BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 664|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 664
Author: Hertzberg (D)
Amended: 6/2/15
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 4/28/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Water: urban water management planning
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires an urban water supplier to include a
seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan for their water
system in their urban water management plan.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires every urban water agency to produce an Urban Water
Management Plan (UWMP) every five years.
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2)Requires the UWMP 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.
The Department of Water Resources' (DWR) draft guidelines for
the next update of UWMPs, state that 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."
This bill:
1)Requires UWMPs, beginning with UWMPs due in 2020, 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.
2)Allows, but not requires, 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.
3)Requires the seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan to be
updated at the same time the UWMP is updated.
Comments
How Vulnerable Are California Water Supplies? It is not clear.
There are studies that show that Delta levees are vulnerable to
failure in a significant seismic event. And undoubtedly some
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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 million for
IRWMP grants.
What Are Local Hazard Mitigation Plans? 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 hazards through mitigation
planning. Federal regulations require, among other things, that
local plans include the following:
1)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.
2)A mitigation strategy that provides the jurisdiction's
blueprint for reducing the potential losses identified in the
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risk assessment, based on existing authorities, policies,
programs and resources, and its ability to expand on and
improve these existing tools.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) to update their guidelines to reflect the new
requirements under this bill.
Cost pressures in the millions of dollars to various bond
funds (General Fund) beginning in 2020 for seismic mitigation
projects.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/29/15)
California State Council of Laborers
East Bay Municipal Utility District
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/29/15)
None received
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 entering the fourth year of the
current and serious drought, scientists predict our changing
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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."
Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor/ NRW/ (916) 651-4116
6/2/15 13:24:35
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