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SB-332 Wastewater treatment: recycled water.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 04/30/2019 09:00 PM
SB332:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 30, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 332

Introduced by Senators Hertzberg and Wiener

February 19, 2019

An act to add Section 13557.5 to the Water Code, relating to water.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 332, as amended, Hertzberg. Wastewater treatment: recycled water.
The California Constitution requires that the water resources of the state be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented. Existing law declares that the use of potable domestic water for certain nonpotable uses is a waste or an unreasonable use of water if recycled water is available, as determined by the State Water Resources Control Board, and other requirements are met.
Under existing law, the state board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.
This bill would declare, except in compliance with the bill’s provisions, that the discharge of treated wastewater from ocean outfalls is a waste and unreasonable use of water. The bill would require each wastewater treatment facility that discharges through an ocean outfall and affiliated water suppliers to reduce the facility’s annual flow as compared to the average annual dry weather wastewater discharge baseline volume, as prescribed, by at least 50% on or before January 1, 2030, and by at least 95% on or before January 1, 2040. The bill would subject the owner or operator of a wastewater treatment facility, as well as the affiliated water suppliers, to a civil penalty of $2,000 per acre-foot of water above the required reduction in overall volume discharge for the failure to meet these deadlines.
The bill would require a holder of a NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of wastewater through an ocean outfall and affiliated water suppliers to submit and update a plan to meet these requirements to the executive director of the state board, as specified. The bill would also require this NPDES permitholder and affiliated water suppliers to submit on or before January 1, 2024, 2027, and by January 1 every 5 years thereafter, to the executive director of the state board a certain report containing, among other things, the progress toward meeting the reduction in annual flow deadlines. The bill would subject a permitholder and affiliated water suppliers to a penalty of up to $10,000 for failing to submit a plan or report by its deadline. the deadline for the plan or report. The bill would require the state board to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before July 1, 2025, and by July 1 January 1, 2026, and by January 1 every 5 years thereafter, on the implementation of these provisions. The bill would make a permitholder and affiliated water suppliers that fail to timely submit a report ineligible for a state loan or grant until the delinquent report has been submitted.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Severe drought conditions persisted in California from 2012 to 2016, inclusive, and 2015 was the state’s driest calendar year on record.
(b) During the drought lasting from 2012 to 2016, inclusive, California’s water supplies dipped to alarmingly low levels indicated by a very limited snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, declining water levels in the state’s largest water reservoirs, reduced surface water flows in major river systems, and historically low groundwater levels. Many of these water supplies continue to be severely depleted following the drought lasting from 2012 to 2016, inclusive.
(c) Based on the projected impact of climate change on California’s snowpack, extremely dry conditions and drought similar to those experienced in 2012 to 2016, inclusive, will likely become more common and occur more regularly in the future.
(d) Continuous severe drought conditions present urgent challenges across the state, including, but not limited to, water shortages in communities and for agricultural production, increased risk of wildfires, degraded habitat for fish and wildlife, and threat of saltwater contamination in large fresh water supplies.
(e) Water reuse is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to improve drought resilience in California communities.
(f) The State Water Resources Control Board has established goals of recycling 1,500,000 acre-feet of wastewater by 2020 and 2,500,000 acre-feet of wastewater by 2030, however, California is not on track to meet the board’s goals.
(g) The State Water Resources Control Board has established a goal to reuse all dry weather discharges of treated municipal wastewater that can be reasonably put to a beneficial use.
(h) The discharge of treated wastewater from ocean outfalls constitutes the waste and unreasonable use of water within the meaning of Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution, considering the opportunities to recycle this water for further beneficial use.
(i) By requiring substantial reductions in ocean discharges from wastewater treatment plants, California could dramatically accelerate the adoption of water recycling and thus increase water supplies available for beneficial use.
(j) Water recycling can reduce California’s dependence on diversions from surface rivers and streams that are subject to variable climate and regulatory conditions.
(k) In addition to water supply benefits, requiring water recycling for further beneficial use eliminates ocean wastewater discharges, decreasing pollutant loadings to ocean waters and reducing ocean acidification, thereby improving coastal water quality and benefiting the aquatic environment and local economies that depend on those coastal resources.

SEC. 2.

 Section 13557.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

13557.5.
 (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the discharge of treated wastewater from ocean outfalls, except in compliance with the provisions of this section, is a waste and unreasonable use of water within the meaning of Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Affiliated water suppliers” means all water suppliers that provide water that is disposed of in the collection system of a particular wastewater treatment facility that discharges through an ocean outfall.
(2) “Average annual dry weather wastewater discharge baseline volume” means the average annual volume of dry weather, treated waste water discharging through a facility’s ocean outfall as determined by the state board using monitoring data available for calendar years 2010 to 2020, inclusive.
(3) “Ocean outfall” means a point source at the point where raw, partially treated, or treated wastewater may be discharged from a wastewater treatment facility or associated collection system to saline waters, including the ocean, bays, and estuaries.
(4) “Point source” has the meaning provided by Section 122.2 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) Each wastewater treatment facility that discharges through an ocean outfall and affiliated water suppliers shall reduce the overall volume of the facility’s annual flow, as follows, as compared to the average annual dry weather wastewater discharge baseline volume, by treating the water to be beneficially reused or by reducing inflow through water conservation and efficiency measures:
(1) By January 1, 2030, by at least 50 percent.
(2) By January 1, 2040, by at least 95 percent.
(d) (1) Each holder of a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit authorizing the discharge of wastewater through an ocean outfall as of January 1, 2020, in conjunction with affiliated water suppliers, shall submit to the executive director of the state board, on or before July 1, 2022, 2025, a plan to meet the requirements of this section, directly or by contract. The plan shall contain all of the following:
(A) An identification of all land acquisition and facilities necessary to provide for treatment, transport, and reuse of treated wastewater.
(B) Identification and projection of all wastewater reductions due to implementation of conservation and efficiency measures in the facilities service area.
(C) An analysis of the costs to meet the requirements of this section.
(D) A financing plan for meeting the requirements of this section, including identifying any actions necessary to implement the financing plan, such as bond issuance or other borrowing, assessments, rate increases, fees, charges, or other financing mechanisms.
(E) A detailed schedule for the completion of all necessary actions.
(F) Supporting data and other documentation accompanying the plan.
(2) On or before January 1, 2026, 2030, each holder of a NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of wastewater through an ocean outfall and affiliated water suppliers, shall update and submit to the executive director a plan, as described in paragraph (1), to include any refinements or changes in the costs, actions, or financing necessary to achieve the requirements of this section or a written statement that the plan is current and accurate.
(e) On or before January 1, 2024, 2027, and every January 1 every five years thereafter, the holder of a NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of wastewater through an ocean outfall, in conjunction with affiliated water suppliers, shall submit to the executive director of the state board a report summarizing the actions accomplished to date and the actions remaining and proposed to meet the requirements of this section. The report shall include progress toward meeting the deadlines set forth in subdivisions (c) and (d) and specifically include the detailed schedule for, and status of, the following:
(1) Evaluation of reuse and disposal options.
(2) Preparation of preliminary design reports.
(3) Preparation and submission of permit applications.
(4) Construction initiation.
(5) Construction progress milestones.
(6) Construction completion.
(7) Initiation of operation.
(8) Continuing operation and maintenance.
(f) (1) On or before July 1, 2025, January 1, 2026, and by July January 1 every five years thereafter, the state board shall submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on the implementation of this section. The report shall summarize the progress to date, including, but not limited to, the increased amount of reclaimed water provided and potable water offsets achieved, and shall identify any obstacles to continued progress, including all instances of substantial noncompliance.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(g) (1) Failure to meet the deadlines in subdivision (c) shall subject the owner or operator of the wastewater treatment facility, as well as affiliated water suppliers, to a penalty of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per acre-foot of water above the required reduction in overall volume discharged.
(2) The failure of an NPDES permitholder and affiliated water suppliers to submit a plan or report required pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) by the plan’s or report’s deadline shall result in a penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3) Civil liability under this subdivision shall be administratively imposed by the state board in accordance with Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 13323) of Chapter 5.

(3)

(4) Moneys collected from the civil penalties levied pursuant to this subdivision shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(h) The failure of an NPDES permitholder and affiliated water suppliers to submit a report required pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall make the permitholder and suppliers ineligible for a state loan or grant until the delinquent report has been submitted.