BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2890|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2890
Author: Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials,
et al.
Amended: 8/8/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/15/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-26, 5/12/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Drinking water and wastewater operator certification
programs
SOURCE: State Water Resources Control Board
DIGEST: This bill makes several statutory changes to better
align State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) programs for
certifying operators of wastewater treatment plants and for
certifying operators of drinking water treatment plants, and to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/8/16 clarify the definition of
"wastewater treatment plant."
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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Page 2
1)Vests the SWRCB with all of the authority, duties, powers,
purposes, functions, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the
State Department of Public Health (DPH) and its predecessor to
enforce the State Drinking Water Act.
2)Requires the SWRCB to examine and certify persons as to their
qualification to supervise or operate water treatment plants
and water distribution systems.
3)Authorizes the SWRCB to suspend, revoke, or refuse to grant or
renew any water treatment operator certificate or water
treatment operator in training certificate upon any reasonable
grounds.
This bill makes several statutory changes to better align SWRCB
programs for certifying operators of wastewater treatment plants
and for certifying operators of drinking water treatment plants,
and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these
programs.
Background
SB 861 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 35, Statutes
of 2014) transferred the Safe Drinking Water Program from DPH to
the SWRCB. The transfer of drinking water responsibilities,
including the Drinking Water Operator Certification Program,
aligned the state's drinking water and water quality programs in
an integrated organizational structure, positioning the state to
better protect water quality and public health, while meeting
current needs and future demands on water supplies.
As a result of the transfer of the Drinking Water Program to the
SWRCB, the SWRCB is now responsible for administering both the
Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification and Drinking
Water Operator Certification Programs. These programs are
critical for ensuring the protection of public health and the
environment by ensuring that those responsible for operating
these treatment plants have the necessary skills, knowledge and
abilities to do so properly. The SWRCB has reviewed both
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Page 3
operator certification programs and has identified several
statutory changes that are needed to help better align the two
certification programs and to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of each program. This bill makes those changes.
Many individuals hold a combination of a wastewater treatment
plant operator certificate, a water treatment operator
certificate, and/or a water distribution operator certificate.
The individuals who hold multiple certificates or their
employers incur fees for each certificate. The cost of holding
multiple certificates may discourage operators from obtaining
more than one certificate, even though it would be desirable
from a public health and water quality perspective to have
people trained and certified to operate multiple types of
systems. Existing law limits the SWRCB's ability to provide a
discount to people who hold multiple certificates.
The SWRCB currently has a drinking water advisory committee
consistent with the federal drinking water operator
certification requirements; however, the requirement for, and
the membership of, the committee is not in statute or
regulation.
Existing law provides that the drinking water operator
certification program must be self-supported by fees, however it
does not provide the SWRCB the flexibility to adjust the fees
consistent with the level of funding authorized by the
Legislature in the Budget Act. Under current law, the Drinking
Water Operator Certification Special Account does not allow for
the deposit of interest earned on drinking water fees into the
Account.
Under current law, the SWRCB has authority to impose
disciplinary action and/or administrative civil liability
against certified wastewater treatment plant operators at
wastewater treatment plants, including water recycling treatment
plants, as well as against non-certified operators at wastewater
treatment plants and owners of wastewater treatment plants. The
SWRCB does not have the authority to impose administrative civil
liability against certified or non-certified operators at water
treatment plants and water distribution systems or the owners of
water treatment plants and water distribution systems.
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This bill is proposed by the SWRCB to improve the effectiveness
of the SWRCB's programs for certifying operators of wastewater
treatment plants and operators of drinking water treatment
plants. These proposed changes are intended to reduce confusion
for operators of drinking water treatment plants and wastewater
treatment plants, improve the ability of the SWRCB to enforce
this program, and ensure that the funding is sufficient to
implement the program while providing some reduction in fees to
those people that hold multiple certificates within this
program.
Purpose of this bill. According to the SWRCB, this proposal
makes several statutory changes to better align the SWRCB's
programs for certifying operators of wastewater treatment plants
and for certifying operators of drinking water treatment plants,
and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these
programs. Among its provisions, this proposal: 1) clarifies
operator certification requirements for water recycling
treatment plants in both the drinking water and wastewater
treatment plant operator certification statutes; 2) revises the
fee structure for wastewater and drinking water treatment plant
operator certification; and 3) clarifies and expands the SWRCB's
authority to enforce wastewater and drinking water certification
programs, including authorizing the SWRCB to issue
administrative civil liability provisions for specified
violations of the drinking water operator certification program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/8/16)
State Water Resources Control Board (source)
Department of the Navy, Department of Defense
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/8/16)
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San Miguel Community Services District Board of Directors
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-26, 5/12/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber,
Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim,
Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez,
Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Dahle, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/10/16 15:55:04
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