Legislation Update: Governor Signs Groundwater Bills

On September 16, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the package of bills regulating groundwater that we recently wrote about here. The Governor’s press release announcing the signing outlines the following deadlines triggered by passage of the law:

• By 2017, local groundwater management agencies must be identified.
• By 2020, overdrafted groundwater basins must have sustainability plans.
• By 2022, other high- and medium-priority basins not currently in overdraft must have sustainability plans.
• By 2040, all high- and medium-priority groundwater basins must achieve sustainability.

 As we wrote previously, the Department of Water Resources must categorize each groundwater basin in the state as high-, medium-, low- or very low-priority by January 1, 2015.  Also, by June 1, 2016, the Department of Water Resources must adopt regulations for identifying the components of groundwater sustainability plans and for evaluating those plans and their implementation.  The law will take effect in January 2015.
 
- Samir Abdelnour
 
For more information, contact Estie Kus at emk@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5463; Samir Abdelnour at sja@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5443; or Dave Metres at dmm@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5488.

Draft DTSC Work Plan Signals Expansion of California Green Chemistry Initiative

As part of its Safer Consumer Products Regulation (SCPR) under California’s Green Chemistry Initiative, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on September 13, 2014 issued its Draft Priority Product Three-Year Work Plan. Companies that manufacture or sell products within the seven categories identified in the draft Work Plan will need to pay close attention to the pre- and then final rulemaking process.

Under the SCPR, DTSC is required to:

• identify products that contain one or more of the nearly 1200 “candidate chemicals” that have been identified by DTSC based on the risk that they may present to the environment or human health,
• prioritize those products for review under an “alternatives analysis” to assess whether there are safer alternatives to the chemicals presently in use, and then
• consider a number of possible “regulatory responses” based on the results of the alternatives analysis, which at its most extreme includes the possibility of banning the sale of the product in California. 

DTSC’s initial list of proposed “priority products,” which is still in the rule-making process, includes:

• Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) Systems containing unreacted diisocyanates,
• Children’s Foam Padded Sleeping Products containing Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), and
• Paint and Varnish Strippers with methylene chloride.

The seven broader categories of products that DTSC will review as part of the three-year Work Plan are:

• Beauty, Personal Care and Hygiene Products (body wash and soaps, cosmetics, nail and hair care products, lotions, etc.),
• Building Products—limited to paints, adhesives, sealants, flooring,
• Household, Office Furniture and Furnishings—limited to those treated with flame retardants and/or stain resistant chemicals,
• Cleaning Products,
• Clothing,
• Fishing and Angling Equipment, and
• Office Machinery—e.g., printer inks, specialty paper, toner cartridges.

The Work Plan can be downloaded here. DTSC is holding preliminary Work Shops on September 25 in Sacramento, and September 29 in Cypress. Comments on the draft Work Plan are due by October 13, 2014, although DTSC acknowledges that implementation of the SCPR, and in particular selection of priority products, will be a long process, and that significant input from all stakeholders will be critical. 

-- Josh Bloom and Chris Jensen

For more information, please contact Josh Bloom at (415) 228-5406 or jab@bcltlaw.com; Chris Jensen at (415) 228-5411 or cdj@bcltlaw.com; or Samir Abdelnour at (415) 228-5443 or sja@bcltlaw.com.

Historic Bills Designed To Sustainably Manage California’s Groundwater Head To Governor

Last Friday, the California Legislature passed three bills that provide for the regulation of groundwater for the first time in the state’s history. Once signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the bills—currently known as AB 1739 (Dickinson), SB 1168 (Pavley), and SB 1319 (Pavley)—will collectively constitute the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (the “Act”). The Act will establish as state policy that California’s groundwater resources are to be “managed sustainably for long-term reliability and multiple economic, social and environmental benefits for current and future beneficial uses.” To effectuate this policy, the Act creates a framework for sustainable groundwater management that will be implemented at the local or regional level, but provides the state authority to act as a backstop.

Under the Act, the Department of Water Resources (the “Department”) must categorize each groundwater basin as high-, medium-, low- or very low-priority by January 1, 2015. According to the Department’s website, there are currently 431 groundwater basins delineated within California. By June 1, 2016, the Department must adopt regulations for identifying the components of groundwater sustainability plans and for evaluating those plans and their implementation.

Local and regional agencies with authority over “high-priority” or “medium-priority” basins will be required to develop and implement groundwater sustainability plans, or, in the alternative, demonstrate existing sustainable management pursuant to an adjudicated action. High- or medium-priority basins that are “subject to critical conditions of overdraft” must be managed under groundwater sustainability plans by January 1, 2020, with all remaining high- or medium-priority basins subject to sustainability plans by January 1, 2022. If a local or regional agency fails to adopt an adequate groundwater sustainability plan for a specified basin, the California State Water Resources Control Board will have the authority to develop an interim plan until the local or regional agency is prepared to assume management of the basin.

Among other provisions, the Act will also authorize groundwater sustainability agencies to impose fees to fund costs of their sustainability programs; require registration of groundwater extraction facilities and regulate extractions therefrom; and obtain inspection warrants and conduct inspections of facilities to determine compliance with a management plan.

The implications of this groundbreaking legislation, which Gov. Brown is expected to sign into law, will be far-reaching for California’s groundwater users.

- Estie Kus, Samir Abdelnour, Dave Metres

For more information, contact Estie Kus at emk@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5463; Samir Abdelnour at sja@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5443; or Dave Metres at dmm@bcltlaw.com or (415) 228-5488.