Bills Await Governor’s Signature as 2019 Legislature Wraps Up
The California Legislature adjourned for the year on September 13th, marking the end of the 2019 Legislative session. Legislators are now back in their districts where they will remain until January 2020. In a busy last several weeks of the session, the Assembly and Senate sent hundreds of bills to Governor Newsom’s desk. He has until October 13 to either sign or veto all of these bills.
CASA had another productive year in the legislature. Our sponsored bill AB 1672 (Bloom) on wipes labeling is halfway through the process. In addition, we successfully halted legislation that would have required all coastal dischargers employ denitrification protocols, SB 69 (Wiener), as well as a bill requiring a 95% reduction in ocean discharges, SB 332 (Hertzberg). Several additional bills CASA has been involved with this year were sent to the Governor’s desk and are awaiting action, including two bills that could impact wastewater agencies.
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New Bill Will Require Fee Reports and Nexus Studies to be Posted Online
AB 1483 (Grayson), is a local government fee transparency bill that incorporates several recommendations from the recent study released by the California Housing and Community Development Agency, “Residential Impact Fees in California.” The bill was substantially amended in the last weeks of the Legislative session with several new provisions requiring a city, county, or special district to post additional information relating to fees and other housing and development information on their website. If this bill is signed, local agencies will need to come into compliance with the new requirements by January 1, 2020.
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AB 1486 (Ting) Will Modify Requirements for Local Agencies under the State Surplus Land Act
This bill was one of several major housing bills being discussed during the 2019 Legislative session. AB 1486 (Ting) is intended to allow for more opportunities for the construction of affordable housing. CASA worked on this bill throughout the session with a coalition of other special districts and local agencies and was able to remove our opposition, taking a neutral position after the final set of amendments were taken in the Senate.
The bill makes major changes to how agencies designate and dispose of surplus land, creates new reporting requirements for the sale of surplus land, and creates new penalties for violations of these requirements, among many other changes. We recommend having your agency counsel review this legislation to account for any administrative changes necessary to come into compliance with the bill.
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Senate Committee Approves FY 2020 USEPA Budget
The Senate Committee on Appropriations moved this past week to approve a series of spending bills for the fiscal year 2020 that begins October 1. Included in the actions was the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill that funds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. In taking this action, the committee followed the House-passed version of the spending bill, providing almost $2.8 billion for the SRF program and $73 million for the low interest Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program.
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Water Resources Development Act 2020 Update
Both the House and Senate committees charged with drafting a reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act continue to put the building blocks of legislation in place. To this end, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has informed Senators to submit project requests to the committee by Nov. 1, 2019. For CASA agencies that are considering ecosystem, flood protection or environmental infrastructure projects for submission to Senators Feinstein and Harris, the Senators’ websites should have project submission forms in place shortly.
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Follow CASA on Social Media!
For the latest news and information on all things wastewater, be sure to follow CASA on our Facebook and Twitter pages. We like to highlight the exciting work our agencies are doing every day to create a clean and sustainable environment for California. Follow us on Facebook at @CASAcleanWater and on Twitter at @CASA_CleanWater.
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Discussion on How to Quantify and Address Microplastics Continues
The San Francisco Estuary Institute and 5 Gyres are hosting scientists and policymakers to discuss microplastic pollution on October 2. The event coincides with the release of a joint report by SFEI and 5 Gyres on their comprehensive and regional study of microplastics impact on the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Area Clean Water Association has recently prepared a
fact sheet
on microplastics to provide context for ongoing work being done.
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Regional San’s Recycled Water Agricultural Program on the Way to Becoming One of The Largest in the State
The State Water Board recently issued an order authorizing the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San), South Sacramento Agriculture & Habitat Lands Recycled Water Program, or South County Ag Program, to deliver an average of 45 million gallons per day of recycled water for agricultural irrigation and habitat enhancement purposes. The South County Ag project was the focus of discussion at our recent CASA conference discussing ways to maximize water reuse.
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Welcome Christiana Daisy as Inland Empires’ Utilities Agency’s New Executive Manager of Engineering and Assistant General Manager!
With nearly 30 years of experience, Christiana Daisy has joined the Inland Empire Utilities Agency as Executive Manager of Engineering/Assistant General Manager. Daisy comes from West Basin Municipal Water District, where she served as Operations Manager since 2014. As Executive Manager of Engineering/Assistant General Manager, Daisy will direct and participate in the development of short-term and long-term goals and objectives that are consistent with the Agency's strategic plan and annual business plan.
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CASA Member Launches Award-Winning Battery and Solar Project
The Inland Empire Utilities Agency and Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority were recognized by their award-winning landmark water energy project at a dedication on September 19. IEUA and IERCA partnered with Advanced Microgrid Solutions to expand its existing solar and battery storage system. The system uses Tesla battery technology to integrate solar and wind in order to optimize renewable generation, reduce demand on the electric grid and lower energy costs. It is expected to reduce demand on the electric grid by over 2.5 million kilowatt hours each year, which is equivalent to powering 212 homes for a year.
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Sanitation District is Honored for Excellence in Watershed Stewardship
The Orange County Sanitation District was recently honored by several national water sector organizations through the Utility of the Future Recognition Program. This program celebrates the achievements of water utilities that transform from the traditional wastewater treatment system to a resource recovery facility and is a leader in the overall sustainability and resilience of the communities they serve. Public and private utilities from across the United States, Canada and Europe were selected for recovering resources from wastewater, engaging with their community, forming unique partnerships and building an internal culture of innovation.
To learn more about the Utility of the Future Today Recognition Program, click
here
.
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Water Management in a Changing Climate
The Public Policy Institute of California is hosting a free discussion about preparing California’s water system for climate extremes. Join the conversation along with state and local experts on November 5 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but space is limited. This event will also be webcast live. For more information, go
here.
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California Water Professionals Appreciation Week 2019
California’s new water year begins on October 1, and California Water Professionals Appreciation Week commences soon thereafter to recognize and honor all of the professionals around the state who help make California’s water run. This year, celebrate with us between October 5 and October 13, 2019 by posting stories on social media that highlight valued members on your team, to show how their efforts and contributions impact your agency’s operations and provision of services. For more information, please contact
Debbie Welch
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