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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Hertzberg | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Version: |April 6, 2015 >As proposed to be amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Dennis O'Connor | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 664 (Hertzberg) Page 2 of ? 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 SB 664 (Hertzberg) Page 3 of ? 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 SB 664 (Hertzberg) Page 4 of ? 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 -- END --