BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2594|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2594
Author: Gordon (D), et al.
Amended: 8/17/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/15/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Bates
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 57-12, 5/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Stormwater resources: use of captured water
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill specifies that a public entity that captures
stormwater in an urban area before the water reaches a natural
channel, in accordance with a stormwater resource plan, is
entitled to use the captured water.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/17/16 clarify that the bill applies
only to urban areas and corrects the language regarding water
rights supplies and water rights law.
AB 2594
Page 2
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes one or more public agencies to develop a Stormwater
Resources Plan.
2)Requires such plans, among other things, to:
a) Be consistent with, and assist in, compliance with total
maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans and
applicable national pollutant discharge elimination system
(NPDES) permits.
b) Be consistent with all applicable waste discharge
permits.
3)Requires that by July 1, 2016, the State Water Resources
Control Board (board) establish guidance for the act,
including, but is not limited to, the following:
a) Identifying types of local agencies and nongovernmental
organizations that need to be consulted in developing a
stormwater resource plan.
b) Defining appropriate quantitative methods for
identifying and prioritizing opportunities for stormwater
and dry weather runoff capture projects.
c) Defining the appropriate geographic scale of watersheds
for stormwater resource planning.
AB 2594
Page 3
d) Other guidance the board deems appropriate to achieve
the objectives of this part.
This bill authorizes a public entity that captures stormwater
from urban areas, in accordance with a stormwater resource plan,
before the water reaches a natural channel to use the captured
water to the extent that the water augments existing water
supplies.
Comments
1)On December 15, 2015 the board adopted its "Storm Water
Resource Plan Guidelines." The guidelines require, among
other things, that storm water resource plans address or
provide formal reference addressing the following provisions:
a) California Environmental Quality Act Compliance.
Implementation of activities and individual projects per
the storm water resource plan must be in compliance with
the California Environmental Quality Act.
b) Consistency With Water Quality Control Plans, Applicable
Water Quality Control Policies, And Water Rights. The plan
must be consistent with, and assist in compliance with,
applicable federal and state regulations and policies, and
permits implementing federal and state regulations and
policies, including, but not limited to:
i) Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act;
ii) Water rights permits/licenses;
iii) State Water Board plans and policies;
AB 2594
Page 4
iv) State and Regional Water Board water quality
control plans and policies, including TMDLs adopted by
the Regional Water Board; and
v) Any other federal and/or state laws, regulations and
permits.
c) Consistency With Applicable Permits. Plans must be
implemented in accordance with applicable NPDES permits,
waste discharge requirements, Areas of Special Biological
Significance Compliance Plans, and/or conditional waivers
issued by the State and/or Regional Water Boards.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/16)
7th Generation Advisors
American Rivers
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California State Association of Counties
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, & Education
City of Santa Monica
Clean Water Action
Desal Response Group
Environmental Water Caucus
Heal the Bay
Los Angeles County Division, League of California Cities
Los Angeles Waterkeeper
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
San Gabriel Valley Water Association
Southern California Watershed Alliance
TreePeople
AB 2594
Page 5
WILDCOAST
Private Individual (1)
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/16)
Association of California Water Agencies
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Climate
change models predict more frequent storms and more floods in
California; at the same time, our state's infrastructure treats
stormwater as a waste product rather than a natural resource
that can help mitigate our droughts. The Stormwater Resources
Planning Act encourages local watersheds to develop plans to
work together to manage stormwater and compliance is required to
qualify for Prop 1 funding. However, compliance with a
Stormwater Resource Plan - which also requires respect for CEQA,
the Clean Water Act, Health and Safety Code, and all water
rights permits and licenses - does not entitle public entities
to use the stormwater or to use it for water supply or water
quality purposes. This means that billions of gallons of
relatively clean water flows into the ocean every year.
AB 2594 would allow public entities that capture stormwater in
accordance with a stormwater resource plan and wastewater
discharge permit to use that water before it reaches a natural
channel. This bill will encourage more robust stormwater capture
in California and will also provide entities with the certainty
they need to pursue alternative financing for stormwater
systems."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Association of California Water
Agencies (ACWA), in its opposition to an earlier version of this
bill, stated it supports the idea of additional stormwater
capture and use, but are concerned that such projects might
adversely affect their water rights. Without explicit language
protecting their water rights, they must oppose this bill.
AB 2594
Page 6
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 57-12, 5/23/16
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Beth Gaines,
Grove, Harper, Jones, Linder, Mayes, Melendez, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Arambula, Dahle, Eggman,
Gallagher, Hadley, Kim, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Waldron
Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/18/16 16:50:29
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