BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 664 Hearing Date: April 28,
2015
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|Author: |Hertzberg | | |
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|Version: |April 6, 2015 >As proposed to be amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Dennis O'Connor |
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Subject: Water: integrated regional water management planning
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
1.Under the Urban Water Management Act, every urban water agency
is required to produce an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP)
every five years. Plans are required to include, among other
things, an urban water shortage contingency analysis that
includes, among other things, actions to be undertaken by the
urban water supplier to prepare for, and implement during, a
catastrophic interruption of water supplies including, but not
limited to, a regional power outage, an earthquake, or other
disaster.
According to the Department of Water Resources' (DWR) draft
guidelines for the next update of UWMPs, the catastrophic
supply interruption analysis should "[i]dentify what actions
will be taken by a water supplier if there is a catastrophic
reduction in water supplies."
2.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides a
variety of types of non-emergency disaster assistance,
including funding for mitigation projects. To qualify, State,
tribal and local governments are required to develop a hazard
mitigation plan. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-288), as amended by
the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P. L. 106-390), provides
the legal basis for state, local and tribal governments to
undertake a risk-based approach to reducing risks from natural
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hazards through mitigation planning. Federal regulations
require, among other things, that local plans include the
following:
A risk assessment that provides the factual basis for
activities proposed in the strategy to reduce losses from
identified hazards. Local risk assessments must provide
sufficient information to enable the jurisdiction to
identify and prioritize appropriate mitigation actions to
reduce losses from identified hazards.
A mitigation strategy that provides the jurisdiction's
blueprint for reducing the potential losses identified in
the risk assessment, based on existing authorities,
policies, programs and resources, and its ability to expand
on and improve these existing tools.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill, as proposed to be amended (see proposed amendments
below), would require UWMPs to also include a seismic risk
assessment and mitigation plan, which would assesses the
vulnerability of each the various facilities of a water system
and a capital improvement plan to mitigate those
vulnerabilities.
The bill would allow, but not require, an agency to comply with
this requirement by submitting a copy of an adopted local hazard
mitigation plan or multi-hazard mitigation plan as specified in
the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P. L. 106-390)
provided the local hazard mitigation plan or multi-hazard
mitigation plan addresses seismic risk.
For the urban water management plan update due on July 1, 2016,
the seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan would be due to
DWR by July 1, 2017. The seismic risk assessment and mitigation
plan would be a part of the UWMP for all subsequent updates of
UWMPs.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "Public policymakers cannot ignore
forecasts showing a greater than 99-percent chance of a 6.7
earthquake within the next 30 years. Much of California's
infrastructure, including key water-delivery systems, remains
seismically unsafe and extremely vulnerable. With California
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entering the fourth year of the current and serious drought,
scientists predict our changing climate will increase the
frequency, length, and severity of droughts in California. The
State must prioritize water security."
"Although California has addressed seismic safety many times,
including mandatory retrofits for schools and hospitals,
voluntary upgrades, mapping hazardous faults, and cataloguing
unsafe buildings, much of California's infrastructure -
including key water delivery systems - remains seismically
unsafe and extremely vulnerable. SB 664 will help identify and
address seismically vulnerable water infrastructure."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None received
COMMENTS
How Vulnerable Are California Water Supplies? It is not clear.
There are studies that show that Delta levees are vulnerable
failure in a significant seismic event. And undoubtedly some
water agencies have done their own assessment. However, there
does not appear to be any systematic assessment of the seismic
risk of the state's water infrastructure.
How Expensive Are Seismic Upgrades? For some systems it can be
very expensive. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
has already spent billions of dollars to seismically upgrade
their water system. And, just recently the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power identified $15 billion in
potential need for seismic upgrades to water infrastructure.
What about Funding? By including the seismic risk assessment
and mitigation plans in UWMPs, those system upgrades can be
funded through integrated regional water management plans
(IRWMP) and grants. Proposition 1 provides $510 M for IRWMP
grants.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Delete existing language and replace with:
SECTION 1. Section 10632.5 is added to the Water Code to
read:
10632.5. (a) In addition to the requirements of paragraph
(3), subdivision (a), of Section 10632, the plan shall include a
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seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan, which assesses the
vulnerability of each the various facilities of a water system
and a capital improvement plan to mitigate those
vulnerabilities.
(b) An agency may comply with this section by submitting a
copy of an adopted local hazard mitigation plan or multi-hazard
mitigation plan as specified in the federal Disaster Mitigation
Act of 2000 (P. L. 106-390) provided the local hazard mitigation
plan or multi-hazard mitigation plan addresses seismic risk.
(c) (1) For the urban water management plan update due on
July 1, 2016, the seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan
described in subdivision (a) is due to the department by July 1,
2017.
(2) For urban water management plan updates due after July
1, 2016, the seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan
described in subdivision (a) is due as required by Section
10621.
SUPPORT
East Bay Municipal Utility District
OPPOSITION
None Received
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