BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 914
                                                                  Page 1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 914 (Logue)
          As Amended  September 1, 2009
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |     |(May 21, 2009)  |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 4,  |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2009)          |
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               (vote not relevant)

          Original Committee Reference:    E.S. & T.M.  

           SUMMARY  :  Provides that in the case where Mandatory Minimum  
          Penalties (MMPs) for Water Code Violations at Publicly Owned  
          Treatment Works (POTW) are imposed by the State Water Resources  
          Control Board (SWRCB) or the Regional Water Quality Control  
          Board (RWQCB) those penalty amounts may be applied to the  
          correction of the water code violation if the boards find an  
          economic hardship based on the impact of the penalties on  
          individual ratepayers.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes, under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act, SWRCB  
            and RWQCBs to set waste discharge requirements and establishes  
            MMP of $3,000 for each serious waste discharge violation.

          2)Provides that POTWs that serve a small or low-income rural  
            community may apply the amount of penalty to completion of a  
            compliance project to remedy the waste discharge violation.   
            Among the consideration that SWRCB may consider in allowing  
            the use of the penalty funds for remediation is whether the  
            penalties create a significant economic effect on the POTW  
            operation.

           The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of the bill,  
          and instead provide an additional standard for determining a  
          financial hardship of a POTW in small and rural communities for  
          which they are subject to the MMPs.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill increased the size and type  
          of small community facilities that are allowed to use MMPs for  
          Water Code Violations at POTWs for remediation of water code  
          violations.








                                                                  AB 914
                                                                  Page 2


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, minor, absorbable costs to SWRCB or the RWQCB.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, the bill is necessary  
          because "In many instances fees and penalties for some small  
          community waste water treatment plants are so severe that they  
          represent a substantial impediment to achieving compliance.  AB  
          914 is meant to lessen the burden on smaller communities that do  
          not have the resources to afford such regulations."  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)  
          319-3965 


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