Bill Text: CA SB1124 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Public health goal: primary drinking water standard: manganese.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1124 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1124-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1124

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Introduced by Senator Archuleta

February 16, 2022

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An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 117200) to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to drinking water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1124, as introduced, Archuleta. Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Act of 2022.

The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health.

Existing law establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury to help water systems provide an adequate and affordable supply of safe drinking water in both the near and long terms. Existing law authorizes the board to provide for the deposit into the fund of certain moneys and continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund to the board for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist eligible recipients. Existing law requires, by January 1, 2021, the board, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, to make publicly available, as specified, a map of aquifers that are used or likely to be used as a source of drinking water that are at high risk of containing contaminants that exceed safe drinking water standards.

This bill would enact the Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Act of 2022. The bill would establish the Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that unspecified sums of money are available upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund to the board for specified purposes related to drinking water, including, but not limited to, protecting state, local, and regional drinking water systems located in the Central Basin from climate change, drought, catastrophic seismic damage, or failure from terrorist acts or other deliberate acts of destruction, competitive grants to eligible applicants, and improving local water security by reducing the use of potable water for nonpotable purposes.

The bill would impose requirements on recipients of fund moneys, including requiring a project receiving moneys from the fund to comply with prevailing wage requirements established in specified existing law, a violation of which is punishable by misdemeanor penalties. Because the willful violation of prevailing wage requirements when engaged in these projects would be punishable by misdemeanor penalties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a crime.

The bill would require the board to annually review and update a specified drinking water assessment and, upon updating the assessment, to submit to the board’s Division of Drinking Water, among other things, a list of at-risk water systems in the Central Basin. The bill would require the board, by January 1, 2024, to use available data to make available a map of aquifers in the Central Basin that are, among other things, at high risk of containing contaminants. The bill would require, by January 1, 2024, a local health officer or other relevant local agency in the Central Basin to provide to the board all results of, and data associated with, certain water quality testing. By imposing additional requirements on local health officers and local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would impose various requirements on the Division of Drinking Water relating to assessment of and planning for the provision of safe drinking water in the Central Basin. The bill would require the board to adopt and provide for a sustainable plan for restoring safe drinking water in the Central Basin, as prescribed.

The bill would require the board, by July 1, 2026, to report to the Legislature on its progress restoring safe drinking water to Central Basin communities. The bill would require, at least once every 5 years, the Legislative Analyst’s Office to provide to the Legislature an assessment of the effectiveness of expenditures from the fund. The bill would require the board to create an internet website that provides data transparency for all of its activities pursuant to the bill.

The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

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

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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) It is necessary for the state to do all of the following:

(A) Secure and safeguard the integrity of the state’s water supply from climate change, catastrophic damage, or failure from terrorist acts or other deliberate acts of destruction.

(B) Provide a safe, clean, affordable, and sufficient water supply to meet the needs of California residents, farms, and businesses, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

(C) Establish and facilitate integrated regional water management systems and procedures to meet increasing water demands due to significant population growth that is straining local infrastructure and water supplies.

(D) Improve practices within watersheds to improve water quality, reduce pollution, capture additional stormwater runoff, protect and manage groundwater better, and increase water use efficiency.

(E) Protect urban communities from drought, increase supplies of clean drinking water, reduce dependence on imported water, fix aging infrastructure, develop local stormwater projects, expand recycled water access, and ensure water supply reliability by connecting urban communities to imported water infrastructure.

(F) Invest in projects that further the ability of Californians to live within California’s basic apportionment of 4,400,000 acre-feet per year of Colorado River water pursuant to the Colorado River Water Use Plan.

(2) Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that it is the policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.

(3) According to the State Water Resources Control Board, as of November 2017, there are approximately 300 public water systems in the state that are chronically serving contaminated water to their customers and are operationally deficient in violation of public health regulations.

(4) In addition, other public water systems suffer from contamination that is emerging or expanding, putting their communities’ safe drinking water supply at growing risk.

(5) To ensure that the right of Californians to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes is protected, it is in the interest of the state to identify where Californians are at high risk of lacking reliable access to safe drinking water or are known to lack reliable access to safe drinking water, and whether they rely on a public water system, state small water system, or domestic well for their potable water supply.

(6) Long-term sustainability of drinking water infrastructure and service provision is necessary to secure safe drinking water for Californians. Therefore, it is in the interest of the state to discourage the proliferation of new, unsustainable public water systems and state small water systems, to prevent waste, and to encourage consolidation and service extension when feasible.

(7) Particular circumstances exist in the Central Basin creating a unique need to restore safe drinking water to disadvantaged communities in that region.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act that it be administered and executed in the most expeditious manner possible, and that all state, regional, and local officials implement this act to the fullest extent of their authority.

SEC. 2.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Current state law seeks to ensure that homes in new residential developments have access to adequate, safe, and clean water supplies by linking local agency decisions on land use to water supply and water quality.

(2) In recent years, changes in water law and the emergence of California communities without sustainable, safe drinking water supplies have emphasized the need to review this land and water nexus to better ensure that Californians will have sustainable, safe drinking water for decades to come.

(3) To protect the public health and welfare and to protect existing residential, agricultural, and commercial water users, it is vital that cities and counties consider the adequacy of water supplies in terms of both quantity and quality as part of their review of additional new residential developments.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to review existing laws designed to ensure the long-term adequacy of water supplies as part of the process of approving new development projects and to further integrate water quality and quantity considerations into land use decisions.

SEC. 3.

 Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 117200) is added to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER  8. Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Act of 2022

Article  1. General Provisions

117200.

 This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Act of 2022.

117201.

 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Administrator” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116686.

(b) “Apprenticeable occupation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2601 of the Public Contract Code.

(c) “Assessment of funding need” means the drinking water needs assessment specified in subdivision (b) of Section 116769.

(d) “At-risk water system” means a water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, is at substantial risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, or suffers from unhealthy levels of copper or lead in its water.

(e) “Board” means the State Water Resources Control Board.

(f) “Community water system” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.

(g) “Disadvantaged community” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.

(h) “Division of Drinking Water” means the Division of Drinking Water of the board.

(i) “Domestic well” means a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or water system that is not a public water system and that has no more than four service connections.

(j) “Eligible applicant” means a public water system, including, but not limited to, a mutual water company or a community water system, a state small water system, a domestic well, a public utility, a public agency, including, but not limited to, a local educational agency that owns or operates a public water system, a nonprofit organization, a federally recognized Native American tribe, a California Native American tribe listed on the Native American Heritage Commission’s California Tribal Consultation List, an administrator, or a groundwater sustainability agency.

(k) “Fund” means the Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Fund established pursuant to Section 117205.

(l) “Nonprofit organization” means a nonprofit corporation formed pursuant to the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law (Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code) and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

(m) “PFAS” means perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

(n) “Project labor agreement” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.

(o) “Public agency” means a state entity, county, city, special district, or other political subdivision of the state.

(p) “Public water system” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.

(q) “Retail water system” means a public water system that supplies water directly to the end user.

(r) “Safe drinking water” means drinking water that meets primary and secondary drinking water standards and applicable regulations and does not contain unhealthy levels of copper or lead.

(s) “Skilled and trained workforce” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2601 of the Public Contract Code.

(t) “State small water system” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.

117202.

 The Legislature may enact legislation necessary to implement this chapter.

Article  2. Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Fund

117205.

 (a) The Central Basin Communities Water Reliability, Safe Drinking Water, and Recycled Water Expansion Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to the board for the sole purpose of implementing this chapter within the Central Basin.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the fund be composed of moneys transferred from the General Fund.

(c) Upon a finding by the entity authorized to administer or expend money appropriated from the fund that a particular project or program for which money has been allocated or granted cannot be completed, or that the amount that was appropriated, allocated, or granted is in excess of the total amount needed, the Legislature may reappropriate the money for other high-priority needs consistent with this chapter.

117206.

 An activity receiving moneys from the fund shall comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

117207.

 (a) A project receiving moneys from the fund shall comply with prevailing wage requirements, as established in Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.

(b) Contractors and subcontractors for a project receiving moneys from the fund shall use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades.

(c) Subdivision (b) does not apply if all contractors and subcontractors for the project are required to become bound to a multicraft project labor agreement that expressly requires each contractor and subcontractor performing the work to use a skilled and trained workforce.

117208.

 (a) The sum of ____ dollars ($____) shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund to the board for the purpose of protecting state, local, and regional drinking water systems located in the Central Basin from climate change, catastrophic seismic damage, or failure from terrorist acts or other deliberate acts of destruction.

(b) The board may expend or award money to eligible applicants pursuant to subdivision (a) for the following projects:

(1) Connecting public water systems to imported water infrastructure.

(2) Installation of monitoring and early warning systems.

(3) Fencing.

(4) Protective structures.

(5) Contamination treatment facilities.

(6) Emergency interconnections.

(7) Communications systems.

(8) Any other project designed to do any of the following:

(A) Prevent damage to water treatment, distribution, and supply facilities.

(B) Prevent disruption of drinking water deliveries.

(C) Protect drinking water supplies from intentional contamination.

117209.

 (a) The sum of ____ dollars ($____) shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund to the board for competitive grants to eligible applicants for the following purposes in the Central Basin:

(1) Offsetting the treatment costs for PFAS contamination of public water systems serving disadvantaged communities.

(2) Addressing emergency or urgent funding needs, where other emergency funds are not available and a critical water shortage or outage could occur without support from the fund.

(3) Addressing retail water systems, community water systems, and public water systems owned or operated by a local educational agency that are out of compliance with primary drinking water standards, prioritizing water systems in disadvantaged communities located in the Central Basin.

(4) Providing matching funds for the purpose of accelerating consolidations for public water systems out of compliance with primary drinking water standards, at-risk water systems, state small water systems, and domestic wells, focusing on disadvantaged communities.

(5) Providing interim solutions and initiating planning efforts for long-term solutions for state small water systems and domestic wells with source water above a primary maximum contaminant level.

(6) Water quality improvement.

(7) Drinking water source protection projects.

(b) Priority under subdivision (a) shall be given to projects that assist in meeting water quality standards established by the board.

117210.

 (a) The sum of ____ dollars ($____) shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund to the board for projects in the Central Basin to protect state, local, and regional drinking water systems from drought, protect and improve local drinking water reliability, and improve local water security by reducing the use of potable water for nonpotable purposes.

(b) The board may expend or award money to eligible applicants pursuant to subdivision (a) for the following projects:

(1) Installation of new recycled water infrastructure.

(2) Expansion of existing recycled water connections.

(3) Improvement of existing recycled water distribution systems.

Article  3. Assessment and Planning

117215.

 (a) The board, upon updating the assessment of funding need pursuant to subdivision (c), shall submit to the Division of Drinking Water a list of at-risk water systems in the Central Basin and additional information regarding at-risk water systems and communities reliant on domestic wells that do not provide an adequate or reliable supply of safe drinking water.

(b) The Division of Drinking Water shall review additional information generated from analyses of drinking water deficiencies and wastewater deficiencies, including, but not limited to, analyses conducted pursuant to Sections 56425, 56430, and 65302.10 of the Government Code.

(c) On or before December 31 of each year, the board shall review and update the assessment of funding need and shall prioritize for funding under this chapter the Central Basin public water systems, community water systems, state small water systems, and domestic wells with the most urgent need for state financial assistance, in light of the following factors:

(1) Severity of the public health threat.

(2) The extent to which the community served by the water system is a disadvantaged community.

(3) The number of people served by the water system.

(4) Technical, managerial, and financial capacity of the entity that operates the water system.

(d) The assessment of funding need and priorities shall consider all information submitted to the board in furtherance of the board’s duty to complete the assessment of funding need.

117216.

 (a) (1) By January 1, 2024, the board, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, shall use available data to make available a map of aquifers in the Central Basin that are at high risk of containing contaminants and that exceed primary federal and state drinking water standards that are used or likely to be used as a source of drinking water for a state small water system or a domestic well. The board shall update the map at least annually based on any newly available data. The board shall make available the map of high-risk areas to the Division of Drinking Water.

(2) The board shall make the map of high-risk areas, as well as the data used to make the map, publicly accessible on its internet website in a manner that does not identify exact addresses or other personal information and that complies with the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code). The board shall notify local health officers and county planning agencies of high-risk areas within their jurisdictional boundaries.

(b) (1) By January 1, 2024, a local health officer or other relevant local agency in the Central Basin shall provide to the board all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by certified laboratories for a state small water system or domestic well that was collected after January 1, 2015, and that is in the possession of the local health officer or other relevant local agency.

(2) By January 1, 2025, and by January 1 of each year thereafter, all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by a certified laboratory for a state small water system or domestic well that is submitted to a local health officer or other relevant local agency in the Central Basin shall also be submitted directly to the board in electronic format.

(c) A map of high-risk areas developed pursuant to this section is not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

117217.

 (a) The Division of Drinking Water shall arrange for a comprehensive analysis of each at-risk water system in the Central Basin to be completed within two years of the board identifying the at-risk water system in the assessment of funding need. The Division of Drinking Water may combine more than one failed water system in the Central Basin for purposes of a comprehensive analysis.

(b) The Division of Drinking Water shall post each comprehensive analysis on the board’s internet website. A comprehensive analysis shall review an at-risk water system’s water supply and infrastructure and the entity that operates the at-risk water system. A comprehensive assessment shall include all of the following:

(1) The sources and quality of the at-risk water system’s water supply, including the primary and secondary contaminants in each of the at-risk water system’s water sources.

(2) The condition of the at-risk water system’s physical infrastructure.

(3) The technical, managerial, and financial qualifications of the entity that operates the at-risk water system.

(4) Alternative water supplies that comply with drinking water standards and a method to connect the failed system to the alternative water supplies.

(5) One or more options for resolving the problems that cause or caused the water system to be at-risk and making the water system sustainable over the long term. The options shall address, to the extent necessary, problems with physical infrastructure, water supply quality, and governance of the at-risk water system. The options shall address opportunities to consolidate public water systems, community water systems, state small water systems, and domestic wells that may benefit from the proposed solution.

(6) Engagement of members of the community served by the at-risk water system to improve understanding of the at-risk water system’s problems, the options for addressing the problems, and the challenges in overcoming the problems.

(7) Consideration of the unique nature of the community served by the at-risk water system, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) The community’s economic conditions.

(B) Community member reliance on languages other than English and their immigration status.

(C) Physical proximity to other water systems and communities.

(D) The community’s willingness and capacity to afford and support the operation and maintenance of new water infrastructure.

(8) Local agency actions that would be required to support each proposed solution, including consolidations, service extensions, and other organizations or sphere of influence updates pursuant to Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the Government Code.

(9) Consultation with the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the board, any local primacy agency with authority over the at-risk water system, and representatives of and community members served by the at-risk water system.

(c) A comprehensive analysis shall include a proposed plan that includes a set of options to address several problems either concurrently or sequentially that ensure the long-term sustainability of the at-risk water system.

(d) The Division of Drinking Water may do any of the following:

(1) Contract or otherwise provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund to the board, to one or more of the following entities to complete the comprehensive assessment analysis:

(A) Central Basin Municipal Water District.

(B) Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

(C) Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

(D) Water Replenishment District of Southern California.

(E) A for-profit business, such as an engineering consulting firm.

(2) Organize a local advisory committee that may include local residents of the at-risk water system, elected officials of local public agencies, local water systems, business owners, or farmers.

(3) Organize an advisory team that combines the entities identified in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) to provide diverse expertise, experience, and perspective relating to topics that may include engineering, government, administration, water management, public outreach, and education.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a public water system, including, but not limited to, a special district, may act pursuant to a contract entered into under paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) outside of the jurisdictional boundary of the public water system.

117218.

 The Division of Drinking Water shall, for each comprehensive analysis it posts pursuant to Section 117217, develop and submit a recommendation to the board as to the preferred options or plan presented by the comprehensive analysis within 60 days of posting the comprehensive analysis to the board’s internet website. The Division of Drinking Water may adjust the options or plan it recommends to the board as necessary. The board shall post the recommendations of the Division of Drinking Water on the board’s internet website.

117219.

 (a) Within 90 days of receiving the recommendation of the Division of Drinking Water pursuant to Section 117218, the board shall consider the comprehensive analysis and the recommendation at a public hearing. The board shall request recommendations from all divisions of the board to ensure coordination with other related water quality and water resource programs. The Public Utilities Commission may provide input to the board for purposes of this section if the recommendation of the Division of Drinking Water involves an at-risk water system subject to the Public Utilities Commission’s jurisdiction. The board shall review a recommendation in light of the recommendation’s likelihood of success in creating a stable and sustainable supply of safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.

(b) Based on the recommendations described in subdivision (a), the board shall adopt and provide for a sustainable plan for restoring safe drinking water in the Central Basin. The board may contract with one or more of the following entities to implement the sustainable plan for restoring safe drinking water in the Central Basin:

(1) Central Basin Municipal Water District.

(2) Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

(3) Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

(4) Water Replenishment District of Southern California.

(5) A for-profit business, such as an engineering consulting firm.

(c) The board shall coordinate implementation of the sustainable plan for restoring safe drinking water by engaging the affected community, local governments, water agencies, and local agency formation commissions.

(d) The board may delegate implementation of the sustainable plan for restoring safe drinking water to the Division of Drinking Water or another division of the board.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a public water system, including, but not limited to, a special district, may act pursuant to a contract entered into under subdivision (b) outside of the jurisdictional boundary of the public water system.

Article  4. Oversight

117220.

 (a) (1) By July 1, 2026, the board shall report to the Legislature on its progress restoring safe drinking water to Central Basin communities, particularly in disadvantaged communities, in accordance with this chapter. The board shall develop metrics to measure the efficacy of the fund in ensuring safe and affordable drinking water for the Central Basin and shall use those metrics in its report to the Legislature.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under paragraph (1) is inoperative on July 1, 2030, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(b) At least once every five years, the Legislative Analyst’s Office shall provide to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code an assessment of the effectiveness of expenditures from the fund.

117221.

 The board shall create an internet website that provides data transparency for all of its activities pursuant to this chapter, in conjunction with implementation of the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Part 4.9 (commencing with Section 12400) of Division 6 of the Water Code).

SEC. 4.

 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 5.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the particular circumstances in the Central Basin creating a unique need to restore safe drinking water to disadvantaged communities in that region.

SEC. 6.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.