BILL ANALYSIS
AB 450
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 450 (DeLaTorre) - As Amended: April 21, 2009
SUBJECT : Recycled water.
SUMMARY : Directs oil refineries to use recycled water where
available in lieu of potable water. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes a legislative finding that the use of potable domestic
water in oil refineries is a waste or unreasonable use of
water pursuant to Section 2, Article X of the California
Constitution if recycled water is available that meets the
requirements of the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB).
2)Prohibits oil refineries from using water from any source of
quality suitable for potable domestic use for nonpotable uses
if recycled water is available that meets the requirements of
SWRCB.
3)States that any use of recycled water in lieu of water
suitable for potable domestic use shall be deemed to
constitute a reasonable beneficial use of that water and the
use of recycled water shall not cause any loss or diminution
of an existing water right.
4)States legislative intent to provide incentives to assist in
compliance with this requirement.
5)Becomes operative on January 1, 2020.
EXISTING LAW makes a legislative finding that the use of potable
domestic water for nonpotable uses, including, but not limited
to, cemeteries, golf courses, parks, highway landscaped areas,
and industrial and irrigation uses is a waste or an unreasonable
use of water pursuant to Section 2, Article X of the California
Constitution if recycled water is available that meets
conditions determined by SWRCB.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The crude oil refining industry is the largest
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industrial user of freshwater, used primarily for process
cooling and boiler makeup. According to the U.S. Department of
Energy, refineries use about 1 to 2.5 gallons of water on
average for every gallon of product. In the U.S., oil
refineries consume about 1 to 2 billion gallons of water daily
in fuel production. California is home to 21 refineries, many
of which are located in Southern California. Moving to recycled
water at refineries can save millions of gallons of freshwater
per day.
California law set a 2010 recycled water target of one million
acre-feet, which will not likely be achieved. Current recycled
water use is estimated at approximately 600,000 acre-feet.
Various impediments have discouraged greater recycled water use,
including regulatory hurdles, public opposition to so-called
"toilet-to-tap" projects, and financial challenges.
There have been some strides made in the use of recycled water
at refineries, however. West Basin Municipal Water District
(West Basin), along with British Petroleum (BP) and Chevron, has
been working to expand the use and availability of recycled
water that meets California Department of Health Services
requirements for industrial purposes. West Basin has built
onsite reverse osmosis treatment plants for both BP and Chevron,
which are maintained by the utility, allowing BP and Chevron to
treat recycled water onsite for improved quality for their own
industrial purposes. BP's Carson plant is the 15th largest in
the nation and refines 275,000 barrels of oil a day, using 13
million gallons (or 40 acre feet) of water per day for this
process. Because of the collaboration between West Basin and
Southern California refineries, BP has gone from 20% recycled
water in 2000, to 30-53% in 2007, and plans to increase to
85-90% recycled water between 2010 and 2015 by adding another
water recycling facility onsite. BP estimates it will require
around $150 million dollars total, $90 million from BP and $60
million from West Basin, to accomplish this goal.
In recent years, state and federal legislation has encouraged
greater use of recycled water. A Recycled Water Task Force
identified ways to encourage greater recycled water use, and
state legislation has adopted many of those changes to the law.
This author got a bill signed that created a statewide
permitting process at the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to encourage water recycled water use, including in
regions where the Regional Water Board has slowed approval of
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recycled water use. The SWRCB also has developed, with
stakeholder participation, a new policy for recycled water. The
recent federal stimulus package included $126 million for
recycled water projects.
The author comments that AB 450 would assist oil companies in
reducing their water use, and would be a dramatic step towards
sustainability and water conservation. However, the current
language of AB 450 does not provide details on the proposed
incentives for refineries to increase their use of recycled
water. This portion of the bill is a placeholder in its current
form. The committee may wish to inquire as to the intent of the
author in crafting the incentives to address the use of recycled
water in refineries including source of funding for paying the
costs of such incentives.
The Western States Petroleum Association is not taking a
position of AB 450 at this time, but has expressed a desire to
work with the Author to identify challenges to the expanded use
of recycled water in Southern California refineries, and assist
in proposing solutions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support : None submitted
Opposition : None submitted
Analysis Prepared by : Lindsey Scott-Florez / W., P. & W. /
(916) 319-2096