BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 385
Page A
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
SB
385 (Hueso) - As Amended June 18, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: Primary drinking water standards: hexavalent chromium:
compliance plan.
SUMMARY: Provides that the State Water Resources Control Board
(State Water Board) may approve a compliance plan for a public
water agency to meet the drinking water standard for hexavalent
chromium. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that at the request of any public water system that
prepares and submits a compliance plan to the State Water
Board, the State Water Board may grant a period of time to
achieve compliance with the primary drinking water standard
for hexavalent chromium by approving the compliance plan.
Provides that a compliance plan must provide:
a) A compelling reason why it is not feasible for the
system to presently comply with the primary drinking water
standard for hexavalent chromium;
b) A summary of the public water system's review of
available funding sources, the best available technology or
technologies for treatment, and other options to achieve
SB 385
Page B
and maintain compliance with the primary drinking water
standard for hexavalent chromium by the earliest feasible
date; and,
c) A description of the actions the public water system is
taking and will take by milestone dates to comply with the
primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by
the earliest feasible date, which shall not extend beyond
January 1, 2020.
2)Provides that the State Water Board may approve a compliance
plan or provide written comments on the compliance plan to the
public water system, and upon review of a compliance plan and
based on the public water system's specific circumstances
identified in the plan, require compliance with the primary
drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium before January
1, 2020.
3)Authorizes the State Water Board to direct revisions to a
compliance plan or disapprove a compliance plan if it
determines that the compliance plan is insufficient.
4)Requires that a public water system provides written notice
regarding the compliance plan to the persons served by the
public water system at least two times per year, as specified.
Requires that the written notice includes:
a) That the public water system is implementing the
compliance plan that has been approved by the State Water
Board and that demonstrates the public water system is
taking the needed feasible actions to comply with the
primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium;
and,
b) That the persons served by the public water system have
alternative drinking water and that the public water system
may provide information on that drinking water.
5)Requires the public water system to submit written status
SB 385
Page C
reports to the State Water Board that update the status of
actions in the compliance plan and that specify any changes to
the compliance plan needed to achieve compliance with the
primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by the
earliest feasible date.
6)Provides that a public water system shall not be deemed in
violation of the primary drinking water standard for
hexavalent chromium while implementing an approved compliance
plan, or while a public water system's proposed and submitted
compliance plan is pending before the State Water Board.
7)Establishes this as an urgency act based on the necessity to
provide adequate time to complete drinking water system
improvements before being found to be out of compliance with
drinking water standards.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Directs the State Water Board to adopt primary drinking water
standards for contaminants in drinking water that are based
upon set criteria, and specifies that such standards shall not
be less stringent than the national primary drinking water
standards adopted by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency. Requires that primary drinking water
standard adopted shall be set at a level that is as close as
feasible to a corresponding public health goal, placing
primary emphasis on the protection of public health.
2)Provides that any person who owns a public water system shall,
among other things, ensure that the system complies with
primary and secondary drinking water standards, and provides a
reliable and adequate supply of pure, wholesome, healthful,
and potable water.
3)Authorizes the State Water Board to exempt any public water
system from any maximum contaminant level or treatment
technique requirement if it finds, among other things, that
SB 385
Page D
the granting of the exemption will not result in an
unreasonable risk to health.
4)Authorizes the State Water Board to grant a variance or
variances from primary drinking water standards to a public
water system, provided any variance granted conforms to the
requirements established under the federal Safe Drinking Water
Act.
5)Requires the State Water Board to commence the process for
adopting a primary drinking water standard for hexavalent
chromium, and that it shall establish a primary drinking water
standard (MCL) for hexavalent chromium, on or before January
1, 2004.
6)Requires the State Water Board to be responsible for ensuring
that all public water systems are operated in compliance with
the California Safe Drinking Water Act.
7)Provides, effective on July 1, 2014, pursuant to State Water
Board regulations, the MCL for hexavalent chromium of 0.010
milligram per liter (equivalent to 10 g/L).
FISCAL EFFECT: Not known.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the sponsors of the bill, the
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), "Public water
systems are committed to meeting the standard, which is the
first of its kind in the nation, but the timeline provided for
compliance does not recognize the complex steps water systems
must take to achieve the standard. The steps involved - from
designing appropriate treatment systems to securing financing to
building and testing new treatment facilities - can take up to
five years or more and cost millions of dollars.
SB 385
Page E
"For some public water systems, construction of extensive new
treatment facilities is needed to comply with the chromium-6
MCL. The regulation establishing the standard required public
water systems to begin monitoring for chromium-6 by Jan. 1,
2015, just six months after the regulation went into effect.
Many affected water systems will be deemed in violation of the
new standard in 2015 even though it was not feasible to install
appropriate treatment systems to comply with the MCL within the
time period provided. In some cases, land may need to be
acquired, water rates may need to be raised, and financing may
need to be secured before construction of facilities can even
begin.
"SB 385 would provide a time-limited process for a water system
to work toward compliance without being deemed in violation as
long as strict safeguards are met."
Chromium in the environment: Chromium is a metallic element
which generally occurs in small quantities associated with other
metals, particularly iron. Chromium is used to harden steel, in
the manufacture of stainless steel, and in the production of a
number of industrially alloys which are used in making of
pigments, in leather tanning for welding and plating produces.
The metal is present in the atmosphere in particulate form and
is naturally found in crustal rock (basalts and serpentine) and
soil. An important source of chromium in soil is probably
disposal of commercial products. Chromium enters environmental
waters from anthropogenic sources such as electroplating
factories, leather tanneries and textile manufacturing
facilities. Chromium also enters groundwater by leaching from
soil.
SB 385
Page F
Health effects of hexavalent chromium: According the California
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) The
National Toxicology Program study found significant numbers of
gastrointestinal tumors in male and female rats and mice that
consumed drinking water with hexavalent chromium. In addition,
OEHHA's analysis of data collected from China found increased
rates of stomach cancer in people exposed to high levels of
chromium from drinking water. Scientific studies have found a
higher than average rate of lung and gastrointestinal cancers in
workers who inhaled chromium on the job. There is substantial
evidence that chromium 6 can damage DNA.<1>
Regulation of hexavalent chromium in California drinking water:
Hexavalent chromium has been found in drinking water supplies,
both as a naturally occurring contaminant and as an industrial
contaminant. To address this contamination, a primary drinking
water standard, known as a MCL, of 0.01 mg/l (10 parts per
billion) was adopted that is specific for hexavalent chromium.
A newly adopted MCL for hexavalent chromium was effective July
2014. Because of its widespread natural occurrence, hexavalent
chromium is expected to join those contaminants that are
detected most often. However, the extent of any MCL violations
for hexavalent chromium will only be known after the required
monitoring period has been completed in 2015.
---------------------------
<1>
Public Health Goals For Chemicals In Drinking Water Hexavalent
Chromium (Cr Vi), Pesticide And Environmental Toxicology Branch,
Office Of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California
Environmental Protection Agency, July 2011
SB 385
Page G
In 2001, the California Department of Public Health adopted a
regulation that added hexavalent chromium to the list of
chemicals that public water systems were required to test and
report. Of the ~4,400 community systems and non-transient
non-community systems which have ~12,000 drinking water sources,
those that are vulnerable to contamination are subject to
monitoring. Systems with fewer than 150 service connections may
be exempted from the monitoring requirement. Results of
monitoring from over 7,000 drinking water sources showed
hexavalent chromium at or above the 1.0 ppb in about one-third
of them.
According to the State Water Board, from 2000-2012,
approximately 2,400 sources reported hexavalent chromium at peak
concentrations of greater than 1.0 ppb, with two-thirds of the
peak detections between 1 and 5 ppb. A total of 93 sources were
reported in excess of the 10 ppb drinking water standard. This
monitoring showed that the presence of hexavalent chromium was
more widespread than previously thought, reflecting its natural
distribution in water supplies. Since small public water systems
with less than 150 connections were not required to perform this
monitoring prior to MCL establishment, the number of sources
expected to contain detections of hexavalent chromium can be
expected to increase.<2>
Limitations on enforcement and civil actions: Existing law
provides a number of remedies for parties harmed by a public
water system's failure to supply water that meets California's
primary drinking water standards. In the event public officials
fail to enforce compliance with primary drinking water
standards, Code of Civil Procedure Section 1085 empowers private
citizens to seek a writ of mandate from a court directing the
State Water Board or another responsible public entity to
---------------------------
<2> Safe Drinking Water Plan , State Water Resources Control
Board, June 2015.
SB 385
Page H
enforce compliance with the standard. Consequently, private
litigants may be able to state a cause of action against a
public water system based on its failure to adhere to a primary
drinking water standard under a number of other legal theories.
This bill provides that a public water system shall not be
deemed in violation of the primary drinking water standard for
hexavalent chromium while implementing a compliance plan
approved by the State Water Board. This provision in the bill
would eliminate some of the remedies both public and private
actors have under existing law to force compliance with the new
drinking water standard.
Double referral: This bill was double referred to the Assembly
Committee on Judiciary.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION
Support:
Association of California Water Agencies
American Water Works Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Special Districts Association
California Water Association
Central Water Agency
City of Cathedral City
City of Indio
City of Rancho Mirage
SB 385
Page I
City of Watsonville
Coachella Valley Association of Governments
Coachella Valley Water District
Consumer Attorneys of California
Desert Valleys Builders Association
Desert Water Agency
Heber Public Utilities District
Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District
Indio Water Authority
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Mission Springs Water District
Rancho Marcelino Water & Service Company
Regional Water Authority
Rio Linda-Elverta Water District
Sacramento Suburban Water District
San Diego County Water Authority
Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District
Soquel Creek Water District
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
SB 385
Page J