Regulatory Roundup

The California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) has been busy these days. Several regulatory issues impacting counties are moving forward in the public review process. The following is a brief summary of issues CSAC is following and links to our comment letters:

On-Site Waste Treatment Systems (aka Septic Tanks)

CSAC, along with the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC), continues to comment on the proposed regulations for on-site waste treatment systems. This issue, initiated by Assembly Bill 885 in 2000, has been working its way through the regulatory process for over ten years. In April, the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) released a new, revised policy in response to public comments made regarding the prior proposed regulation. According to the Water Board, more than 95 percent of current septic tank owners that are covered by the revised policy are expected to experience little or no change in the manner in which their systems are regulated. In addition, if an individual septic system is currently in good operating condition, and it is not near a stream, river, or lake that the State has identified as polluted with bacteria and/or nitrogen-related compounds – then this proposed policy would have little or no effect on that property owner. 

CSAC agrees that the proposed multi-tiered approach appears to address many of the concerns associated with the regulations that were proposed in 2009. However, as indicated in our comment letter other technical and procedural details must be addressed in the forthcoming regulatory package before we view it as acceptable. A copy of the CSAC comment letter is available on the ANR webpage. As for the Water Board’s planned public process, a draft regulatory proposal is expected to be released for comment in September of this year followed by a series of public workshops. The Water Board anticipates final adoption in March 2012.

Industrial Stormwater Permit

CSAC submitted a joint comment letter with the League of California Cities (LCC), the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) on the Water Board’s draft Industrial Storm Water permit. 

The Water Board draws authority for storm water regulation from the federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) and from direction within the Clean Water Act which puts the framework for regulating storm water discharges under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit system. Cities and counties and other jurisdictions that operate large, medium and small storm water systems as well as specific industrial activity sites, including constructions sites that disturb more than an acre of land, must apply for storm water permits. 

CSAC, along with our local government partners, is concerned that the draft permit disregards studies that indicated there is not sufficient data to support the establishment of certain numeric levels in this permit. In addition, our comments focus on the cost of the permit and expectations that local governments raise fees to pay for the proposed requirements. In order to cover the costs of implementation, cities and counties would have to pass a Proposition 218 fee. To view a copy of our comment letter, visit the ANR webpage. The comment period for the proposed policy closed the end of last month, and the Water Board is currently working on updating their draft policy. 

Wetland Area Protection Policy and Dredge and Fill Regulations

The State Water Board is proposing a new policy for wetland areas and dredge and fill regulations. The State Water Board is considering the proposed policy “due to the diminishing jurisdiction of the federal government,” which is “excluding many California wetlands from federal regulation, regardless of whether they otherwise meet the many technical requirements of the federal wetland definition and the Corps’ delineation manual.” 

CSAC submitted joint comments with a coalition of local government, agricultural and business groups. CSAC’s main concerns revolve around the ability to perform on-going flood control maintenance, and the need for exemptions to be included for created wetlands. In addition, CSAC argues that the policy should take into account consistency with other regulatory programs and streamlined permitting for small projects. To view of copy of our comment letter, visit the ANR webpage. The comment period on the draft program environmental impact report closed on May 20, 2011. The Water Board is currently working on a revised version.

Bills on Suspense

The following bills passed off the Senate Appropriations Suspense file this week and are now moving to the Assembly for consideration. 

SB 215 (Huff) – Support
As Amended April 26, 2011

This bill would extend measures currently in law designed to prevent the invasive species, such as the Dreissenid mussel, from taking over our waterways.

SB 618 (Wolk) – Pending
As Amended May 11, 2011

This bill would create a solar easement program for siting solar on marginally productive agricultural lands (term defined in bill). Easements would look similar to Williamson Act contracts, with a term of no less than 10 years, and an automatic annual renewal, and termination only by a process of non-renewal.

SB 679 (Pavley) – Support
As Introduced February 18, 2011

This bill would appropriate all unencumbered funds originally appropriated in SB 77 and designated for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. The Senate Appropriations Committee reduced the appropriation from $50 million to $25. 

SB 790 (Leno) – Support
As Amended May 11, 2011

This bill would clarify the statutes that authorize local governments to implement Community Choice Aggregation, a program that allows communities to pool, or aggregate, the electric load of their residents, businesses and other institutions in order to procure and generate electricity on their behalf (2002 Stats., ch. 838).