Amended in Senate May 19, 2015

Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Senate BillNo. 385


Introduced by Senator Hueso

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo and Eduardo Garcia)

(Coauthors: Senators Cannella and Stone)

( Coauthors: Assembly Members Dodd and Mayes)

February 24, 2015


An act to add and repeal Section 116431 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to drinking water, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 385, as amended, Hueso. Primary drinking water standards: hexavalent chromium: compliance plan.

The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the State of California. The act requires the state board to adopt primary drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking water based upon specified criteria, and required a primary drinking water standard to be established for hexavalent chromium by January 1, 2004. Existing law authorizes the state board to grant a variance from primary drinking water standards to a public water system. Existing law makes certain violations of the act a crime.

This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2020, the state board, at the request of a public water system that prepares and submits a compliance plan to the state board, to grant a period of time to achieve compliance with the primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by approving the compliance plan, as prescribed. This bill would require a public water system to provide specified notice regarding the compliance plan to its customers and the public water system to send written status reports to the state board. This bill would prohibit a public water system from being deemed in violation of the primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium while implementing an approved compliance plan or while state board action on its proposed and submitted compliance plan is pending.

The bill would authorize the state board to direct revisions to a compliance plan if the board makes certain determinations and would prohibit a public water system from being granted a period of time to achieve compliance under certain circumstances, including if the public water system does not submit a revised compliance plan or the revised compliance plan is disapproved. The bill would authorize the state board to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions by means of criteria, published on its Internet Web site. To the extent that a public water system, when requesting approval of a compliance plan or submitting a report pursuant to these provisions, would make any false statement or representation, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 116431 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code
, to read:

3

116431.  

(a) At the request of any public water system that
4prepares and submits a compliance plan to the state board, the state
5board may grant a period of time to achieve compliance with the
6primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by
7approving the compliance plan.

8(b) (1) A compliance plan shall include all of the following:

P3    1(A) A compelling reason why it is not feasible for the system
2to presently comply with the primary drinking water standard for
3hexavalent chromium.

4(B) A summary of the public water system’s review of available
5funding sources, the best available technology or technologies for
6treatment, and other options to achieve and maintain compliance
7with the primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium
8by the earliest feasible date.

9(C) A description of the actions the public water system is taking
10and will take by milestone dates to comply with the primary
11drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by the earliest
12feasible date. The actions may include, but are not limited to,
13planning, designing, permitting, financing, constructing, testing,
14and activating treatment facilities or other capital improvements.
15The compliance plan shall include the public water system’s best
16estimate of the funding required for compliance and the actions
17that the public water system will take to secure the funding. In no
18event shall the earliest feasible date extend beyond January 1,
192020.

20(2) The state board may approve a compliance plan or provide
21written comments on the compliance plan to the public water
22 system. The state board may approve a compliance plan if the
23public water system timely and adequately addresses any and all
24written comments provided by the state board.

25(3) The state board may, upon review of a compliance plan and
26based on the public water system’s specific circumstances
27identified in the plan, require compliance with the primary drinking
28water standard for hexavalent chromium before January 1, 2020.

29(c) The public water system shall provide written notice
30regarding the compliance plan to its customers at least two times
31per year. The written notice shall meet the translation requirements
32provided in subdivision (h) of Section 116450 and shall include
33notice of all of the following:

34(1) That the public water system is implementing the compliance
35plan that has been approved by the state board and that
36demonstrates the public water system is taking the needed feasible
37actions to comply with the primary drinking water standard for
38hexavalent chromium. The notice shall summarize those actions
39in a form and manner determined by the state board. For notices
40after the initial notice, the public water system shall update
P4    1information demonstrating progress implementing the compliance
2plan.

3(2) That the public water system’s customers have alternative
4drinking water and that the public water system may provide
5information on that drinking water. The notice shall identify where
6the customer can obtain that information.

begin insert

7(3) Basic information describing hexavalent chromium,
8including the level found in drinking water provided by the public
9water system, the maximum contaminant level for hexavalent
10chromium, and the possible effects of hexavalent chromium on
11human health as specified in Appendix 64465-D of Section 64465
12of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

end insert

13(d) Following the state board’s approval of the compliance plan,
14the public water system shall submit a written status report to the
15state board, at a frequency and by a deadline or deadlines set by
16the state board, for the state board’s approval, that updates the
17status of actions specified in the state board-approved compliance
18plan and that specifies any changes to the compliance plan that
19are needed to achieve compliance with the primary drinking water
20standard for hexavalent chromium by the earliest feasible date.
21State board approval of a written status report that includes
22proposed changes to the compliance plan shall be deemed approval
23of those changes to the compliance plan.

24(e) A public water system shall not be deemed in violation of
25the primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium
26while implementing an approved compliance plan. A public water
27system that has submitted a compliance plan for approval shall
28not be deemed in violation of the primary drinking water standard
29for hexavalent chromium while state board action on the proposed
30and submitted compliance plan is pending.

31(f) (1) At any time, the state board may direct revisions to a
32compliance plan or disapprove a compliance plan if the state board
33determines that the compliance plan is insufficient. At any time,
34the state board may disapprove a written status report if the state
35board determines that the written status report fails to demonstrate
36that the public water system is complying with the approved
37compliance plan by the milestone dates. In these instances, the
38state board shall provide the public water system with written
39notice specifying the reason for the required revisions or
P5    1disapproval and the deficiencies that shall be addressed in a
2resubmitted compliance plan or written status report.

3(2) A previously approved compliance plan that the state board
4requires to be revised, or a written status report that is disapproved
5by the state board, may be revised and resubmitted by the public
6water system for state board approval within 60 days of receipt of
7the notice required by paragraph (1). During the 60 days, a public
8water system shall not be deemed in violation of the primary
9drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium. A public water
10system shall not be granted a period of time to achieve compliance
11with the primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium
12if the public water system fails to submit a revised compliance
13plan or revised written status report within 60 days of receiving
14the notice, or submits a revised compliance plan or revised written
15status report that is subsequently disapproved.

16(3) A compliance plan approved by the state board pursuant to
17this section shall continue in effect until the earliest feasible
18compliance date, as specified by the compliance plan, or until the
19state board determines that the compliance plan is no longer in
20effect pursuant to this subdivision.

21(g) The state board may implement, interpret, or make specific
22the provisions of this section by means of criteria, published on
23its Internet Web site. This action by the state board shall not be
24subject to the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative
25Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
26Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

27(h) This section does not affect the state’s requirements for
28establishing drinking water standards for contaminants in drinking
29water. This section does not apply to any contaminants other than
30hexavalent chromium. This section is intended to address the
31specific circumstance that for some public water systems,
32compliance with the state’s hexavalent chromium drinking water
33standard requires the design, financing, and construction of capital
34improvements. These major compliance actions necessitate a period
35of time for compliance.

36(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
37and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
38is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

39

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
40Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
P6    1the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
2district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
3infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
4for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
5the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
6the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
7Constitution.

8

SEC. 3.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
9immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
10the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
11immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

12The state’s regulation setting the new maximum contaminant
13level for hexavalent chromium VI went into effect on July 1, 2014.
14The regulation required that the initial compliance monitoring
15under the regulation be performed by January 1, 2015. Some public
16water systems need to take major compliance actions, such as
17designing, financing, and constructing water treatment facilities,
18to comply with the new regulation. To avoid the systems being
19deemed in violation of the regulation in 2015, and for a limited
20time period thereafter, it is necessary for this act, which authorizes
21a period of time to achieve compliance, to take effect immediately.



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