BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2208
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
AB 2208 (Perea) - As Amended: April 16, 2012
SUBJECT : Safe Drinking Water: Revolving Fund.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH), when implementing the Safe Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (SDWSRF), to consolidate multiple community
projects to meet safe drinking water standards. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Makes a statement of legislative intent that the CDPH consider
regional solutions to drinking water in underserved
communities and further asserts that regional drinking water
projects will help provide clean drinking water to adjacent
communities like Lanare and Riverdale in Fresno County.
2)Provides that the CDPH may consolidate proposed studies or
projects that will allow multiple agencies or applicants to
meet safe drinking water standards in a cost effective manner.
3)Requires the CDPH to give priority to those proposed studies
or projects that consolidate services in unincorporated
communities or that allow for consolidation into existing
water systems pursuant to an adopted countywide plan, or local
agency formation commission (LAFCO) recommendation that is
part of a service review in the preceding five calendar years.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW :
1)Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) establishes
the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) which
provides states with a financing mechanism to ensure safe
drinking water to the public.
2)Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA), provides approximately $160 million to the SDWSRF for
infrastructure development for California's drinking water
systems.
AB 2208
Page 2
EXISTING STATE LAW:
1)Under the California SDWA, authorizes the CDPH to implement
the California SDWA in accordance with requirements of the
federal SDWA.
2)Under the SDWSRF, provides funding to correct public water
system deficiencies based upon a funding approach that
prioritizes systems' problems that pose public health risks,
systems with needs for funding to comply with requirements of
the SDWA, and systems most in need on a per household
affordability basis.
3)Directs CDPH to prioritize funding of water projects in
disadvantaged communities. Directs CDPH to promote, provide
funds for studies on, and prioritize funding for projects
which consolidate small public water systems in certain
situations.
4)Requires LAFCOS to conduct a service review of the municipal
services provided in the county or other appropriate area
designated by LAFCO, and requires LAFCOs in that municipal
service review, the LAFCO to comprehensively review all of the
agencies that provide the identified service or services
within that designated geographic area.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not known.
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill . According to the author, "this bill is
designed to address the problems of contaminated drinking water
in rural communities. Examples of the problems faced by small
communities are Lanare and Riverdale in Fresno County. Lanare
and Riverdale both rely on arsenic-contaminated water supplies.
In 2007, a water treatment plant was completed in the community
of Lanare, but the maintenance and operating costs were too high
for the small, disadvantaged community to sustain and the plant
shut down after only six months. Riverdale, which is located
three miles from Lanare, recently received a grant to find
solutions to its arsenic-contaminated water problem, but
connecting its water system to Lanare is beyond the scope of the
grant. Without an additional grant, Lanare will be left to rely
on arsenic-contaminated water and suffer the consequences."
AB 2208
Page 3
Safe Drinking Water Resolving Fund . Congress established the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) as part of the 1996
SDWA amendments to better enable public water systems to comply
with national primary drinking water standards and to protect
public health. The SDWSRF provides financial assistance in the
form of capitalization grants to states to provide low interest
loans and other assistance to public water systems. In order to
receive these funds, states must provide a state match equal to
20% of the federal capitalization grants and must create a
drinking water state revolving fund program for public water
system infrastructure needs and other drinking water-related
activities. In response, California established the SDRSRF
through SB 1307 (Chapter 734, Statutes of 1997) to help fund the
state's drinking water needs.
Drinking water and groundwater contamination. AB 2222
(Caballero, Chapter 670, Statutes of 2008) requires the State
Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to submit a report to the
Legislature that identifies communities in California that rely
on contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking
water. The SWRCB draft report has identified 682 communities,
serving more than 21 million people, which rely on groundwater
contaminated with one or more principal contaminants.
According to a May 2011 report, prepared by the Senate Office of
Research, as of 2007 approximately 1.2 million California
residents-a little more than 3 percent of the population that
receives water from public water systems-may have been affected
by water that violated a drinking-water standard or treatment
technique.
Public drinking water system consolidation . Current state law
and CDPH policies encourage consolidation of public drinking
water systems to help address the problems of water
contamination. Legislation in 2007, (AB 783 (Arambula) Chapter,
614, Statutes of 2007) , provided direction to improve and
expand community water systems by promoting the consolidation
of small public water systems when consolidation would improve
the quality, reliability, and affordability of water to these
communities. AB 2208 is designed to establish a more
prescriptive standard for CDPH when considering drinking water
system improvements that may include consolidation.
Related Legislation :
AB 2208
Page 4
AB 1669 (Perea), Drinking Water Nitrate Contamination -
Establishes the Nitrate at Risk Area Fund for the purposes of
developing and implementing sustainable and affordable solutions
for disadvantaged communities in areas reliant on
nitrate-contaminated groundwater as their source of drinking
water. AB 1669 is scheduled for hearing in the Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials (ESTM) Committee on April 24, 2012.
AB 2238 (Perea), Requires the CDPH to promote the consolidation
and merger of small community water systems that serve
disadvantaged communities. Requires local agency formation
commissions LAFCO to examine drinking water and waste treatment
service consolidation as part of a LAFCO local agency service
review. AB 2238 is scheduled for hearing in the ESTM Committee
on April 24, 2012.
AB 2334 (Fong), State Water Plan including drinking water
affordability. Requires the Department of Water Resources to
analyze how drinking water and wastewater services could be made
more affordable for low-income residents. AB 2334 is scheduled
for hearing in the ESTM Committee on April 24, 2012.
AB 2529 (Wieckowski), Streamlining the Safe Drinking Waste Act
regulations and criteria for revolving funds. Authorizes the
CDPH to adopt interim regulations and take other actions to
expedite the process of providing funds for drinking water
projects, especially to severely disadvantaged communities. AB
2529 is scheduled for hearing in the ESTM Committee on April 24,
2012.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Clean Water Action
Community United in Larare
PolicyLink
Opposition
California Special Districts Association
Riverdale Public Utility District
AB 2208
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965