BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1340
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
SB 1340 (LaMalfa) - As Amended: June 20, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Sewerage Commission Oroville: appropriation of
treated wastewater
SUMMARY : Allows the Sewerage Commission Oroville (SCO) to
apply for a permit from the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) to appropriate an amount of water up to the amount of
discharged wastewater. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes SCO to apply for a permit to appropriate an amount
of water up to the amount of treated wastewater that is
discharged into the Feather River, less diminution by seepage,
evaporation, transportation, or other natural causes between
the point of discharge from the treatment plant and the point
of diversion out of the Feather River.
2)Authorizes the SWRCB to grant the permit subject to the terms
and conditions as in the board's judgment are necessary for
the protection of the rights of any legal user of the water.
3)Requires the SWRCB to comply with the provisions of the water
code governing the appropriation of surface water and other
applicable law, and authorizes the board to impose terms and
conditions authorized under those laws.
4)Allows water appropriated under the provisions of this bill to
be sold or utilized for any beneficial purpose.
5)Requires the SWRCB to prepare a report on the potential
cumulative effects of waste discharge entities applying for
water rights to their discharges. Requires the report to:
a) Assess potential effects on water rights and the ability
to meet instream flow standards and water quality standards
in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers;
b) Be posted in draft form on the SWRCB's Internet web site
and, once interested parties are notified electronically,
be subject to a minimum thirty day period for public
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comment; and,
c) Be posted in final form on the SWRCB's Internet web site
and transmitted, by July 1, 2013, to the Senate Committee
on Natural Resources and the Assembly Water, Parks and
Wildlife Committee.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides that the owner of a wastewater treatment plant shall
hold the exclusive right to the treated wastewater.
2)Requires approval from the State Water Resources Control Board
for a change in the point of discharge, place of use, or
purpose of use of treated wastewater, unless such change does
not decrease flow in any portion of a watercourse.
3)Protects wastewater which has been introduced into the
watercourse with the intention of maintaining or enhancing
fishery, wildlife, recreational or other instream beneficial
uses from being treated as abandoned and subject to
appropriation by others.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
staff analysis an estimated one-time costs of $110,000 from the
Water Rights Fund (special fund) in 2013 for the SWRCB to
conduct the cumulative impact analysis required by this bill.
COMMENTS : Existing law gives the owner of a wastewater
treatment plant the exclusive right to treated wastewater. Last
year, AB 134 (Dickinson), Chapter 212, Statutes of 2011, gave
authorization to the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation
District (SRCSD) to apply to the SWRCB for a permit to divert
water from the Sacramento River in an amount equal to the
district's discharge of treated wastewater into the Sacramento
River. Since the passage of AB 134, SRCSD has submitted its
application for an appropriation.
Supporting arguments : According to the author, this bill will
offer an additional procedural option for SC-OR "to potentially
realize the benefit of its treated wastewater." Supporters also
state that small to medium-sized wastewater treatment plants are
under increasing regulatory pressure to use advanced treatment
methods and that a "permit to appropriate and sell the amount of
water it treats will allow SC-OR to recoup a portion of the
costs spent on the expensive wastewater treatment process, with
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the direct result of lowering the costs for ratepayers." Both
the author and supporters note that this bill only allows an
application. It does not require the SWRCB to grant an
authorization.
Opposition to this bill was removed when the author agreed to
amend this bill in Committee to require SCO to delay any
application to SWRCB for the permit described in this bill,
until after July 1, 2013, which is the date on which the report
on potential cumulative effects must be complete.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Sewerage Commission Oroville Region (sponsor)
Lake Oroville Area Public Utility District (sponsor)
Oroville City Council
Oroville Economic Development Corporation
Sacramento Region County Sanitation District
Thermalito Water and Sewer District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096