Bill Text: CA SB623 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Water quality: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-09-01 - Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [SB623 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB623-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
August 21, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
July 03, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
June 26, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 26, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Senate
March 30, 2017 |
Senate Bill | No. 623 |
Introduced by Senator Monning (Principal coauthors: Senators De León and Hertzberg) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Bloom) |
February 17, 2017 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend the bill to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
(2)The act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the state board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. The act generally does not apply to state small water systems, except that the act requires the board to adopt regulations specifying minimum requirements for operation of a state small water system, which
are authorized to be less stringent than the requirements for public water systems, requires the enforcement of these requirements, and authorizes the reasonable costs of the local health officer to be recovered. The act, within 3 years after September 19, 1985, required the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems, as defined, for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures and required the local health officer, in consultation with the department, to conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals and to develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The act provided that these provisions were operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriated sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be
incurred by local agencies during that year due to these provisions.
This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2019, to promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The bill would require testing to be prioritized based on local water quality conditions and would require the state board to review these regulations at least every 5 years. The bill would exempt these provisions from the above-described inoperative provision.
(3)
Digest Key
Vote:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)The large water system testing program has discovered chemical contamination of the state’s drinking water with increasing frequency.
(2)A significant number of California residents rely on the state’s small water systems and individual domestic wells to provide their water.
(3)The small systems and individual domestic wells, because they tend to be located in outlying rural areas where pesticide use is prevalent, and because they draw their water from shallow aquifers,
face a serious threat of contamination.
(4)Unchecked water sources that may be contaminated pose a potentially serious threat to the health of the citizens of California, particularly those living in outlying rural areas.
(5)It is in the interest of all Californians that a testing program for small public water systems and individual domestic wells be implemented and carried out as expeditiously as possible.
(6)Section 106.3 of the Water Code declares that every Californian has the right to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
(7)To ensure that the right of every Californian
to sufficient clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes is met, it is in the interest of the State of California to identify water quality threats in the state’s drinking water supply, to the extent feasible, whether those supplies serve a public water system, state small water system, or an individual domestic well.
(b)(1)For purposes of this section, “small public water system” means a system with 200 connections or less, and is one of the following:
(A)A community water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents.
(B)A state small water
system.
(C)A noncommunity water system such as a school, labor camp, institution, or place of employment, as designated by the state board.
(2)For the purposes of this section, “individual domestic well” means a groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or systems of four or less service connections.
(c)The state board shall conduct training workshops to assist health officers in evaluation of small public water systems for organic chemical contamination, and in sampling and testing procedures. The state board shall, at a minimum, provide health officers with guidelines for evaluating systems and instructions for sampling.
(d)The state board shall develop a schedule for conduct of the programs by the local health officers. The schedule shall establish a program to address first those systems with the most serious potential for contamination. The state board shall enter into agreements with the local health agencies to conduct the necessary work to be performed pursuant to the schedule. The department shall begin the program no later than three months after September 19, 1985. All local health officers shall complete the evaluation, sampling, testing, review of sampling results, and notification to the public water systems within their jurisdiction in accordance with the agreements entered into with the state board and within the schedule established by the state board. All work required by this subdivision shall be completed within three years after September 19, 1985.
(e)By January 1, 2019, the state board shall promulgate regulations to require state small water systems and individual domestic wells to test their water supply wells for contamination. The state board shall prioritize testing based on local water quality conditions. The state board shall review these regulations at least every five years.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section shall be operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by local agencies pursuant to this section during that year.
(2)Subdivisions (a), (b), (e), and (f) shall not become inoperative.
SECTION 1.
Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 14615) is added to Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:Article 6.5. Fertilizer Safe Drinking Water Fee
14615.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to require licensees of bulk fertilizing materials, and to authorize licensees of packaged fertilizing materials, to pass the fertilizer safe drinking water fee on to the end user of the fertilizer.14616.
(a) In addition to the assessments provided in Section 14611, a licensee whose name appears on the label of bulk or packaged fertilizing materials shall pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of five mills ($0.005) per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials to be deposited into the fund.14616.
(a) In addition to the assessments provided in Section 14611, a licensee whose name appears on the label of bulk or packaged fertilizing materials shall pay to the secretary a fertilizer safe drinking water fee of two mills ($0.002) per dollar of sales for all sales of fertilizing materials to be deposited into the fund.14617.
(a) (1) A licensee whose name appears on the label who sells or distributes bulk fertilizing materials shall charge an unlicensed purchaser the fertilizer safe drinking water fee as a charge that is separate from, and not included in, any other fee, charge, or other amount paid by the purchaser. This fee shall be included on the bill of sale as a separate line item.SEC. 2.
Article 14.5 (commencing with Section 62215) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:Article 14.5. Dairy Safe Drinking Water Fee
62215.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the dairy safe drinking water fee be paid for all milk purchased in the state, regardless of grade.62216.
(a) Beginning January 1, 2020, each handler, including a producer-handler, subject to the provisions of a stabilization and marketing plan shall deduct the sum of $0.01355 per hundredweight of milk from payments made to producers for milk, including the handler’s own production, as a dairy safe drinking water fee.62216.
(a) Each handler, including a producer-handler, subject to the provisions of a stabilization and marketing plan shall deduct the sum of $0.00678 per hundredweight of milk from payments made to producers for milk, including the handler’s own production, as a dairy safe drinking water fee.62217.
(a) A handler shall pay the dairy safe drinking water fee to the secretary on or before the 45th day following the last day of the month in which the milk was received.SEC. 2.SEC. 3.
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. Legislative Findings and Declarations
116765.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:Article 2. Definitions
116765.116766.
For the purposes of this chapter:(a)“Agricultural operations” has the same meaning as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code.
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)“Safe Drinking Water Plan” means the plan prepared
pursuant to Section 116355.
Article 3. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
116766.116767.
The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to116767. 116768.
(a) The board shall administer the fund for the purposes of this chapter to provide a stable source of funding to(4)
It is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this section to seek specific funding from agricultural operations to assist in providing emergency, interim, and long-term assistance to community water systems and individual domestic well users whose wells have been impacted by nitrate contamination and whose wells are located in agricultural areas.
116769.116769.
(2)The fund implementation plan shall prioritize eligibility for expenditures of the fund based on the following:
(A)A water system’s current or projected water rates needed to ensure safe drinking water exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the median household income for that water system and the water system qualifies as a disadvantaged community.
(B)The costs
for providing potable water for an individual domestic well exceed or will exceed 1.5 percent of the household’s income and the household’s income is less than 80 percent of the statewide household median income.
Article 4. Information on High Risk Areas
116770.
(a) (1) By January 1, 2019, 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 and that exceed primary federal and state 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 at least annually based on any newly available data.Article 5. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fee
116771.
(a) (1) Until July 1, 2020, there is hereby imposed a safe and affordable drinking water fee on each person or entity that purchases water from a public water system, as follows:116772.
(a) A public water system may apply to the board to authorize the public water system to use an alternative method to calculate the amount owed by each customer for the charge imposed by Section 116771 by submitting an application, in a form prescribed by the board, that demonstrates both of the following:116773.
(a) The board, in consultation with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, shall administer and collect the fees imposed by this article in accordance with the Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).SEC. 3.SEC. 4.
Section 13050 of the Water Code is amended to read:13050.
As used in this division:SEC. 4.SEC. 5.
Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 13278) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:Article 4.5. Discharges of Nitrate to Groundwater from Agricultural Operations
13278.
(a) For the purposes of this article, the Legislature finds all of the following:(1)To subsequently amend this article to establish an agricultural assessment to be paid by agricultural operations for a period of 15 years to provide funding, as a portion of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, to make available alternative supplies of safe drinking water to persons affected by discharges of nitrogen from agricultural operations that may occur in amounts that
may cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality objective or cause conditions of pollution or nuisance.