BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1200
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
AB 1200 (Levine) - As Amended: April 9, 2013
SUBJECT : Recycled water: agricultural irrigation
impoundments: pilot project.
SUMMARY : Requires the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality
Control Board (San Francisco Regional Board) to authorize a
voluntary pilot project within the Counties of Napa and Sonoma
to investigate potential water quality impacts and water supply
benefits associated with allowing agricultural irrigation
impoundments containing recycled water to overflow during storm
events. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings about water recycling.
2)Requires, before October 1, 2014, the San Francisco Regional
Board to authorize a voluntary pilot project for the purposes
of investigating potential water quality impacts and water
supply benefits associated with maximizing the supplementation
of agricultural irrigation impoundments with disinfected
tertiary treated recycled water, if the San Francisco Regional
Board finds that the proposed pilot project satisfies all of
the following criteria:
a) The pilot project is designed to measure, analyze, and
report water quality data collected upstream and downstream
of agricultural irrigation impoundments before, during, and
following at least five storm events that result in the
release of commingled disinfected tertiary recycled water
and surface water runoff from up to four agricultural
irrigation impoundments into waters of the state.
b) The pilot project includes a process for selecting up to
four existing agricultural irrigation impoundments, which
meet specified requirements, within the Counties of Napa
and Sonoma for the purposes of the pilot project.
c) The pilot project is designed to measure, analyze, and
report at least the following water quality and
environmental parameters:
i) Constituents addressed by total maximum daily loads
AB 1200
Page 2
completed for the San Francisco Bay, Napa River
watershed, and the Sonoma Creek watershed, including, but
not limited to, mercury, Polychlorinated biphenyls,
pathogens, nutrients, and selenium.
ii) Constituents associated with municipal recycled
water, including, but not limited to, total suspended
solids, total ammonia, copper, pH, temperature,
biochemical oxygen demand, total chlorine residual,
copper, nickel, and cyanide.
d) The pilot project incorporates a stakeholder advisory
group to review and provide input on pilot project design,
implementation, and data analysis, and consists of the
following membership:
i) One representative from each of three
nongovernmental organizations focused on San Francisco
Bay region water quality and habitat issues.
ii) One representative from a regional agricultural
organization.
iii) Two private landowners.
iv) A representative from the Sonoma Valley County
Sanitation District.
v) A representative from the Napa Sanitation District.
vi) A representative from the Sonoma County Water
Agency.
vii) A representative from the San Francisco Regional
Board.
e) The pilot project will include an analysis of local
water management implications associated with increasing
the use of recycled water for agricultural irrigation
impoundments, including, but not limited to, reduced
reliance on surface and groundwater resources, reduced
ecosystem conflicts, and increased local resilience to
climate change.
f) The proposed pilot project identifies all costs
associated with the pilot project and project proponents
will have secured funding, such as local funds and state
bond funds, prior to pilot project implementation.
3)Requires, within 12 months of final data collection made
pursuant to the pilot project, data to be analyzed and
compiled and requires that a draft report be made available
for stakeholder advisory group review.
AB 1200
Page 3
4)Requires a final report to be issued to the San Francisco
Regional Board and the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) within three months of the release of the draft
report, which must include consideration of comments made by
the stakeholder advisory group.
5)Sunsets the provisions governing the pilot project on January
1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), administered by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
regulates discharges of pollutants into the waters of the
United States and regulates quality standards for surface
waters.
a) Enforces the CWA by requiring a National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for each point
source (discrete conveyance such as a pipe or human-made
ditch) that discharges pollutants into surface waters.
Authorizes California to issue NPDES permits in lieu of
direct regulation by US EPA.
2)Pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act,
establishes the SWRCB and the regional water quality control
boards and provides that the SWRCB and the regional water
quality control boards are the principal state agencies with
authority over matters relating to water quality and
implementation of the CWA. Authorizes the state and regional
water boards to implement the NPDES program (Water Code (WC) �
13000, et seq.).
3)Defines "recycled water" as water which, as a result of
treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or
a controlled use that would not otherwise occur and is
therefore considered a valuable resource (WC � 13050(n)).
4)Provides that it is State policy to promote the use of
recycled water to the maximum extent in order to supplement
existing surface and ground water supplies to help meet water
needs (WC � 13510 - 13512).
5)Requires all persons who recycle or propose to recycle water,
AB 1200
Page 4
and who use or propose to use recycled water, to file a report
with the appropriate regional water board (WC � 13522.5).
6)Authorizes, if it determines that it is necessary to protect
public health, safety, or welfare, regional water boards to
prescribe water recycling requirements where recycled water is
used or proposed to be used (WC � 13523).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill : According to the author, "Existing law
treats recycled water as a waste. Regional water quality
control boards issue permits with this in mind. The result in
Sonoma and Napa valleys, regulated under the San Francisco Bay
regional water quality control board, is that storage is
underutilized and use is not maximized. This is a particularly
poor use of resources because the use of less recycled water
means the use of more raw or groundwater. The bill would allow
for a pilot project that examines from a scientific approach the
effect of increased storage in up to four small existing ponds.
The issue with current law is that the regional board does not
feel that they can move forward with allowing storage until
there is information about any impacts of recycled water storage
overflow. The regional board needs information on the impacts
of storage to approve storage, but the only way to get the
information on the impacts of storage is to move forward with
storage. This creates a situation where it would be
administratively possible to move forward with a pilot project,
but that administrative possibility is not going to occur.
Recycled water is currently used in this watershed for
agricultural and habitat restoration. Recycled water that is
not used is discharged into the same watershed."
Recycled water : According to US EPA, water recycling is reusing
treated waste water for beneficial purposes such as agricultural
and landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing,
and replenishing a ground water basin (ground water recharge).
Water is sometimes recycled and reused on site; for example,
when an industrial facility recycles water used for cooling
processes. A common type of recycled water is water that has
been reclaimed from municipal waste water, or sewage. The term
AB 1200
Page 5
water recycling is generally used synonymously with water
reclamation and water reuse.
US EPA notes that recycled water can satisfy most water demands,
as long as it is adequately treated to ensure quality
appropriate for the use. In uses where there is a greater
chance of human exposure to the water, more treatment is
required. As for any water source that is not properly treated,
health problems could arise from drinking or being exposed to
recycled water if it contains disease causing organisms or other
contaminants.
Recycled water regulation in California : In California, the
SWRCB establishes general policies governing the permitting of
recycled water projects consistent with its role of protecting
water quality and sustaining water supplies. The SWRCB
exercises general oversight over recycled water projects,
including review of regional water board permitting practices
(including NPDES permits), and leads the effort to meet the
recycled water use goals set forth in state recycled water
policy. The SWRCB is also charged by statute with developing a
general permit for irrigation uses of recycled water.
While the SWRCB is responsible for the bulk of recycled water
regulation, it shares jurisdiction over the use of recycled
water with the regional water boards and with the Department of
Public Health. In addition, the Department of Water Resources
and the California Public Utilities Commission have roles to
play in encouraging the use of recycled water.
California's recycled water policy : On February 3, 2009, the
SWRCB adopted Resolution 2009-2011, a policy for water quality
control for recycled water. In adopting the resolution, the
SWRCB made a finding that the Strategic Plan Update 2008-2012
for the state and regional boards includes a priority to
increase sustainable local water supplies available for meeting
existing and future beneficial uses and to ensure adequate water
flows for fish and wildlife habitat. The SWRCB found that
increasing the acceptance and promoting the use of recycled
water is a means towards achieving sustainable local water
supplies and can result in the reduction in greenhouse gases.
It also found that the recycled water policy is intended to
encourage beneficial use of, rather than solely disposal of,
recycled water.
AB 1200
Page 6
According to the SWRCB, the purpose of the Recycled Water Policy
(Policy) is to increase the use of recycled water from municipal
wastewater sources in a manner that implements state and federal
water quality laws. When used in compliance with the Policy and
applicable state and federal water quality laws, the SWRCB
argues that recycled water is safe for approved uses, and
strongly supports recycled water as a safe alternative to
potable water for such approved uses. The Policy establishes a
mandate to increase the use of recycled water in California by
200,000 acre-feet per year (afy) by 2020 and by an additional
300,000 afy by 2030.
Recycled water in the proposed pilot project region : The Sonoma
Valley County Sanitation District currently holds a NPDES permit
for point source discharges into surface waters (Order No.
R2-2008-0090). The Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District
owns and the Sonoma County Water Agency operates wastewater
treatment plant and collection systems. The plant provides
secondary treatment to the wastewater collected from the City of
Sonoma, unincorporated areas of Glen Ellen, Boyes Hot Springs,
El Verano, and Agua Caliente. Treatment processes consist of
flow equalization; pretreatment by screening and grit removal;
extended aeration activated sludge treatment; secondary
sedimentation; and effluent disinfection by chlorination and
de-chlorination.
According to the Sonoma County Water Agency, the sponsor of the
bill, currently, they and their agricultural landowner partners
risk being penalized if small irrigation ponds storing high
quality recycled water overflow during a rain event, despite the
fact that they currently hold water quality permits allowing for
discharge, tidal habitat restoration, and agricultural
irrigation within the same watershed and using the same recycled
water. They argue that the financial risk to them and their
landowner partners has limited their ability to use
highly-treated recycled water to its greatest potential. They
assert that by authorizing a water quality monitoring pilot
project in the Los Carneros wine grape region, AB 1200 can
provide state and regional regulatory entities, the public, and
their partners in the agricultural sector with data necessary to
advance innovative recycled water reuse projects.
Can the pilot project be authorized within the existing permit
AB 1200
Page 7
process ? A review of the 2008 NPDES permit for the Sonoma
Valley County Sanitation District and conversations with the San
Francisco Regional Board indicate that the pilot project that is
being proposed in AB 1200 might be able to be addressed in the
District's next permit, which is anticipated to be issued later
this year. The 2008 permit appears to provide the District with
flexibility in the operation of its water recycling program and,
further, outlines an optional study similar to the one proposed
in AB 1200 (although the study outlined in the permit is
specific to wetlands and the dry season rather than to
irrigation ponds and the wet season.) Since the permit would be
reissued in a public process, the stakeholders identified in AB
1200 would have the opportunity to review and comment on the
structure and timing of an optional study that could be designed
to achieve the goals of the study proposed in AB 1200. Should
the legislature bind the San Francisco Regional Board to
authorize a project that can otherwise be addressed at the staff
level, or simply authorized through legislation, and to do so by
a fixed date, irrespective of its other priorities?
The author may wish to amend the bill to ensure that the pilot
project is managed through the existing permitting process.
Double referral : This bill was double referred to the Assembly
Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee (WP&W) and to the Assembly
ESTM Committee. It passed out of the WP&W Committee with a 15-0
vote.
Related legislation :
AB 803 (Gomez). Reconciles recycled water spill reporting
standards, statutorily supersedes specified recycled water terms
as defined in regulation, and codifies regional water quality
control board authority to permit recycled water advanced
treatment projects. AB 803 was double referred to the Assembly
Water Parks and Wildlife Committee, which it passed with a
15-0 vote and now in the ESTM Committee, which is scheduled to
hear the bill on April 30.
AB 2398 (Heuso, 2012). Would have overhauled and modernized the
state's statutes related to recycled water and consolidate them
AB 1200
Page 8
under a new Water Code division. AB 2398 passed the ESTM
Committee on an 8-1 vote, but was held in the Senate Natural
Resources and Water Committee with a commitment to convene a
recycled water stakeholder group to explore the potential
administrative and statutory barriers to more recycled water
use.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Sonoma County Water Agency (sponsor)
California Farm Bureau Federation
Napa County Supervisor, District 1, Brad Wagenknecht
North Bay Water Reuse Authority
Novato Sanitary District
Russian Riverkeeper
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965