BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 849
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: GAtto
VERSION: 6/14/11
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 21, 2011
SUBJECT:
Graywater building standards
DESCRIPTION:
This bill allows cities and counties to alter state building
standards relating to graywater use for specific areas of the
city or county but not to prohibit the use of graywater
entirely.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for adopting
state building standards. Under this process, relevant state
agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which the
BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. For example, the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the
relevant state agency for residential building standards. The
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is
responsible for hospitals and clinics, and the Division of the
State Architect is the relevant agencies for schools and
emergency service buildings. Current law requires BSC to
publish the California Building Standards Code in its entirety
once every three years.
Existing law defines "graywater" as "untreated wastewater which
has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge ? and does not
present a threat from contamination by unhealthful processing,
manufacturing , or operating wastes. Graywater includes
wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes
washing machines, and laundry tubs but does not include
wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers."
SB 1258 (Lowenthal), Chapter 172, Statutes of 2008, required HCD
to adopt and submit to the BSC for approval building standards
for the construction, installation, and alteration of graywater
AB 849 (GATTO) Page 2
systems for indoor and outdoor use in residential occupancies.
HCD conducted an extensive outreach and public participation
process to develop the proposed standards, and the BSC adopted
these standards on July 30, 2009. SB 1258 also included a
provision allowing a city or county to adopt building standards
that prohibit entirely the use of graywater or that are more
restrictive than the graywater standards in the California
Building Standards Code.
SB 518 (Lowenthal), Chapter 622, Statutes of 2010, required the
BSC as part of the next triennial edition of the California
Building Standards Code to adopt standards for the construction,
installation, or alteration of graywater systems for indoor and
outdoor uses in non-residential occupancies. The next triennial
set of codes is scheduled for adoption in July 2013.
Current law also allows a city or county to amend state building
standards if the amendments are reasonably necessary because of
local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions.
This bill deletes the language allowing cities and counties to
prohibit entirely the use of graywater or to adopt building
standards that are more restrictive than the California Building
Standards Code. Instead, the bill allows a city or county to
adopt graywater building standards that differ from those in the
California Building Standards Code based on local climatic,
geological, or topographical conditions for a specific area of
the city or county where the conditions exist.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The author's goal is to encourage the
installation and use of graywater systems in as many
residential and commercial buildings as possible. Allowing
cities and counties to ban graywater systems is in conflict
with this goal, especially given the BSC's recent adoption of
building standards for graywater systems in residential
buildings and the pending standards for commercial buildings.
This bill allows cities and counties to make necessary
adjustments to state graywater standards to address local
conditions without allowing them to ban graywater systems
outright.
2.Saving water . In 2009, the legislature enacted SBX7 7
(Steinberg), Chapter 4 of the Seventh Extraordinary Session,
requiring that California reduce water consumption by 20% per
AB 849 (GATTO) Page 3
capita by the year 2020. Landscape irrigation makes up 70% of
average household water use in many communities. Because
graywater is primarily used for outdoor purposes, it has great
potential to reduce the need for potable water and help
California meet its SBX7 7 goal.
3.Restoring the general rule . When cities and counties have
widely divergent building standards, it is difficult for
architects and builders to work across jurisdictional lines.
In order to ensure the maximum level of uniformity in building
standards, current law requires the BSC to adopt building
standards that apply statewide but allows cities and counties
to make amendments that are reasonably necessary because of
local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. The
exception to this general rule is the graywater law that
allows cities and counties to prohibit graywater systems
entirely without making a finding of local conditions. This
bill restores the general rule under which state building
standards apply unless a city or county makes a finding of
necessity based on local climatic, geological, or
topographical conditions.
4.Technical amendments .
On page 2, lines 11-12, strike "for a specific area of
the city, county, or local agency where the conditions
exist"
On page 2, line 15, after "Code" insert "and shall be
limited to the specific area of the city, county, or local
agency where the conditions exist"
On page 2, lines 28-29, strike "for a specific area of
the city, county, or local agency where the conditions
exist"
On page 2, line 32, after "Code" insert "and shall be
limited to the specific area of the city, county, or local
agency where the conditions exist"
1.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill to both this committee and the Environmental Quality
Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 79-0
Local Gov: 9-0
H&CD: 7-0
AB 849 (GATTO) Page 4
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 15,
2011)
SUPPORT: California Building Industry Association
California State Pipe Trades Council
Planning and Conservation League
ReWater Systems
OPPOSED: None received.