BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1425|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1425
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 8/19/16
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/6/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Bates, Hill, Leno, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines, Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 26-11, 5/31/16
AYES: Allen, Bates, Beall, Block, De León, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach,
Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Galgiani, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 53-22, 8/24/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Water-energy nexus registry
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) to develop and administer a registry
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the
water-energy nexus using the best available data.
SB 1425
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Assembly Amendments remove intent language, require CalEPA
instead of the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to oversee
development of the registry, authorizes CalEPA to enter into a
contract with a qualified nonprofit organization to develop the
registry, and provide that entities participating in the
registry may qualify for GHG emission reduction financing
opportunities.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Enacts the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.), which:
a) Requires ARB to determine the 1990 GHG emissions level
and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is
equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020.
b) Requires ARB to adopt, before January 1, 2008,
regulations to require the reporting and verification of
statewide greenhouse gas emissions and requires those
regulations, where appropriate and to the maximum extent
feasible, incorporate the standards and protocols developed
by the California Climate Action Registry.
c) Specifies that entities that voluntarily participated in
the California Climate Action Registry prior to December
31, 2006, and have developed a greenhouse gas emissions
reporting program, are not required to significantly alter
their reporting or verification program, except as
necessary to ensure complete and accurate reporting.
2)Requires moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)
be used to facilitate the achievement of reductions of GHG
emissions in this state consistent with the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 , and authorizes the use of GGRF
monies for, among other things, funding to reduce GHG
emissions associated with water use and supply. (HSC §39712)
SB 1425
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This bill:
1)Requires CalEPA to oversee the development of a registry for
GHG emissions that result from the water-energy nexus using
the best-available data.
2)States that participation in the registry is voluntary and
open to any entity conducting business in the state.
3)Authorizes a participating entity to register its emissions,
including emissions generated outside the state, or an
entity-wide basis and to use the services of the Registry.
4)Provides that CalEPA may enter into a contract with a
qualified nonprofit to develop, in consultation with CalEPA
and other state agencies, the registry through a public
stakeholder process and do all of the following:
a) Help participating entities establish emissions
baselines;
b) Encourage voluntary actions to increase water and energy
efficiency measures to reduce the carbon intensity of the
state's water system;
c) Enable participating entities to record voluntary
entity-wide GHG emissions reductions in a consistent format
that is supported by third-party verification;
d) Recognize, publicize, and promote participating entities
making voluntary reductions of GHG emissions;
e) Recruit broad participation in the registry from all
economic sectors and regions in the state; and,
SB 1425
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f) Facilitate streamlined data reporting for relevant
entities already reporting to the Climate Registry.
5)Provides that the contract with a qualified nonprofit
organization is limited to three years with the option for a
one-year extension.
6)Provides that entities participating in the registry may
qualify for GHG emission reduction incentives.
Background
1) The Climate Registry. SB 1771 (Sher, Chapter 1018, Statutes
of 2000) required the Secretary of the Resources Agency to
establish the California Climate Action Registry as a public
benefit nonprofit corporation that would record and register
voluntary greenhouse gas emission reductions made by
California entities after 1990. The bill required the
registry to perform various functions, including adopting
standards for verifying emissions reductions, adopting a list
of approved auditors that would verify emissions reductions,
establishing emissions reduction goals, designing and
implementing efficiency improvement plans, maintaining a
record of all emissions baselines and reductions, and
recognizing, publicizing, and promoting entities that
participate in the registry. SB 1771 established a governing
board for the registry made up of the Secretary of the
Resources Agency, the Secretary of Environmental Protection,
and five public members appointed by the Governor.
The California Climate Action Registry closed in December
2010. The Climate Registry formed as the successor agency to
the California Climate Action Registry. The Climate Registry
is a nonprofit organization, whose board of directors
comprises over 50 representatives from U.S. states and
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Canadian provinces and territories. The Climate Registry
offers tools and services for organizations to measure,
verify and report the carbon in their operations.
2) Water, energy use, and GHGs. According to the California
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
(CEC), water-related energy use in California consumes
approximately 20% of the state's electricity and 30% of the
state's non-power plant natural gas (natural gas not used to
produce electricity). The water sector uses electricity to
pump, treat, transport, deliver, and heat water. The CEC
also found that the most energy-intensive uses of water in
California are associated with end uses by the customer
(e.g., heating, processing, and pressurizing water), and 75%
of the electricity and nearly all of the natural gas use
related to water in California is associated with water
heating. Additionally, expected increases in groundwater
pumping, water treatment, and water recycling, due to drought
conditions in the state, mean the energy intensity of water
will likely increase.
State law requires electric utilities to disclose the sources
of the electricity they sell. However, this requirement does
not extend to water utilities that are not retail electricity
providers. An April 2015 report from the Union of Concerned
Scientists titled, Clean Energy Opportunities in California's
Water Sector, reports that although some water and wastewater
utilities independently report the sources of their
electricity, the information is not compiled in a
standardized format or updated on a regular schedule across
the water sector.
Because of this data gap, the report states that it is
difficult to get a clear picture of the amount and type of
electricity California's water and wastewater utilities rely
on and that this information gap makes it difficult to
understand how the water sector's electricity choices impact
global warming emissions and the state's efforts to
decarbonize the electricity sector.
Comments
SB 1425
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1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "Energy and water
are intricately connected, and there is an enormous amount of
energy embedded in our water supply - from the collection,
production, transport, treatment and delivery of water; to
the direct consumption of water; to the collection,
treatment, and disposal or reuse of wastewater. Nearly 20
percent of California's energy supply is used to move, heat,
and treat water.
"While some of the water-energy related climate pollution is
already covered in the state's cap-and-trade program (via the
electricity generation sector), the state does not currently
have a clear accounting of the total greenhouse gas emissions
associated with the water system. Thus, water suppliers,
treaters, distributors and end users currently lack the
information and opportunity to do their part in voluntarily
advancing our climate and water conservation goals.
"SB 1425 establishes a voluntary emissions repository for
projects that reduce the carbon intensity of California's
water system. This new registry will allow for entities such
as water agencies, large water consumers, businesses and
others to voluntarily track, measure, and baseline their
greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the water-energy
nexus."
2) Based on the California Climate Action Registry. The
California Climate Action Registry established by SB 1771
(Sher) was required to, among other things: a) help various
entities in the state to establish emissions baselines; b)
encourage voluntary actions to increase energy efficiency and
reduce GHG emissions; c) enable participating entities to
record voluntary GHG emissions reductions made after 1990 in
a consistent format that is supported by third-party
verification; d) ensure that sources in the state receive
appropriate consideration for verified emissions reductions
under any future federal regulatory regime relating to
greenhouse gas emissions; e) recognize, publicize, and
promote registrants making voluntary reductions; and f)
recruit broad participation in the process from all economic
sectors and regions of the state.
SB 1425
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SB 1425 contains similar requirements for the development and
administration of the water-energy nexus registry as were
required by SB 1771 (Sher), which originally established the
California Climate Action Registry.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 471 (Pavley, 2015) would have required ARB, in cooperation
with other state agencies, to develop a GHG emissions inventory
from the water system in the state. SB 471 was later amended to
establish a grant and loan program for water projects that
result in the net reduction of GHG emissions. SB 471 was held on
the Assembly Appropriations suspense file.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
has annual ongoing costs of approximately $130,000 for CalEPA to
oversee the development of the registry (General Fund or special
fund). CalEPA estimates annual contracting costs of $250,000
for three years or more (General Fund or special fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/24/16)
California League of Conservation Voters
Clean Water Action
Environment California
Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)
Lutheran Office of Public Policy, California
Mono Lake Committee
Sonoma County Water Agency
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The Climate Registry
Tree People
Union of Concerned Scientists
US Green Building Council, California Chapter
Wholly H2O
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/24/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 53-22, 8/24/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell,
Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez,
Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Lackey, Linder,
Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson,
Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle, Daly, Frazier, Gray, Kim
Prepared by:Rebecca Newhouse / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/25/16 17:37:23
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SB 1425
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