Bill Text: CA SB200 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Drinking water.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-24 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 120, Statutes of 2019. [SB200 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB200-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  May 17, 2019

Amended  IN  Senate  May 07, 2019

Amended  IN  Senate  April 29, 2019

Amended  IN  Senate  March 11, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 200

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Introduced by Senator Monning
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia)

January 31, 2019

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An act to add Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 200, as amended, Monning. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. Existing law declares it to be the established 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.

This bill would establish 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 the long term. The bill would authorize the board to provide for the deposit into the fund of federal contributions, voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, and bequests and would provide that moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the board to fund grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist eligible recipients. The bill would require the board to adopt a fund implementation plan with specified contents and would require expenditures of the fund to be consistent with the plan. The bill would require, 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. For purposes of the map, the bill would require local health officers and other relevant local agencies to provide all results of, and data associated with, water quality testing performed by certified laboratories to the board, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local health officers and local agencies, the 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 if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs 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.

 Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) is added to Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER  4.6. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water

Article  1. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund

116765.

 (a) The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established 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. All moneys deposited in the fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 116771 are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the board to fund the following:

(1) Operation and maintenance costs to help deliver an adequate supply of safe drinking water in both the near and long terms.

(2) Consolidation costs for public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems.

(3) Replacement water to provide the systems with safe drinking water as a short-term solution.

(4) The provision of administrative and managerial services under Section 116686 for purposes of helping the systems become self-sufficient in the long term.

(b) Consistent with subdivision (a), the board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist eligible recipients.

(c) (1) Eligible recipients of funding under this chapter are public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, mutual water companies, federally recognized Indian tribes, state Indian tribes listed on the Native American Heritage Commission’s California Tribal Consultation List, and administrators.

(2) To be eligible for funding under this chapter, grants, loans, contracts, or services provided to a public utility that is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission or a mutual water company shall have a clear and definite public purpose and shall benefit the customers of the water system and not the investors.

(d) An expenditure from the fund shall be consistent with the fund implementation plan.

(e) The board may expend moneys from the fund for reasonable costs associated with the administration of this chapter, not to exceed 5 percent of the annual deposits into the fund.

(f) In administering the fund, the board shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that funds are used to secure the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure, including, but not limited to, requiring adequate technical, managerial, and financial capacity of eligible applicants as part of funding agreement outcomes.

Article  2. Definitions

116766.

 For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) “Adequate supply” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116681.

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

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

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

(e) “Consistently fails” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116681.

(f) “Disadvantaged community” has the same meaning as defined in Section 79505.5 of the Water Code.

(g) “Domestic well” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116681.

(h) “Fund” means the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116765.

(i) “Fund implementation plan” means the fund implementation plan adopted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 116767).

(j) “Low-income household” means a single household whose income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

(k) “Mutual water company” means a mutual water company, as defined in Section 14300 of the Corporations Code, that operates a public water system or a state small water system.

(l) “Nonprofit organization” means an organization qualified to do business in California and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code.

(m) “Public agency” means a state agency or department, special district, joint powers authority, city, county, city and county, or other political subdivision of the state.

(n) “Public utility” has the same meaning as defined in Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code.

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

(p) “Replacement water” includes, but is not limited to, bottled water, vended water, point-of-use, or point-of-entry treatment units.

(q) “Safe drinking water” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116681.

(r) “Service connection” has the same meaning as defined in Section 116275.

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

(t) “Vended water” has the same meaning as defined in Section 111070.

Article  3. Fund Implementation Plan

116767.

 The purposes of the fund implementation plan are as follows:

(a) To identify public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, including the cause or causes of the failure and appropriate measures to remedy the failure.

(b) To determine the amount and type of funding necessary to implement appropriate measures to remedy a failure to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(c) To identify public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems that are at significant risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water, including the source or sources of the risk and appropriate measures to eliminate the risk.

(d) To determine the amount and type of funding necessary to implement appropriate measures to eliminate the risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(e) To identify gaps in the provision of safe drinking water, in furtherance of Section 106.3 of the Water Code, and to determine the amount and type of funding necessary to minimize or eliminate those gaps.

(f) To prioritize available funding provided by this chapter for measures identified in subdivisions (a), (c), and (e).

116768.

 (a) On or before July 1, 2020, the board shall develop and adopt a policy for developing the fund implementation plan that includes all of the following elements:

(1) A requirement that the board consult with an advisory group to aid in meeting the purposes of the fund implementation plan as established in Section 116767. The advisory group shall include representatives of the following:

(A) Entities paying into the fund.

(B) Public water systems.

(C) Technical assistance providers.

(D) Local agencies.

(E) Nongovernmental organizations.

(F) Residents served by community water systems in disadvantaged communities, state small water systems, and domestic wells.

(G) The public.

(2) Identification of key terms, criteria, and metrics, and their definitions.

(3) A description of how proposed remedies will be identified, evaluated, prioritized, and included in the fund implementation plan.

(4) The establishment of a process by which members of a disadvantaged community may petition the state board to consider ordering consolidation.

(5) A requirement that the board hold at least one public hearing before adopting a fund implementation plan.

(b) The board shall annually adopt a fund implementation plan. The board may adopt a policy handbook and update it at least once every three years.

(c) On or before January 10, 2021, and every January 10 thereafter, the board shall provide to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house of the Legislature the most recently adopted fund implementation plan. The board may submit the fund implementation plan as required by this subdivision either in the Governor’s Budget documents or as a separate report.

116769.

 (a) The fund implementation plan shall contain the following:

(1) A report of expenditures from the fund for the prior fiscal year and planned expenditures for the current fiscal year.

(2) A list of systems that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Any public water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(B) Any community water system that serves a disadvantaged community that must charge fees that exceed the affordability threshold established by the board in order to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards.

(C) Any state small water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(3) A list of public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems that may be at risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(4) An estimate of the number of households that are served by domestic wells or state small water systems in high-risk areas identified pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 116772). The estimate shall identify approximate locations of households, without identifying exact addresses or other personal information, in order to identify potential target areas for outreach and assistance programs.

(5) An estimate of the funding needed for the next fiscal year based on the amount available in the fund, anticipated funding needs, other existing funding sources, and other relevant data and information.

(6) A list of programs to be funded that assist or will assist households supplied by a domestic well that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.

(7) A list of programs to be funded that assist or will assist households and schools whose tap water contains contaminants, such as lead or secondary contaminants, at levels that exceed recommended standards.

(b) The fund implementation plan shall be based on data and analysis drawn from the drinking water needs assessment funded by Chapter 449 of the Statutes of 2018 as that assessment may be updated and as information is developed pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 116772).

(c) The fund implementation plan shall prioritize funding for all of the following:

(1) Assisting disadvantaged communities served by a public water system and low-income households served by a state small water system or a domestic well.

(2) The consolidation or extension of service, or both.

(3) Funding costs other than those related to capital construction costs, except for capital construction costs associated with consolidation and service extension to reduce the ongoing unit cost of service and to increase sustainability of drinking water infrastructure and service delivery.

116770.

 The fund implementation plan may include expenditures for the following:

(a) The provision of replacement water, as needed, to ensure immediate protection of health and safety as a short-term solution.

(b) The development, implementation, and sustainability of long-term drinking water solutions, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) (A) Technical assistance, planning, construction, repair, and operation and maintenance costs associated with any of the following:

(i) Replacing, blending, or treating contaminated drinking water.

(ii) Repairing or replacing failing water system equipment, pipes, or fixtures.

(iii) Operation and maintenance costs associated with consolidated water systems, extended drinking water services, or reliance on a substituted drinking water source.

(B) Technical assistance and planning costs may include, but are not limited to, analyses to identify and efforts to further opportunities to reduce the unit cost of providing drinking water through organizational and operational efficiency improvements, and other options and approaches to reduce costs.

(2) Creating and maintaining natural means and green infrastructure solutions that contribute to sustainable drinking water.

(3) Consolidating water systems.

(4) Extending drinking water services to other public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems, or domestic wells.

(5) Satisfying outstanding long-term debt obligations of public water systems, community water systems, and state small water systems where the board determines that a system’s lack of access to capital markets renders this solution the most cost effective for removing a financial barrier to the system’s sustainable, long-term provision of drinking water.

(c) Identifying and providing outreach to persons who are eligible to receive assistance from the fund.

(d) Testing the drinking water quality of domestic wells serving low-income households, prioritizing those in high-risk areas identified pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 116772).

(e) Providing administrative and managerial services under Section 116686.

Article  4. Miscellaneous Provisions

116771.

 (a) The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:

(1) Provide for the deposit of both of the following moneys into the fund:

(A) Federal contributions.

(B) Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.

(2) Enter into agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.

(3) Direct portions of the fund to a subset of eligible applicants as required or appropriate based on funding source and consistent with the annual fund implementation plan.

(4) Direct moneys described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) towards a specific project, program, or study.

(b) The board may set appropriate requirements as a condition of funding, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) A system technical, managerial, or financial capacity audit.

(2) Improvements to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.

(3) An evaluation of alternative treatment technologies.

(4) A consolidation or service extension feasibility study.

(5) Requirements for a domestic well with nitrate contamination where ongoing septic system failure may be causing or contributing to contamination of a drinking water source, to have conducted an investigation and project to address the septic system failure, if adequate funding sources are identified and accessible.

(c) Actions taken to implement, interpret, or make specific this chapter, including, but not limited to, the adoption or development of any plan, handbook, or map, are 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).

Article  5. Information on High-Risk Areas

116772.

 (a) (1) By January 1, 2021, the board, in consultation with local health officers and other relevant stakeholders, shall use available data to make available a map of aquifers that are at high risk of containing contaminants that exceed safe 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 annually based on new and relevant data.

(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 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 jurisdictions.

(b) (1) By January 1, 2021, a local health officer or other relevant local agency 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, 2014, and that is in the possession of the local health officer or other relevant local agency.

(2) By January 1, 2022, 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 shall also be submitted directly to the board in electronic format.

SEC. 2.

 (a) Implementation of Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) of Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code is contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes in the annual Budget Act.

(b) This act does not impose a levy, charge, or exaction of any kind, such as a tax or fee.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains 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.