2009 California Health and Safety Code - Section 116350-116405 :: Article 3. Operations

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.

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.

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.

116365.  (a) The department shall adopt primary drinking water
standards for contaminants in drinking water that are based upon the
criteria set forth in subdivision (b) and shall not be less stringent
than the national primary drinking water standards adopted by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Each primary drinking
water standard adopted by the department shall be set at a level that
is as close as feasible to the corresponding public health goal
placing primary emphasis on the protection of public health, and
that, to the extent technologically and economically feasible, meets
all of the following:
   (1) With respect to acutely toxic substances, avoids any known or
anticipated adverse effects on public health with an adequate margin
of safety, and
   (2) With respect to carcinogens, or any substances that may cause
chronic disease, avoids any significant risk to public health.
   (b) The department shall consider all of the following criteria
when it adopts a primary drinking water standard:
   (1) The public health goal for the contaminant published by the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to
subdivision (c).
   (2) The national primary drinking water standard for the
contaminant, if any, adopted by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
   (3) The technological and economic feasibility of compliance with
the proposed primary drinking water standard. For the purposes of
determining economic feasibility pursuant to this paragraph, the
department shall consider the costs of compliance to public water
systems, customers, and other affected parties with the proposed
primary drinking water standard, including the cost per customer and
aggregate cost of compliance, using best available technology.
   (c) (1) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
prepare and publish an assessment of the risks to public health
posed by each contaminant for which the department proposes a primary
drinking water standard. The risk assessment shall be prepared using
the most current principles, practices, and methods used by public
health professionals who are experienced practitioners in the fields
of epidemiology, risk assessment, and toxicology. The risk assessment
shall contain an estimate of the level of the contaminant in
drinking water that is not anticipated to cause or contribute to
adverse health effects, or that does not pose any significant risk to
health. This level shall be known as the public health goal for the
contaminant. The public health goal shall be based exclusively on
public health considerations and shall be set in accordance with all
of the following:
   (A) If the contaminant is an acutely toxic substance, the public
health goal shall be set at the level at which no known or
anticipated adverse effects on health occur, with an adequate margin
of safety.
   (B) If the contaminant is a carcinogen or other substance that may
cause chronic disease, the public health goal shall be set at the
level that, based upon currently available data, does not pose any
significant risk to health.
   (C) To the extent information is available, the public health goal
shall take into account each of the following factors:
   (i) Synergistic effects resulting from exposure to, or interaction
between, the contaminant and one or more other substances or
contaminants.
   (ii) Adverse health effects the contaminant has on members of
subgroups that comprise a meaningful portion of the general
population, including, but not limited to, infants, children,
pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with a history of serious
illness, or other subgroups that are identifiable as being at greater
risk of adverse health effects than the general population when
exposed to the contaminant in drinking water.
   (iii) The relationship between exposure to the contaminant and
increased body burden and the degree to which increased body burden
levels alter physiological function or structure in a manner that may
significantly increase the risk of illness.
   (iv) The additive effect of exposure to the contaminant in media
other than drinking water, including, but not limited to, exposures
to the contaminant in food, and in ambient and indoor air, and the
degree to which these exposures may contribute to the overall body
burden of the contaminant.
   (D) If the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment finds
that currently available scientific data are insufficient to
determine the level of a contaminant at which no known or anticipated
adverse effects on health will occur, with an adequate margin of
safety, or the level that poses no significant risk to public health,
the public health goal shall be set at a level that is protective of
public health, with an adequate margin of safety. This level shall
be based exclusively on health considerations and shall, to the
extent scientific data are available, take into account the factors
set forth in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive, of subparagraph (C), and
shall be based on the most current principles, practices, and
methods used by public health professionals who are experienced
practitioners in the fields of epidemiology, risk assessment, and
toxicology. However, if adequate scientific evidence demonstrates
that a safe dose response threshold for a contaminant exists, then
the public health goal should be set at that threshold. The
department may set the public health goal at zero if necessary to
satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph.
   (2) The determination of the toxicological endpoints of a
contaminant and the publication of its public health goal in a risk
assessment prepared by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment are 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 Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment and the department shall not impose any mandate on a
public water system that requires the public water system to comply
with a public health goal. The Legislature finds and declares that
the addition of this paragraph by the act amending this section
during the 1999-2000 Regular Session of the Legislature is
declaratory of existing law.
   (3) (A) Beginning July 1, 2001, the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment shall, at the time it commences preparation of a
risk assessment for a contaminant as required by this subdivision,
electronically post on its Internet web page a notice that informs
interested persons that it has initiated work on the risk assessment.
The notice shall also include a brief description, or a
bibliography, of the technical documents or other information the
office has identified to date as relevant to the preparation of the
risk assessment and inform persons who wish to submit information
concerning the contaminant that is the subject of the risk assessment
of the name and address of the person in the office to whom the
information may be sent, the date by which the information must be
received in order for the office to consider it in the preparation of
the risk assessment, and that all information submitted will be made
available to any member of the public who requests it. Until July 1,
2001, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
send the notice to interested persons who request it by mail.
   (B) Each draft risk assessment prepared by the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to this subdivision
shall be made available to the public at least 45 calendar days prior
to the date that public comment and discussion on the risk
assessment are solicited at the public workshop required by Section
57003.
   (C) At the time the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment publishes the final risk assessment for a contaminant, the
office shall respond in writing to significant comments, data,
studies, or other written information submitted by interested persons
to the office in connection with the preparation of the risk
assessment. Any such comments, data, studies, or other written
information submitted to the office shall be made available to any
member of the public who requests it.
   (D) Any interested person may, within 15 calendar days of the date
the public workshop on a risk assessment is completed pursuant to
Section 57003, request the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment to submit the risk assessment to external scientific peer
review prior to its publication. If the office receives such a
request, the office shall submit the risk assessment to external
scientific peer review in a manner substantially equivalent to the
external scientific peer review process set forth in Section 57004,
if the person requesting the external scientific peer review enters
into an enforceable agreement with the office within 15 calendar days
of making the request that requires the person requesting the
external scientific peer review to fully reimburse the office for all
of the costs associated with conducting the external scientific peer
review.
   (E) It is the intent of the Legislature that, if the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment receives a request to submit a
risk assessment prepared for a contaminant to which paragraph (2) of
subdivision (e) applies to external scientific review, the peer
review shall be conducted in a manner that does not affect the
schedule for publishing the public health goal for that contaminant
as set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e).
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any
maximum contaminant level in effect on August 22, 1995, may be
amended by the department to make the level more stringent pursuant
to this section. However, the department may only amend a maximum
contaminant level to make it less stringent if the department shows
clear and convincing evidence that the maximum contaminant level
should be made less stringent and the amendment is made consistent
with this section.
   (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.
   (2) On or before January 1, 1998, the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment shall publish a public health goal for at
least 25 drinking water contaminants for which a primary drinking
water standard has been adopted by the department. The office shall
publish a public health goal for 25 additional drinking water
contaminants by January 1, 1999, and for all remaining drinking water
contaminants for which a primary drinking water standard has been
adopted by the department by no later than December 31, 2001. A
public health goal shall be published by the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment at the same time the department proposes the
adoption of a primary drinking water standard for any newly
regulated contaminant.
   (f) The department or Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment may review, and adopt by reference, any information
prepared by, or on behalf of, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency for the purpose of adopting a national primary
drinking water standard or maximum contaminant level goal when it
establishes a California maximum contaminant level or publishes a
public health goal.
   (g) At least once every five years after adoption of a primary
drinking water standard, the department 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:
   (1) Changes in technology or treatment techniques that permit a
materially greater protection of public health or attainment of the
public health goal.
   (2) New scientific evidence that indicates that the substance may
present a materially different risk to public health than was
previously determined.
   (h) Not later than March 1 of every year, the department shall
provide public notice of each primary drinking water standard it
proposes to review in that year pursuant to this section. Thereafter,
the department shall solicit and consider public comment and hold
one or more public hearings regarding its proposal to either amend or
maintain an existing standard. With adequate public notice, the
department may review additional contaminants not covered by the
March 1 notice.
   (i) This section shall operate prospectively to govern the
adoption of new or revised primary drinking water standards and does
not require the repeal or readoption of primary drinking water
standards in effect immediately preceding January 1, 1997.
   (j) The department may, by regulation, require the use of a
specified treatment technique in lieu of establishing a maximum
contaminant level for a contaminant if the department determines that
it is not economically or technologically feasible to ascertain the
level of the contaminant.

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.

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.

116365.2.  (a) In conducting the periodic review and revision of
public health goals pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of
Section 116365, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
may give special consideration to those contaminants that, on the
basis of currently available data or scientific evidence, cause or
contribute to adverse health effects in members of subgroups that
comprise a meaningful portion of the general population, including,
but not limited to, infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly,
individuals with a history of serious illness, or other subgroups
that are identifiable as being at greater risk of adverse health
effects than the general population when exposed to the contaminant
in drinking water.
   (b) In preparing and publishing risk assessments pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
116365 that involve infants and children, the office shall assess all
of the following, to the extent information is available:
   (1) Exposure patterns, including, but not limited to, patterns
determined by relevant data, among bottle-fed infants and children
that are likely to result in disproportionately high exposure to
contaminants in comparison to the general population.
   (2) Special susceptibility of infants and children to contaminants
in comparison to the general population.
   (3) The effects on infants and children of exposure to
contaminants and other substances that have a common mechanism of
toxicity.
   (4) The interaction of multiple contaminants on infants and
children.

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.

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.

116367.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that oxygenated
gasoline has contaminated groundwater and surface water used for
drinking water purposes. The Legislature further declares that it is
in the public interest to provide funding to pay for corrective
action needed to protect public health and the environment as a
result of oxygenate contamination of drinking water.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Drinking water fund" or "fund" means the Drinking Water
Treatment and Research Fund created pursuant to subdivision (c).
   (2) "Financial hardship" means a public water system does not have
sufficient resources not otherwise dedicated for a specified
purpose, including, but not limited to, debt service requirements, to
pay for necessary treatment works, conduct an investigation into the
source of contamination, or acquire alternate drinking water
supplies and leave sufficient reserves available to enable the system
owner or operator to address economic uncertainties to pay for
contingencies.
   (3) "Oxygenate" has the same meaning as oxygenate as defined in
Section 25299.97.
   (4) "Public water system" means a public water system, as defined
in Section 116275.
   (5) "Drinking water supply" means a source of drinking water that
has been approved by the department.
   (c) The Drinking Water Treatment and Research Fund is hereby
created in the State Treasury.
   (d) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, moneys
in the fund are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
years, to the department for all of the following purposes:
   (1) To make payments to a public water system for the incremental
costs of treating groundwater and surface water used for drinking
water purposes that has been contaminated by an oxygenate if the
level of contamination exceeds the lowest of any primary or secondary
drinking water standard adopted pursuant to Section 116365 or
116610. Treatment for surface water shall be for surface water that
supplies water to a treatment facility for a water supply system that
serves domestic uses.
   (2) To make payments to a public water system for the costs of
investigating the possible source and extent of contamination when
the department determines that an oxygenate is detected at any level
in groundwater supplies utilized by a public water system for
drinking water purposes as provided in subdivision (k). Costs
eligible for payment under this paragraph may include the costs of
acquiring alternate drinking water supplies if the well is required
by the department or a California regional water quality control
board to be shut down or its use curtailed during the investigation.
Costs eligible for payment under this paragraph include the costs of
connecting a public water system to another public water system or
constructing a new drinking water well.
   (3) To make payments to a public water system for the incremental
costs of acquiring alternate drinking water supplies to replace
supplies contaminated by an oxygenate at a level that exceeds the
lowest of any primary or secondary drinking water standard adopted
pursuant to Section 116365 or 116610. Costs eligible for payment
under this paragraph include the costs of connecting a public water
system to another public water system or constructing a new drinking
water well.
   (4) To conduct research and develop cost-effective treatment
technologies to treat drinking water contaminated by an oxygenate to
meet primary or secondary drinking water standards and effective
strategies to protect drinking water sources from contamination by
oxygenates. The department shall not expend more than one million
dollars ($1,000,000) annually for these purposes and may enter into
cooperative agreements with federal and state agencies, local
agencies, or other persons to conduct research and development
activities.
   (5) To pay the administrative costs, not to exceed 5 percent, for
the department to administer this section.
   (6) To make payments to a public water system for the incremental
costs of acquiring an alternate drinking water supply where the
department has determined that a drinking water supply would become
contaminated by an oxygenate at a level that exceeds the lowest of
any primary or secondary drinking water standard if the public water
system continues to use the drinking water supply.
   (e) The department shall report annually to the Governor and to
the Legislature on any moneys provided to a public water system
pursuant to this section.
   (f) (1) The department shall be reimbursed by a public water
system that has received funds pursuant to this section, to the
extent that the public water system receives payment from any source
to cover the costs for which it received funding under this section.
The public water system shall aggressively pursue cost recovery from
responsible persons and, upon recovery, or within five years from the
date on which the initial payment is received, whichever occurs
first, shall reimburse the department for funds received pursuant to
this section, unless the public water system demonstrates that
despite all reasonable efforts, recovery from a responsible party is
not possible, or that a responsible party cannot be identified. The
department shall transfer any reimbursements received from a public
water system into the fund or the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup
Fund, whichever fund provided the moneys.
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may not require
a public water system to pursue cost recovery from responsible
persons for funds received pursuant to this section that total one
million dollars ($1,000,000) or less.
   (g) The department may make payments pursuant to paragraphs (1),
(2), and (3) of subdivision (d) without regard to when the
contamination occurred or when costs for treating or investigating
the source of contamination or acquiring replacement water were
incurred, except that a public water system may not receive more than
three million dollars ($3,000,000) from the drinking water fund in
any fiscal year unless the public water system makes a showing of
financial hardship.
   (h) (1) The department may make payments pursuant to paragraphs
(1), (2), (3), and (6) of subdivision (d), without requiring a public
water system to first incur expenditures, if the department
determines that a situation exists that requires prompt action by the
public water system to protect human health or the environment, or
the public water system makes a showing of financial hardship.
   (2) Upon a showing of financial hardship, pursuant to paragraph
(1), the public water system shall present the department with a work
plan that specifies the estimated costs of treatment, constructing a
new drinking water well, or obtaining an alternate water supply. The
estimated costs of treatment or constructing a new well to provide
replacement water shall be prepared by a registered civil engineer or
other registered professional. The estimated costs for acquiring an
alternate water supply, other than a new well, shall be substantiated
by an identification of necessary capital facilities to convey the
water to the public water system and a written offer by another
entity to provide the alternate water supply.
   (3) The department shall prescribe forms and procedures for claims
filed pursuant to this section as necessary to ascertain eligibility
for payment and validity of incremental costs based on generally
accepted accounting principles. The department shall not require an
applicant to prepare an economic feasibility study regarding the
acquisition of an alternate water supply. The department may require
a description of site-specific information, including the origin of
contamination, the petroleum products released, and the status of
cleanup and abatement activities at potential leaking underground
storage tank sites if that information is available to the applicant.
   (4) The department shall provide payment within 60 days of
receiving a claim filed pursuant to this section.
   (5) A claim shall be deemed true and correct if not audited by the
department within three years of payment.
   (i) The department, in evaluating claims submitted for payment
from the fund, shall consider the findings of the University of
California report regarding the assessment undertaken pursuant to
Section 3 of Chapter 816 of the Statutes of 1997, as those findings
relate to the assessment of the human health and environmental risks
and benefits, if any, associated with the use of MTBE in gasoline. In
particular, the department shall consider findings in the report
regarding the evaluations of the costs and effectiveness of treatment
technologies available to remove MTBE from drinking water.
   (j) Any funds transferred to the fund pursuant to Section
25299.99.1 may be used for the purposes of this section only if a
public drinking water well has been contaminated by an oxygenate or
if the department has determined that a drinking water supply would
become contaminated by an oxygenate at a level that exceeds the
lowest of any primary or secondary drinking water standard if the
public water system continues to use the drinking supply and there is
substantial evidence that the contamination was caused by a release
from an underground storage tank.
   (k) A public water system that determines that an oxygenate is
detected at any level in groundwater supplies utilized by the public
water system for drinking water purposes shall notify the department
and a California regional water quality control board. The department
or a regional board shall determine whether to shut down or curtail
the use of a well within 30 days following receipt of notification
from a public water system.
   ( l)(1) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2010, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends
that date.
   (2) The repeal of this section does not terminate any of the
following rights, obligations or authorities, or any provision
necessary to carry out these rights or obligations:
   (A) The filing and payment of claims in the fund, until the moneys
in the fund are exhausted. Upon exhaustion of the fund, any
remaining claims shall be invalid.
   (B) The resolution of any cost recovery action.
   (m) Any commitment made by the department on or after January 1,
2001, to expend funds pursuant to former Section 116367, as it read
on December 31, 2001, is hereby ratified. The department may approve
any expenses incurred by water systems pursuant to these commitments.

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.

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.

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.

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.

116379.  Notwithstanding Sections 116360, 116375, and 116450, public
water systems are not required to observe the standards of
subdivision (f) of Section 64435 of Title 22 of the California Code
of Regulations.

116380.  In addition to the requirements set forth in Section
116375, the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to Section
116375 shall include requirements 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:
   (a) Water systems with less than 200 service connections.
   (b) Usage allowed under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and
its implementing regulations and guidance.
   (c) Water systems that have submitted preapplications with the
State Department of Public Health for funding to correct the
violations for which the point-of-use treatment is provided.

116385.  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.

116395.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (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.