BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 371
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 371 (Salas) - As Amended: January 27, 2014
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 4-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires testing of sewage sludge imported into Kern
County. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board)
to conduct testing on the effects of sewage sludge or other
biological solids on properties in unincorporated areas of
Kern County where sewage sludge or other biological solids are
imported from another California county. The testing shall
take place after each application of the sewage sludge, but no
fewer than two times per year.
2)The testing of the Kern County sewage sludge by the State
Board shall occur from
January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2017 and includes, but is not
limited to:
a) potential for groundwater contamination;
b) pathogens;
c) endotoxins; and
d) other hazards that may adversely affect human health.
3)Results of the State Board Testing shall be submitted after
each test to the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety
and Toxic Materials and the Kern County Board of Supervisors.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased costs to the State Board (Waste Discharge Permit Fund)
for reviewing reports submitted by the Los Angeles Sanitation
District and reporting to the Legislature, likely in the range
AB 371
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of $200,000 over a two-year period.
COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill . According to the author that may help, AB
371 addresses gaps in government testing of sewage sludge
being dumped in Kern County that may help science shape our
approach to finding a solution that could lead to
discontinuing the dumping of harmful sewage sludge in Kern
County. The new testing requirement will address the dumping
of sewage sludge and the effects it has on the health, safety,
and water quality in rural areas of Kern County.
2)Amendments. The committee is proposing amendments to clarify
the scope and frequency of the testing required by the bill as
follows:
a) Limit the testing to two times per year for two years.
b) Require the State Board to specifically identify the
pathogens, endotoxins, and other hazards to be tested
pursuant to the bill.
c) Declare that this bill does not limit the State Board or
regional board's authority to test and regulate waste
discharge requirements of dewatered, treated, or chemically
fixed sewage, sludge and other biological solids provided
in existing law.
d) Provide the report to the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality.
3)Background. The City of Los Angeles, Orange County Sanitation
District, Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 2, and
others, send hundreds of tons of bio-solids to Green Acres
Farm in Kern County, which the City of Los Angeles owns, and
to the privately-owned Honey Bucket Farms in Kern County.
In 2006, the voters of Kern County approved Measure E to ban
the importation of sewage sludge into Kern County. The
California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District
issued an opinion on February 13, 2013 preventing Kern County
from enforcing Measure E.
4)Other Local Actions . Kern County is not alone in attempting
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to regulate the application on bio-solids. Imperial County
adopted an ordinance (Measure X) similar to Kern County's
Measure E. Other ordinances that essentially ban application
of bio-solids have been adopted by San Joaquin County,
Stanislaus County, and Sutter County. In addition, practical
bans have been adopted in at least 14 other counties across
the state. Finally, San Luis Obispo County adopted a
restrictive permanent ordinance on March 12, 2013.
5)Public health and sewage sludge . According to a 2002,
National Research Council report entitled, Biosolids Applied
to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices, "Toxic chemicals,
infectious organisms, and endotoxins or cellular material may
all be present in biosolids. There are anecdotal reports
attributing adverse health effects to biosolids exposures,
ranging from relatively mild irritant and allergic reactions
to severe and chronic health outcomes. Odors are a common
complaint about biosolids, and greater consideration should be
given to whether odors from biosolids could have adverse
health effects. However, a causal association between
biosolids exposures and adverse health outcomes has not been
documented. To date, epidemiological studies have not been
conducted on exposed populations, such as biosolids appliers,
farmers who use biosolids on their fields, and communities
near land application sites."
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081