BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 664 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 664 (Hertzberg) - As Amended June 24, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|13 - 2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requires an urban water supplier to include a seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan in their Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) beginning in 2020. This bill allows an urban water supplier to submit its most recent adopted local SB 664 Page 2 hazard mitigation plan or multi-hazard mitigation plan (under the federal Disaster Mitigation Act) as an alternative if the plan addresses seismic risk. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Potential cost pressures in the millions of dollars to various bond funds beginning in 2020 for seismic mitigation projects. Projects in an UWMP may be included in an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMPs). The creation and implementation of IRWMPs are eligible for funding under various water bonds, including Proposition 1. As this bill will indirectly allow for the inclusion of seismic upgrade projects in IWRMPs, this bill imposes additional cost pressures to fund such projects. 2)Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to update their guidelines to reflect the new requirements. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, many quakes have resulted in substantial water system damage and drinking and firefighting water delivery challenges. For example, after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, which left 57 dead, more than 9,000 injured, and caused more than $40 billion in property damage, residents lined up to receive bottled water after local officials warned them not to drink the tap water following the rupture of several water mains in the San Fernando Valley SB 664 Page 3 This bill will ensure urban water suppliers identify seismic vulnerabilities and potential actions to mitigate risks. 2)Background. Under the Urban Water Management Act, every urban water supplier 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 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 DWR's draft guidelines for the next UWMP update, the catastrophic supply interruption analysis should identify what actions will be taken if there is a catastrophic reduction in water supplies. 3)Federal Law. 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, require a risk assessment and a mitigation strategy. SB 664 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081