six months before the feasibility report is due from
SWRCB? It may be more appropriate to wait and consider the
validity and need of this proposal after SWRCB has finished
its review.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill will
cost approximately $140,000 annually (Drinking Water Fund) for
SWRCB to oversee purification facilities, some or all of which
may be offset by fees assessed on the purification facilities.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/3/16)
Orange County Sanitation District (co-source)
Orange County Water District (co-source)
WateReuse California (co-source)
Association of California Water Agencies
CalDesal
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Groundwater Coalition
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California Municipal Utilities Association
California Special Districts Association
City of San Diego
Costa Mesa Sanitary District
Desal Response Group
Eastern Municipal Water District
Environmental Water Caucus
Inland Empire Coastkeeper
Irvine Ranch Water District
Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
Midway City Sanitation District
Orange County Coastkeeper
Residents for Responsible Desalination
San Diego County Water Authority
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
Sierra Club California
Southern California Watershed Alliance
Surfrider Foundation
Sustainable Silicon Valley
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/3/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,
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Page 11
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Daly, Mathis, Olsen
Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/16/16 17:57:14
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