BILL NUMBER: SB 482 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 30, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Sections 115875, 115880, 115885, 115890, 115895,
and 115915 of, to add Section 115917 115881
to, and to repeal Sections 115900 and 115905 of, the Health and
Safety Code, relating to public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 482, as amended, Kehoe. Public beach contamination: standards:
testing: closing.
Existing law requires local health officers to submit to the State
Water Resources Control Board prescribed information regarding beach
postings and closures and requires the board to make that
information available to the public and to post the information on
its Internet Web site.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to
adopt regulations to establish minimum standards for the sanitation
of public beaches, as defined, and to require the testing of the
waters adjacent to beaches for microbiological contaminants and to
require posting and closure of beaches that are in violation of the
standards. A violation of these regulations is a crime.
This bill would, commencing January 1, 2012, give primary
responsibility for adopting, amending, and enforcing the
regulations administration of the provisions relating
to monitoring site locations, monitoring frequency, and public
notification to the board , in consultation with the
department and would leave in place the regulations
existing as of January 1, 2012, to be administered, enforced, and
amended as necessary by the board . The bill would delete
related findings , and would require the board to report to
the Legislature regarding funding these state and local duties and
options for modifying wastewater discharge monitoring requirements as
an alternative method to meet those requirements .
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. Section 115875 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
115875. For the purposes of this article, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Public beach" means any beach area used by the public for
recreational purposes that is owned, operated, or controlled by the
state, any state agency, any local agency, or any private person in
this state, and is located in the coastal zone, as defined in Section
30103 of the Public Resources Code, or within the jurisdiction of
the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as set
forth in Section 66610 of the Government Code. "Public beach" also
includes any beach of ocean waters and bays of the state where
water-contact sports are engaged in by the public.
(b) "Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(c) "Department" means the State Department of Public Health.
(c)
(d) "Health officer" means the legally appointed local
health officer or director of environmental health of the county or
city having jurisdiction of the area in which a public saltwater
beach is located.
SEC. 2. Section 115880 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
115880. (a) The board department
shall by regulation, in consultation with the department
board , local health officers, and the public,
establish, maintain, and amend as necessary, minimum standards for
the sanitation of public beaches, including, but not limited to, the
removal of refuse, as it determines are reasonably necessary for the
protection of the public health and safety.
(b) Prior to final adoption or amendment by the board
department , the regulations and standards
required by this section shall undergo an external comprehensive
review process similar to the process set forth in Section 57004 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(c) The regulations shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
(1) Require the testing of the waters adjacent to all public
beaches for microbiological contaminants, including, but not limited
to, total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria. The
board department may require the
testing of waters adjacent to all public beaches for microbiological
indicators other than those set forth in this paragraph, or a subset
of those set forth in this paragraph, if the board
department affirmatively establishes, based on the best
available scientific studies and the weight of the evidence, that the
alternative indicators are as protective of the public health.
(2) Establish protective minimum standards for total coliform,
fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria, or for other
microbiological indicators that the board
department determines are appropriate for testing pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(3) Establish protocols for all of the following:
(A) Determining monitoring site locations and monitoring frequency
based on risks to public health.
(B) Making decisions regarding public notification of health
hazards, including, but not limited to the posting, closing, and
reopening of public beaches.
(4) Require that the waters adjacent to public beaches be tested
for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria, or for
other microbiological indicators that the board determines are
appropriate for testing pursuant to paragraph (1). Except as set
forth in paragraph (5), testing shall be conducted on at least a
weekly basis, from April 1 to October 31, inclusive, of each year,
beginning in 1999, if all of the following apply:
(A) The beach is visited by more than 50,000 people annually.
(B) The beach is located on an area adjacent to a storm drain that
flows in the summer.
(5) The monitoring frequency and locations established pursuant to
this subdivision and related regulations may only be reduced or
altered after the testing required pursuant to paragraph (4) reveals
levels of microbiological contaminants that do not exceed for a
period of two years the minimum protective standards established
pursuant to paragraph (2).
(d) The local health officer shall be responsible for testing the
waters adjacent to, and coordinating the testing of, all public
beaches within his or her jurisdiction.
(e) The local health officer may meet the testing requirements of
this section by utilizing test results from other agencies conducting
microbiological contamination testing of the waters under his or her
jurisdiction.
(f) Any city or county may adopt standards for the sanitation of
public beaches within its jurisdiction that are stricter than the
standards adopted by the board pursuant to this section.
(g) Any duty imposed upon a local public officer or agency
pursuant to this article shall be mandatory only during a fiscal year
in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as
determined by the board, in the annual Budget Act or otherwise for
local agencies to cover the costs to those agencies associated with
the performance of these duties. The board shall annually, within 15
days after enactment of the Budget Act, file a written statement with
the Secretary of the Senate and with the Chief Clerk of the Assembly
memorializing whether sufficient funds have been appropriated.
(h) Commencing January 1, 2012, primary jurisdiction over state
administration of this article is transferred from the department to
the board. Regulations of the department implementing this article in
effect immediately preceding January 1, 2012, shall remain in effect
and shall, thereafter, be administered, enforced, and amended as
necessary, by the board.
SEC. 3. Section 115881 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
115881. (a) Commencing January 1, 2012, primary jurisdiction
shall be transferred from the department to the board for state
administration of all of the following:
(1) Determining monitoring site locations and monitoring frequency
based on risks to public health and options for modifying wastewater
and stormwater discharge monitoring requirements of local agencies
as a method of meeting the requirements set forth in Section 115880.
(2) Making decisions regarding public notification of health
hazards, including, but not limited to, the posting, closing, and
reopening of public beaches.
(3) Requiring that the waters adjacent to public beaches are
tested for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria,
or for other microbiological indicators that the department
determines are appropriate for testing pursuant to paragraph (1).
Except as set forth in subdivision (b), testing shall be conducted on
at least a weekly basis year round if all of the following apply:
(A) The beach is visited by more than 50,000 people annually.
(B) The beach is located on an area adjacent to a storm drain that
flows in the summer.
(b) The monitoring frequency and locations established pursuant to
this section and related regulations may only be reduced or altered
after the testing required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) reveals levels of microbiological contaminants that do not exceed
for a period of two years the minimum protective standards
established pursuant to Section 115880.
(c) Regulations adopted by the department for the implementation
of this article that are in effect as of January 1, 2012, shall
remain in effect and shall, thereafter, be administered, enforced,
and amended as necessary by the board.
(d) The local health officer shall be responsible for testing the
waters adjacent to, and coordinating the testing of, all public
beaches within his or her jurisdiction.
(e) The local health officer may meet the testing requirements of
this section by utilizing test results from other agencies conducting
microbiological contamination testing of the waters under his or her
jurisdiction.
(f) Any city or county may adopt standards for the sanitation of
public beaches within its jurisdiction that are stricter than the
standards adopted by the board pursuant to this section.
(g) Any duty imposed upon a local public officer or agency
pursuant to this section shall be mandatory only during a fiscal year
in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as
determined by the Public Health Officer, in the annual Budget Act or
otherwise for local agencies to cover the costs to those agencies
associated with the performance of these duties. The Public Health
Officer shall annually, within 15 days after enactment of the Budget
Act, file a written statement with the Secretary of the Senate and
with the Chief Clerk of the Assembly memorializing whether sufficient
funds have been appropriated.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 115885 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
115885. The health officer having jurisdiction over the area in
which a public beach is created shall:
(a) Inspect the public beach to determine whether the standards
established pursuant to Section 115880 are being complied with. If
the health officer finds any violation of the standards, he or she
may restrict the use of, or close, the public beach or portion
thereof in which the violation occurs until the standard is complied
with.
(b) Investigate any complaint of a person of a
violation of any standard established by the board
department pursuant to Section 115880. If the
health officer finds any violation of the standards prescribed by the
board department , he or she may
restrict the use of, or close, the public beach or portion thereof
until the standard is complied with. If the person who made the
complaint is not satisfied with the action taken by the health
officer, he or she may report the violation to the board.
The board department. The department shall
investigate the reported violation, and, if it finds that the
violation exists, it may restrict the use of or close the public
beach or portion thereof until the standard violated is complied
with.
(c) (1) Whenever a beach is posted, closed, or otherwise
restricted in accordance with Section 115915, the health officer
shall inform the agency responsible for the operation and maintenance
of the public beach within 24 hours of the posting, closure, or
restriction.
(2) The health officer shall establish a telephone hotline to
inform the public of all beaches currently closed, posted, or
otherwise restricted. The hotline shall be updated as needed in order
to convey changes in public health risks.
(d) Report any violation of the standards established pursuant to
Section 115880 to the district attorney, or if the violation
occurred in a city and, pursuant to Section 41803.5 of the Government
Code, the city attorney is authorized to prosecute misdemeanors, to
the city attorney.
(e) In the event of a known untreated sewage release, the local
health officer shall immediately test the waters adjacent to the
public beach and to take action pursuant to regulations established
under Section 115880 Sections 115880 and
115881 .
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the event of
an untreated sewage release that is known to have reached
recreational waters adjacent to a public beach, the local health
officer shall immediately close those waters until it has been
determined by the local health officer that the waters are in
compliance with the standards established pursuant to Section 115880.
If the department is aware of an untreated sewage release that has
reached recreational waters adjacent to a public beach, and that the
local health officer has not taken action to close the beach, it may
take action to close those waters until the waters are in compliance.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 115890 of
the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
115890. Prior to restricting the use of or closing a public beach
or portion thereof alleged to be in violation of standards, the
health officer , the board, or the department as
the case may be, shall give reasonable notice of the violation to the
owner of, or person or agency in charge of, the beach.
SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Section 115895 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
115895. Any private person who violates any regulation adopted by
the board department pursuant to
Section 115880 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
SEC. 6. SEC. 7. Section 115900 of
the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. SEC. 8. Section 115905 of
the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
SEC. 8. SEC. 9. Section 115915 of
the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
115915. (a) Whenever any beach fails to meet the bacteriological
standards established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 115880,
the health officer shall, at a minimum, post the beach with
conspicuous warning signs to inform the public of the nature of the
problem and the possibility of risk to public health.
(b) A warning sign shall be visible from each legal primary beach
access point, as identified in the coastal access inventory prepared
and updated pursuant to Section 30531 of the Public Resources Code,
and any additional access points identified by the health officer.
SEC. 9. Section 115917 is added to the Health
and Safety Code, to read:
115917. By June 30, 2012, the board shall, in consultation with
the local health officers and other stakeholders, submit a plan to
the Legislature regarding options for sustainable funding for the
payment of costs associated with performance of state and local
duties under this article and options for modifying wastewater
discharge monitoring requirements of local agencies as an alternative
method of meeting the requirements set forth in Section 115880.