BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                              Senator Wieckowski, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 
           
          Bill No:            SB 1398
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          |Author:    |Leyva                                                |
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          |Version:   |3/28/2016              |Hearing      |4/20/2016       |
          |           |                       |Date:        |                |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner                                 |
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          SUBJECT:  Public water systems:  lead pipes

            ANALYSIS:
          
          Existing law:  
          
          1) Requires public water systems to take specified actions to  
             test for and remediate certain contaminants in drinking  
             water, including lead and copper. 


          2) Prohibits the use of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting or  
             fixture, solder, or flux that is not "lead free" in the  
             installation or repair of any public water system or any  
             plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption,  
             except as specified.


          3) Prohibits any person engaged in the business of selling  
             plumbing supplies, except manufacturers, from selling solder  
             or flux that is not "lead free" as defined in statute.


          4) Prohibits the introduction into commerce of any solder or  
             flux that is not "lead free" unless the solder or flux bears  
             a label stating that it is illegal to use the solder or flux  
             in the installation or repair of any plumbing providing water  
             for human consumption.









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          5) Prohibits the introduction into commerce of any pipe, pipe or  
             plumbing fitting, or fixture intended to convey or dispense  
             water for human consumption that is not "lead free" as  
             defined in statute.


          This bill:  

          1) Requires a public water system to compile an inventory of  
             lead pipes in use by July 1, 2018. 


          2) Requires, after completing the inventory, the public water  
             systems provide a timeline for replacement of lead pipes in  
             the system to the State Water Resources Control Board  
             (SWRCB). 


          3) Requires the board to establish best practices to ensure that  
             chemicals introduced into public water systems do not create  
             corrosion or contamination within the system.


            Background
          
          1) Lead in Plumbing.

             Lead is a common additive in plumbing materials such as lead  
             solder, brass, bronze, and other alloys. Any plumbing product  
             containing lead that is in contact with water is a potential  
             source of drinking water contamination. 
             Lead primarily enters drinking water from the corrosion of  
             plumbing materials that contain lead and are in contact with  
             the water. Lead that leaches from household pipes and faucets  
             into drinking water cannot be easily detected nor removed. 

             Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause a variety of  
             adverse health effects, especially in children and infants.  
             Their exposure to high levels of lead in drinking water can  
             result in delays in physical or mental development, reduced  
             intelligence, learning disabilities, attention deficit  
             disorder, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired  
             hearing and kidney damage. 









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             For adults, high levels of exposure to lead in drinking water  
             can result in kidney problems, high blood pressure, nerve  
             disorders, fertility problems, muscle and joint pain,  
             irritability, memory and concentration problems. Furthermore,  
             pregnant women can pass lead contained in their bodies to  
             their fetuses. 

             Lead exposure across the United States has fallen  
             dramatically since the 1980s; however, no blood-lead level is  
             considered completely safe.  Children under age five, and  
             especially infants and fetuses, bear the greatest risk of  
             deleterious and irreversible health outcomes. From 2012 to  
             the present (2016), the Centers for Disease Control and  
             Prevention set a "reference level" of 5 micrograms per  
             deciliter (?g/dL), in order to target for case management the  
             2.5% of young American children with the highest blood-lead  
             levels.  At 45 ?g/dL, chelation therapy is considered.  

             Among the many ways lead can enter a modern American's  
             bloodstream is through lead plumbing.  Acidic water makes it  
             easier for the lead found in pipes, leaded solder, and brass  
             faucets to be dissolved and to enter a home's drinking water.  
              Therefore, public water treatment systems are legally  
             required to use control measures to make water less acidic.   
             Plumbing that contains lead is often found in buildings built  
             in the 1980s and earlier.

             Beginning January 1, 2010, California law prohibits the  
             introduction into commerce of any pipe, pipe or plumbing  
             fitting, or fixture intended to convey or dispense water for  
             human consumption through drinking or cooking that is not  
             "lead free" as defined in statute. This includes kitchen  
             faucets, bathroom faucets, and any other end-use devices  
             intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption  
             through drinking or cooking. However, service saddles,  
             backflow preventers for non-potable services such as  
             irrigation and industrial, and water distribution main gate  
             valves that are two inches in diameter and above are  
             excluded. 

          2) Flint, Michigan.

             The Flint, Michigan drinking water crisis started in April  
             2014.  After Flint changed its water source from treated  








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             Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water (which was  
             sourced from Lake Huron as well as the Detroit River) to the  
             Flint River (to which officials had failed to apply corrosion  
             inhibitors), its drinking water had a series of problems that  
             culminated with lead contamination, creating a serious public  
             health danger. The corrosive Flint River water caused lead  
             from aging pipes to leach into the water supply, causing  
             extremely elevated levels of the heavy metal. In Flint,  
             between 6,000 and 12,000 children have been exposed to  
             drinking water with high levels of lead and they may  
             experience a range of serious health problems.  Due to the  
             change in water source, the percentage of Flint children with  
             elevated blood-lead levels may have risen from about 2.5% in  
             2013 to as much as 5% in 2015.  The water change is also a  
             possible cause of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the  
             county that has killed 10 people and affected another 77.


             Several lawsuits have been filed against government officials  
             on the issue, and several investigations have been opened. On  
             January 5, 2016, the city was declared to be in a state of  
             emergency by the Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, before  
             President Barack Obama declared it as a federal state of  
             emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal  
             Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland  
             Security less than two weeks later.


             Four government officials-one from the City of Flint, two  
             from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ),  
             and one from the United States Environmental Protection  
             Agency (US EPA)-resigned over the mishandling of the crisis,  
             and one additional MDEQ staff member was fired and another  
             has a termination hearing pending. Governor Snyder issued an  
             apology to citizens and promised to fix the problem, and then  
             sent $28 million to Flint for supplies, medical care and  
             infrastructure upgrades, and later budgeted an additional $30  
             million to Flint that will give water bill credits of 65% for  
             residents and 20% for businesses.


             The water disaster called attention to the problem of aging  
             and seriously neglected water infrastructure nationwide.    
             The Flint crisis recalled recent lead contamination crises in  








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             the tap water in various cities, such as the lead  
             contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water (2001),  
             Columbia, South Carolina (2005); Durham and Greenville, North  
             Carolina (2006); Jackson, Mississippi (2015), and Sebring,  
             Ohio (2015).  


             The New York Times notes in an article on February 8, 2016,  
             written by Michael Wines & John Schwartz, entitled, "Unsafe  
             Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint," that  
             "Although Congress banned lead water pipes 30 years ago,  
             between 3.3 million and 10 million older ones remain, primed  
             to leach lead into tap water by forces as simple as jostling  
             during repairs or a change in water chemistry."   Inadequate  
             regulation was cited as one reason for unsafe lead levels in  
             tap water and "efforts to address shortcomings often  
             encounter push-back from industries like agriculture and  
             mining that fear cost increases, and from politicians  
             ideologically opposed to regulation."  The crisis called  
             attention to a "resource gap" for water regulators.  The  
             annual budget of the US EPA's drinking water office declined  
             15% from 2006 to 2015, with the office losing over 10% of  
             employees, and the Association of State Drinking Water  
             Administrators reported in 2013 that "federal officials had  
             slashed drinking-water grants, 17 states had cut  
             drinking-water budgets by more than a fifth, and 27 had cut  
             spending on full-time employees, with serious implications  
             for states' ability to protect public health."

          3) Why Flint is not California.

             In the April 6, 2016 oversight hearing of the Senate  
             Environmental Quality Committee regarding the transfer of the  
             Drinking Water Program from the Department of Public Health  
             to the State Water Resources Control Board, testimony was  
             given by the Deputy Director of the Division of Drinking  
             Water that California has stringent testing and monitoring  
             protocols in place that ensure that drinking water supplies  
             meet California's Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and that  
             appropriate chemistry is maintained to inhibit corrosion of  
             the pipes delivering drinking water that prevents a Flint,  
             Michigan type incident from happening in California.

             However, like Michigan and most other states, California's  








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             water system is aging, and that infrastructure poses a risk  
             to public health, especially because the extent of old  
             infrastructure is not known.

          4) Indication for Concern for California.

             While California is not Michigan, there are concerns that  
             have been noted in California public water systems.

             An Associated Press article published April 6, 2016, by Scott  
             Smith outlined an analysis done by the Associated Press on US  
             EPA data that found that nearly 1,400 water systems  
             nationwide, including dozens in California, reported lead  
             levels exceeding the government's allowable level of 15 parts  
             per billion at least once between January 1, 2013, and  
             September 30, 2015.  

             The AP article states that in California, the federal data  
             show that roughly 57 water systems, including schools, parks,  
             prisons and neighborhoods, reported being over the allowable  
             lead content within the last three years.

             According to the article some of the readings, however, were  
             recorded in error when the state manually input data  
             collected from local water systems, said Cindy Forbes, Deputy  
             Director of the State Water Resources Control Board's  
             Division of Drinking Water.  State water officials said they  
             are closely monitoring 19 water systems. Some are included in  
             the analysis of the federal data as exceeding the allowable  
             limits for lead.   
            
          Comments
          
          1) Purpose of Bill.  According the author:

             In recent decades, California has been a leader in reducing  
             lead exposure in drinking water.  In 1986, the use of  
             lead-pipes and solder were banned.  By 2010, all plumbing  
             part and water fixtures sold in California were required to  
             be lead-free".  Given the detrimental health impacts of lead,  
             even in very low levels, it is critical that California  
             continues to take every step necessary to eliminate lead in  
             drinking water.









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             Recognizing that there is "no safe blood lead level" the  
             National Drinking Water Advisory Council's (NDWAC) 2015  
             comprehensive recommendations for the long-term revisions of  
             the LCR called for publicly accessible inventories of all  
             lead service line connections and a strategy for proactively  
             replacing all lead pipes from contact with drinking water.

             Many communities throughout the nation, most notably Flint,  
             Michigan, are suffering from severe lead contamination in  
             drinking water systems which have caused a public health  
             crisis.  Like much of the nation's public water systems,  
             California is suffering the negative impacts of an aging  
             water infrastructure.

             Given the age of many of the underground pipes utilized  
             within PWSs, it is not commonly known where lead pipes  
             disproportionately threaten the public health of local  
             communities.  In fact, current federal or state law does not  
             require water districts to report locations of lead service  
             pipes.

             While lead pipes may be less common in California, it is  
             vital that we know where these pipes are and eliminate them.   


             From 2012-2015, 98 public water systems in the state recorded  
             high level lead readings - impacting families, children and  
             pregnant mothers throughout the state.

             SB 1398 enhances public knowledge of remaining lead pipes in  
             use and implements a plan for their complete removal from  
             water for human consumption.  By setting in motion a plan to  
             remove all lead from public water system pipes, SB 1398 helps  
             to reduce public health risks and the costs of corrosion  
             control treatment from lead in public water system pipes.
            
          Related/Prior Legislation
          
          SB 334 (Leyva, 2015) would have prohibited drinking water that  
          does not meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency  
          (US EPA) drinking water standards for lead from being provided  
          at a school facility, requires schools that have lead-containing  
          plumbing components to flush all drinking water sources at the  
          beginning of each school day, and deletes the authority for  








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          school district governing boards to adopt a resolution stating  
          that it is unable to comply with the requirement to provide  
          access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the  
          food service areas.  SB 334 was vetoed by the Governor.  In his  
          veto message, Governor Brown states:

          "I am returning Senate Bill 334 without my signature. 

          This bill requires a school district that has a drinking water  
          source that does not meet the Environmental Protection Agency's  
          drinking water standards to provide alternative drinking water  
          to their students.

          I agree that all California students should have access to safe  
          drinking water but this bill creates a state mandate of  
          uncertain but possibly very large magnitude. 

          As our first order of business, local schools should understand  
          the nature of their water quality problem, if there is one.  
          Accordingly, I am directing the State Water Resources Control  
          Board to work with school districts and local public water  
          systems to incorporate water quality testing in schools as part  
          of their lead and copper rule. School districts should utilize  
          this information to ensure all students are provided safe  
          water."

            AB 1953 (Chan, Chapter 853 Statutes of 2006) enacted the Lead  
          Free Plumbing Act, which reduced the permitted lead level in  
          plumbing fixtures used for drinking water, as specified.
          
          SOURCE:                    Author  

           SUPPORT:               

          California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
          California League of Conservation Voters
          California Public Interest Group
          Center for Food Safety 
          Clean Water Action
          Community Water Center
          Consumer Attorneys of California
          Environment California
          Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
          Environmental Working Group








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          Food and Water Watch
          Rural Community Assistance Corporation
          Sierra Club California
           
          OPPOSITION:    

          None received  


           
                                          
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