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