BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 664 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 30, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE Marc Levine, Chair SB 664 (Hertzberg) - As Amended June 24, 2015 SENATE VOTE: 40-0 SUBJECT: Water: urban water management planning. SUMMARY: Requires an urban water supplier to include a seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan in its urban water management plan (UWMP) or allows an urban water supplier to submit its most recent federal disaster mitigation plan as an alternative if that plan addresses seismic risk. EXISTING LAW: 1)Requires all urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt UWMPs and update them every five years. Among other requirements, UWMPs must: a) Provide a description of the service area of the supplier; b) Identify and quantify water resources; and, c) Make water use projections. SB 664 Page 2 2)Requires UWMPs to be adopted or updated in years ending in "zero" and "five." 3)Specifies that compliance with the Urban Water Management Planning Act (UWMPA) is a prerequisite to receiving state funding for water projects and programs. 4)Requires State, Tribal, and local governments to develop a hazard mitigation plan as a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis: 1)Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to update their guidelines to reflect the new requirements under this bill. 2)Cost pressures in the millions of dollars to various bond funds (General Fund) beginning in 2020 for seismic mitigation projects. COMMENTS: This bill requires UWMPs to assess seismic risks to the water system and either develop a mitigation plan for those risks or, as an alternative, submit their most recent local hazard mitigation plan or multihazard mitigation plan adopted in compliance with the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000), if that plan addresses seismic risks. 1)Author's statement: The author states that identifying seismic vulnerabilities and outlining measures to mitigate those risks is needed in order to strengthen California's water infrastructure, making communities across the State SB 664 Page 3 better prepared in the event of an earthquake. The author adds that many quakes have already resulted in substantial water system damage and challenge for delivering water for firefighting and drinking. The author cites to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, which left 57 dead, more than 9,000 injured, and caused more than $40 billion in property damage. The author notes that due to the Northridge quake, "residents lined up to receive bottled water after local officials warned them not to drink the tap water following the rupture of several mains in the San Fernando Valley." 2)Background: A March 2015 Los Angeles Times article, Risk of 8.0 Earthquake in California Rises, [United States Geological Survey] Says, emphasizes that some places in California - particularly the Los Angeles area - are crisscrossed by a complex fault system and that significant scientific advancements reveal that earthquakes can rupture along multiple faults simultaneously. The report added that "seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century. But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable." Under the UWMPA, every urban water agency is required to produce an UWMP every five years. Plans are required to include, among other things, an urban water shortage contingency analysis with 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. DWR's draft guidelines for the next UWMP update 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." SB 664 Page 4 3)Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000: An urban water supplier can comply with the requirements of this bill by submitting a plan that is adopted pursuant to the DMA 2000 (Public Law 106-390) if that plan addresses seismic risks. The DMA 2000 provides the legal basis for FEMA mitigation planning requirements for State, local and Indian Tribal governments as a condition of mitigation grant assistance. The DMA 2000 amended the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by repealing the previous mitigation planning provisions and replacing them with a new set of requirements that emphasize the need for State, local, and Indian Tribal entities to closely coordinate mitigation planning and implementation efforts. The requirement for a State mitigation plan is continued as a condition of disaster assistance, adding incentives for increased coordination and integration of mitigation activities at the State level through the establishment of requirements for two different levels of state plans. This bill allows an urban water supplier to meet seismic risk assessment requirements by submitting a DMA 2000 compliant plan that addresses seismic risk in accordance with the 4)Related legislation: AB 149 (Chávez) changes the due date for the 2020 UWMP from December 31, 2020 to July 1, 2021 in order to allow agencies to incorporate information, due on December 31, 2020, related to the meeting the mandatory statewide 20% reduction in urban per capita water use. 5)Supporting arguments: Supporters state that earthquakes are a significant concern in California and can damage water infrastructure. Supporters add that by requiring UWMPs to include seismic risk assessment and mitigation plans, this bill will assist water agencies, the public, and the state in understanding the impact an earthquake may have on water SB 664 Page 5 supply to inform seismic safety and emergency preparedness decisions. Supporters add by requiring such information this bill will make seismic-related projects eligible to compete for potential Integrated Regional Water Management grant funding. 6)Opposing arguments: Opponents state that UWMPs are prepared every five years to support long-term resources planning and ensure adequate water supplies for existing and future demands therefore they are not the proper vehicle to address seismic vulnerability. Opponents add that seismic risk assessments and mitigation plans are costly and timely to produce and may not need to be prepared every five years under the UWMP schedule. Opponents caution that this bill could introduce new liability issues if, after an earthquake, capital improvement programs don't deliver what was articulated in mitigation plans. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support California State Council of Laborers East Bay Municipal Utility District Los Angeles County Democratic Party SB 664 Page 6 Sierra Club of California Opposition Association of California Water Agencies (unless amended) Analysis Prepared by:Tina Leahy / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096