BILL ANALYSIS
SB 133
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 133
AUTHOR: Corbett
AMENDED: March 18, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Bruce Jennings
SUBJECT : GROUNDWATER: WELLS, EXPLORATORY HOLES,
AND OTHER EXCAVATIONS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Establishes a national objective, in conjunction with
numerous implementing provisions, to restore and maintain
the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the
nation's waters pursuant to the federal Water Pollution
Control Act, also referred to as the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C., 1251(a) et seq.).
2) Establishes a system of water quality control that
provides for ten water control agencies: the State Water
Resources Control Board (state board), and nine regional
water quality control boards (regional boards) which are
responsible for protecting water quality through the
adoption of region-specific water quality control plans
(also referred to as basin plans) containing beneficial use
designations, water quality objectives, and implementing
programs, pursuant to the enactment of the Porter-Cologne
Water Quality Control Act of 1969 (Division 7 of the
California Water Code).
3) Establishes the Alameda Country Water District (ACWD)
pursuant to the California Water District Act of 1914 for
the purpose of protecting the groundwater basin and
conserving the waters of the Alameda Creek Watershed and
developing supplemental water supplies, primarily for
agricultural use.
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This bill :
1) Amends the County Water District Act to authorize ACWD to
take any of the following actions within the cities of
Fremont, Newark, and Union City:
a) Inspect and investigate wells, exploratory holes, and
other excavations and enforce regulations adopted by the
board regarding the construction, use, maintenance,
repair, improvement, decommissioning, or destruction of
wells, exploratory holes, other excavations, and
appurtenances.
b) Take measurements, collect data, including samples of
groundwater, and make analyses pertaining to wells and
the use of groundwater within the district.
c) Require persons or entities to obtain a permit from
the district to construct, operate, decommission,
abandon, or destroy a well, exploratory hole, or other
excavation.
d) Impose and collect fees to recover the cost of
inspecting wells, exploratory holes, and other
excavations and otherwise implement and enforce this
article.
e) Require the sealing of abandoned or unused wells
according to regulations adopted by the board that are
designed to protect groundwater from contamination.
f) Require any person applying for any land development
permit or approval to obtain documentation from the ACWD
indicating that existing wells or other excavations are
in compliance with the regulations of the district or
that no wells or other excavations have been identified
within the boundaries of the property proposed to be
developed.
2) Declares that any abandoned or unused well, exploratory
hole, or other excavation that creates or threatens to
create a water contamination hazard is a public nuisance.
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3) Defines the process for determining that a public nuisance
exists.
4) Establishes the process for requiring abating of such
public nuisances.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . Local groundwater resources are a
critical component for ACWD's water supply portfolio.
Regulating subsurface activities is critical for the
protecting of water quality and ensuring the continued use
of the groundwater basin for water supply to ACWD
customers. Since the adoption of several city ordinances
in 1973 (Fremont, Newark, and Union City), designating ACWD
as the "enforcing agency", a number of changes in drilling
practices and operations have occurred. ACWD first
experienced a large increase in drilling activities in 1985
when procedures were established for determining if an
unauthorized release had occurred at sites that had
underground storage fuel tanks.
SB 133 would establish a consistent and appropriate regional
approach for the protection of Niles Cone Groundwater
Basin. The bill gives ACWD independent authority to
protect the groundwater resources within its service area.
2) Background And Existing Law . Niles Cone is the name of a
57,900 acre groundwater sub-basin along the south-east side
of the San Francisco Bay. The sub-basin is overlain
principally by the Cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union
City - less than 10% is overlain by portions of the City of
Hayward.
The ACWD is a retail water purveyor encompassing the Cities of
Fremont, Newark and Union City. The ACWD was established
in 1914 under the California County Water District Act. It
was originally created to protect the groundwater basin,
conserve the waters of the Alameda Creek Watershed and
develop supplemental water supplies, primarily for
agricultural use. Today, the ACWD provides water primarily
to urban customers.
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The Niles Cone sub-basin was the principal source of water
supply for the ACWD until 1962. Up to that time,
groundwater use by the ACWD and numerous private pumpers
exceeded recharge, and this imbalance permitted salt water
from the Bay to intrude into the basin, severely limiting
its use. In 1962, the ACWD was the first state contractor
to receive water from the State Water Project (SWP). SWP
water was used to recharge the groundwater basin. As a
result, groundwater levels rose and prevented additional
saltwater intrusion. However, certain areas within the
groundwater basin remain brackish due to past years of
seawater intrusion.
In 1973, three identical City well ordinances were adopted by
the Cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City. The
purposes of the ordinances were:
a) To prevent the pollution or contamination of
groundwater so that groundwater may be used for
beneficial uses and will not jeopardize the health,
safety, or welfare of the people.
b) To provide for the construction, repair,
reconstruction, and destruction of wells and exploratory
holes.
c) To ensure the proper destruction of wells and
exploratory holes found to be public nuisances.
3) The City well ordinances: Designated the ACWD as "enforcing
agency." :
a) Defined the area of enforcement as city political
boundary, not ACWD boundary.
b) Described permit process, including fees and costs
which are adopted by the Board.
c) Required an ACWD drilling permit prior to beginning
drilling activities.
d) Sets minimum standards for the construction, repair,
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reconstruction, or destruction of wells.
4) Arguments In Support . The City of Fremont's comments are
typical. "Fremont has worked closely with Alameda County
Water District (District) on this issue since 1973 when we
first adopted the City of Fremont Well Ordinance No. 950.
However, many changes have occurred over the last 35 years
in the well drilling and subsurface investigation industry.
To address these and any future changes, SB 133 would, in
addition to the existing protection: 1) ensure a
consistent and appropriate regional approach to protect the
Niles Cone Groundwater Basin, 2) provide flexibility to
adapt to changing conditions and technologies as necessary
and 3) clarify and streamline the abatement process for
ground water contamination sites."
The Tri-City Ecology Center further observes "ACWD has been an
outstanding steward of our water resources and already has
responsibility for things like underground tank leakage and
salt-water intrusion. It seems to us a logical extension
of their current charter to add this responsibility to it.
It would be easier for one organization to be responsible
for the protection of the Niles Cone, rather than four, and
it would be simple for those who need to intrude into the
groundwater basin to know ACWD is the appropriate agency to
approve such efforts and to monitor their performance."
5) Clarifying the relationship of SB 133 to Existing Law .
While the activities by ACWD appear to be consonant with
existing law, it is recommended that this bill be amended
to explicitly state that this is the case (i.e., All
actions authorized by this article shall be consistent with
the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.) and
the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Water Code
1320 et seq.)
6) Clarifying the relationship of SB 133 to the regional
boards . The activities of the ACWD have the potential to
come into conflict with the work of the regional boards
unless there is some basis for linking the two. The author
is advised to review this issue with the state board in
order to ascertain how this issue might be addressed as the
bill progresses.
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SOURCE : Alameda County Water District (ACWD)
SUPPORT : American Federation of State, County and
Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
Association of California Water Agencies
California Groundwater Association
City of Fremont
City of Newark
City of Union City
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Tri-City Ecology Center
OPPOSITION : None on file