Bill Text: CA AB1808 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Drinking water.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-19 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 21. [AB1808 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1808-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1808 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dahle
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
An act to amend Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to drinking water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1808, as introduced, Dahle. Drinking water.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the
State Department of Public Health to administer the regulation of
drinking water and public water systems, as defined, to protect
public health, including the conduct of research, studies, and
demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable,
safe supply of drinking water.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
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: For
purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(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:
(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, oral hygiene, or cooking,
including, but not limited to, preparing food and washing dishes.
(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 that 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) "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.
(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 a person using water for domestic purposes. User
does not include a 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 a 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 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.
