BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2515
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2515 (V. Manuel Perez)
As Amended August 2, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(June 1, 2010) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
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 and authorizes the
DPH to award grants for point-of-entry (POE) and POU treatment
systems, provided that the water system serves a severely
disadvantaged community and that the grant meets other existing
requirements.
The Senate amendments add the following provisions:
1)Authorize DPH to award grants for POE and POU treatment
systems, provided that the water system serves a severely
disadvantaged community and that the grant meets other
existing requirements.
2)Specify that any systems purchased with grant funds that have
remaining useful life at the completion of the project shall
be provided for use in other projects.
3)Add an urgency measure allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Drinking Water Program within DPH
to regulate public drinking water systems and establishes the
Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (Revolving Fund) to
provide grants and loans for the design and construction of
public water system projects. The Revolving Fund is supported
by federal funds and repayment of previous loans.
AB 1540 (Assembly Health Committee), Chapter 298, Statutes of
2009, updated California drinking water laws to maintain
California's federally designated authority to implement a
AB 2515
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drinking water program that conforms to the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act (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 POE devices
under California law.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Made legislative findings concerning arsenic contamination of
drinking water in the southeastern Coachella Valley of
Riverside County.
2)Provided that the DPH may adopt criteria governing the use of
POU water treatment devices in public water systems. The POU
criteria established by the DPH would be exempt from the
Administrative Procedure Acts and would be in effect until
January 1, 2014, or until formal POU regulations have been
adopted by DPH.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the development of emergency regulations by the DPH
can be accommodated within existing resources dedicated to the
development of the permanent regulations. In addition, DPH
indicates that any costs for grant making can be accommodated
within the existing grant program.
The bill authorizes grants for additional water system projects,
thereby putting cost pressures on existing funds. The amount of
the cost pressure will depend on the demand for POE and POU
waster treatment systems and is unknown.
COMMENTS : 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
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not been developed, thereby prohibiting their implementation."
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN:
0006140