BILL NUMBER: AB 737 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 26, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
(Chesbro (Chair), Miller (Vice Chair), Davis, Feuer, Monning,
Ruskin, and Smyth)
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 25251, 25257, 116450, 116455, and 116470
of the Health and Safety Code, relating to environmental safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 737, as amended, Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials. Environmental safety: public water systems: public
notification: Toxics Information Clearinghouse.
Existing law, known as the California Safe Drinking Water Act,
requires the State Department of Public Health to administer
provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect
public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research,
studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a
dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and
conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water
in domestic water supplies.
Existing law requires every public water system to notify users
when certain monitoring or other requirements have not been complied
with, to notify customers when a failure to comply with a
primary drinking water standard represents an imminent danger, to
notify consumers of confirmation of detected contaminants, and to
annually deliver a prescribed consumer confidence report to each
consumer.
This bill would, in addition, require posting of the notices and
reports on the public water system's Internet Web site, if the public
water system maintains an Internet Web site. The bill would permit
the public water system to remove or amend
supplement the posted information when certain conditions are
met.
Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control
to establish a Toxics Information Clearinghouse for the collection,
maintenance, and distribution of specific chemical hazard traits and
environmental and toxicological end-point data and defines "consumer
product" for purposes of these provisions.
This bill would correct spelling errors and make other technical
conforming changes to these provisions.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 116450
of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 1540 that would become
operative only if AB 1540 and this bill are both chaptered and become
effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered
last.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25251 of the Health and Safety Code, as added
by the first version of Section 1 of Chapter 560 of the Statutes of
2008, is amended to read:
25251. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Clearinghouse" means the Toxics Information Clearinghouse
established pursuant to Section 25256.
(b) "Council" means the California Environmental Policy Council
established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 71017 of the
Public Resources Code.
(c) "Office" means Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment.
(d) "Panel" means the Green Ribbon Science Panel established
pursuant to Section 25254.
(e) "Consumer product" means a product or part of the product that
is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any purposes.
"Consumer product" does not include any of the following:
(1) A dangerous drug or dangerous device as defined in Section
4022 of the Business of Professions Code.
(2) Dental restorative materials as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 1648.20 of the Business and Professions Code.
(3) A device as defined in Section 4023 of the Business of
Professions Code.
(4) A food as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 109935.
(5) The packaging associated with any of the items specified in
paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
(6) A pesticide as defined in Section 12753 of the Food and
Agricultural Code or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.).
(7) Mercury-containing lights defined as mercury-containing lamps,
bulbs, tubes, or other electric devices that provide functional
illumination.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until December 31,
2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before December 31, 2011, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 25251 of the Health and Safety Code, as added by
the second version of Section 1 of Chapter 560 of the Statutes of
2008, is amended to read:
25251. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Clearinghouse" means the Toxics Information Clearinghouse
established pursuant to Section 25256.
(b) "Council" means the California Environmental Policy Council
established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 71017 of the
Public Resources Code.
(c) "Office" means Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment.
(d) "Panel" means the Green Ribbon Science Panel established
pursuant to Section 25254.
(e) "Consumer product" means a product or part of the product that
is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any purposes.
"Consumer product" does not include any of the following:
(1) A dangerous drug or dangerous device as defined in Section
4022 of the Business of Professions Code.
(2) Dental restorative materials as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 1648.20 of the Business and Professions Code.
(3) A device as defined in Section 4023 of the Business of
Professions Code.
(4) A food as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 109935.
(5) The packaging associated with any of the items specified in
paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
(6) A pesticide as defined in Section 12753 of the Food and
Agricultural Code or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.).
(f) This section shall become effective on January 1, 2012.
SEC. 3. Section 25257 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
25257. (a) A person providing information pursuant to this
article may, at the time of submission, identify a portion of the
information submitted to the department as a trade secret and, upon
the written request of the department, shall provide support for the
claim that the information is a trade secret. Except as provided in
subdivision (d), a state agency shall not release to the public,
subject information supplied pursuant to this article that is a trade
secret, and that is so identified at the time of submission, in
accordance with Section 6254.7 of the Government Code and Section
1060 of the Evidence Code.
(b) This section does not prohibit the exchange of a properly
designated trade secret between public agencies, if the trade secret
is relevant and necessary to the exercise of the agency's
jurisdiction and the public agency exchanging the trade secrets
complies with this section. An employee of the department that has
access to a properly designated trade secret shall maintain the
confidentiality of that trade secret by complying with this section.
(c) Information not identified as a trade secret pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be available to the public unless exempted from
disclosure by other provisions of law. The fact that information is
claimed to be a trade secret is public information.
(d) (1) Upon receipt of a request for the release of information
that has been claimed to be a trade secret, the department shall
immediately notify the person who submitted the information. Based on
the request, the department shall determine whether or not the
information claimed to be a trade secret is to be released to the
public.
(2) The department shall make the determination specified in
paragraph (1), no later than 60 days after the date the department
receives the request for disclosure, but not before 30 days following
the notification of the person who submitted the information.
(3) If the department decides that the information requested
pursuant to this subdivision should be made public, the department
shall provide the person who submitted the information 30 days'
notice prior to public disclosure of the information, unless, prior
to the expiration of the 30-day period, the person who submitted the
information obtains an action in an appropriate court for a
declaratory judgment that the information is subject to protection
under this section or for a preliminary injunction prohibiting
disclosure of the information to the public and promptly notifies the
department of that action.
(e) This section does not authorize a person to refuse to disclose
to the department information required to be submitted to the
department pursuant to this article.
(f) This section does not apply to hazard trait submissions for
chemicals and chemical ingredients pursuant to this article.
SEC. 4. Section 116450 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
116450. (a) When any primary drinking water standard specified
in the department's regulations is not complied with, when a
monitoring requirement specified in the department's regulations is
not performed, or when a water purveyor fails to comply with the
conditions of any variance or exemption, the person operating the
public water system shall notify the department, shall give notice to
the users of that fact, and shall, if the public water
system has an Internet Web site, post that notice on the public water
system's Internet Web site, fact in the manner
prescribed by the department , and, if the public water system
has an Internet Web site, shall post the notice on that Internet Web
site . When a variance or an exemption is granted, the person
operating the public water system shall give notice to the users of
that fact.
(b) When a person operating a public water system determines that
a significant rise in the bacterial count of water has occurred in
water he or she supplies, the person shall provide, at his or her
expense, a report on the rise in bacterial count of the water,
together with the results of an analysis of the water, within 24
hours to the department and, where appropriate, to the local health
officer.
(c) When the department receives the information described in
subdivision (b) and determines that it constitutes an immediate
danger to health, the department shall immediately notify the person
operating the public water system to implement the emergency
notification plan required by this chapter.
(d) In the case of a failure to comply with any primary drinking
water standard that represents an imminent danger to the health of
water users, the operator shall notify each of his or her
customers, and shall, if the public water system has an Internet Web
site, post that notice on that Internet Web site, as provided
customers, as provided in the approved emergency
notification plan , and, if the public water system
has an Internet Web site, post the notice on that Internet Web site
.
(e) In addition, the same notification requirement shall be
required in any instance in which the department or the local health
department recommends to the operator that it notify its customers to
avoid internal consumption of the water supply and to use bottled
water due to a chemical contamination problem that may pose a health
risk.
(f) The content of the notices required by this section shall be
approved by the department. Notice shall be repeated at intervals, as
required by the department, until the department concludes that
there is compliance with its standards or requirements. Notices may
be given by the department.
In any case where public notification is required by this section
because a contaminant is present in drinking water at a level in
excess of a primary drinking water standard, the notification shall
include identification of the contaminant, information on possible
effects of the contaminant on human health, and information on
specific measures that should be taken by persons or populations who
might be more acutely affected than the general population.
(g) Whenever a school or school system, the owner or operator of
residential rental property, or the owner or operator of a business
property receives a notification from a person operating a public
water system under any provision of this section, the school or
school system shall notify school employees, students, and parents if
the students are minors, the owner or operator of a residential
rental property shall notify tenants, and the owner or operator of
business property shall notify employees of businesses located on the
property.
(1) The operator shall provide the customer with a sample
notification form that may be used by the customer in complying with
this subdivision and that shall indicate the nature of the problem
with the water supply and the most appropriate methods for
notification that may include, but are not limited to, the sending of
a letter to each water user and the posting of a notice at each site
where drinking water is dispensed.
(2) The notice required by this subdivision shall be given within
10 days of receipt of notification from the person operating the
public water system.
(3) Any person failing to give notice as required by this
subdivision shall be civilly liable in an amount not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day of failure to give notice.
(4) If the operator has evidence of noncompliance with this
subdivision the operator shall report this information to the local
health department and the department.
(h) An operator that is required to post a notice on the public
water system's Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (a) or (d)
may, upon rectifying resolving the
problem or complying with the standard that required notification,
do either of the following:
(1) Remove the notice from the public water system's Internet Web
site.
(2) Amend
supplement the notice posted on the public water system's
Internet Web site to include provide
additional information, including, but not limited to, the date
on which the problem was rectified resolved
or compliance was achieved.
SEC. 4.5. Section 116450 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
116450. (a) When any a primary
drinking water standard specified in the department's regulations is
not complied with, when a monitoring requirement specified in the
department's regulations is not performed, or when a water purveyor
fails to comply with the conditions of any variance or exemption, the
person operating the public water system shall notify the
department and department, shall give notice to
the users of that fact in the manner prescribed by the department
, and, if the public water system has an Internet Web site, post
that notice on that Internet Web site . When a variance or an
exemption is granted, the person operating the public water system
shall give notice to the users of that fact.
(b) When a person operating a public water system determines that
a significant rise in the bacterial count of water has occurred in
water he or she supplies, the person shall provide, at his or her
expense, a report on the rise in bacterial count of the water,
together with the results of an analysis of the water, within 24
hours to the department and, where appropriate, to the local health
officer.
(c) When the department receives the information described in
subdivision (b) and determines that it constitutes an immediate
danger to health, the department shall immediately notify the person
operating the public water system to implement the emergency
notification plan required by this chapter.
(d) In the case of a failure to comply with any
a primary drinking water standard that represents an
imminent danger to the health of water users, the operator shall
notify each of his or her customers , as provided in the
approved emergency notification plan , and, if the public water
system has an Internet Web site, post that notice on that Internet
Web site .
(e) In addition, the same notification requirement shall be
required in any instance in which the department or the local health
department recommends to the operator that it notify its customers to
avoid internal consumption of the water supply and to use bottled
water due to a chemical contamination problem that may pose a health
risk.
(f) The content of the notices required by this section shall be
approved by the department. Notice shall be repeated at intervals, as
required by the department, until the department concludes that
there is compliance with its standards or requirements. Notices may
be given by the department.
In any case where
When public notification is required by this section
because a contaminant is present in drinking water at a level in
excess of a primary drinking water standard, the notification shall
include identification of the contaminant, information on possible
effects of the contaminant on human health, and information on
specific measures that should be taken by persons or populations who
might be more acutely affected than the general population.
(g) Whenever a school or school system, the owner or operator of
residential rental property, or the owner or operator of a business
property receives a notification from a person operating a public
water system under any provision of this section, the school or
school system shall notify school employees, students ,
and parents if the students are minors, the owner or operator of a
residential rental property shall notify tenants, and the owner or
operator of business property shall notify employees of businesses
located on the property.
(1) The operator shall provide the customer with a sample
notification form that may be used by the customer in complying with
this subdivision and that shall indicate the nature of the problem
with the water supply and the most appropriate methods for
notification that may include, but is are
not limited to, the sending of a letter to each water user and
the posting of a notice at each site where drinking water is
dispensed.
(2) The notice required by this subdivision shall be given within
10 days of receipt of notification from the person operating the
public water system.
(3) Any person failing to give notice as required by this
subdivision shall be civilly liable in an amount not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day of failure to give notice.
(4) If the operator has evidence of noncompliance with this
subdivision the operator shall report this information to the local
health department and the department.
(h) An operator that is required to post a notice on the public
water system's Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (a) or (d)
may, upon resolving the problem or complying with the standard that
required notification, supplement the notice posted on the public
water system's Internet Web site to provide additional information,
including, but not limited to, the date on which the problem was
resolved or compliance was achieved.
(i) If user notification is required pursuant to this section, the
department shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that
notification is given.
SEC. 5. Section 116455 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
116455. (a) A public water system shall comply with the
requirements of this section within 30 days after it is first
informed of a confirmed detection of a contaminant found in drinking
water delivered by the public water system for human consumption that
is in excess of a maximum contaminant level, a notification level,
or a response level established by the department.
(1) If the public water system is a wholesale water system, then
the person operating the wholesale water system shall notify the
wholesale water system's governing body and the water systems that
are directly supplied with that drinking water. If the wholesale
water system is a water company regulated by the California Public
Utilities Commission, then the wholesale water system shall also
notify the commission. The commission, in the exercise of its general
and specific powers to ensure the health, safety, and availability
of drinking water served by the utilities subject to its
jurisdiction, may order further action that is not inconsistent with
the standards and regulations of the department to ensure a potable
water supply.
(2) If the public water system is a retail water system, then the
person operating the retail water system shall notify the retail
water system's governing body and the governing body of any local
agency whose jurisdiction includes areas supplied with drinking water
by the retail water system. If the retail water system is a water
company regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, then
the retail water system shall also notify the commission. The
commission, in the exercise of its general and specific powers to
ensure the health, safety, and availability of drinking water served
by the utilities subject to its jurisdiction, may order further
action that is not inconsistent with the standards and regulations of
the department to ensure a potable water supply.
(b) The notification required by subdivision (a) shall identify
the drinking water source, the origin of the contaminant, if known,
the maximum contaminant level, response level, or notification level,
as appropriate, the concentration of the detected contaminant, and
the operational status of the drinking water source, and shall
provide a brief and plainly worded statement of health concerns. The
notice shall, if the public water system has an Internet Web site,
also be posted on the public water system's Internet Web site.
(c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Drinking water source" means an individual groundwater well,
an individual surface water intake, or, in the case of water
purchased from another water system, the water at the service
connection.
(2) "Local agency" means a city, county, or a city and county.
(3) "Notification level" means the concentration level of a
contaminant in drinking water delivered for human consumption that
the department has determined, based on available scientific
information, does not pose a significant health risk but warrants
notification pursuant to this section. Notification levels are
nonregulatory, health-based advisory levels established by the
department for contaminants in drinking water for which maximum
contaminant levels have not been established. Notification levels are
established as precautionary measures for contaminants that may be
considered candidates for establishment of maximum contaminant
levels, but have not yet undergone or completed the regulatory
standard setting process prescribed for the development of maximum
contaminant levels and are not drinking water standards.
(4) "Response level" means the concentration of a contaminant in
drinking water delivered for human consumption at which the
department recommends that additional steps, beyond notification
pursuant to this section, be taken to reduce public exposure to the
contaminant. Response levels are established in conjunction with
notification levels for contaminants that may be considered
candidates for establishment of maximum contaminant levels, but have
not yet undergone or completed the regulatory standard setting
process prescribed for the development of maximum contaminant levels
and are not drinking water standards.
(5) "Retail water system" means a public water system that
supplies water directly to the end user.
(6) "Wholesale water system" means a public water system that
supplies water to other public water systems for resale.
(d) An operator that is required to post a notice on the public
water system's Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (b), may,
upon rectifying resolving the problem
or complying with the standard that required notification,
do either of the following:
(1) Remove the notice from the public water system's Internet Web
site.
(2) Amend
supplement the notice posted on the public water system's
Internet Web site to include provide
additional information including, but not limited to, the date
on which the problem was rectified resolved
or compliance was achieved.
SEC. 6. Section 116470 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
116470. (a) As a condition of its operating permit, every public
water system shall annually prepare a consumer confidence report and
mail or deliver a copy of that report to each customer, other than
an occupant, as defined in Section 799.28 of the Civil Code, of a
recreational vehicle park. The report shall, if the public water
system has an Internet Web site, also be posted on the public water
system's Internet Web site. A public water system in a recreational
vehicle park with occupants as defined in Section 799.28 of the Civil
Code shall prominently display on a bulletin board at the entrance
to or in the office of the park, and make available upon request, a
copy of the report. The report shall include all of the following
information:
(1) The source of the water purveyed by the public water system.
(2) A brief and plainly worded definition of the terms "maximum
contaminant level," "primary drinking water standard," and "public
health goal."
(3) If any regulated contaminant is detected in public drinking
water supplied by the system during the past year, the report shall
include all of the following information:
(A) The level of the contaminant found in the drinking water, and
the corresponding public health goal and primary drinking water
standard for that contaminant.
(B) Any violations of the primary drinking water standard that
have occurred as a result of the presence of the contaminant in the
drinking water and a brief and plainly worded statement of health
concerns that resulted in the regulation of that contaminant.
(C) The public water system's address and the telephone number to
enable customers to obtain further information concerning
contaminants and potential health effects.
(4) Information on the levels of unregulated contaminants, if
any, for which monitoring is required pursuant to state or federal
law or regulation.
(5) Disclosure of any variances or exemptions from primary
drinking water standards granted to the system and the basis
therefor.
(b) On or before July 1, 1998, and every three years thereafter,
public water systems serving more than 10,000 service connections
that detect one or more contaminants in drinking water that exceed
the applicable public health goal, shall prepare a brief written
report in plain language that does all of the following:
(1) Identifies each contaminant detected in drinking water that
exceeds the applicable public health goal.
(2) Discloses the numerical public health risk, determined by the
office, associated with the maximum contaminant level for each
contaminant identified in paragraph (1) and the numerical public
health risk determined by the office associated with the public
health goal for that contaminant.
(3) Identifies the category of risk to public health, including,
but not limited to, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and acute
toxicity, associated with exposure to the contaminant in drinking
water, and includes a brief plainly worded description of these
terms.
(4) Describes the best available technology, if any is then
available on a commercial basis, to remove the contaminant or reduce
the concentration of the contaminant. The public water system may,
solely at its own discretion, briefly describe actions that have been
taken on its own, or by other entities, to prevent the introduction
of the contaminant into drinking water supplies.
(5) Estimates the aggregate cost and the cost per customer of
utilizing the technology described in paragraph (4), if any, to
reduce the concentration of that contaminant in drinking water to a
level at or below the public health goal.
(6) Briefly describes what action, if any, the local water
purveyor intends to take to reduce the concentration of the
contaminant in public drinking water supplies and the basis for that
decision.
(c) Public water systems required to prepare a report pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of
accepting and responding to public comment on the report. Public
water systems may hold the public hearing as part of any regularly
scheduled meeting.
(d) The department shall not require a public water system to
take any action to reduce or eliminate any exceedance of a public
health goal.
(e) Enforcement of this section does not require the department
to amend a public water system's operating permit.
(f) Pending adoption of a public health goal by the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 116365, and in lieu thereof, public water
systems shall use the national maximum contaminant level goal adopted
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the
corresponding contaminant for purposes of complying with the notice
and hearing requirements of this section.
(g) This section is intended to provide an alternative form for
the federally required consumer confidence report as authorized by 42
U.S.C. Section 300g-3(c).
(h) A public water system that is required to include in
its consumer confidence report the information described in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (a), and that is required to post its consumer
confidence report on its Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision
(a), may, upon rectifying the problem or complying with the standard
that required inclusion of the information described in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a), do either of the following:
(1) Remove the information required by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), from the consumer confidence report that is posted
on the public water system's Internet Web site.
(2) Amend the
consumer confidence report posted on the public water system's
Internet Web site to include the date on which the problem identified
in the information required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) was rectified or compliance was prepare a
consumer confidence report pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) and that is required to post its consumer confidence report on
its Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (a), may, if following
the publication of the consumer confidence report, it has
resolved the problem identified in the consumer confidence report or
complied with a standard that the consumer confidence report showed
that it failed to meet, provide supplementary information on its
Internet Web site to show the date on which the problem was resolved
or compliance was achieved.
SEC. 7. Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates
amendments to Section 116450 of the Health and Safety Code proposed
by both this bill and AB 1540. It shall only become operative if (1)
both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1,
2010, (2) each bill amends Section 116450 of the Health and Safety
Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after AB 1540, in which case
Section 4 of this bill shall not become operative.