BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 385
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 385
(Hueso) - As Amended June 18, 2015
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|Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: |Materials | | |
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| |Judiciary | |10 - 0 |
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Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This urgency bill allows the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to grant a public water system additional time to meet
the drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium by approving
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a compliance plan. Specifically, this bill:
1)Outlines the mandatory components of a compliance plan that
may be submitted to the SWRCB by a public water system
requesting an extension.
2)Authorizes the SWRCB to review, provide comment and approve
the compliance plan, and determine the earliest feasible
compliance date prior to January 1, 2020.
3)Requires a public water system to provide customers with
specified written notices at least twice a year. Requires the
public water system to submit written status reports to the
SWRCB, as specified.
4)Specifies that during the compliance plan implementation
period, the public water system shall not be deemed in
violation of the drinking water standard.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The regulation establishing the drinking water
standard for hexavalent chromium required public water systems
to begin monitoring for hexavalent chromium by January 1, 2015
- six months after the regulation went into effect. According
to the bill's sponsor, the Association of California Water
Agencies (ACWA), this short timeframe does not recognize the
complex steps water systems must take to come into compliance,
which might involve constructing expensive new treatment
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facilities.
This bill provides a time-limited process for a water system
to achieve compliance without being deemed in violation, as
long as strict safeguards are met.
2)Background. The SWRCB is responsible for adopting standards
for contaminants in drinking water, and owners of public water
systems are required to comply with these standards. The
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), set by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA) for drinking water quality, is the
maximum amount of a substance that is allowed in public
drinking water systems under the federal Safe Drinking Water
Act.
Hexavalent chromium - an inorganic contaminant that can
increase cancer risks - has been found in a number of
California's public drinking water sources. US EPA has not yet
set an MCL for hexavalent chromium. However, in California, a
newly adopted MCL for hexavalent chromium of 0.01 mg/l (10
parts per billion) became effective in July 2014. This
regulation requires public water systems to initiate
monitoring for hexavalent chromium on or before January 1,
2015.
The public water systems argue that additional time is
necessary to obtain financing and design and construct
treatment systems. This urgency bill establishes a
time-limited process for assisting public water systems to
achieve compliance with the state's MCL hexavalent chromium
regulations.
3)Related Legislation. SB 351 (Orbitz), Chap. 602, Stats. 2001)
directed the Department of Health Services to establish a
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primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium on or
before January 1, 2004.
Analysis Prepared by:Nikita Koraddi/ Jennifer Galehouse / APPR.
/ (916) 319-2081