BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 995|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 995
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 3/29/16
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak, Wolk
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/20/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
SUBJECT: Well standards
SOURCE: California Groundwater Association
DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Water Resources
(DWR) to update standards for water wells, monitoring wells, and
cathodic protection wells.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Requires DWR to investigate and survey conditions of damage to
quality of underground waters that are, or may be, caused by
improperly constructed, abandoned, or defective wells.
2)Requires DWR to report to the appropriate California regional
water quality control board its recommendations for minimum
standards for well construction in any particular locality in
which it deems regulation necessary to protection of quality
of underground water.
This bill requires DWR to update the standards for water wells,
monitoring wells, and cathodic protection wells by January 1,
2019. Upon completing the update, DWR will submit the standards
to the State Water Resources Control Board for adoption in the
model well ordinance.
Background
On average, California's groundwater provides approximately
30-46 percent of the state's total water supply and serves as a
critical buffer against drought. During dry years, groundwater
may be used to meet nearly all of a community's water needs.
Some communities do not have access to surface water sources and
depend completely on groundwater sources to meet their needs.
Water wells are constructed by drilling through soil and/or rock
layers and into an underground aquifer. Wells contain an outer
casing (e.g., a steel or PVC pipe) that maintains the well
opening. At the bottom of the well and inside the casing is a
pump that extracts water from the surrounding aquifer and pushes
it to the surface. The top of a well is sealed to prevent
contaminants from entering into the well casing or space outside
the casing. In some cases, a well may penetrate one aquifer in
order to reach a deeper aquifer.
There are four categories of water wells that are used in
California. The most common category is simply called "water
wells" or sometimes "production wells." These wells are built to
extract water for human consumption, irrigation, or other
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purposes. Wells built to collect water samples and monitor
groundwater levels are called "monitoring wells." "Cathodic
protection wells" are built to protect metallic objects buried
in the ground from corrosion. Finally, "geothermal heat exchange
wells" (GHEWs) are built to transfer heat to and from the soil
as part of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system.
In the past, DWR has been responsible for developing standards
for the construction, maintenance, and destruction of all types
of water wells. These standards are necessary in order to
protect groundwater from contamination. If improperly built,
maintained or destroyed, water wells can act as a conduit for
contaminants.
California's well standards were first developed in 1968 and
published as Bulletin 74. At the time they included only water
wells; monitoring wells were included in that category.
Standards for cathodic protection wells were published in 1973
as Bulletin 74-1. Bulletin 74 was revised in 1981 as Bulletin
74-81.
Bulletin 74-81 was subsequently revised during the 1980s,
resulting in a supplement called Bulletin 74-90. Cathodic
protection well standards were incorporated in Bulletin 74-90,
replacing Bulletin 74-1. Pursuant to SB 1817 (Chapter 1373,
Statutes of 1986), monitoring wells are presented separately
from water wells. When combined, Bulletin 74-81 and 74-90
represent the current minimum well standards for California.
Bulletin 74-81 was updated through a procedure established by AB
3127 (Chapter 1152, Statutes of 1986). AB 3127 (see Water Code
§13801) established a deadline for the State Water Resources
Control Board (board) to adopt a model well ordinance and a
later deadline for counties, cities, and water agencies to adopt
the board's model well ordinance. The board contracted with DWR
to review and update Bulletin 74-81.
In 1996, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 2334
(Chapter 581, Statutes of 1996), which requires DWR to develop
and submit to the board a report containing recommended
standards for GHEWs. DWR issued a Draft of standards for GHEWs
in 1999, with the ultimate goal of creating one bulletin
(Bulletin 74-99) to cover all four types of wells (water wells,
monitoring wells, cathodic protection wells and geothermal heat
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exchange wells). However, due to delays, Bulletin 74-99 was
never formalized and the GHEW standards remain as a Draft.
Recently, DWR has been working through a review of the Draft
1999 GHEW standards and is nearly finished. Because the GHEWs
standards are almost finalized, this bill does not include
GHEWs.
Since Bulletin 74-90 was published in 1990, new advances in
drilling materials and techniques have emerged. Here are a few
examples of new developments in well drilling that have prompted
the demand for updated well standards:
Greater recognition that the protocols for sealing abandoned
wells were inadequate. Newer techniques utilize high tech
explosives and other materials to permanently seal a well.
A group in Nebraska studied the efficacy of several types of
grout that are used to seal the gap between the soil and a
well casing. Many of them did not perform up to expectations,
raising questions about current well standards.
Greater understanding of the sensitivity of well casing
materials (e.g., PVC) to temperature fluctuations, which has
implications for the efficacy of well casing seals.
Comments
GHEW standards are not included in this bill. DWR, in
collaboration with the Water Board, is nearly finished with a
review of the Draft 1999 GHEW standards. According to the
author, this bill does not include GHEWs in order to avoid
forcing DWR to start the review process over.
Drought and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act. This bill comes at a critical moment. The
ongoing drought has put incredible pressure on groundwater
sources throughout the state. Well drilling has accelerated.
Furthermore, the state is in the process of implementing the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which will empower local
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agencies to adopt groundwater management plans tailored to the
resources and needs of their communities.
Why was the timeline chosen? According to the author, the
January 1, 2019 deadline to update the standards was chosen to
allow enough time for public input and to carry out the rest of
the administrative process for adopting new regulations.
Out-of-date standards create confusion across the state.
Several comments were raised by the well drilling community that
the absence of up-to-date well standards from the state has led
local county health departments and other entities to issue
their own well standards and directives. This has created
confusion within the well drilling industry and makes it more
difficult to know what the well standards are. Some in the well
drilling industry have had to prove to multiple local health
departments that certain materials and techniques that are not
covered by Bulletin 74-81 or 74-90 are safe.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time cost of approximately $1.7 million (General Fund) to
update the well standards as required in this bill.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/31/16)
California Groundwater Association (source)
Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
Clean Water Action of California
Community Water Center
Desert Water Agency
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East Bay Municipal Utility Water District
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Rural County Representatives of California
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club of California
Valley Ag Water Coalition
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/31/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "Water well
standards are critical to preventing contamination of good
quality groundwater. Current water well standards were developed
in the 1980s and last updated in 1990. Since then, advances in
drilling techniques and new well materials have emerged making
the current standards critically out of date. Furthermore, all
water well standards - especially those developed nearly 40
years ago - need to be evaluated to make sure they are still
accurate."
Furthermore, the author stated, "Updating well standards is
essential given the ongoing implementation of the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). DWR recognizes the current
standards are insufficient: In the draft Strategic Plan for SGMA
implementation, DWR called for an update to well standards
(Action 2.5). Moreover, the state's reliance on groundwater
during the drought further underscores the urgency of this
issue."
Supporters have noted that "it is not acceptable that these
[water well] standards, which have the capacity to cause serious
impacts upon groundwater basins throughout the state, to go
un-updated for over 20 years."
Prepared by:Matthew Dumlao / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
5/31/16 22:12:27
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