AB 1200, as amended, Levine. Recycled water: agricultural irrigation impoundments: pilot project.
Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards as the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality.
This bill would, before October 1, 2014,begin delete requireend deletebegin insert permitend insert the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board to authorize a voluntary pilot project for the purposes of investigating potential water quality impacts associated with maximizing the supplementation of agricultural irrigation impoundments with disinfected tertiary treated recycled water, if the regional board finds that the proposed pilot project satisfies
specified criteria. This bill would require the pilot project to include a stakeholder advisory group, composed as prescribed, to review and provide input on pilot project design, implementation, and data analysis. This bill would require a prescribed final report to be issued to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state board, as specifiedbegin insert, and upon review of the final report would authorize the regional board to develop a formula for future waste discharge requirements to be issued for similar purposes and report to the state board and the Legislature with any recommendations, as prescribedend insert. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2018.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California faces increasing demands on its freshwater
4resources. These demands are compounded by a growing state
5population, limited groundwater and surface water supplies,
6increased ecosystem conflicts, and a changing climate.
7(b) Water recycling represents a tremendous opportunity to
8increase California’s water supply and to overcome the growing
9water resource challenges that threaten continued economic,
10ecosystem, and community prosperity.
11(c) Recognizing
the opportunity presented by water recycling,
12the State Water Resources Control Board adopted a recycled water
13policy in 2009 that mandates an increase in annual recycled water
14use by 200,000 acre-feet by 2020. The board also adopted a goal
15of increasing the use of recycled water over 2002 levels by one
16million acre-feet per year by 2020.
17(d) Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District in the County of
18Sonoma produces an average of 3.5 million gallons of tertiary
19recycled water daily, much of which is produced in the winter
20months and discharged to a tributary to San Pablo Bay.
21(e) The Napa Sanitation District in the County of Napa produces
22612 million gallons annually of tertiary treated recycled water.
23(f) In order to
maximize the beneficial use of this resource in
24the Counties of Napa and Sonoma and in order to help inform
25future regulatory frameworks for the use of recycled water across
26California, it is in the state’s interest to promote pilot projects
27intended to quantify the impacts and benefits of innovative recycled
28water projects.
Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 13590) is added
2to Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:
3
Before October 1, 2014, the San Francisco Bay Regional
8Water Quality Control Boardbegin delete shallend deletebegin insert mayend insert authorize a voluntary pilot
9project for the purposes of investigating potential water quality
10impacts and water supply benefits associated with maximizing the
11supplementation of agricultural irrigation impoundments with
12disinfected tertiary treated recycled water, if the San Francisco
13Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board finds that the proposed
14pilot project satisfies all of the following criteria:
15(a) The pilot project is
consistent with any applicable waste
16discharge requirementsbegin insert, including, but not limited to, having a
17NPDES permit, pursuant to Section 1251 et seq. of Title 33 of the
18United States Code for discharges covered by the pilot project,
19and performs all tasks as needed to obtain the NPDES permit,
20including, but not limited to, preproject modeling and habitat
21evaluations, and other data collection effortsend insert.
22(b) The pilot projectbegin delete is designed toend deletebegin insert shallend insert measure, analyze, and
23report water quality data collected upstream and downstream of
24agricultural irrigation impoundments before, during, and following
25at least five storm
events that result in the release of commingled
26disinfected tertiary recycled water and surface water runoff from
27up to four agricultural irrigation impoundments into waters of the
28state.
29(c) The pilot project includes a process for selecting up to four
30existing agricultural irrigation impoundments within the Counties
31of Napa and Sonoma for the purposes of the pilot project. A
32selected agricultural irrigation impoundment shall meet all of the
33following requirements:
34(1) Have existed prior to January 1, 2013.
35(2) Be not more than 200 acre-feet in volume.
36(3) Be within a primarily agricultural region that currently
37receives disinfected tertiary treated recycled
water, consistent with
38any waste discharge requirements, for the purposes of discharge,
39agricultural irrigation, and ecosystem restoration.
P4 1(d) The pilot project is designed to measure, analyze, and report
2at least the following water quality and environmental parameters:
3(1) Constituents addressed by total maximum daily loads
4completed for the San Francisco Bay, Napa River watershed, and
5the Sonoma Creek watershed, including, but not limited to,
6mercury, Polychlorinated biphenyls, pathogens, nutrients, and
7selenium.
8(2) Constituents associated with municipal recycled water,
9including, but not limited to, total suspended solids, total ammonia,
10copper, pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, total
11chlorine
residual, copper, nickel, and cyanide.
12(e) The pilot project incorporates a stakeholder advisory group
13to review and provide input on pilot project design,
14implementation, and data analysis, and consists of the following
15membership:
16(1) One representative from each of three nongovernmental
17organizations focused on San Francisco Bay region water quality
18and habitat issues.
19(2) One representative from a regional agricultural organization.
20(3) Two private landowners.
21(4) A representative from the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation
22District.
23(5) A representative from the Napa Sanitation District.
24(6) A representative from the Sonoma County Water Agency.
25(7) A representative from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water
26Quality Control Board.
27(f) The pilot project will include an analysis of local water
28management implications associated with increasing the use of
29recycled water for agricultural irrigation impoundments, including,
30but not limited to, reduced reliance on surface and groundwater
31resources, reduced ecosystem conflicts, and increased local
32resilience to climate change.
33(g) The proposed pilot project identifies all costs associated
34with the pilot project and project proponents will
have secured
35funding prior to pilot project implementation.
(a) Within 12 months of final data collection pursuant
37to the pilot project authorized in Section 13590, data shall be
38analyzed and compiled and a draft report shall be made available
39for stakeholder advisory group review.
P5 1(b) A final report shall be issued to the San Francisco Bay
2Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state board within
3three months of the release of the draft report pursuant to
4subdivision (a) and shall include consideration of comments made
5by the stakeholder advisory group.
6(c) (1) Upon
review of the final report, the San Francisco Bay
7Regional Water Quality Control Board may work to develop a
8formula for future waste discharge requirements to be issued for
9similar purposes and report to the state board and the Legislature
10with any recommendations for similar policies within the regional
11board’s region or statewide.
12(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
13submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
14Code.
This chapter shall remain in effect only until January
161, 2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
17statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
18that date.
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