BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2515
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Pedro Nava, Chair
AB 2515 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
As Proposed To Be Amended
SUBJECT : Drinking water safety.
SUMMARY : Provides an expedited process for the Department of
Public Health (DPH) to establish criteria for the use of
point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Makes legislative findings concerning arsenic contamination of
drinking water in the southeastern Coachella Valley of
Riverside County.
2)Provides that the DPH may adopt criteria governing the use of
POU water treatment devices in public water systems.
3)The POU criteria established by the DPH would be exempt from
the Administrative procedure acts.
4)The POU criteria adopted by DHP would be in effect until
January 1, 2014, or until formal POU regulations have been
adopted by DPH, whichever occurs earlier.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Drinking Water Program within DPH to regulate
public drinking water systems.
2)Provides for the use of water treatment devices by public
water systems including POU and point-of-entry devices if the
public water system meets the following criteria:
a) The public water systems has less than 200 service
connections; and
b) The public water system has submitted pre-applications
with DPH for funding to correct the violations for which
the point-of-use treatment is provided.
3)Prohibits DPH from issuing or amending a permit to allow the
AB 2515
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use of point-of-use treatment unless the DPH determines, after
a public hearing, that there is no substantial community
opposition.
4)Limits the issuance of a permit for the use of POU treatment
to the lesser of three years or until funding for centralized
treatment is available.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not Known.
COMMENTS:
1)Need for the bill: According to the author, "This bill is
attempting to address the drinking water needs of residents in
the Eastern Coachella Valley whose primary drinking water
source is contaminated with arsenic. Specifically, numerous
small, unincorporated communities in the Eastern Coachella
Valley lack drinking and waste-water treatment infrastructure.
Most of the people who reside in this region are low-income
and live in mobile home parks that rely on private, ground
water wells as their primary source of potable water.
Point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment may be appropriate
alternatives to centralized treatment of contaminated ground
water; however, the regulations governing point-of-use and
point-of-treatment have not been developed, thereby
prohibiting their implementation."
2)Drinking Water Standards : The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (US-EPA) delegates its authority to California to
implement a drinking water program. As a primacy state
(having federally delegated authority), California must enact
laws and regulations related to drinking water that conform to
the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and must be no less
stringent than the federal regulations.
3)Will the expedited standards for POU systems be used ? The
goal of this bill is to assist DPH in establishing standards
for POU systems more rapidly than would be likely if DPH
proceeds with a regulation approval process. The existing
statutory limitation on POU systems, including the requirement
that the public water system apply for state funding and the 3
year limitation on POU devices, may reduce the likelihood that
these less costly treatment methods will be used. Both these
limitations will make it difficult for a state or local health
department to require the installation of the POU systems.
AB 2515
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4)Prior Legislation : AB 1540 (Assembly Health Committee),
Chapter 298, Statutes of 2009. This bill updated California
drinking water laws to maintain California's federally
designated authority to implement a drinking water program
that conforms to the federal SDWA. The SDWA allows a public
water system to use point-of-use devices for water treatments
to meet drinking water standards. AB 1540 allows POU and
point of entry devices under California law.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Poder Popular of the Coachella Valley
Opposition
None Received.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965