BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2595
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2595 (Huffman) - As Amended: April 22, 2010
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 6-0
Agriculture 7-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires a county agricultural commissioner to
withhold issuance of an operator identification number (OIN) for
pesticide use for an agricultural operator found to violate
certain water quality requirements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Codifies the existing regulatory requirement that an
agricultural operator obtain an OIN from a country
agricultural commissioner for each county in which pesticide
work is to be preformed for the production of an agricultural
commodity.
2)Require the water boards to notify the Department of Pesticide
Regulation (DPR) and the agricultural commissioner if, after
exhausting all administrative proceedings and appeals, an
operator fails to:
a) Furnish pesticide use report to DPR and the county
agricultural commissioners, as required by current law.
b) Enroll in the Irrigated Lands Conditional Waiver Program
(ILCWP), or obtain an individual or general waiver of waste
discharge requirements related to irrigated agriculture.
3)Requires a county agricultural commissioner, with certain
exceptions, to withhold issuance of an OIN if the operator has
been found by a water board to be in violation of any of the
requirements described above.
4)Authorizes a county agricultural commissioner to levy a civil
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penalty of up to $5,000 against an operator who fraudulently
obtains an OIN.
5)Authorizes DPR to adopt regulations to carry out the bill's
provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs to DPR, likely in the tens of thousands of
dollars, to adopt regulations and to develop a system to track
increased workload of county agricultural commissioners, which
DPR partially reimburses (Department of Pesticide Regulation
Fund (DPRF) or other special fund).
2)The water boards indicate minor, absorbable costs. This is
because they anticipate administrative remedies, which the
bill requires the water boards to exhaust before reporting an
operator to a county agricultural commissioner, to result in
nearly all operators filing required reports and enrolling in
ILCWP. The water boards conclude they would rarely resort to
reporting an operator's noncompliance to the country
agricultural commissioner.
3)Ongoing local costs of an unknown amount to the state's county
agricultural commissioners. The commissioners were unable to
estimate the range of potential costs because, they contend,
this bill involves them in an area that currently is outside
their experience and jurisdiction-water quality enforcement.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to encourage
agricultural operators to rapidly enroll in the Irrigated
Lands Conditional Waiver Program (ILCWP) for water quality
control. The author contends delays in enrollment in the
program have compromised water quality and saddled the water
boards with the cost of tracking and enforcing enrollment.
The author additionally contends it unfair that some
agricultural operators have paid the ILCWP enrollment fee
while others have not.
2) Background .
a) State Regulation of Water Quality . The state's water
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boards-the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and
the nine semiautonomous regional boards-regulate water
quality. The regional boards-which are funded by the state
board and are under the state board's oversight-implement
water quality programs in accordance with policies, plans,
and standards developed by the state board.
In response to SB 390, Alpert (Chapter 686, Statutes of
1999), SWRCB developed the Irrigated Lands Regulatory
Program (ILRP) to prevent agricultural discharges from
polluting surface water. Under the program, the regional
water boards issue conditional waivers allowing
agricultural operators to discharge waste. The waivers
include provisions requiring operators to monitor the
quality of waters receiving the discharge and to take
corrective actions when necessary. Many agricultural
operators have not enrolled in the program or paid the
associated fee, despite a legal requirement to do so. The
policy committee analysis indicates that enrollment has
increased more recently.
b) State Regulation of Pesticide Use . DPR administers
programs to protect the public health and the environment
from unsafe exposures to pesticides. The department (1)
evaluates the public health and environmental impact of
pesticides use; (2) regulates, monitors, and controls the
sale and use of pesticides in the state; and (3) develops
and promotes the use of reduced-risk practices for pest
management. The department is funded primarily by an
assessment on the sale of pesticides in the state (the mill
assessment).
Existing regulation requires an agricultural operator
obtain an OIN from a country agricultural commissioner for
each county in which pesticide work is to be preformed for
the production of an agricultural commodity. The operator
must provide the OIN to each pest control business applying
pesticides to the operator's property.
3)Supporters include several water quality and environmental
groups, including the Sierra Club, who contend the bill
provides consequences that will ensure agricultural operators
enroll in ILRP, thereby better protecting water quality.
4)Opponents include numerous agricultural industry
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organizations, who argue the bill will add costs to
agricultural production and may prevent an agricultural
operator from practicing business, should an OIN be denied.
Additionally, the California Agricultural Commissioners and
Sealers Association opposes the bill because, the association
contends, the bill involves commissioners in a complex and
sometimes controversial activity-water quality
enforcement-that is well outside their current jurisdiction
and expertise. The association reports that the authors and
proponents have not sought the commissioners input in
developing this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081