Bill Text: CA AB371 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Sewage sludge: Kern County.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-22 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [AB371 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB371-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 371 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 30, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
An act to amend Section 13274 of the Water Code, relating to
sewage sludge.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 371, as amended, Salas. Sewage sludge: Kern County.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board or a
California regional water quality control board, upon receipt of an
application for waste discharge requirements for discharge of
dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage or other biological
solids, to prescribe general waste discharge requirements for that
sludge or those other solids. The California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989 establishes an integrated waste management
program that includes the regulation of solid waste disposal and
solid waste facilities, and defines solid waste to include dewatered,
treated, and chemically fixed sewage sludge that is not a hazardous
waste.
This bill would require the state board from January 1, 2015, to
December 31, 2016, inclusive, to require, for specified pathogens and
endotoxins, additional testing 2 times per year on properties in
Kern County where sewage sludge or other biological solids are
applied. The bill would authorize the state board to identify
additional pathogens, endotoxins, and other hazards for testing based
on the potential for groundwater contamination and potential to
adversely affect human health originating in sewage sludge or other
biological solids, and would require the state board to submit a
report after each test containing the results of the test to
prescribed committees of the Legislature and the Kern County Board of
Supervisors. The bill would require the state board from January 1,
2015, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, to require, on property
located in Kern County where sewage sludge or other biological solids
are applied, monitoring of shallow groundwater beneath or
downgradient, or both, of a biological solids application site for
the specified pathogens and endotoxins, at least once in the spring
and once in the fall.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for Kern County.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13274 of the Water Code is amended to read:
13274. (a) (1) The state board or a regional board, upon receipt
of applications for waste discharge requirements for discharges of
dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge and other
biological solids, shall prescribe general waste discharge
requirements for that sludge and those other solids. General waste
discharge requirements shall replace individual waste discharge
requirements for sewage sludge and other biological solids, and their
prescription shall be considered to be a ministerial action.
(2) The general waste discharge requirements shall set minimum
standards for agronomic applications of sewage sludge and other
biological solids and the use of that sludge and those other solids
as a soil amendment or fertilizer in agriculture, forestry, and
surface mining reclamation, and may permit the transportation of that
sludge and those other solids and the use of that sludge and those
other solids at more than one site. The requirements shall include
provisions to mitigate significant environmental impacts, potential
soil erosion, odors, the degradation of surface water quality or fish
or wildlife habitat, the accidental release of hazardous substances,
and any potential hazard to the public health or safety.
(b) The state board or a regional board, in prescribing general
waste discharge requirements pursuant to this section, shall comply
with Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code and guidelines adopted pursuant to that division, and
shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of
Food and Agriculture, and the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(c) The state board or a regional board may charge a reasonable
fee to cover the costs incurred by the board in the administration of
the application process relating to the general waste discharge
requirements prescribed pursuant to this section.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, except as specified in
subdivisions (f) to (i), inclusive, general waste discharge
requirements prescribed by a regional board pursuant to this section
supersede regulations adopted by any other state agency to regulate
sewage sludge and other biological solids applied directly to
agricultural lands at agronomic rates.
(e) The state board or a regional board shall review general waste
discharge requirements for possible amendment upon the request of
any state agency, including, but not limited to, the Department of
Food and Agriculture and the State Department of Public Health, if
the board determines that the request is based on new information.
(f) This section is not intended to affect the jurisdiction of the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to regulate the
handling of sewage sludge or other biological solids for composting,
deposit in a landfill, or other use.
(g) This section is not intended to affect the jurisdiction of the
State Air Resources Board or an air pollution control district or
air quality management district to regulate the handling of sewage
sludge or other biological solids for incineration.
(h) This section is not intended to affect the jurisdiction of the
Department of Food and Agriculture in enforcing Sections 14591 and
14631 of the Food and Agricultural Code and any regulations adopted
pursuant to those sections, regarding the handling of sewage sludge
and other biological solids sold or used as fertilizer or as a soil
amendment.
(i) This section does not restrict the authority of a local
government agency to regulate the application of sewage sludge and
other biological solids to land within the jurisdiction of that
agency, including, but not limited to, the planning authority of the
Delta Protection Commission and the resource management plan of that
is required to be implemented by local government general plans.
(j) (1) From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, the
state board shall require, for the pathogens and endotoxins
described in paragraph (2), additional testing two times per year on
properties in Kern County where sewage sludge or other biological
solids are applied. The state board may identify additional
pathogens, endotoxins, and other hazards for testing pursuant to this
subdivision based on the potential for groundwater contamination and
potential to adversely affect human health originating in sewage
sludge or other biological solids. The state board shall review the
testing conducted pursuant to this subdivision. The state board shall
submit a report after each test conducted pursuant to this section
containing the results of the test to the Assembly Committee on
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality, and the Kern County Board of Supervisors.
(2) The following pathogens and endotoxins shall be tested for
pursuant to paragraph (1):
(A) Chlorphyrifos.
(B) Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE).
(C) Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).
(D) Escherichia coli (E. coli).
(E) Fluoride.
(F) Iron.
(G) Manganese.
(H) Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs).
(I) Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).
(J) Salmonella.
(K) Silver.
(L) Tetrachloroethylene (PERC).
(M) Thallium.
(N) Tin.
(O) Toluene.
(3) From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, the
state board shall require, on property located in Kern County where
sewage sludge or other biological solids are applied, monitoring of
shallow groundwater beneath or downgradient, or both, of a biological
solids application site for the pathogens and endotoxins identified
in paragraph (2), as well as those pathogens and endotoxins whose
monitoring is required by applicable waste discharge requirements. At
a minimum, monitoring shall occur at least once in the spring and
once in the fall.
(4) The state board shall not require any person, agency, or
entity that applies less than 10,000 tons of sewage sludge or other
biological solids per year to test or monitor pursuant to paragraphs
(1) to (3), inclusive.
(4)
(5) This subdivision does not limit the authority of
the state board or a regional board to test and regulate discharge
requirements of dewatered, treated, or chemically-fixed sewage sludge
and other biological solids pursuant to existing law.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
due to the unique and special problems associated with the land
application of sewage sludge in Kern County requiring the control of
sewage sludge for the public good.
