BILL NUMBER: AB 2117 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Achadjian
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to add Sections 13377.5 and 13378.5 to the Water Code,
relating to water quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2117, as introduced, Achadjian. Waste discharge requirements:
storm water.
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board (state
board) and the California regional water quality control boards
prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of storm
water in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge
elimination system (NPDES) permit program. Existing law requires the
state board or the regional boards to issue waste discharge
requirements which apply and ensure compliance with all applicable
provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and any more
stringent effluent standards or limitations necessary to implement
water quality control plans, or for the protection of beneficial
uses, or to prevent nuisance.
This bill would prohibit implementation of any new storm water
effluent standards or limitations more stringent than the provisions
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act until January 1, 2017.
This bill would require the state board, in consultation with
affected stakeholders to prepare a comprehensive statewide storm
water plan, as prescribed, and submit it to the Legislature by
January 1, 2016.
Existing law requires waste discharge requirements be adopted only
after notice and any necessary hearing.
This bill would permit state board and regional board staff and
members to discuss pending storm water waste discharge requirements
with affected parties so long as the discussion is publicly
disclosed.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) While storm water represents a significant threat to the water
quality of California's rivers, lakes, and oceans, the current storm
water program is not addressing the full spectrum of pollutants and
does not represent a holistic approach to the issue.
(b) California's storm water program has focused on end-of-pipe
regulation instead of a more balanced focus on area sources. This
focus on end-of-pipe regulation has resulted in a new round of
proposed waste discharge requirements with extremely high
implementation costs that do not represent an effective use of
resources by the wide range of individuals subject to storm water
waste discharge requirement already suffering from the down economy.
At a time when local governments are laying off police and fire
personnel, school districts are closing schools, university tuition
is skyrocketing, and businesses are stagnating, individuals are
facing ten-fold increases in storm water waste discharge requirement
costs with individual cities facing multimillion dollar yearly
implementation costs. The state's highway program would be severely
impacted as well, creating profound long-term implications for the
economy. Repeated testimony continues to state that there is minimal
water quality improvement from these costs.
(c) California's storm water still does not integrate the
substantial contribution of area sources that remain beyond the reach
and control of individuals subject to storm water waste discharge
requirements, including, but not limited to, the storm water
contributions from automotive brake pads. Despite the fact that
landmark legislation, SB 346, Chapter 307 of the Statutes of 2010,
was passed to substantially reduce copper and other toxic
constituents in brake pads over the next 20 years, California's storm
water program does not factor in the need and progress to be made
from these reductions. Instead, the program continues to expect
individuals to somehow reduce pollutants, like automotive brake pads,
over which the individual has no control and at a cost that could be
in the billions of dollars and affect the basic core missions of
California's institutions and businesses.
(d) It is necessary to limit the expansion of the storm water
waste discharge requirements program beyond current federal
requirements while the State Water Quality Control Board and
stakeholders consider holistic changes necessary for the long-term
solution to this problem.
SEC. 2. Section 13377.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13377.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, until January 1,
2017, the state board or any regional board shall not implement new
storm water effluent standards or limitations more stringent than the
provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(b) (1) The state board, in consultation with affected
stakeholders, shall prepare a comprehensive statewide storm water
plan and submit it to the Legislature by January 1, 2016. This plan
shall consider the full spectrum of storm water constituents and
contain recommendations for necessary legislation to establish broad
mechanisms to ensure that individuals subject to storm water waste
discharge requirements do not have responsibility to remove
constituents from their storm water discharge that they did not
create and have no control over.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3. Section 13378.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13378.5. Notwithstanding any other law, the staff and members of
the state board or a regional board may discuss pending storm water
waste discharge requirements with affected parties so long as the
discussion is publicly disclosed.