California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1630

Introduced by Assembly Member Alejo

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Stone)

(Coauthor: Senator Monning)

February 10, 2014

An act to amend Section 13350 of the Water Code, relating to water quality, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1630, as introduced, Alejo. Water quality: integrated plan: Salinas Valley.

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, referred to as the state act. The state act imposes various penalties for a violation of its requirements. The state act requires specified penalties be deposited into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted. The state act requires penalty moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the state board to assist regional boards and prescribed other public agencies in cleaning up or abating the effects of waste on waters of the state or to assist a regional board attempting to remedy a significant unforeseen water pollution problem.

This bill would appropriate $2,000,000 from the fund, as specified, to the state board for use by the Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management Group to develop an integrated plan to address the drinking water and wastewater needs of disadvantaged communities in the Salinas Valley whose waters have been affected by waste discharges, thereby making an appropriation.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for Monterey County.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 13350 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

13350.  

(a) A person who (1) violates a cease and desist order
or cleanup and abatement order hereafter issued, reissued, or
amended by a regional board or the state board, or (2) in violation
of a waste discharge requirement, waiver condition, certification,
or other order or prohibition issued, reissued, or amended by a
regional board or the state board, discharges waste, or causes or
permits waste to be deposited where it is discharged, into the waters
of the state, or (3) causes or permits any oil or any residuary
product of petroleum to be deposited in or on any of the waters of
the state, except in accordance with waste discharge requirements
or other actions or provisions of this division, shall be liable civilly,
and remedies may be proposed, in accordance with subdivision
(d) or (e).

(b) (1) A person who, without regard to intent or negligence,
causes or permits a hazardous substance to be discharged in or on
any of the waters of the state, except in accordance with waste
discharge requirements or other provisions of this division, shall
be strictly liable civilly in accordance with subdivision (d) or (e).

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the term “discharge”
includes only those discharges for which Section 13260 directs
that a report of waste discharge shall be filed with the regional
board.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the term “discharge” does
not include an emission excluded from the applicability of Section
311 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321) pursuant to
Environmental Protection Agency regulations interpreting Section
311(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321(a)(2)).

(c) A person shall not be liable under subdivision (b) if the
discharge is caused solely by any one or combination of the
following:

(1) An act of war.

(2) An unanticipated grave natural disaster or other natural
phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible
character, the effects of which could not have been prevented or
avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight.

(3) Negligence on the part of the state, the United States, or any
department or agency thereof. However, this paragraph shall not
be interpreted to provide the state, the United States, or any
department or agency thereof a defense to liability for any
discharge caused by its own negligence.

(4) An intentional act of a third party, the effects of which could
not have been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or
foresight.

(5) Any other circumstance or event that causes the discharge
despite the exercise of every reasonable precaution to prevent or
mitigate the discharge.

(d) The court may impose civil liability either on a daily basis
or on a begin delete per gallon end delete begin insert per-gallon end insert basis, but not on both.

(1) The civil liability on a daily basis shall not exceed fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000) for each day the violation occurs.

(2) The civil liability on a begin delete per gallon end delete begin insert per-gallon end insert basis shall not
exceed twenty dollars ($20) for each gallon of waste discharged.

(e) The state board or a regional board may impose civil liability
administratively pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section
13323) of Chapter 5 either on a daily basis or on a begin delete per gallon end delete
begin insert per-gallon end insert basis, but not on both.

(1) The civil liability on a daily basis shall not exceed five
thousand dollars ($5,000) for each day the violation occurs.

(A) When there is a discharge, and a cleanup and abatement
order is issued, except as provided in subdivision (f), the civil
liability shall not be less than five hundred dollars ($500) for each
day in which the discharge occurs and for each day the cleanup
and abatement order is violated.

(B) When there is no discharge, but an order issued by the
regional board is violated, except as provided in subdivision (f),
the civil liability shall not be less than one hundred dollars ($100)
for each day in which the violation occurs.

(2) The civil liability on a begin delete per gallon end delete begin insert per-gallon end insert basis shall not
exceed ten dollars ($10) for each gallon of waste discharged.

(f) A regional board shall not administratively impose civil
liability in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) in an
amount less than the minimum amount specified, unless the
regional board makes express findings setting forth the reasons
for its action based upon the specific factors required to be
considered pursuant to Section 13327.

(g) The Attorney General, upon request of a regional board or
the state board, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess,
and recover the sums. Except in the case of a violation of a cease
and desist order, a regional board or the state board shall make the
request only after a hearing, with due notice of the hearing given
to all affected persons. In determining the amount to be imposed,
assessed, or recovered, the court shall be subject to Section 13351.

(h) Article 3 (commencing with Section 13330) and Article 6
(commencing with Section 13360) apply to proceedings to impose,
assess, and recover an amount pursuant to this article.

(i)  A person who incurs any liability established under this
section shall be entitled to contribution for that liability from a
third party, in an action in the superior court and upon proof that
the discharge was caused in whole or in part by an act or omission
of the third party, to the extent that the discharge is caused by the
act or omission of the third party, in accordance with the principles
of comparative fault.

(j) Remedies under this section are in addition to, and do not
supersede or limit, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal,
except that no liability shall be recoverable under subdivision (b)
for any discharge for which liability is recovered under Section
13385.

(k) Notwithstanding any other law, all funds generated by the
imposition of liabilities pursuant to this section shall be deposited
into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund. These moneys shall be
separately accounted for, and shall be expended by the state board,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist regional boards,
and other public agencies with authority to clean up waste or abate
the effects of the waste, in cleaning up or abating the effects of the
waste on waters of the state, or for the purposes authorized in
Section 13443, or to assist in implementing Chapter 7.3
(commencing with Section 13560).

begin insert

(l) (1) The Legislature hereby appropriates to the state board
two million dollars ($2,000,000) from the moneys deposited into,
and separately accounted for in, the Waste Discharge Permit Fund
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 13264, subdivision (f) of
Section 13268, subdivision (k) of this section, and paragraph (2)
of subdivision (n) of Section 13385 for use by the Greater Monterey
County Regional Water Management Group to develop an
integrated plan to address the drinking water and wastewater
needs of disadvantaged communities in the Salinas Valley whose
waters have been affected by waste discharges.

end insert begin insert

(2) Funds appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
available for assessment and feasibility studies necessary to
develop the plan. If funds remain after the development of the plan,
the Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management Group
may use the remaining funds to implement projects or to test the
implementation of the feasible solutions developed in the plan to
address the drinking water and wastewater needs of disadvantaged
communities in the Salinas Valley.

end insert begin insert

(3) The Greater Monterey County Regional Water Management
Group shall develop the plan in consultation with appropriate
stakeholders, including the state board, the State Department of
Public Health, and representatives of disadvantaged communities.

end insert begin insert

(4) The plan shall include identification of disadvantaged
communities without safe drinking water and recommendations
for planning, infrastructure, and other water management actions
that achieve affordable, sustainable solutions for disadvantaged
communities, including communities without public water systems.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution because of the unique needs for water faced by
disadvantaged communities in the Salinas Valley whose waters
have been affected by waste discharges.