BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 145
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 145 (Perea and Rendon) - As Amended: April 24, 2013
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 9-2
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill transfers the Drinking Water Program (DWP) at the
Department of Public Health (DPH), including the Safe Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF), to the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB). This bill would delay the
transfer until the 2014-15 fiscal year.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown administrative costs for transferring the program,
likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially
offset by future efficiencies.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, the transfer of an
environmental health program from a health-based agency to an
environmental protection-based agency will help California
address future water issues. Placing the drinking water
program at SWRCB will provide a comprehensive water strategy
based on water quality and water rights programs necessary to
address climate change, increases in population, and the lack
of safe, affordable drinking water supplies.
2)Background. Two different federal regulatory statutes govern
water quality issues: the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and
the Clean Water Act (CWA). In California, DPH administers the
SDWA and SWRCB administers the CWA.
AB 145
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The DPH is housed within the California Health and Human
Services Agency and has a mission of "optimizing the health
and well-being of the people in California." CDPH manages
programs involved in a broad range of health-related
activities, such as chronic disease prevention, communicable
disease control, family health and planning, health care
quality (including the regulation of health care facilities
and professionals and laboratories), and the regulation of
environmental health (including drinking water quality).
The SWRCB, is housed within the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA), and has a mission, "to preserve,
enhance and restore the quality of California's water
resources, and ensure their proper allocation and efficient
use for the benefit of present and future generations." The
SWRCB and the nine regional water quality boards perform a
variety of activities related to the state's water quality and
resource allocation.
3)DPH non-compliance with the federal SDWA . In a document dated
April 19, 2013, the US EPA issued a notice to DPH for
non-compliance with the requirements of the SDWA, its
implementing regulations, and the terms and conditions of the
SDWSRF grant agreements funded by US EPA for fiscal years 2009
- 2011. The U.S. EPA determined that CDPH has not timely and
efficiently committed and expended the funds in the SDWSRF,
nor employed adequate financial resources to operate the
SDWSRF in a sound financial manner, in violation of the terms
and conditions of the grant agreements. The notice noted that
California has the largest unliquidated obligation in the
nation.
4)Support. A coalition of environmental, labor, public health
and environmental justice organizations assert that SWRCB is
the appropriate agency to oversee all the state's activities
regarding water quality, including those currently performed
by DPH. SWRCB has expertise in water quality and could quickly
and efficiently take on the additional responsibility. SWRCB
already oversees several funding programs under Prop 84 as
well as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
Further, DPH's inability to help communities access safe
drinking water has made it clear that the current
administration of the Drinking Water Program is a barrier to
achieving safe drinking water.
AB 145
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5)Opposition. The Association of California Water Agencies
(ACWA) and others regulated by DPH assert that the State's
Drinking Water Program, including the permitting and
inspection functions, generally works well. Opponents of the
transfer suggest that the focus needs to be on targeted
solutions that truly address the drinking water problems that
disadvantaged communities in unincorporated areas are facing.
Water agencies are concerned that moving the entire drinking
water program could negatively affect the parts of the program
that work without solving any existing problems. The
California Municipal Utilities Association argues that the
transfer would create disruptions of vital division functions
and contends that the transfer could distract SWRCB from
existing high profile priorities.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081