BILL NUMBER: AB 2507 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Audra Strickland
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 116275 of, and to add
Section 116331 to, and to add Article 12 (commencing with
Section 116755) to Chapter 4 of Part 12 of Division 104 of, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to drinking water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2507, as amended, Audra Strickland. Local small water
systems: local health officer: enforcement. Drinking
water.
Existing law, known as the California Safe Drinking Water Act,
requires the State Department of Public Health to administer
provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect
public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research,
studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a
dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and
conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water
in domestic water supplies. Existing law authorizes the department to
enter into delegate primacy delegation agreements
with local health officers for enforcement of these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the department to establish less stringent
requirements applicable to state small water systems, as defined,
and requires local health officers to enforce those standards.
This bill would, notwithstanding provisions of law to the
contrary, require the local public health officer to establish
standards for, and be the primary enforcement agency over, local
small water systems, as defined. By imposing these new requirements
on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
This bill would also allow specified properties, after applying to
the county and having the county make specified findings, to use
hauled water when no other water source is available for a
single-family dwelling. The bill would require the applicant for the
use of hauled water to meet various requirements, including filing a
covenant and agreement containing specified conditions, to be filed
with the county against the property. The bill would exempt
properties approved to use hauled water from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). By imposing new requirements on
local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement shall be made
pursuant to these statutory provisions for costs mandated by the
state pursuant to this act, but would recognize that local agencies
and school districts may pursue any available remedies to seek
reimbursement for these costs.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
116275. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Contaminant" means any physical, chemical, biological, or
radiological substance or matter in water.
(b) "Department" means the State Department of Public Health.
(c) "Primary drinking water standards" means all of the following:
(1) Maximum levels of contaminants that, in the judgment of the
department, may have an adverse effect on the health of persons.
(2) Specific treatment techniques adopted by the department in
lieu of maximum contaminant levels pursuant to subdivision (j) of
Section 116365.
(3) The monitoring and reporting requirements as specified in
regulations adopted by the department that pertain to maximum
contaminant levels.
(d) "Secondary drinking water standards" means standards that
specify maximum contaminant levels that, in the judgment of the
department, are necessary to protect the public welfare. Secondary
drinking water standards may apply to any contaminant in drinking
water that may adversely affect the odor or appearance of the water
and may cause a substantial number of persons served by the public
water system to discontinue its use, or that may otherwise adversely
affect the public welfare. Regulations establishing secondary
drinking water standards may vary according to geographic and other
circumstances and may apply to any contaminant in drinking water that
adversely affects the taste, odor, or appearance of the water when
the standards are necessary to ensure a supply of pure, wholesome,
and potable water.
(e) "Human consumption" means the use of water for drinking,
bathing or showering, hand washing, or oral hygiene.
(f) "Maximum contaminant level" means the maximum permissible
level of a contaminant in water.
(g) "Person" means an individual, corporation, company,
association, partnership, limited liability company, municipality,
public utility, or other public body or institution.
(h) "Public water system" means a system for the provision of
water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed
conveyances that has 15 or more service connections or regularly
serves at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the
year. A public water system includes the following:
(1) Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution
facilities under control of the operator of the system which are used
primarily in connection with the system.
(2) Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under
the control of the operator that are used primarily in connection
with the system.
(3) Any water system that treats water on behalf of one or more
public water systems for the purpose of rendering it safe for human
consumption.
(i) "Community water system" means a public water system that
serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or
regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents of the area served by
the system.
(j) "Noncommunity water system" means a public water system that
is not a community water system.
(k) "Nontransient noncommunity water system" means a public water
system that is not a community water system and that regularly serves
at least 25 of the same persons over six months per year.
( l ) "Local health officer" means a local health
officer appointed pursuant to Section 101000 or a local comprehensive
health agency designated by the board of supervisors pursuant to
Section 101275 to carry out the drinking water program.
(m) "Significant rise in the bacterial count of water" means a
rise in the bacterial count of water that the department determines,
by regulation, represents an immediate danger to the health of water
users.
(n) (1)"State small water system" means a system for the provision
of piped water to the public for human consumption that serves at
least five, but not more than 14, service connections and does not
regularly serve drinking water to more than an average of 25
individuals daily for more than 60 days out of the year.
(2) "Local small water system" means a privately owned system for
the provision of piped water to the public for human consumption that
serves less than five service connections and does not regularly
serve drinking water to more than an average of 25 individuals daily
for more than 60 days out of the year.
(o) "Transient noncommunity water system" means a noncommunity
water system that does not regularly serve at least 25 of the same
persons over six months per year.
(p) "User" means any person using water for domestic purposes.
User does not include any person processing, selling, or serving
water or operating a public water system.
(q) "Waterworks standards" means regulations adopted by the
department that take cognizance of the latest available "Standards of
Minimum Requirements for Safe Practice in the Production and
Delivery of Water for Domestic Use" adopted by the California section
of the American Water Works Association.
(r) "Local primacy agency" means any local health officer that has
applied for and received primacy delegation from the department
pursuant to Section 116330.
(s) "Service connection" means the point of connection between the
customer's piping or constructed conveyance, and the water system's
meter, service pipe, or constructed conveyance. A connection to a
system that delivers water by a constructed conveyance other than a
pipe shall not be considered a connection in determining if the
system is a public water system if any of the following apply:
(1) The water is used exclusively for purposes other than
residential uses, consisting of drinking, bathing, and cooking or
other similar uses.
(2) The department determines that alternative water to achieve
the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the
applicable primary drinking water regulation is provided for
residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking.
(3) The department determines that the water provided for
residential or similar uses for drinking, cooking, and bathing is
centrally treated or treated at the point of entry by the provider, a
passthrough entity, or the user to achieve the equivalent level of
protection provided by the applicable primary drinking water
regulations.
(t) "Resident" means a person who physically occupies, whether by
ownership, rental, lease or other means, the same dwelling for at
least 60 days of the year.
(u) "Water treatment operator" means a person who has met the
requirements for a specific water treatment operator grade pursuant
to Section 106875.
(v) "Water treatment operator-in-training" means a person who has
applied for and passed the written examination given by the
department but does not yet meet the experience requirements for a
specific water treatment operator grade pursuant to Section 106875.
(w) "Water distribution operator" means a person who has met the
requirements for a specific water distribution operator grade
pursuant to Section 106875.
(x) "Water treatment plant" means a group or assemblage of
structures, equipment, and processes that treats, blends, or
conditions the water supply of a public water system for the purpose
of meeting primary drinking water standards.
(y) "Water distribution system" means any combination of pipes,
tanks, pumps, and other physical features that deliver water from the
source or water treatment plant to the consumer.
(z) "Public health goal" means a goal established by the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 116365.
(aa) "Small community water system" means a community water system
that serves no more than 3,300 service connections or a yearlong
population of no more than 10,000 persons.
(ab) "Disadvantaged community" means the entire service of area of
a community water system, or a community therein, in which the
median household income is less than 80 percent of the statewide
average.
SEC. 2. Section 116331 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
116331. Notwithstanding provisions of law to the contrary, the
local public health officer shall establish the standards applicable
to, and shall be the primacy enforcement agency over, local small
water systems.
SEC. 3. Article 12 (commencing with Section
116755) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 12 of Division 104 of the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
Article 12. Hauled Water
116755. (a) A project may be eligible to use hauled water if the
project meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The properties must be located in the County of Los Angeles,
excluding those properties that have been predesigned to require fire
sprinklers within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
(2) There must be satisfactory evidence that the subject property
is not located within an area served by a water supply purveyor or
that property is within the boundaries but adequate service
connections are not in close proximity to the subject property.
(3) The applicant has obtained a certification from the County
Environmental Health Division stating that he or she has demonstrated
that groundwater or well water is not available or that he or she
has made a good faith effort to secure well water on the subject
property.
(4) The property owner must be proposing to locate a single-family
dwelling on the parcel.
(5) The property must be a legal lot as of January 1, 2011.
(b) A project is not eligible to use hauled water if any of the
following conditions are met:
(1) The application is for a nonresidential development.
(2) The application includes a multifamily residential
development, secondary suites attached to the primary residence,
second units, or caretaker units.
(3) The property is subject to a pending subdivision application,
either tract map or parcel map, or a future subdivision application
within the County of Los Angeles.
(4) The property is not a legal lot.
(5) The property is in an existing water service area and can
obtain a will-serve letter from the water service agency.
(c) For purposes of this section, "good faith effort" means one of
the following:
(1) Reports from two independent hydrologists indicating that the
subject property and adjacent properties do not have water available.
(2) Diligent efforts to drill at least three separate test wells
at a depth determined by an independent hydrologist based on
groundwater data.
116756. All single-family residences proposing to utilize hauled
water and that meet the requirements of Section 116755 shall do all
of the following:
(a) Install and maintain a county-approved filtration and
disinfection system between the water storage tank and the connection
to the house.
(b) Pay all costs associated with the purchase and installation of
a county-approved filtration and disinfection system.
(c) Demonstrate that the subject property is of a sufficient size
to accommodate the proposed dwelling and a water tank and appurtenant
equipment, including, but not limited to, the filtration and
disinfection system.
(d) Demonstrate compliance with all relevant general plan and
zoning requirements and standards.
(e) Install an approved storage tank, which has sufficient storage
capacity to meet all necessary domestic, irrigation, and fire
department water supply demands.
(f) Agree to obtain hauled water only from a water hauler
certified pursuant to Section 111120.
(g) Execute a covenant and agreement, to be recorded with the
county against the property, containing all of the following
disclosures, terms, and conditions:
(1) The property is not within the boundaries of a water supply
purveyor or served by an onsite well.
(2) The owner agrees to install a county-approved filtration and
disinfection system, at a location approved by the county health
department, that is accessible by inspectors and county personnel.
(3) Acknowledgment that the proper operation and maintenance of
the filtration and disinfection system is essential to the continued
potability of the hauled water and that the owner shall operate and
maintain the filtration and disinfection system in accordance with
the manufacturer's specifications at all times for so long as hauled
water is used as a source of water for the property.
(4) The owner relinquishes any rights to future subdivision of the
subject property for so long as hauled water is the source of water
for the property.
(5) Acknowledgment that it is the owner's responsibility, and not
the responsibility of the county, to obtain hauled water from a water
hauler licensed pursuant to Section 111120.
(6) Agreement by the owner that the county makes no assurances
that hauled water will be available indefinitely.
(7) Agreement by the owner to connect to a municipal water system
when a connection to that system becomes available.
(8) The owner assumes all risks arising from or connected with the
use of hauled water on the property and that the owner shall hold
the county harmless for any claims for damages arising from or
connected with the use of hauled water at the property.
116757. In order to approve a request to develop property using
hauled water, the county shall make all of the following findings:
(a) The application for the proposed development is for a
single-family dwelling on a single legal lot.
(b) The subject property is not located within the boundaries of a
water supply purveyor that will provide a will-serve letter for the
property.
(c) The subject property is of a sufficient size to accommodate
the proposed dwelling, a water tank, and any appurtenant equipment,
including, but not limited to, a filtration and disinfection system.
(d) The applicant has made a good faith effort, as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 116755, to secure well water on the
subject property and that sufficient well water is not available to
accommodate the proposed development.
(e) The proposed development complies with all relevant general
plan and zoning requirements and standards. This shall include, but
not be limited to, vehicular access to the property and water tank to
the satisfaction of the fire department.
(f) The approval of the application is necessary to prevent the
imposition of a hardship upon the applicant.
116758. A property that meets the requirements in subdivision (a)
of Section 116755 is exempt from the provisions of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. No reimbursement
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code for costs mandated by
the state pursuant to this act. It is recognized, however, that a
local agency or school district may pursue any remedies to obtain
reimbursement available to it under Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) and any other provisions of law.