Bill Text: CA SB482 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Public beach contamination: standards: testing: closing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 592, Statutes of 2011. [SB482 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB482-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 482	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 26, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 20, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 31, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 30, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Kehoe

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 115875, 115880, 115885, 115890, 115895,
and 115915 of, to add Section 115881 to, and to repeal Sections
115900 and 115905 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public
health.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 482, as amended, Kehoe. Public beach contamination: standards:
testing: closing.
   Existing law requires local health officers to submit to the State
Water Resources Control Board prescribed information regarding beach
postings and closures and requires the board to make that
information available to the public and to post the information on
its Internet Web site.
   Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to
adopt regulations to establish minimum standards for the sanitation
of public beaches, as defined, and to require the testing of the
waters adjacent to beaches for microbiological contaminants and to
require posting and closure of beaches that are in violation of the
standards. A violation of these regulations is a crime.
   This bill would  require that the department draft regulations
relating to testing of waters adjacent to public beaches, as
specified. The   bill would  , commencing January 1,
2012,  give primary responsibility for administration of the
provisions relating to   require the board to be
responsible for  monitoring protocols, site locations,
monitoring frequency, and prescribed testing  to the board
  . The bill, until June 30, 2016, would provide that
not more than $1,800,000 of specified funds may be used, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, as a funding source for this
program  . The bill would also make related changes.
   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 115875 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   115875.  For the purposes of this article, the following terms
have the following meanings:
   (a) "Public beach" means any beach area used by the public for
recreational purposes that is owned, operated, or controlled by the
state, any state agency, any local agency, or any private person in
this state, and is located in the coastal zone, as defined in Section
30103 of the Public Resources Code, or within the jurisdiction of
the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as set
forth in Section 66610 of the Government Code.
   (b) "Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
   (c) "Department" means the State Department of Public Health.
   (d) "Health officer" means the legally appointed local health
officer or director of environmental health of the county or city
having jurisdiction of the area in which a public saltwater beach is
located.
  SEC. 2.  Section 115880 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   115880.  (a) The department shall by regulation, in consultation
with the board, local health officers, and the public, establish,
maintain, and amend as necessary, minimum standards for the
sanitation of public beaches, including, but not limited to, the
removal of refuse, as it determines are reasonably necessary for the
protection of the public health and safety.
   (b) Prior to final adoption or amendment by the department, the
regulations and standards required by this section shall undergo an
external comprehensive review process similar to the process set
forth in Section 57004 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (c) The regulations shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
   (1) Require the testing of the waters adjacent to all public
beaches for microbiological contaminants, including, but not limited
to, total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria. The
department may require the testing of waters adjacent to all public
beaches for microbiological indicators other than those set forth in
this paragraph, or a subset of those set forth in this paragraph, if
the department affirmatively establishes, based on the best available
scientific studies and the weight of the evidence, that the
alternative indicators are as protective of the public health.
   (2) Establish protective minimum standards for total coliform,
fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria, or for other
microbiological indicators that the department determines are
appropriate for testing pursuant to paragraph (1). 
   (3) Require that the waters adjacent to public beaches are tested
for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria, or for
other microbiological indicators that the department determines are
appropriate for testing pursuant to paragraph (1). Except as set
forth in subdivision (d), testing shall be conducted on at least a
weekly basis from April 1 to October 31, inclusive, of each year
beginning in 2012, if all of the following apply:  
   (A) The beach is visited by more than 50,000 people annually.
 
   (B) The beach is located on an area adjacent to a storm drain that
flows in the summer.  
   (d) The monitoring frequency and locations established pursuant to
this section and related regulations may be reduced or altered only
after the testing required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) reveals levels of microbiological contaminants that do not
exceed, for a period of two years, the minimum protective standards
established pursuant to this section.  
   (e) The local health officer shall be responsible for testing the
waters adjacent to, and coordinating the testing of, all public
beaches within his or her jurisdiction.  
   (f) The local health officer may meet the testing requirements of
this section by utilizing test results from other parties conducting
microbiological contamination testing of the waters under his or her
jurisdiction.  
   (g) Any city or county may adopt standards for the sanitation of
public beaches within its jurisdiction that are stricter than the
standards adopted by the department pursuant to this section. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 115881 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   115881.  (a) Commencing January 1, 2012,  primary
jurisdiction shall be transferred from the department to the board
for state administration   the board shall be
responsible for all  of the following: 
   (1) Directing the monitoring required to be conducted by Section
115880.  
   (1) Determining 
    (2)     Establishing and reviewing 
monitoring protocols, site locations, and  monitoring
frequency based on risks to public health.   monitoring
frequencies consistent with Section 115880.  
   (2) Identification of 
    (3)     Identifying  options for
funding the monitoring needed to fulfill the requirements of Section
115880, including options for integrating and streamlining existing
monitoring programs or requirements associated with waste discharge
requirements, Total Maximum Daily Load implementation, or other
monitoring programs. If a regional board or state board issues waste
discharge requirements that require monitoring to meet the
requirements set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
115880, the monitoring shall only be required to the extent that the
discharge has the potential to cause or contribute to exceedances of
the standards established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c) of Section 115880. Nothing in this section shall preclude any
discharger from voluntarily participating in monitoring necessary to
meet the requirements of Section 115880. 
   (3) Requiring that the waters adjacent to public beaches are
tested for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococci bacteria,
or for other microbiological indicators that the department
determines are appropriate for testing pursuant to paragraph (1).
Except as set forth in subdivision (b), testing shall be conducted on
at least a weekly basis from April 1 to October 31, inclusive, of
each year beginning in 2012, if all of the following apply: 

   (A) The beach is visited by more than 50,000 people annually.
 
   (B) The beach is located on an area adjacent to a storm drain that
flows in the summer.  
   (b) The monitoring frequency and locations established pursuant to
this section and related regulations may only be reduced or altered
after the testing required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) reveals levels of microbiological contaminants that do not
exceed, for a period of two years, the minimum protective standards
established pursuant to Section 115880.  
     
   (c) The local health officer shall be responsible for testing the
waters adjacent to, and coordinating the testing of, all public
beaches within his or her jurisdiction.  
   (d) The local health officer may meet the testing requirements of
this section by utilizing test results from other parties conducting
microbiological contamination testing of the waters under his or her
jurisdiction.  
   (e) Any city or county may adopt standards for the sanitation of
public beaches within its jurisdiction that are stricter than the
standards adopted by the board pursuant to this section. 

   (b) The establishment and review of monitoring protocols, site
locations, and monitoring frequencies by the board pursuant to this
section shall be done in consultation with the department and local
health officers, but shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  
   (c) Until June 30, 2016, not more than one million eight hundred
thousand dollars ($1,800,000) of the funds collected annually
pursuant to Section 13260 of the Water Code may be used, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, as a funding source for the
implementation of this article.  
   (f) 
    (d)  Any duty imposed upon a local public officer or
agency pursuant to this  article   section and
Section 115880  shall be mandatory only during a fiscal year in
which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as
determined by the board, in the annual Budget Act or otherwise for
local agencies to cover the costs to those agencies associated with
the performance of these duties. The board shall annually, within 15
days after enactment of the Budget Act, file a written statement with
the Secretary of the Senate and with the Chief Clerk of the Assembly
memorializing whether sufficient funds have been appropriated.
  SEC. 4.  Section 115885 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   115885.  (a) The health officer having jurisdiction over the area
in which a public beach is created shall:
   (1) Inspect the public beach to determine whether the standards
established pursuant to Section 115880 are being complied with. If
the health officer finds any violation of the standards, he or she
may restrict the use of, or close, the public beach or portion
thereof in which the violation occurs until the standard is complied
with.
   (2) Investigate any complaint of a violation of any standard
established by the department pursuant to Section 115880. If the
health officer finds any violation of the standards prescribed by the
department, he or she may restrict the use of, or close, the public
beach or portion thereof until the standard is complied with. If the
person who made the complaint is not satisfied with the action taken
by the health officer, he or she may report the violation to the
department. The department shall investigate the reported violation,
and, if it finds that the violation exists, it may restrict the use
of or close the public beach or portion thereof until the standard
violated is complied with.
   (3) Whenever a beach is posted, closed, or otherwise restricted in
accordance with Section 115915, inform the agency responsible for
the operation and maintenance of the public beach within 24 hours of
the posting, closure, or restriction.
   (4) Establish a telephone hotline to inform the public of all
beaches currently closed, posted, or otherwise restricted. The
hotline shall be updated as needed in order to convey changes in
public health risks.
   (5) Report any violation of the standards established pursuant to
Section 115880 to the district attorney, or if the violation occurred
in a city and, pursuant to Section 41803.5 of the Government Code,
the city attorney is authorized to prosecute misdemeanors, to the
city attorney.
   (6) In the event of a known untreated sewage release, immediately
test the waters adjacent to the public beach and to take action
pursuant to regulations established under Sections 115880 and 115881.

   (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the event of an
untreated sewage release that is known to have reached recreational
waters adjacent to a public beach, immediately close those waters
until it has been determined by the local health officer that the
waters are in compliance with the standards established pursuant to
Section 115880.
   (b) If the department is aware of an untreated sewage release that
has reached recreational waters adjacent to a public beach, and that
the local health officer has not taken action to close the beach, it
may take action to close those waters until the waters are in
compliance. 
   (c) Any duty imposed upon a local public officer or agency
pursuant to this section shall be mandatory only during a fiscal year
in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as
determined by the State Public Health Officer, in the annual Budget
Act or otherwise for local agencies to cover the costs to those
agencies associated with the performance of these duties. The State
Public Health Officer shall annually, within 15 days after enactment
of the Budget Act, file a written statement with the Secretary of the
Senate and with the Chief Clerk of the Assembly memorializing
whether sufficient funds have been appropriated. 
  SEC. 5.  Section 115890 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   115890.  Prior to restricting the use of or closing a public beach
or portion thereof alleged to be in violation of standards, the
health officer or the department as the case may be, shall give
reasonable notice of the violation to the owner of, or person or
agency in charge of, the beach.
  SEC. 6.  Section 115895 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   115895.  Any private person who violates any regulation adopted by
the department pursuant to Section 115880 is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
  SEC. 7.  Section 115900 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
  SEC. 8.  Section 115905 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
  SEC. 9.  Section 115915 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   115915.  (a) Whenever any  public  beach fails to meet
the bacteriological standards established pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 115880, the health officer shall, at a minimum, post the
 public  beach with conspicuous warning signs to inform the
public of the nature of the problem and the possibility of risk to
public health.
   (b) A warning sign shall be visible from each legal primary 
public  beach access point, as identified in the coastal access
inventory prepared and updated pursuant to Section 30531 of the
Public Resources Code, and any additional access points identified by
the health officer. 
   (c) Any duty imposed upon a local public officer or agency
pursuant to this section shall be mandatory only during a fiscal year
in which the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funds, as
determined by the State Public Health Officer, in the annual Budget
Act or otherwise for local agencies to cover the costs to those
agencies associated with the performance of these duties. The State
Public Health Officer shall annually, within 15 days after enactment
of the Budget Act, file a written statement with the Secretary of the
Senate and with the Chief Clerk of the Assembly memorializing
whether sufficient funds have been appropriated.