Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=104.&title=&part=12.&chapter=4.&article=3.
Timestamp: 2018-06-24 09:45:41
Document Index: 572985639

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 9', 'art 1', 'art 3', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1']

116350.
(a) The department shall administer the provisions of this chapter and all other provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health.
(b) The department shall also have the following responsibilities:
(1) Conduct research, studies, and demonstration projects relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Improved methods to identify and measure the existence of contaminants in drinking water and to identify the source of the contaminants.
(B) Improved methods to identify, measure, and assess the potential adverse health effects of contaminants in drinking water.
(C) New methods of treating raw water to prepare it for drinking, so as to improve the efficiency of water treatment and to remove or reduce contaminants.
(D) Improved methods for providing a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, including improvements in water purification and distribution, and methods of assessing health-related hazards.
(E) Improved methods of protecting the water sources of public water systems from contamination.
(F) Alternative disinfection technologies that minimize, reduce, or eliminate hazardous disinfection byproducts.
(2) Enforce provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(3) Adopt regulations to implement this chapter.
(c) The department may conduct studies and investigations as it deems necessary to assess the quality of private domestic water wells.
116355.
(a) Once every five years the department shall submit to the Legislature a comprehensive Safe Drinking Water Plan for California.
(b) The Safe Drinking Water Plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) An analysis of the overall quality of California’s drinking water and the identification of specific water quality problems.
(2) Types and levels of contaminants found in public drinking water systems that have less than 10,000 service connections. The discussion of these water systems shall include the following:
(A) Estimated costs of requiring these systems to meet primary drinking water standards and public health goals.
(B) Recommendations for actions that could be taken by the Legislature, the department, and these systems to improve water quality.
(3) A discussion and analysis of the known and potential health risks that may be associated with drinking water contamination in California.
(4) An evaluation of how existing water quality information systems currently maintained by local or state agencies can be more effectively used to protect drinking water.
(5) An evaluation of the research needed to develop inexpensive methods and instruments to ensure better screening and detection of waterborne chemicals, and inexpensive detection methods that could be used by small utilities and consumers to detect harmful microbial agents in drinking water.
(6) An analysis of the technical and economic viability and the health benefits of various treatment techniques that can be used to reduce levels of trihalomethanes, lead, nitrates, synthetic organic chemicals, micro-organisms, and other contaminants in drinking water.
(7) A discussion of alternative methods of financing the construction, installation, and operation of new treatment technologies, including, but not limited to user charges, state or local taxes, state planning and construction grants, loans, and loan guarantees.
(8) A discussion of sources of revenue presently available, and projected to be available, to public water systems to meet current and future expenses.
(9) An analysis of the current cost of drinking water paid by residential, business, and industrial consumers based on a statewide survey of large, medium, and small public water systems.
(10) Specific recommendations, including recommendations developed pursuant to paragraph (6), to improve the quality of drinking water in California and a detailed five-year implementation program.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 755, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 1997.)
116360.
(a) The department shall take all reasonable measures it determines necessary to reduce the risk to public health from waterborne illnesses in drinking water caused by cryptosporidium and giardia, to the extent those micro-organisms are not yet able to be adequately controlled through existing drinking water treatment and other management practices.
(b) The department shall directly conduct, or order the state’s public water systems to conduct, comprehensive sanitary surveys, as present resources permit, to identify risks to public health from cryptosporidium and giardia.
(c) To thoroughly address the public health risks currently posed by cryptosporidium, in particular, the department shall ensure that its initial cryptosporidium action plan, that has been circulated to public water systems serving more than 1,000 service connections, is comprehensively implemented and shall devise and implement necessary strategies for protecting the health of individuals served by smaller public water systems from cryptosporidium exposure.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 193, Sec. 122. Effective January 1, 2005.)
116361.
(a) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall place a priority on the development of a public health goal for arsenic in drinking water, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 116365, sufficient to allow it to adopt the goal no later than December 31, 2002.
(b) Commencing January 1, 2002, the department shall commence the process for revising the existing primary drinking water standard for arsenic, and shall adopt a revised standard for arsenic not later than June 30, 2004. In considering the technological and economic feasibility of compliance with the proposed standard pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 116365, the department shall consider emerging technologies that may cost-effectively reduce exposure to arsenic in drinking water.
(c) On or before December 31, 2002, the Secretary for Environmental Protection shall develop language regarding the health effects associated with the ingestion of arsenic in drinking water for inclusion in consumer confidence reports pursuant to Section 116470. On and after July 1, 2003, this language shall be included in the consumer confidence reports mailed or delivered to customers by each water system that measures arsenic in finished water at levels that exceed the applicable public health goal.
(d) The language developed by the Secretary for Environmental Protection for use in consumer confidence reports to describe the health effects associated with the ingestion of arsenic in drinking water shall be developed in accordance with primacy requirements described in subdivision (e) of Section 141.151 and subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Section 142.12 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(e) Nothing in this section affects or changes the date for implementation of a revised arsenic standard by public water systems as required in Parts 9, 141, and 142 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 604, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2002.)
(e) (1) All public health goals published by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall be established in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (c) and shall be reviewed at least once every five years and revised, pursuant to subdivision (c), as necessary based upon the availability of new scientific data.
(g) At least once every five years after adoption of a primary drinking water standard, the state board shall review the primary drinking water standard and shall, consistent with the criteria set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b), amend any standard if any of the following occur:
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 24, Sec. 18. (SB 83) Effective June 24, 2015.)
116365.01.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, including Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2, and Part 3 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Government Code, and except as provided in subdivision (b), for any proposed regulation that relates to the maximum contaminant levels for primary or secondary drinking water standards, as defined in subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 116275, that is submitted by the department to the Office of Administrative Law for review, pursuant to Section 11349.1 of the Government Code, the Department of Finance shall take no longer than 90 days, commencing on the date that the department submits the rule or regulation to the Department of Finance, to do any of the following:
(A) Review any estimate pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11357 of the Government Code.
(B) Provide a letter or documentation, if required, pursuant to Section 11349.1 of the Government Code.
(C) Complete any other function in connection with the adoption of proposed regulations that relates to the maximum contaminant levels for primary or secondary drinking water standards, as required pursuant to any provision of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(D) Return the proposed regulation if the department has not prepared the estimate required by paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 11346.5 of the Government Code, in accordance with Section 11357 of the Government Code.
(2) If the Department of Finance returns the proposed regulation pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), an additional 90 day time period under this section shall begin when the regulations are resubmitted by the department to the Department of Finance.
(3) If the Department of Finance takes longer than 90 days to complete any of the functions set forth in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of paragraph (1), the proposed regulations shall be exempt from any provision of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code that requires the involvement of the Department of Finance, and the department and the Office of Administrative Law shall proceed with all other applicable procedures in connection with the adoption of proposed regulations.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any regulation adopted by the department that reduces, weakens, lessens, or otherwise undermines any requirement established pursuant to this chapter for the protection of public health.
(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 725, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2008.)
116365.02.
(a) The department may adopt, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11346.2 of the Government Code, any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f et seq.), other than those federal rules and regulations that establish maximum contaminant levels for primary and secondary drinking water standards.
(b) Rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 11349.1 of the Government Code.
(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 725, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2008.)
116365.03.
The state board may adopt as an emergency regulation, a regulation, except a regulation that establishes maximum contaminant levels for primary and secondary drinking water standards, that is not more stringent than, and is not materially different in substance and effect than, the requirements of a regulation promulgated pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f et seq.). The adoption of a regulation pursuant to this section is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, an emergency regulation adopted by the state board pursuant to this section is not subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law and shall remain in effect until revised by the state board.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 673, Sec. 5. (AB 1531) Effective January 1, 2016.)
116365.5.
(a) The Department of Health Services shall commence the process for adopting a primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium that complies with the criteria established under Section 116365.
(b) The department shall report to the Legislature on its progress in developing a primary drinking standard for hexavalent chromium by January 1, 2003.
(c) The department shall establish a primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium on or before January 1, 2004.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 602, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)
116366.
(a) No public water system, or its customers, shall be responsible for remediation or treatment costs associated with MTBE, or a product that contains MTBE, provided, however, that the public water system shall be permitted as necessary to incur MTBE remediation and treatment costs and to include those costs in its customer rates and charges, necessary to comply with drinking water standards or directives of the State Department of Health Services or other lawful authority. Any public water system that incurs MTBE remediation or treatment costs may seek recovery of those costs from parties responsible for the MTBE contamination, or from other available alternative sources of funds.
(b) If the public water system has included the costs of MTBE treatment and remediation in its customer rates and charges, and subsequently recovers all or a portion of its MTBE treatment and remediation costs from responsible parties or other available alternative sources of funds, it shall make an adjustment to its schedule of rates and charges to reflect the amount of funding received from responsible parties or other available alternative sources of funds for MTBE treatment or remediation.
(c) Subdivision (a) shall not prevent the imposition of liability on any person for the discharge of MTBE if that liability is due to the conduct or status of that person independently of whether the person happens to be a customer of the public water system.
(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 816, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1998.)
116367.5.
The department shall establish a Research Advisory Committee, which shall consist of 11 members. The department shall provide for the support staff and meeting facility needs of the committee. The committee shall meet as necessary to review requests for research projects pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section 116367. The committee members shall be appointed by the director and shall consist of the following members:
(a) Four members representing public water systems.
(b) Four members representing entities paying into the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Trust Fund created pursuant to Section 25299.50.
(c) One member representing environmental interest groups.
(d) One member representing consumer interest groups.
(e) One member representing the department.
(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 997, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1999.)
116370.
On or before January 1, 1998, the department shall propose, hold a public hearing, and adopt a finding of the best available technology for each contaminant for which a primary drinking water standard has been adopted. Thereafter, the department shall adopt a finding of the best available technology for each contaminant for which a primary drinking water standard has been adopted at the time the standard is adopted. The finding of the department shall take into consideration the costs and benefits of best available treatment technology that has been proven effective under full-scale field applications.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 755, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 1997.)
116375.
The department shall adopt regulations it determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) The monitoring of contaminants, including the type of contaminant, frequency and method of sampling and testing, and the reporting of results.
(b) The monitoring of unregulated contaminants for which drinking water standards have not been established by the department. The requirements shall be not less stringent than those adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 1445 of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300j-4 (a)(2)). Until the time that the department adopts regulations regarding the monitoring of unregulated contaminants, the department may, by order, require any public water system that has been shown to contain detectable levels of any unregulated contaminants to conduct periodic water analyses in accordance with conditions specified by the department. The water analyses shall be reported on a quarterly basis unless the department finds that more or less frequent analysis is necessary.
(c) Requirements for the design, operation, and maintenance of public water systems, including, but not limited to, waterworks standards and the control of cross-connections, that the department determines are necessary to obtain, treat, and distribute a reliable and adequate supply of pure, wholesome, potable, and healthy water.
(d) Requirements for treatment, including disinfection of water supplies.
(e) Requirements for the filtration of surface water supplies at least as stringent as regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (7) of subsection (b) of Section 1412 of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300g-1 (b)(7)(C)).
(f) Requirements for notifying the public of the quality of the water delivered to consumers.
(g) Minimum acceptable financial assurances that a public water system shall be required to submit as a demonstration of its capability to provide for the ongoing operation, maintenance, and upgrading of the system, including compliance with monitoring and treatment requirements and contingencies. For privately owned systems not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, the financial assurance may be in the form of a trust fund, surety bond, letter of credit, insurance, or other equivalent financial arrangement acceptable to the department.
(h) Program requirements for the conduct of the public water system program by a local health officer under a primacy delegation from the department as set forth in this chapter. The requirements shall include, but not be limited to, the issuance of permits, surveillance and inspections, reporting of monitoring and compliance data, and the taking of enforcement actions.
(i) Methods for determination of the number of persons served by a public water system for drinking water regulatory purposes.
(j) The adoption by the State Department of Health Services, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board and representatives from operators of public water systems, of emergency regulations for the uniform, scientific sampling, and analytical testing protocols for oxygenates as defined in subdivision (k) of Section 51010.5 of the Government Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 814, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 1998.)
116377.
The department may adopt emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to implement amendments to this chapter. The initial adoption of emergency regulations and one readoption of the initial regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. Initial emergency regulations and the first readoption of those regulations shall be exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law. The emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and publication in the California Code of Regulations and shall remain in effect for not more than 180 days.
(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 197, Sec. 8. Effective July 22, 1996.)
116380.
(a) The State Water Resources Control Board shall adopt regulations governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible, limited to the following:
(1) Water systems with less than 200 service connections.
(2) Usage not prohibited by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and its implementing regulations and guidance.
(3) Water systems that have submitted applications for funding to correct the violations for which the point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment is provided.
(b) The State Water Resources Control Board shall adopt emergency regulations governing the permitted use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment.
(1) The emergency regulations shall comply with Section 116552, and shall comply with all of the requirements set forth in subdivision (a) applicable to nonemergency regulations, but shall not be subject to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The emergency regulations shall take effect when filed with the Secretary of State, and shall be published in the California Code of Regulations.
(2) The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect until the earlier of January 1, 2018, or the effective date of regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 663, Sec. 1. (AB 434) Effective October 9, 2015.)
Any person operating a public water system shall obtain and provide at that person’s expense an analysis of the water to the department, in the form, covering those matters, and at intervals as the department by regulation may prescribe. The analysis shall be performed by a laboratory duly certified by the department.
116390.
(a) No laboratory, other than a laboratory operated by the department, shall perform tests required pursuant to this chapter for any public water system without first obtaining a certificate issued by the department pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 100825) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 101.
(b) No person or public entity of the state shall contract with a laboratory for environmental analyses for which the state department requires certification pursuant to this section, unless the laboratory holds a valid certificate.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 734, Sec. 8. Effective October 7, 1997.)
116395.
(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 to provide their water.
(3) The small systems, 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 be implemented and carried out as expeditiously as possible.
(b) For purposes of this section, “small public water system” means a system with 200 connections or less, and is one of the following:
(1) A community water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents.
(2) A state small water system.
(3) A noncommunity water system such as a school, labor camp, institution, or place of employment, as designated by the department.
(c) The department 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 department shall, at a minimum, provide health officers with guidelines for evaluating systems and instructions for sampling.
(d) The department 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 department 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 department and within the schedule established by the department. All work required by this section shall be completed within three years after September 19, 1985.
(e) In consultation with the department, the local health officer shall conduct an evaluation of all small public water systems under their jurisdictions to determine the potential for contamination of groundwater sources by organic chemicals. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) A review of the historical water quality data of each system to determine possible evidence of degradation.
(2) A review, to be coordinated with the State Water Resources Control Board, and the California regional water quality control boards, of past and present waste disposal practices that may potentially affect the respective well water supply.
(3) A review of other organic chemicals used in the water supply area that have potential health risks and that may have the potential for contaminating drinking water supplies because of environmental persistence or resistance to natural degradation under conditions existing in California.
(f) Based upon the evaluation of each system, the local health officers shall develop a sampling plan for each system within their jurisdiction. The health officer shall collect samples in accordance with the plan and shall submit the samples for analysis to a certified laboratory designated by the department. When applicable, the laboratory shall test water samples using the Environmental Protection Agency’s 13 approved analytical techniques established under subdivision (h) of Section 304 of the Clean Water Act to qualitatively identify the complete range of contaminants in the same class as the specific contaminant or class of contaminants being analyzed.
(g) Within 10 days of the receipt from the laboratory of the testing results, the local health officer shall notify the small public water system, the department and the California regional water quality control board for that region of the results.
(h) Following a review of the testing results, the local health officer may order the public water system to conduct a periodic water sampling and analysis program in accordance with conditions specified by the local health officer. The department shall provide ongoing advice and assistance to local health officers in interpreting test results and determining appropriate notification and followup activities in those instances where contaminants are found.
(i) 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.
116400.
If the department determines that a public water system is subject to potential contamination, the department may, by order, require the public water system to conduct a periodic water analysis in accordance with conditions specified by the department. The water analysis shall be reported on a quarterly basis, unless the department finds that reasonable action requires either more or less frequent analysis.
116405.
(a) In counties with a population not exceeding 500,000 persons as shown by the 1970 federal decennial census, any public water system supplying both domestic and untreated irrigation water in separate pressurized systems that were in existence prior to January 1, 1990, and that is operated by an incorporated or unincorporated association of users, shall not require protection against backflow into the domestic water system from premises receiving both the water services and having available no other source of water, except where interconnection between the systems has taken place. It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly interconnect the water services on a user’s premises without installing a backflow protection device approved by the state department.
(b) Regulations of the state department requiring the installation of backflow protection shall not be continued to require the installation of the protection in any public water system described in subdivision (a), except as provided in that subdivision.
(b) The state board may implement subdivision (a) through the adoption of a policy handbook that is not subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The policy handbook shall include standards for backflow protection and cross-connection control. In developing the standards and any amendments to those standards, the state board shall consult with state and local agencies and other persons whom the state board has identified as having expertise in the subject of backflow protection and cross-connection control. The state board shall hold at least two public hearings before adopting the policy handbook. The policy handbook shall be posted on the board’s Internet Web site.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 533, Sec. 1. (AB 1671) Effective January 1, 2018.)
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