Bill Text: CA AB292 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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

---

Bill Title: Recycled water: raw water and groundwater augmentation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Dodd. [AB292 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB292-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 04, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 292

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

January 28, 2019

---

An act to amend Sections 13561 and 13561.2 10608.12, 10633, 13263.7, 13561, 13561.2, 13570, and 13578 of the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 292, as amended, Quirk. Recycled water: raw water and groundwater augmentation.

Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board, on or before December 31, 2023, to adopt uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse through raw water augmentation, as specified. Existing law defines “direct potable reuse” and “indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge” for these purposes.

This bill would eliminate the definition of “direct potable reuse” and instead would substitute the term “groundwater augmentation” for “indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge” in these definitions. The bill would revise the definition of “treated drinking water augmentation.” The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2023, the state board to adopt uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation. The bill would make conforming changes in other areas relating to potable reuse.

Digest Key

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

---

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 10608.12 of the Water Code is amended to read:

10608.12.

 Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the construction of this part:

(a) “Agricultural water supplier” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, providing water to 10,000 or more irrigated acres, excluding recycled water. “Agricultural water supplier” includes a supplier or contractor for water, regardless of the basis of right, that distributes or sells water for ultimate resale to customers. “Agricultural water supplier” does not include the department.

(b) “Base daily per capita water use” means any of the following:

(1) The urban retail water supplier’s estimate of its average gross water use, reported in gallons per capita per day and calculated over a continuous 10-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2004, and no later than December 31, 2010.

(2) For an urban retail water supplier that meets at least 10 percent of its 2008 measured retail water demand through recycled water that is delivered within the service area of an urban retail water supplier or its urban wholesale water supplier, the urban retail water supplier may extend the calculation described in paragraph (1) up to an additional five years to a maximum of a continuous 15-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2004, and no later than December 31, 2010.

(3) For the purposes of Section 10608.22, the urban retail water supplier’s estimate of its average gross water use, reported in gallons per capita per day and calculated over a continuous five-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2007, and no later than December 31, 2010.

(c) “Baseline commercial, industrial, and institutional water use” means an urban retail water supplier’s base daily per capita water use for commercial, industrial, and institutional users.

(d) “CII water use” means water used by commercial water users, industrial water users, institutional water users, and large landscape water users.

(e) “Commercial water user” means a water user that provides or distributes a product or service.

(f) “Compliance daily per capita water use” means the gross water use during the final year of the reporting period, reported in gallons per capita per day.

(g) “Disadvantaged community” means a community with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income.

(h) “Gross water use” means the total volume of water, whether treated or untreated, entering the distribution system of an urban retail water supplier, excluding all of the following:

(1) Recycled water that is delivered within the service area of an urban retail water supplier or its urban wholesale water supplier.

(2) The net volume of water that the urban retail water supplier places into long-term storage.

(3) The volume of water the urban retail water supplier conveys for use by another urban water supplier.

(4) The volume of water delivered for agricultural use, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (f) of Section 10608.24.

(i) “Industrial water user” means a water user that is primarily a manufacturer or processor of materials as defined by the North American Industry Classification System code sectors 31 to 33, inclusive, or an entity that is a water user primarily engaged in research and development.

(j) “Institutional water user” means a water user dedicated to public service. This type of user includes, among other users, higher education institutions, schools, courts, churches, hospitals, government facilities, and nonprofit research institutions.

(k) “Interim urban water use target” means the midpoint between the urban retail water supplier’s base daily per capita water use and the urban retail water supplier’s urban water use target for 2020.

(l) “Large landscape” means a nonresidential landscape as described in the performance measures for CII water use adopted pursuant to Section 10609.10.

(m) “Locally cost effective” means that the present value of the local benefits of implementing an agricultural efficiency water management practice is greater than or equal to the present value of the local cost of implementing that measure.

(n) “Performance measures” means actions to be taken by urban retail water suppliers that will result in increased water use efficiency by CII water users. Performance measures may include, but are not limited to, educating CII water users on best management practices, conducting water use audits, and preparing water management plans. Performance measures do not include process water.

(o) “Potable reuse” means direct potable reuse, indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge, and includes raw water augmentation, treated drinking water augmentation, groundwater augmentation, or reservoir water augmentation as those terms are defined in Section 13561.

(p) “Process water” means water used by industrial water users for producing a product or product content or water used for research and development. Process water includes, but is not limited to, continuous manufacturing processes, and water used for testing, cleaning, and maintaining equipment. Water used to cool machinery or buildings used in the manufacturing process or necessary to maintain product quality or chemical characteristics for product manufacturing or control rooms, data centers, laboratories, clean rooms, and other industrial facility units that are integral to the manufacturing or research and development process is process water. Water used in the manufacturing process that is necessary for complying with local, state, and federal health and safety laws, and is not incidental water, is process water. Process water does not mean incidental water uses.

(q) “Recycled water” means recycled water, as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 13050.

(r) “Regional water resources management” means sources of supply resulting from watershed-based planning for sustainable local water reliability or any of the following alternative sources of water:

(1) The capture and reuse of stormwater or rainwater.

(2) The use of recycled water.

(3) The desalination of brackish groundwater.

(4) The conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater in a manner that is consistent with the safe yield of the groundwater basin.

(s) “Reporting period” means the years for which an urban retail water supplier reports compliance with the urban water use targets.

(t) “Urban retail water supplier” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, that directly provides potable municipal water to more than 3,000 end users or that supplies more than 3,000 acre-feet of potable water annually at retail for municipal purposes.

(u) “Urban water use objective” means an estimate of aggregate efficient water use for the previous year based on adopted water use efficiency standards and local service area characteristics for that year, as described in Section 10609.20.

(v) “Urban water use target” means the urban retail water supplier’s targeted future daily per capita water use.

(w) “Urban wholesale water supplier,” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, that provides more than 3,000 acre-feet of water annually at wholesale for potable municipal purposes.

SEC. 2.

 Section 10633 of the Water Code is amended to read:

10633.

 The plan shall provide, to the extent available, information on recycled water and its potential for use as a water source in the service area of the urban water supplier. The preparation of the plan shall be coordinated with local water, wastewater, groundwater, and planning agencies that operate within the supplier’s service area, and shall include all of the following:

(a) A description of the wastewater collection and treatment systems in the supplier’s service area, including a quantification of the amount of wastewater collected and treated and the methods of wastewater disposal.

(b) A description of the quantity of treated wastewater that meets recycled water standards, is being discharged, and is otherwise available for use in a recycled water project.

(c) A description of the recycled water currently being used in the supplier’s service area, including, but not limited to, the type, place, and quantity of use.

(d) A description and quantification of the potential uses of recycled water, including, but not limited to, agricultural irrigation, landscape irrigation, wildlife habitat enhancement, wetlands, industrial reuse, groundwater recharge, indirect potable reuse, and other appropriate uses, and a determination with regard to the technical and economic feasibility of serving those uses.

(e) The projected use of recycled water within the supplier’s service area at the end of 5, 10, 15, and 20 years, and a description of the actual use of recycled water in comparison to uses previously projected pursuant to this subdivision.

(f) A description of actions, including financial incentives, which may be taken to encourage the use of recycled water, and the projected results of these actions in terms of acre-feet of recycled water used per year.

(g) A plan for optimizing the use of recycled water in the supplier’s service area, including actions to facilitate the installation of dual distribution systems, to promote recirculating uses, to facilitate the increased use of treated wastewater that meets recycled water standards, and to overcome any obstacles to achieving that increased use.

SEC. 3.

 Section 13263.7 of the Water Code is amended to read:

13263.7.

 (a) Compliance with effluent limitations and any other permit or waste discharge requirements, as appropriate, for the release or discharge of recycled water determined to be suitable for direct potable reuse or surface water augmentation, potable reuse, as defined in Section 13561, into a conveyance facility may be determined at the point where the recycled water enters the conveyance facility but prior to commingling with any raw water.

(b) Before the discharge may be allowed, consent must be obtained from the owner or operator of the conveyance facility that directly receives the recycled water.

(c) This section does not limit or restrict the authority of the State Water Resources Control Board. state board.

(d) For purposes of this section, “raw water” means surface water or groundwater in its naturally occurring state prior to treatment.

SECTION 1.SEC. 4.

 Section 13561 of the Water Code is amended to read:

13561.

 For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Department” or “state board” means the State Water Resources Control Board.

(b) “Raw water augmentation” means the planned placement of recycled water into a system of pipelines or aqueducts that deliver raw water to a drinking water treatment plant that provides water to a public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) “Treated drinking water augmentation,” means the planned placement of recycled water into the directly into a finished water distribution system of a public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

(d) “Groundwater augmentation” means the planned use of recycled water for replenishment of a groundwater basin or an aquifer that has been designated as a source of water supply for a public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) “Reservoir water augmentation” means the planned placement of recycled water into a raw surface water reservoir used as a source of domestic drinking water supply for a public water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, or into a constructed system conveying water to such a reservoir.

(f) “Uniform water recycling criteria” has the same meaning as in Section 13521.

SEC. 2.SEC. 5.

 Section 13561.2 of the Water Code is amended to read:

13561.2.

 (a) On or before December 31, 2023, the state board shall adopt uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation. In adopting the initial uniform recycling criteria for raw water augmentation, the state board shall comply with all of the following:

(1) The state board shall develop the uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation using information from the recommended research described in subdivision (b) of Section 13560.5 after soliciting stakeholder input from water agencies, wastewater agencies, local public health officers, environmental organizations, environmental justice organizations, public health nongovernmental organizations, and the business community.

(2) Before adopting uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation, the state board shall submit the proposed criteria to the expert review panel established pursuant to subdivision (c). The expert review panel shall review the proposed criteria and shall adopt a finding as to whether, in its expert opinion, the proposed criteria would adequately protect public health.

(3) The state board shall not adopt uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation pursuant to this subdivision unless and until the expert review panel adopts a finding that the proposed criteria would adequately protect public health.

(4) If the state board finds it will be unable to adopt the uniform water recycling criteria by December 31, 2023, the state board may, by June 30, 2023, extend the uniform water recycling criteria deadline by up to 18 months.

(5) If the state board finds that it needs longer than the deadline that has been extended pursuant to paragraph (4), the state board shall do all of the following:

(A) Post on its internet website the date by which it intends to adopt the uniform water recycling criteria.

(B) If the state board determines that the recommended research described in subdivision (b) of Section 13560.5 is insufficient, consult with the expert review panel described in subdivision (c) regarding the research and, if necessary, the need for additional scientific and technical research. The expert review panel shall also determine the scientific and technical research necessary for the state board to complete the uniform water recycling criteria, including an estimated timeframe needed to conduct the scientific and technical research.

(C) No later than June 30, 2024, post on its internet website the findings and determinations made, if any, by the expert review panel described in subdivision (c) under subparagraph (B).

(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the state board from using its existing authority to permit projects pursuant to Section 116550 of the Health and Safety Code before the adoption of uniform recycling criteria pursuant to this section.

(c) (1) Before adopting the initial uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation, the state board shall establish and administer an expert review panel for purposes of subdivision (a) and, if the state board deems it necessary, to provide additional scientific and technological research or to recommend a source of either existing research or research to be produced on raw water augmentation. After the state board has adopted the initial uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation, the state board may reconvene or reestablish the expert review panel, if the state board deems it necessary, to provide additional scientific and technological research or to recommend a source of either existing research or research to be produced on raw water augmentation. In establishing and administering an expert review panel, the state board may contract with public or nonprofit research entities.

(2) Each member of the expert review panel shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) for each day the member attends a meeting of the expert review panel or of the state board plus actual and necessary travel expenses, including expenses for lodging and meals, and for each day the member spends conducting other official business of the expert review panel.

SEC. 6.

 Section 13570 of the Water Code is amended to read:

13570.

 (a) As used in this section, “advanced purified demonstration water” means product water from an advanced water purification facility that satisfies both of the following requirements:

(1) The product water is treated by means of all of the following treatment processes:

(A) Microfiltration, ultrafiltration, or other filtration processes to remove particulates before reverse osmosis.

(B) Reverse osmosis.

(C) Advanced oxidation.

(2) The product water meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards and is produced in accordance with the advanced treatment criteria for purified water specified in Section 60320.201 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(b) As used in this section, “advanced water purification facility” means a water recycling treatment plant that produces advanced purified demonstration water in accordance with the advanced treatment criteria specified in Section 60320.201 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(c) As used in this section, “batch” means an increment of advanced purified treatment water that has completed the treatment process, is separate from incoming water, and is not receiving any additional source water.

(d) Except as expressly set forth in this section, the operator of an advanced water purification facility may cause advanced purified demonstration water to be bottled and distributed as samples for educational purposes and to promote water recycling, without complying with the requirements of Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070) of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code. The volume of advanced purified demonstration water in each bottle shall not exceed eight ounces.

(e) Any operator of an advanced water purification facility seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water shall collect water samples from the batch prior to the commencement of the bottling process, and test that batch in accordance with Section 111165 of the Health and Safety Code. Advanced purified demonstration water shall not be distributed unless the following requirements are met:

(1) The water meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards, including all maximum contaminant levels applicable to public drinking water systems.

(2) The advanced water purification facility meets or exceeds all purification requirements imposed by regulatory agencies to produce the advanced purified demonstration water, including the removal of constituents of emerging concern where the removal is otherwise required of an advanced water purification facility.

(3) The water is produced using a treatment process that is consistent with the advanced treatment criteria for purified water specified in Section 60320.201 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations and, if established by the state board, in accordance with any uniform statewide water recycling criteria developed for the direct potable reuse of recycled water.

(f) (1) Advanced purified demonstration water may be bottled only at a licensed water-bottling plant in compliance with Sections 111070.5, 111080, 111120, 111145, and 111155 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) Before bottling advanced purified demonstration water, an advanced water purification facility shall follow all pretreatment and labeling regulations for water bottling, including the requirements described in Section 111070.5 of the Health and Safety Code and the requirements for bottled water and vended water pursuant to Section 111080 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) Advanced purified demonstration water shall be handled from the point of production to the completion of bottling in accordance with all regulations governing the transportation, bottling, labeling, and handling of bottled water, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 111070 of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, subdivisions (a), (b), (f), and (h) of Section 111075 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 111070.5 of the Health and Safety Code. A water-bottling plant that bottles advanced purified demonstration water in accordance with this section may also bottle potable water, subject to compliance with Article 12 (commencing with Section 111070) of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) An advanced water purification facility shall not provide bottled advanced purified demonstration water to any person under 18 years of age without the consent of that person’s parent or legal guardian.

(i) An advanced water purification facility shall not provide advanced purified demonstration water for human consumption, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, in bottles, to more than 25 individuals per day for 60 or more days in a calendar year.

(j) Advanced purified demonstration water shall be bottled in nonreturnable (one-way) bottles or packages with labels containing the following information in an easily readable format that complies with all of the following:

(1) The label shall state “sample water--not for sale” and “Advanced Purified Water Sourced From Wastewater.”

(2) The label shall set forth the name, address, telephone number, and Internet Web site internet website of the operator of the facility producing the advanced purified demonstration water.

(3) The label shall include a brief description of the advanced purified demonstration water, including its source and the treatment processes to which the water is subjected.

(k) A single advanced water purification facility shall not cause more than 1,000 gallons of advanced purified demonstration water to be bottled in a calendar year.

(l) Advanced purified demonstration water shall not be sold or otherwise distributed in exchange for financial consideration.

(m) Any operator of an advanced water purification facility seeking to bottle advanced purified demonstration water shall establish a collection and recycling program for distributed bottles.

(n) The operator of an advanced water purification facility that is bottling advanced purified demonstration water shall do all of the following:

(1) Maintain a daily record of the number of individuals to whom advanced purified demonstration water is distributed, served, made available, or otherwise provided, including, but not limited to, from a bottle.

(2) Compile a report of all daily records described in paragraph (1) for each calendar year.

(3) Certify under penalty of perjury that the report is accurate.

(4) Provide the report within 45 days of the end of the calendar year for which the report was made to the deputy director of the Division of Drinking Water of the State Water Resources Control Board.

(o) This section does not exempt an advanced water purification facility from any standard for bottling water imposed pursuant to federal law.

SEC. 7.

 Section 13578 of the Water Code is amended to read:

13578.

 (a) In order to achieve the statewide goal for recycled water use established in Section 13577 and to implement the Governor’s Advisory Drought Planning Panel Critical Water Shortage Contingency Plan recommendations, Section F2, as submitted December 29, 2000, the department shall identify and report to the Legislature on opportunities for increasing the use of recycled water, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 13575, and identify constraints and impediments, including the level of state financial assistance available for project construction, to increasing the use of recycled water.

(b) The department shall convene a task force, to be known as the 2002 Recycled Water Task Force, to advise the department in implementation of subdivision (a), including making recommendations to the Legislature regarding the following:

(1) How to further the use of recycled water in industrial and commercial applications, including, but not limited to, those applications set forth in Section 13552.8. The task force shall evaluate the current regulatory framework of state and local rules, regulations, ordinances, and permits to identify the obstacles and disincentives to industrial and commercial reuse. Issues to be investigated include, but are not limited to, applicability of visual inspections instead of pressure tests for cross-connections between potable and nonpotable water systems, dual piping trenching restrictions, fire suppression system design, and backflow protections.

(2) Changes in the Uniform Plumbing Code, published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, that are appropriate to facilitate the use of recycled water in industrial and commercial settings. The department shall make recommendations to the California Building Standards Commission with regard to suggested revisions to the California Plumbing Code necessary to incorporate the changes identified by the task force.

(3) Changes in state statutes or the current regulatory framework of state and local rules, regulations, ordinances, and permits appropriate to increase the use of recycled water for commercial laundries and toilet and urinal flushing in structures including, but not limited to, those defined in subdivision (c) of Section 13553. The department shall identify financial incentives to help offset the cost of retrofitting privately and publicly owned structures.

(4) The need to reconvene the California Potable Reuse Committee established by the department in 1993 or convene a successor committee to update the committee’s finding that planned indirect potable reuse of recycled water by augmentation of surface water supplies would not adversely affect drinking water quality if certain conditions were met.

(5) The need to augment state water supplies using water use efficiency strategies identified in the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. In its report pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall identify ways to coordinate with CALFED to assist local communities in educating the public with regard to the statewide water supply benefits of local recycling projects and the level of public health protection ensured by compliance with the uniform statewide water recycling criteria developed by the State Department of Public Health in accordance with Section 13521.

(6) Impediments or constraints, other than water rights, related to increasing the use of recycled water in applications for agricultural, environmental, or irrigation uses, as determined by the department.

(c) (1) The task force shall be convened by the department and be comprised of one representative from each of the following state agencies:

(A) The department.

(B) The State Department of Public Health.

(C) The state board.

(D) The California Environmental Protection Agency.

(E) The CALFED Bay-Delta Program.

(F) The Department of Food and Agriculture.

(G) The California Building Standards Commission.

(H) The University of California.

(I) The Natural Resources Agency.

(2) The task force shall also include one representative from a recognized environmental advocacy group and one representative from a consumer advocacy group, as determined by the department, and one representative of local agency health officers, one representative of urban water wholesalers, one representative from a groundwater management entity, one representative of water districts, one representative from a nonprofit association of public and private members created to further the use of recycled water, one representative of commercial real estate, one representative of land development, one representative of industrial interests, and at least two representatives from each of the following as defined in Section 13575:

(A) Recycled water producer.

(B) Recycled water wholesaler.

(C) Retail water supplier.

(d) The department and the task force shall report to the Legislature not later than July 1, 2003.

(e) The department shall carry out the duties of this section only to the extent that funds pursuant to Section 79145, enacted as part of the Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, Watershed Protection, and Flood Protection Act (Division 26 (commencing with Section 79000)), are made available for the purposes of this section.