Senate Bill No. 485

Introduced by Senator Hernandez

(Coauthor: Senator Liu)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia and Rendon)

February 26, 2015

An act to add Section 4730.68 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to public sanitation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 485, as introduced, Hernandez. County of Los Angeles: sanitation districts.

The County Sanitation District Act authorizes a sanitation district to acquire, construct, and complete certain works, property, or structures necessary or convenient for sewage collection, treatment, and disposal.

This bill would authorize specified sanitation districts in the County of Los Angeles, to acquire, construct, operate, maintain, and furnish facilities for the diversion, management, and treatment of stormwater and dry weather runoff, the discharge of the water to the stormwater drainage system, and the beneficial use of the water.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:

(a) The county sanitation districts of Los Angeles County
(sanitation districts) were established in 1923 under the County
Sanitation District Act (Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 4700)
of Part 3 of Division 5 of the Health and Safety Code).

(b) The sanitation districts provide regional solid waste
management and wastewater collection and treatment services for
5.5 million people in 78 cities and unincorporated communities.

(c) Eighty-four cities in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles
County Flood Control District, and Los Angeles County
unincorporated areas are all regulated under a permit for the
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), the most recent
of which was adopted by the California Regional Water Quality
Control Board, Los Angeles Region, in December 2012.

(d) The City of Long Beach is regulated under its own permit
for its MS4, the most recent of which was adopted by the regional
board in February 2014.

(e) The MS4 is a large interconnected system that encompasses
over 3,000 square miles, and is controlled in large part by the Los
Angeles County Flood Control District and used by multiple cities
along with Los Angeles County.

(f) The Los Angeles County Flood Control District is primarily
focused on operation and maintenance of the larger, downstream
MS4 infrastructure into which the smaller, upstream city MS4
infrastructure discharges.

(g) This extensive system conveys stormwater and
non-stormwater across municipal boundaries where it is
commingled within the MS4 and then discharged to receiving
water bodies, such as the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River.

(h) It will be necessary for the cities, Los Angeles County Flood
Control District, and Los Angeles County to spend millions of
dollars per year to comply with the Los Angeles Region MS4
permits.

(i) The Los Angeles Region MS4 permits prohibit the discharge
of non-stormwater discharges to MS4 (unless authorized under
another permit or specifically exempted from the MS4 permit),
and one management technique that can be effective in cleaning
up non-stormwater discharges is to divert dry weather runoff into
the sanitary sewer system, if sewer and treatment plant capacity
are available and other regulatory requirements are met.

(j) Many of the cities, the Los Angeles County Flood Control
District, and Los Angeles County are preparing watershed
management plans and enhanced watershed management plans in
order to identify stormwater and dry weather urban runoff projects
and activities that will bring the MS4 under their jurisdiction into
compliance with the Los Angeles Region MS4 permits.

(k) The presiding officers of the cities and the Chairman of the
County Board of Supervisors serve as members of the boards of
directors of the sanitation districts.

(l) The administrative board of directors of the sanitation
districts formally requested that the Sanitation Districts seek the
authority to use its civil engineering and water quality expertise
to help the cities and county manage stormwater and dry weather
urban runoff in order to comply in an efficient and effective manner
with the Los Angeles Region MS4 permit.

(m) Because of the unique circumstances of the sanitation
districts and the Los Angeles Region MS4, special legislation is
necessary to augment the sanitation districts’ powers under the
County Sanitation District Act.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4730.68 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

4730.68.  

(a) This section applies only to county sanitation
district numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 34 of Los Angeles County, Newhall Ranch
Sanitation District, South Bay Cities Sanitation District of Los
Angeles County, and Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District of
Los Angeles County, and any new county sanitation district
subsequently formed in the County of Los Angeles. The powers
granted in this section supplement the existing powers of each
district.

(b) A district may acquire, construct, operate, maintain, and
furnish facilities for any of the following purposes:

(1) The diversion of stormwater and dry weather runoff from
the stormwater drainage system within the district.

(2) The management and treatment of the stormwater and dry
weather runoff.

(3) The discharge of the water to the stormwater drainage system
or receiving waters.

(4) The beneficial use of the water.

(c) In order to carry out the powers and purposes granted under
this section, the district may exercise any of the powers otherwise
granted to a district by this chapter to the extent those powers may
be made applicable.

(d) This section does not affect any obligation of a district to
obtain a permit that may be required by law for the activities
undertaken pursuant to this section.

(e) For purposes of this section, “stormwater” and “dry weather
runoff” have the same meaning as in Section 10561.5 of the Water
Code.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any local
agency to participate, financially or otherwise, in a project pursued
under the authority granted by this section.

(g) This section is not intended to alter any of the following:

(1) Existing water rights, including any adjudicated rights.

(2) Existing water rights law.

(3) Any rights, remedies, or obligations that may exist pursuant
to Article 1 (commencing with Section 1200) of Article 1.5
(commencing with Section 1210) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division
2 of the Water Code, or Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section
1501) of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 3.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution because of the unique circumstances of the County
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.