BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 482|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 482
Author: Kehoe (D)
Amended: 5/31/11
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 6-3, 4/6/11
AYES: Hernandez, Alquist, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
NOES: Strickland, Anderson, Blakeslee
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 5/2/11
AYES: Simitian, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Blakeslee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-2, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SUBJECT : Public beach contamination: standards:
testing: closing
SOURCE : California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
DIGEST : This bill transfers authority over water quality
monitoring at beaches from the Department of Public Health
to the State Water Resources Control Board.
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ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, under the Water
Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) administered by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
requires that all municipal, industrial, and commercial
facilities that discharge wastewater or stormwater directly
from a point source into water of the United States (such
as a lake, river or ocean) must obtain a National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permit.
Existing state law:
1. Defines "public beach" as any beach owned, operated or
controlled by the state, any state agency, any local
agency, any local agency or any private person and is
located in the coastal zone or within the jurisdiction
of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission that is used by the public for recreational
use.
2. Requires Department of Public Health (DPH) to create
regulations establishing minimum standards for the
sanitation of public beaches for the protection of the
public's health and safety. Requires DPH to consult
with local health officers and the public on these
regulations. The regulations must undergo an external
comprehensive review process.
3. Requires the regulations to do the following by December
31, 1998:
Require testing waters adjacent to public beaches
for microbiological contaminants, and establish
protocols for testing. DPH may require testing of
other microbiological indicators based on the best
available scientific evidence.
Establish protective minimum standards for
microbiological indicators that the department
determines are appropriate for testing.
Establish protocols for determining monitoring site
locations and monitoring frequency of public beaches.
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Establish protocols for making decisions about
public notification of health hazards, including
posting, closing and reopening public beaches.
4. Requires, beginning in 1999, that testing be conducted
on at least a weekly basis from April 1 to October 31 if
the beach is visited by more than 50,000 people annually
and the beach is adjacent to a storm drain that flows in
the summer. This requirement may be reduced or altered
if levels of microbiological contaminants do not exceed
minimum protective standards for two years.
5. Defines, for the purposes of this section of law,
"health officer" to refer to the appointed local health
officer or director of environmental health of the city
or county having jurisdiction over the area where a
public saltwater beach is located.
6. Makes the local health officer responsible for testing
and coordinating the testing of the waters adjacent to
public beaches within his/her jurisdiction.
7. Allows the local health officer to use test results from
other agencies conducting microbiological contamination
testing with in his/her jurisdiction.
8. Requires the health officer to:
A. Inspect public beaches to determine if protective
minimum standards are being met.
B. Close or restrict use of portions or all of public
beaches where protective minimum standards have not
been met.
C. Investigate complaints alleging violations of
minimum standards.
D. Notify the agency responsible for the operation
and maintenance of the beach within 24 hours of the
posting, closure, or restriction.
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E. Establish a hotline to inform the public about
beach closures, postings, or other restrictions.
F. Report violations of the standards to the district
or city attorney.
G. Immediately test waters adjacent to a public beach
where an untreated sewage release occurs. If
untreated sewage reaches recreational waters adjacent
to the public beach, the officer is required to close
the public beach until minimum standards have been
met.
H. Post conspicuous warning signs visible from
primary beach access points informing the public of
the nature of the problem and the possible risk to
public health.
I. Perform these duties during fiscal years when the
Legislature appropriates sufficient funds.
J. Submit a survey to the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) containing specified
information documenting all beach postings and
closures that occurred in the preceding month.
9. Requires DPH to investigate violations of minimum
standards when a local health officer's response to a
complaint is deemed insufficient by the person issuing
the complaint.
10.Allows DPH to close or restrict use of a portion or all
of the public beach until the standards are met, and
requires DPH to give reasonable notice to the owner or
agency in charge of the beach.
11.Requires the Director of Health Services to file a
written statement annually with the Secretary of the
Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly stating whether
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sufficient funds have been appropriated for the purposes
of these provisions.
12.Allows any city or county to adopt stricter standards
for sanitation of public beaches within their
jurisdiction.
13.Establishes SWRCB as a department under the California
EPA to protect water quality by setting statewide
policy, allocating surface water rights, coordinating
and supporting the Regional Water Board efforts, and
reviewing petitions that contest Regional Board actions.
SWRCB and the California regional water quality control
boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the
discharge of stormwater by municipalities and industries
in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act.
14.Declares that California's beaches are an invaluable
economic, environmental, and recreational source, and
makes findings that contamination of beaches poses a
serious threat to the public's health.
This bill:
1. Transfers responsibility for the following provisions
from DPH to SWRCB:
A. Determining monitoring site locations of beach
testing.
B. Determining monitoring site frequency based on
risks to public health.
C. Making decisions about public notification of
health hazards, including posting, closing and
reopening public beaches.
D. Require that waters adjacent to public beaches be
tested for microbiological indicators that DPH deems
appropriate.
2. Requires SWRCB to determine options for modifying
wastewater and stormwater discharge monitoring
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requirements of local agencies.
3. Establishes that regulations adopted by DPH currently in
effect shall remain in effect and be administered,
enforced, and amended as necessary by SWRCB.
4. Requires testing of waters adjacent to public beaches on
a weekly basis from April 1 to October 31, each year,
beginning in 2012.
5. Expands the definition of a public beach to include any
beach of ocean waters and bays of the state where the
public engages in water-contact sports.
6. Deletes the requirement to establish regulations
requiring testing by December 31, 1998.
7. Requires the Public Health Officer to file a written
statement annually with the Secretary of the Senate and
Chief Clerk of the Assembly stating whether sufficient
funds have been appropriated for the performance of
these duties.
Background
DPH's Recreational Health Program is responsible for:
developing regulatory requirements and guidelines for
beaches, fresh water bathing areas, public swimming pools
and spas, and the operation of organized camps,
developing and implementing initiatives to systemically
attack the underlying causes of preventable disease and
hazardous conditions associated with our coastal and
other recreational waters, and
allocating over $1.5 million in assistance funding to
local government through contracts to test ocean and bay
waters along public beaches to ensure that they are safe
for recreational activities.
DPH's regulations currently establish the physical standard
for healthfulness and safety of ocean water-contact sports
areas in California as the absence of visible sewage,
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sludge, grease, or other physical evidence of sewage
discharge at all times on any public beaches or
water-contact sports areas. Regulations also include
minimum protective bacteriological standards for total
coliform bacteria, fecal coliform bacteria, and
enterococcus bacteria waters adjacent to public beaches and
public water-contact sports areas.
Prior Legislation
SB 771 (Simitian), Chapter 588, Statutes of 2006, extends
restrictions on discharges that apply to cruise ships to
include oceangoing ships in state marine waters and marine
sanctuaries.
AB 411 (Wayne), Chapter 765, Statutes of 1997, requires
local health officers to test waters adjacent to public
beaches within their jurisdiction and to take related
action in the event of a known sewage release. AB 411 also
requires the local health officer to post conspicuous
warning signs and establish a telephone hotline to inform
the public about a beach that fails to meet standards
developed by the Department of Health Services as required
in the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Additional testing $430 $860
$860Special*
* Waste Discharge Permit Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/31/11)
California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (source)
Alameda County Department of Environmental Health
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California Coastal Coalition
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research and Education
County of San Diego
Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Marin County Environmental Health Services
Natural Resources Defense Council
San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper
Save Our Shores
Sierra Club
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/31/11)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Orange County Sanitation District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators is sponsoring this bill
and believes it provides a stable funding source for local
environmental health programs throughout California to
monitor beach water quality and to warn beach users where
the water is not safe to swim. The Sierra Club of
California, Save Our Shores, and the Alameda County
Department of Environmental Health all claim that,
consistent with the recommendations of the Ocean Protection
Council, routine monitoring of our ocean waters helps to
ensure that our coastal bathing areas are clean and safe.
In doing so, we protect the public health, the environment,
and California's coastal economy.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : California Association of
Sanitation Agencies opposes this bill and writes, "SB 482
directs the State Water Board to look at 'options for
modifying wastewater and stormwater discharge monitoring
requirements of local agencies as a method of meeting the
requirements set forth in Section 115880.' We believe this
bill would simply have the effect of transferring the cost
of a program of general interest onto water quality
permittees, which goes beyond a reasonable nexus to the
potential impacts of their discharges on water quality.
Local wastewater and stormwater resources are stretched
thin already, and this is an unfair burden to place solely
on these entities, many of whom already contribute to these
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monitoring efforts."
CTW:kc 5/31/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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