BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1263
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1263
(Wieckowski) - As Amended June 29, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|5 - 0 |
|Committee: |Materials | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Water, Parks and Wildlife | |10 - 4 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a person submitting an application for a
permit for a proposed new public water system to first submit a
preliminary technical report to the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) at least six months before initiating
construction of any water-related development. Specifically,
this bill:
SB 1263
Page 2
1)Requires the technical report to include an analysis of other
public water systems within three miles of the proposed new
system and the ability to connect to or utilize the resources
from those public water systems.
2)Requires the technical report to include an analysis of all
water supplies for the proposed new public water system and
the ability to meet 20-year water demand under a variety of
hydrologic conditions.
3)Authorizes SWRCB to deny a permit if it is feasible to connect
to an existing system or if the new system is unsustainable.
4)Authorizes SWRCB to direct the applicant to engage in
negotiations to receive services from existing water systems.
5)Subjects the ability of a local primacy agency to issue a
permit for a public water system to SWRCB oversight.
6)Prohibits a city or county from issuing a building permit for
new residential development when the proposed water supply is
bottled water, transported by a water hauler, or provided by a
water-vending machine or a retail water facility.
FISCAL EFFECT:
SWRCB costs are minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS:
SB 1263
Page 3
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will limit the
proliferation of new, unsustainable public water systems by
creating a strengthened review process for new system
applications. The author further notes, with its requirements
for a preliminary technical report, this bill will strengthen
the public water system permitting process by systematizing
and making more transparent the analytical due diligence than
developers typically do.
2)Background. SB 861 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review,
Chapter 35, Statutes of 2014) transferred the Drinking Water
Program from the Department of Public Health (DPH) to SWRCB
effective July 1, 2014, creating the new Division of Drinking
Water within SWRCB, and made other statutory changes to create
efficiencies.
SWRCB directly enforces the federal Safe Drinking Water Act
for all large water systems (those with 200 or more service
connections). For small water systems (those with less than
200 connections), local health departments can be delegated
regulatory authority as the local primacy agency.
The SWRCB estimates that 500 communities rely on public water
systems that do not meet drinking water standards. Drinking
water contamination disproportionally affects disadvantaged
communities that rely on groundwater as their drinking water
source. Many small communities do not have the technical,
managerial, or financial capability to operate what can be
complex drinking water systems.
The bill gives SWRCB the authority to deny a permit if a
determination is made that the proposed new system will not be
sustainable into the future.
SB 1263
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081