HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-09-2020 Legislative Committee Meeting Complete Agenda Packet 10-30-2020
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
AND ATTENDANCE AT PUBLIC MEETINGS
On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency in California as
a result of the threat of COVID-19. On March 12, 2020 and March 18, 2020, Governor
Newsom issued Executive Order N-25-20 and Executive Order N-29-20, which
temporarily suspend portions of the Brown Act which addresses the conduct of public
meetings.
The General Manager and the Chairman of the Board of Directors have determined that
due to the size of the Orange County Sanitation District’s Board of Directors (25), and the
health and safety of the members, the Board of Directors will be participating in meetings
of the Board telephonically and via Internet accessibility.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Your participation is always welcome. The Legislative and Public Affairs Committee
meeting will be available to the public online at:
https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
You may submit your comments and questions in writing for the Committee’s
consideration in advance of the meeting by using the eComment feature available via
the webpage above or sending them to OCSDClerk@ocsd.com with the subject line
“PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM # (insert the item number relevant to your comment)” or
“PUBLIC COMMENT NON-AGENDA ITEM”. Submit your written comments by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, November 9, 2020.
You may also submit comments and questions for the Committee’s consideration during
the meeting by using the eComment feature that will be available via the webpage above
for the duration of the meeting.
All public comments will be provided to the Committee and may be read into the record
or compiled as part of the record.
Thank you.
October 30, 2020
NOTICE OF MEETING
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
Monday, November 9, 2020 – 12:00 p.m.
ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Orange County Sanitation District
will be holding all upcoming Board and Committee meetings by
teleconferencing and Internet accessibility. This meeting will be
available to the public online at:
https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
A regular meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee of the
Orange County Sanitation District will be held in the manner indicated
herein on Monday, November 9, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
MEETING DATES
BOARD MEETING DATES
Monday 11/09/20 12:00 p.m. 11/18/20 *
DECEMBER – DARK 12/16/20 *
JANUARY – DARK 01/27/21
Monday 02/08/21 12:00 p.m. 02/24/21
Monday 03/08/21 12:00 p.m. 03/24/21
Monday 04/12/21 3:30 p.m. 04/28/21
Monday 05/10/21 12:00 p.m. 05/26/21
JUNE – DARK 06/23/21
Monday 07/12/21 3:30 p.m. 07/28/21
AUGUST – DARK 08/25/21
Monday 09/13/21 12:00 p.m. 09/22/21
OCTOBER – DARK 10/27/21
* Meeting will be held on the third Wednesday of the month
ROLL CALL
LEGISLATIVE & PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: November 9, 2020 Time: 12:00 p.m.
Adjourn:
COMMITTEE MEMBERS (7)
Peter Kim, Chair
Allan Bernstein, Vice-Chair
Lucille Kring, Member-At-Large
Erik Peterson, Member-At-Large
Christina Shea, Member-At-Large
David Shawver, Board Chair
John Withers, Board Vice-Chair
OTHERS
Brad Hogin, General Counsel
STAFF
Jim Herberg, General Manager
Rob Thompson, Assistant General Manager
Lorenzo Tyner, Assistant General Manager
Celia Chandler, Director of Human Resources
Kathy Millea, Director of Engineering
Lan Wiborg, Director of Environmental Services
Kelly Lore, Clerk of the Board
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT Effective 06/16/2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Complete Roster AGENCY/CITIES
ACTIVE DIRECTOR
ALTERNATE DIRECTOR
Anaheim
Lucille Kring
Denise Barnes Brea Glenn Parker Cecilia Hupp Buena Park Fred Smith Connor Traut Cypress Mariellen Yarc Stacy Berry Fountain Valley Steve Nagel Patrick Harper Fullerton Jesus J. Silva Jan Flory Garden Grove Steve Jones John O’Neill Huntington Beach Erik Peterson Lyn Semeta Irvine Christina Shea Anthony Kuo
La Habra Tim Shaw Rose Espinoza La Palma Peter Kim Nitesh Patel Los Alamitos Richard Murphy Dean Grose Newport Beach Brad Avery Joy Brenner Orange Mark Murphy Kim Nichols Placentia Chad Wanke Ward Smith Santa Ana Nelida Mendoza David Penaloza Seal Beach Sandra Massa-Lavitt Schelly Sustarsic Stanton David Shawver Carol Warren Tustin Allan Bernstein Chuck Puckett Villa Park Robert Collacott Chad Zimmerman Sanitary/Water Districts
Costa Mesa Sanitary District
James M. Ferryman
Bob Ooten Midway City Sanitary District Andrew Nguyen Margie L. Rice Irvine Ranch Water District John Withers
Douglas Reinhart
Yorba Linda Water District Brooke Jones Phil Hawkins County Areas
Board of Supervisors Doug Chaffee Donald P. Wagner
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting Agenda
Monday, November 9, 2020 - 12:00 PM
Board Room
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714)593-7433
AGENDA POSTING: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2, this
agenda has been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District’s Administration Building located
at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California, and on the Sanitation District’s website at www.ocsd.com
not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda
item, including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all, or a majority
of the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board.
AGENDA DESCRIPTION: The agenda provides a brief general description of each item of business to
be considered or discussed. The recommended action does not indicate what action will be taken. The Board
of Directors may take any action which is deemed appropriate.
MEETING AUDIO: An audio recording of this meeting is available within 24 hours after adjournment of
the meeting. Please contact the Clerk of the Board's office at (714) 593-7433 to request the audio file.
NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for a Committee or Board Meeting, the item must
be submitted in writing to the Clerk of the Board: Kelly A. Lore, MMC, (714) 593-7433 / klore@ocsd.com at least
14 days before the meeting.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THE AGENDA, BOARD MEMBERS MAY CONTACT STAFF AT:
General Manager: Jim Herberg, jherberg@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7300
Asst. General Manager: Lorenzo Tyner, ltyner@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7550
Asst. General Manager: Rob Thompson, rthompson@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7310
Director of Human Resources: Celia Chandler, cchandler@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7202
Director of Engineering: Kathy Millea, kmillea@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7365
Director of Environmental Services: Lan Wiborg, lwiborg@ocsd.com / (714) 593-7450
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting Agenda Monday, November 9, 2020
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM:
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Your participation is always welcome. The Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting will be available to
the public online at: https://ocsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
You may submit your comments and questions in writing for the Committee’s consideration in advance of the
meeting by using the eComment feature available via the webpage above or sending them to
OCSDClerk@ocsd.com with the subject line “PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM # (insert the item number relevant to your
comment)” or “PUBLIC COMMENT NON-AGENDA ITEM”. Submit your written comments by 9:00 a.m. on
Monday, November 9, 2020.
You may also submit comments and questions for the Committee’s consideration during the meeting by using the
eComment feature that will be available via the webpage above for the duration of the meeting. All public
comments will be provided to the Committee and may be read into the record or compiled as part of the record.
REPORTS:
The Committee Chairperson and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous matters of
general interest to the Directors. These reports are for information only and require no action by the Directors.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Consent Calendar Items are considered to be routine and will be enacted, by the Committee, after one motion,
without discussion. Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion will be considered in
the regular order of business.
1.2020-1287APPROVAL OF MINUTES
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs
Committee held September 14, 2020.
Originator:Kelly Lore
Agenda Report
09-14-2020 Legislative Committee Minutes
Attachments:
Page 1 of 3
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting Agenda Monday, November 9, 2020
NON-CONSENT:
2.2020-12622021 LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PLAN
RECOMMENDATION:
Review the Draft Orange County Sanitation District 2021 Legislative and Regulatory
Plan.
Originator:Jim Herberg
Agenda Report
2021 Legislative and Regulatory Plan - DRAFT
Attachments:
3.2020-1263CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BILL (H.R.) 763
RECOMMENDATION:
Provide direction to staff regarding the House of Representatives Bill (H.R.) 763 -
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (Deutch).
Originator:Jim Herberg
Agenda Report
H.R. 763
Attachments:
4.2020-1261LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER
AND OCTOBER 2020
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Receive and file the Legislative Affairs Update for the months of September and
October 2020.
Originator:Jim Herberg
Agenda Report
Federal Update - ENS Resources
Federal Legislative Matrix - ENS Resources
State Update - Townsend
State Legislative Matrix - Townsend
Grant Tracker 2019-2020
Attachments:
5.2020-1265PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER AND
OCTOBER 2020
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Receive and file the Public Affairs Update for the months of September and October
2020.
Page 2 of 3
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting Agenda Monday, November 9, 2020
Originator:Jim Herberg
Agenda Report
Outreach & Media Summary Report September-October 2020
Attachments:
INFORMATION ITEMS:
None.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
CLOSED SESSION:
None.
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF
ANY:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS INITIATED ITEMS FOR A FUTURE MEETING:
At this time Directors may request staff to place an item on a future agenda.
ADJOURNMENT:
The next Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, February
8, 2021 at 12:00 p.m.
Page 3 of 3
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2020-1287 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:1.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
Originator: Kelly A. Lore, Clerk of the Board
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee held
September 14, 2020.
BACKGROUND
In accordance with the Board of Directors Rules of Procedure,an accurate record of each meeting
will be provided to the Directors for subsequent approval at the following meeting.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Resolution No. OCSD 19-19
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com)with the complete agenda
package:
·Minutes of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting held September 14, 2020
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 10/29/2020Page 1 of 1
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Orange County Sanitation District
Minutes for the
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Monday, September 14, 2020
12:00 PM
Board Room
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
CALL TO ORDER
A regular meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee was called to order by
Committee Chair Peter Kim on Monday, September 14, 2020 at 12:07 p.m. in the
Administration Building of the Orange County Sanitation District. Chair Kim stated that the
meeting was being held telephonically and via audio/video teleconferencing in accordance
with the Governor's Executive Order No. N-29-20, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic
(COVID-19). Chair Kim led the Flag Salute.
The Clerk of the Board announced the teleconference meeting guidelines and stated that
votes will be taken by roll call.
ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM:
Roll call was taken and a quorum was declared present, as follows:
PRESENT:Peter Kim, Allan Bernstein, Lucille Kring, Erik Peterson, Christina
Shea, David Shawver and John Withers
ABSENT:None
STAFF PRESENT: Jim Herberg, General Manager; Kelly Lore, Clerk of the Board; and Brian
Engeln were present in the Board Room. Rob Thompson, Assistant General Manager;
Lorenzo Tyner, Assistant General Manager; Celia Chandler, Director of Human Resources;
Kathy Millea, Director of Engineering; Lan Wiborg, Director of Environmental Services; Daisy
Covarrubias; Jennifer Cabral; Belen Carrillo; Tanya Chong; Gregg Deterring; Tina Knapp; and
Kelly Newell were in attendance telephonically.
OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Hogin, General Counsel was present in the Board Room. Eric
Sapirstein, ENS Resources; Eric O’Donnell, Townsend Public Affairs (TPA); and Cori
Takkinen, Townsend Public Affairs (TPA) were in attendance telephonically.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None.
REPORTS:
Chair Kim announced that OCSD and OCWD will host a Virtual Joint Tour on Wednesday,
September 16th at 10:00 a.m.
Page 1 of 4
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Minutes September 14, 2020
CONSENT CALENDAR:
1.APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2020-1214
Originator: Kelly Lore
MOVED, SECONDED, AND DULY CARRIED TO:
Approve Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs
Committee held July 13, 2020.
AYES:Peter Kim, Allan Bernstein, Lucille Kring, Christina Shea, David
Shawver and John Withers
NOES:None
ABSENT:Erik Peterson
ABSTENTIONS:None
NON-CONSENT:
2.PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF JULY THROUGH
AUGUST 2020
2020-1200
Originator: Jim Herberg
Principal Public Affairs Specialist Daisy Covarrubias provided a PowerPoint
Presentation describing the outreach and activities of the previous months.
MOVED, SECONDED, AND DULY CARRIED TO: Recommend to the Board of
Directors to:
Receive and file the Public Affairs Update for the months of July through August 2020.
AYES:Peter Kim, Allan Bernstein, Lucille Kring, Erik Peterson, Christina
Shea, David Shawver and John Withers
NOES:None
ABSENT:None
ABSTENTIONS:None
3.ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT BRANDING 2020-1201
Originator: Jim Herberg
Administration Manager Jennifer Cabral provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding
the item.
MOVED, SECONDED, AND DULY CARRIED TO: Recommend to the Board of
Directors to:
Page 2 of 4
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Minutes September 14, 2020
Approve the new Orange County Sanitation District Logo.
AYES:Peter Kim, Allan Bernstein, Lucille Kring, Erik Peterson, Christina
Shea, David Shawver and John Withers
NOES:None
ABSENT:None
ABSTENTIONS:None
4.LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF JULY
THROUGH AUGUST 2020
2020-1202
Originator: Jim Herberg
Eric O'Donnell provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the State Legislative
update including an end of session update, recent state actions on COVID-19
response, and Legislative Recap and Priority legislation.
Eric Sapirstein provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the Federal Legislative
update including the key issues of the COVID-19 relief (Heroes Act/Heals);
Infrastructure Assistance bills; and Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations. Mr. Sapirstein also
announced that Congressman Lou Correa has agreed to make a taped presentation
for the OCSD State of the District.
MOVED, SECONDED, AND DULY CARRIED TO: Recommend to the Board of
Directors to:
Receive and file the Legislative Affairs Update for the months of July through August
2020.
AYES:Peter Kim, Allan Bernstein, Lucille Kring, Erik Peterson, Christina
Shea, David Shawver and John Withers
NOES:None
ABSENT:None
ABSTENTIONS:None
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
None.
CLOSED SESSION:
None.
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF
ANY:
None.
Page 3 of 4
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Minutes September 14, 2020
BOARD OF DIRECTORS INITIATED ITEMS FOR A FUTURE MEETING:
None.
ADJOURNMENT:
Committee Chair Kim declared the meeting adjourned at 12:50 p.m. to the next Legislative
and Public Affairs Committee meeting, Monday, November 9, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.
Submitted by:
__________________
Kelly A. Lore, MMC
Clerk of the Board
Page 4 of 4
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2020-1262 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:2.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
2021 LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PLAN
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Review the Draft Orange County Sanitation District 2021 Legislative and Regulatory Plan.
BACKGROUND
Each year,the Board of Directors adopts a Legislative and Regulatory Plan (Plan),which is a
summary of the Orange County Sanitation District’s (Sanitation District)goals,key issues,and policy
positions.The legislative and regulatory policies in this document are developed taking into
consideration the Sanitation District’s priorities,the wastewater industry,and the Sanitation District’s
member agencies and policy needs.
These Board-approved policies serve as the Sanitation District’s official positions of support or
opposition on issues of importance to the agency.The Plan is a dynamic document,adopted
annually and modified to meet the needs of the Sanitation District as Federal,State,and Local
policymaking agendas change throughout the year.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
·Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators,stakeholders,and
neighboring communities
PROBLEM
Without a strong advocacy program,elected officials may not be aware that the Sanitation District is
more than a wastewater treatment plant -treating and sending water to the ocean.The Sanitation
District is an environmentally engaged organization which recycles more than 50 percent of its
wastewater.Additionally,to help meet the goal of 100 percent recycling,the Sanitation District uses
the byproducts from the wastewater treatment process to produce biosolids to fertilize crops and
energy used to help power the two plants in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 10/30/2020Page 1 of 3
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File #:2020-1262 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:2.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Review the draft 2021 Legislative and Regulatory Plan,which will go to the Board of Directors in
December 2020.Advise staff to work with Local,State,and Federal officials to advocate the
Sanitation District’s legislative interests.Help to create/monitor legislation and grants that would
benefit the Sanitation District,the wastewater industry,and the community as a whole.To assist in
our relationship building activities,we will continue to reach out to our elected officials providing
facility tours, one-on-one meetings, and trips to D.C. and Sacramento.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
If we do not work with the Local,State,and Federal elected officials,legislation could be passed that
negatively affects the Sanitation District and the wastewater industry as a whole.Additionally,this
could affect our chances of receiving grant funding.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Sanitation District’s State and Federal Lobbyists met with over 25 Sanitation District subject
matter experts in early September.From the subject matter expert meetings,two proposed pieces of
legislation were suggested:
·Bill Concept 1 - Raising the Threshold for Force Account Work
Legislative Change Requested:
Current law,Public Contract Code Section 20783,states that any force account work done by
a sanitation district themselves cannot exceed $5,000.Furthermore,the same code states
that any expenditure for work exceeding $35,000 shall be bid to the lowest responsible bidder
after notice.The Sanitation District’s request would be to increase the force account threshold
described in Section 20783, as well as the bid threshold for work.
·Bill Concept 2 - Video Surveillance
Legislative Change Requested:
Assemblyman Cooley authored Assembly Bill (AB)510 in 2019.The goal of AB 510 was to
modernize our State’s retention records mandate to allow for modern practices and provided
flexibility for public agencies to adapt to future technological advances.Unfortunately,this bill
did not pass.
The goal would be to amend Government Code 26202.3 to allow local public agencies,
including special districts,to adopt records retention policies designed for modern digital
recording technologies,while ensuring the proper retention of any records in which an incident
may have occurred.This change in law will allow agencies to retain important records while
deleting useless ones,thus saving a significant amount of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary
data storage costs.
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File #:2020-1262 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:2.
·Recommended Decision:
After further research and discussion with management and our subject matter experts it was
decided that the Sanitation District should not put forth an effort to carry these bills as they
would not prove to be a benefit to the Sanitation District.Additionally,carrying these bills
would not save the Sanitation District money or time.Newer technology allows us to store
more videos at a much lower cost of older technology.Additionally,after further review and
consultation with the Purchasing and Contracts Manager,it has been discovered that there are
other avenues for force and bid account thresholds.Therefore,staff is recommending that we
do not carry the above stated bills.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com)with the complete agenda
package:
·Draft 2021 Legislative and Regulatory Plan
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ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
2021 Legislative and
Regulatory Plan
DRAFT
Orange County Sanitation District
2021 Legislative & Regulatory Plan
2
January 2021
Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Team
OCSD Staff
Rebecca Long
Senior Public Affairs Specialist
(714) 593-7444 rlong@ocsd.com
Jennifer Cabral
Administration Manager
(714) 593-7581 jcabral@ocsd.com
Daisy Covarrubias (714) 593-7119 dcovarrubias@ocsd.com
Jim Herberg
General Manager
(714) 593-7110 jherberg@ocsd.com
Federal Lobbying Team
Eric Sapirstein
ENS Resources
(202) 466-3755 esap@ensresources.com
Sarah Sapirstein
ENS Resources
(202) 466-3755 ssap@ensresources.com
David French
ENS Resources
(202) 466-3755 dfrench@ensresources.com
State Lobbying Team
Cori Takkinen
Townsend Public Affairs
(949) 399-9050 ctakkinen@TownsendPA.com
Eric O’Donnell
Townsend Public Affairs
(949) 399-9050 eodonnell@TownsendPA.com
Christopher Townsend
Townsend Public Affairs
(949) 399-9050 ctownsend@TownsendPA.com
Regulatory Advocacy Team
Tom Meregillano, Senior Regulatory Specialist (714) 593-7457 tmeregillano@ocsd.com
Lan Wiborg, Director of Environmental
Services
(714) 593-7450 lwiborg@ocsd.com
Legislative Public Affairs Committee
Peter Kim, Chair Chair
Allan Bernstein Vice-Chair
Lucille Kring Member-At-Large
Erik Peterson Member-At-Large
Christina Shea Member-At-Large
DRAFT
Orange County Sanitation District
2021 Legislative & Regulatory Plan
3
January 2021
David Shawver Board Chair
John Withers Board Vice-Chair
Introduction
The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) recognizes the need for an active local, state and federal legislative
and regulatory advocacy program to ensure that the interests of the ratepayers and the Board of Directors (Board)
are protected and supported. Towards that end, the legislative and regulatory team actively engages, pursues,
and monitors activities in California and Washington, D.C. and takes appropriate action in support of or opposition
to legislative and regulatory initiatives.
Each year, the Board of Directors adopts a legislative and regulatory plan, which is a summary of OCSD’s goals, key
issues, and policy positions. The legislative and regulatory policies in this document were developed taking into
consideration OCSD’s priorities, the wastewater industry, and OCSD’s member agencies and policy needs. These
Board-approved policies serve as OCSD’s official positions of support or opposition on issues of importance to the
agency. The legislative and regulatory plan is a dynamic document, adopted annually and is modified to meet the
needs of OCSD as federal, state, and local policymaking agendas change throughout the year.
The legislative and regulatory team, in conjunction with the Board, may take appropriate action consistent with the
legislative and regulatory plan, including, but not limited to, drafting position letters, advocating to legislators and
their staff and proposing legislation and regulations.
Procedure for Taking Positions
1. Staff will track bills and proposed regulations of greatest interest to OCSD, particularly those that fall within
the goals and objectives identified by the Board and included in this plan. Staff will monitor bills and
proposed regulations being watched by similar agencies in Orange County (Irvine Ranch Water District,
South Orange County Water Authority, Orange County Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange
County, etc.) as well as state, federal and national associations such as California Association of Sanitation
Agencies (CASA), Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (SCAP), California Special
Districts Association (CSDA), Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), Association of California
Cities Orange County (ACC-OC), League of California Cities (LOCC), and National Association of Clean Water
Agencies (NACWA).
2. For those bills and proposed regulations that are being tracked and where there is clear policy direction
stated in the Board-adopted legislative and regulatory plan or adopted goals, Public Affairs and Regulatory
staff can send letters to legislators and regulators and give direction to the lobbyists to advocate that
position.
3. When an issue is not urgent, all legislative letters will be hand-signed by the Board Chair or Vice Chair. If a
matter is urgent, staff may use the electronic signature, so long as a clear policy direction exists and the
General Manager or Designee approves the letter.
4. When a bill does not fall within the scope of the legislative and regulatory plan or is a controversial issue,
staff will seek direction from the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee.
DRAFT
Orange County Sanitation District
2021 Legislative & Regulatory Plan
4
January 2021
5. If a bill does not fall within the scope of the legislative plan, but the Association of California Cities Orange
County (ACCOC), the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), the California Special Districts
Association (CSDA) or the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) has an adopted position,
staff may follow this position but must inform the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee of such action
at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Guiding Priorities
• Seek financial assistance for OCSD projects through grants, loans and , or other means;
• Maintain local control over governance of special districts and other local entities;
• Oppose redundant regulatory and legislative requirements that cause undue constraints on efficient
operations;
• Support legislative regulatory streamlining that promotes affordability, public health and the environment.
Federal Priorities
• Advocate for national infrastructure program that includes wastewater infrastructure needs.
• Advocate for robust federal water infrastructure funding of existing programs in addition to national
infrastructure initiative, including State Revolving Fund, Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
(WIFIA), Smart Water Infrastructure Grants, and Water Recycling. Additionally, federal support in the form
of assistance for disadvantaged communities and workforce training should be provided.
• Identify and work to secure competitive and direct federal grants assistance in support of green
infrastructure, renewable energy, biosolids management, and water and organic management recycling
projects assistance.
• Work with Congress and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to advance implementation
of the WaterSense Program to increase the use of energy and water use efficient technologies at OCSD
while protecting against treatment cost increases related to program rulemaking.
• Work with Congress to advance direct assistance to support innovative technology adoption.
• Work with Congress to advance federal assistance to support the treatment of forever chemicals and to
protect public agencies from liability for per- and polylfluoroalkyl acids (PFAS) presence in biosolids and
wastewater.
• Monitor federal agency grants for funding of traditional wastewater treatment needs, alternative
renewable energy, bioenergy, water recycling, biosolids beneficial use, and beach protection.
• Work with Administration and Congress to advance commonsense permitting processes including ten-year
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and programmatic permits issued by
USEPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce ratepayer costs. Any authority to issue efficient
permitting solutions should not impose new requirements or burdens on permittees.
• Provide that any funding regime be derived from the manufacturers of PFAS chemicals to provide federal
grants and low-interest loans to agencies impacted.
• Oppose regulations or legislation that would address PFAS as a class of constituents.
• Oppose designation of PFAS as hazardous substances under Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
• Work to secure liability exemption for wastewater agencies if PFAS or other “forever” chemicals defined as a
hazardous substance under CERCLA or are regulated as a class.
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• Work with OCSD’s congressional delegation and administration officials to advance funding of resiliency
needs, including impacts associated with sea level rise, seismic events, drought and general resiliency
planning that would support OCSD’s water recycling, conservation, and other resiliency projects.
• Support legislation, policies and regulations that offer to provide below market bonding rate assistance to
construct treatment facilities, including credit assistance, Build America Bonds, Municipal Facility Assistance
and infrastructure banks. Focus should include modernizing wastewater treatment facilities including
energy and water use efficiency as well as sustainable energy recovery technologies, core infrastructure
assistance related wastewater treatment, funding of final stage of water recycling needs, and related
demonstration of evolving technologies to address brine line needs.
• Support legislation to label wipes as non-flushable/non-dispersible.
• Identify opportunities to secure federal support of OCSD’s capital project needs as part of any budget
decision making process for the coming fiscal year.
• Promote restoration of federal deductibility of state and local tax payments and oppose elimination or
restriction on the use or availability of tax-exempt financing for public infrastructure.
• Support maximum funding in annual federal appropriations for the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF).
• Work with Congress and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to streamline the Clean Water
Act permitting processes. Provide assurances that CWSRF appropriations are not transferred to State
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) needs.
• Support legislation to revise the SRF allocation formula to allow for appropriate and fair share of funding to
California consistent with United States EPA study (20% increase in share).
• Support removal of private activity Bond State Volume Cap as part of national infrastructure initiative on
water and wastewater facilities to allow for innovative financing approaches.
• Work with the EPA on emerging regulatory issues of concern including integrated planning, method
development, monitoring effluent limitations and guidelines, and contaminants of emerging concern
including, but not limited to, PFAS and microplastics.
• OCSD will continue to advocate for federal policies that minimize regulatory burdens imposed upon
communities and public agencies that seek to adopt programs for the giveback of pharmaceuticals that will
result in the reduction of disposal of pharmaceuticals through wastewater treatment facilities. Additionally,
OCSD will advocate for federal funding of programs currently authorized that support the development of
pharmaceutical management programs including education.
• Support development of infrastructure policies and legislation that will close funding gaps and encourage
direct grants assistance in support of projects and programs addressing resiliency needs that protect OCSD
investments from natural disasters.
• Work with U.S. Department of Energy and EPA to identify and support efforts to secure funding assistance
for OCSD energy-water nexus project demonstrations.
State Priorities
• Secure funding through grants and legislation for infrastructure, collection improvements, and alternative
renewable energy at the Fountain Valley, Plant No. 1 and Huntington Beach, Plant No. 2.
• Promote a regional distribution/statewide equity approach to the disbursement of State Revolving Fund
monies.
• Oppose legislation or any regulations that would mandate volumetric pricing of wastewater.
• Continue to monitor the state budget process and actively protect the allocation of local property taxes to
special districts.
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• Oppose regulations or legislation that would address PFAS as a class of constituents.
• Monitor state legislation as well as State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and California Air
Resources Control Board on regulatory activity related to PFAS.
• Work with legislators to address concerns stemming from Mobile Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic
substances (MPBTs) such as PFAS. Support funding opportunities for clean-up costs from the manufacturers
of PFAS and through state grants and low-interest loans.
• Work with legislators who introduced legislation such as SB 163 (Hertzberg, 2015) and SB 332 (Hertzberg,
2019) to ensure that no unrealistic, one size fits all, regulations are placed on wastewater treatment facilities
requirements for discharging, including OCSD.
• Oppose state mandates, regulations, or legislation such as AB 1217 (Daly, 2015) that set, alter, or otherwise
modify the governance structure of special districts, joint powers authorities, or other local government
entities.
• Support efforts to competitively seek funding for projects that meet the State’s goals of expanded water
supply and energy reduction.
• Where appropriate, pursue State funding for critical aging infrastructure, through funding sources made
available through any agency including but not limited to the SWRCB and the Department of Water Resources.
• Support and participate in Integrated Regional Water Management planning efforts in the Santa Ana River
watershed.
• Oppose restrictive and redundant regulatory requirements for biosolids.
• Support the creation of a Statewide Organics Management Plan that includes the beneficial use of biosolids,
education, market expansion activities, and mandates to buy-back compost and other organics diverted from
landfills.
• Support funding through grants and legislation for a Food Waste/Organic Co-Digestion facility at OCSD.
• Monitor pension reform legislation for clean-up bills and relevant proposed regulations.
• Support the State’s efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiencies of Local Agency Formation
Commissions.
• Support efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to streamline current procedures
and regulations for projects to refurbish or replace existing infrastructure facilities.
• Actively monitor the Little Hoover Commission hearings and reports related to climate change adaptation,
special districts and other topics as it relates to OCSD.
• Support the inclusion of recycled water credits during the continued development and implementation of
long-term water conservation legislation and regulations.
• Support legislation or regulations that restrict the use of microplastics and chemicals of emerging concern
in any product that is disposed of through the sewer system.
• Support legislation, such as AB 1672 (Bloom), or regulations that discourage the flushing of wipes through the
sewer system, unless they meet certain performance standards.
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Appendix
a. Federal Tactics
b. State Tactics
c. Legislative and Regulatory Policies
Federal Tactics
Initiative Action
1. Identify and advise on federal
funding opportunities for OCSD
infrastructure projects
• Schedule meetings with federal agency stakeholders and senior
officials in Washington D.C. and district offices to build support for
OCSD priority projects;
• Work with congressional delegation to update priority needs; and
• Develop white papers to justify requested assistance through direct
grants.
2. Seek funding assistance to
advance recovery of energy and
other resources from biosolids
and other organics such as food
waste
• Meet with federal agency officials to review OCSD needs and to
discuss funding opportunities and options related to the energy
water nexus; and
• Work with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other
agencies to advance energy and water efficient technologies
related to smart water technologies and WaterSense grant
program.
Appendices
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3. Seek Infrastructure assistance
A. Robust funding of State
Revolving Fund (SRF) and
revise SRF Allocation
Formula
B. Innovative Financing
C. Regulatory Streamlining
• Meet with congressional delegation and key
congressional committees;
• Develop priorities and disseminate to OCSD congressional
delegation;
• Advocate before congressional infrastructure committees and
applicable Executive Branch officials to secure adoption of
alternative water infrastructure financing including credit, loans,
public-private-partnerships and grants in addition to direct
grants assistance;
• Work to ensure expedited National Environmental Policy Act and
related reviews and approvals; and
• Work with Congress and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on proposals
to provide enhanced alternative water infrastructure financing
tools.
Seek opportunities to testify before Congress
4. Support tax reform that
protects public agencies
• Work with NACWA and CASA in support of unrestricted use of
tax- exempt financing and feasible innovative financing
approaches such as infrastructure banks to supplement
traditional funding approaches;
• Work with state and local government stakeholders to restore
state and local tax deductibility and advocate before
congressional delegation; and
• Present or submit testimony.
• Transmit communications on tax-exempt financing.
5. Support resiliency legislation,
regulations, and policies that
support protection of OCSD
investments and promote
water and biosolids recycling
assistance
• Work with delegation and regulators to ensure incorporation of
new programs for water and biosolids recycling assistance;
• Work with NACWA, CASA and ACWA to support resiliency water
and biosolids recycling legislation and regulations; and
• Work with congressional infrastructure committees to secure
assistance for resiliency projects.
6. Work with federal agencies on
permitting issues • Work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on environmental site
assessment issues such as incidental take permits under
Endangered Species Act (ESA);
• Advocate to authorize U.S. EPA to provide National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits terms for a
period of up to 10- years and to retain five year administrative
extension authority.
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State Tactics
Initiative Action
1. Develop a proactive legislative
and regulatory advocacy
agenda
• Identify legislation that has the potential to benefit or impact
OCSD, as legislation is introduced and amended;
• Identify proposed state and local regulations that are
introduced that have the potential to benefit or impact OCSD;
• Recommend positions on identified legislation and proposed
regulation to align with OCSD’s legislative and regulatory plan;
• Create and continually update a legislative and regulatory matrix to
track identified pieces of priority legislation and proposed
regulations;
• Schedule advocacy days in Sacramento with legislators and
committee staff and regulators;
• Continue an active letter writing campaign to support or oppose
priority legislation and proposed regulations;
• Schedule meetings with legislators, regulators, stakeholders, and
senior officials in Sacramento and district offices to build support for
OCSD priority projects; and
• Participate in CASA’s legislative committees and Regulatory
Workgroup and SCAP’s air quality, water issues, collection systems,
biosolids, and wastewater pretreatment committees.
2. Compile a comprehensive list
of Capital Improvement
projects
• Meet with OCSD’s Executive Management Team to discuss future
capital projects and priorities, and
• Match capital improvements with funding opportunities based on
project eligibility.
3. Monitor and advise on possible
funding opportunities, including
but not limited to funding
through Statewide bonds
• Proactively engage in the drafting of grant funding guidelines and
provide input to drafting agency or committee to ensure eligibility
and competitiveness of OCSD projects and priorities;
• Proactively engage on proposed legislation and regulations that
would have an impact on the implementation of funding
programs; and
• Identify funding opportunities and provide recommendations for
eligible projects. Create an advocacy and outreach schedule on the
planning and execution of efforts to seek funds.
Appendix B
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4. Monitor and advise on funding
available through Cap and
Trade
• Monitor the rollout of the Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan for
waste diversion projects. Continue to advocate for additional
funding in future Cap and Trade Expenditure Plans that OCSD is
eligible for;
• Identify eligible and competitive projects and programs; and
• Create a schedule on planning and execution of efforts to seek funds,
including outreach and advocacy strategy.
5. Monitor and advise on energy
or other resource recovery
related funding opportunities
• Track energy related grant opportunities;
• Identify potential projects for funding, including, but not limited to
alternative renewable energy, biosolids to energy conversion,
organic waste (high strength food waste and fats, oils, and grease)
to energy conversion, and greenhouse gas reduction projects;
• Ensure wastewater interests are protected as significant decisions
are made related to renewable energy production financing,
mandates, climate change goals, programs and continued efforts to
extend the state’s emissions reduction target;
• Schedule meetings with local delegation as well as key members to
discuss project benefits and funding opportunity;
• Support initiatives that help OCSD strive for energy independence
by minimizing energy utilization and maximizing useful energy
recovery from the sewage it receives;
• Support fair and reasonable regulations for the pipeline injection
of biomethane produced from anaerobic digestion; and
• Support renewable energy initiatives that are reasonable and fair.
6. Schedule and attend advocacy
and outreach meetings to
provide OCSD project updates
• Educate current administration, key staff and agencies on priority
projects and advocate for funding allocations that align with OCSD
priorities;
• Schedule stakeholder meetings to build support for projects;
• Hold advocacy meetings in coordination with funding opportunities
and project timelines;
• Work with relevant budget committees, budget sub-committees,
policy committees and their staff to advocate for funding allocations
that align with OCSD priorities; and
• Provide full briefings and updates to Orange County legislative
delegation and relevant members on OCSD priority projects.
7. Regulatory relief to allow for
water recycling and expansion
of GWRS
• Outreach with the California Environmental Protection Agency,
Department of Toxic Substances, State Water Resources Control
Board, Regional Water Quality Control Board, the governor's office,
legislative leadership and other appropriate stakeholders.
8. Development and advocacy for
design-build legislation targeted
at OCSD projects
• Support and advocate for legislation that will expand the approved
uses of design-build for OCSD specific projects; and
• Schedule briefings and updates with Orange County legislative
delegation to discuss potential design build legislation.
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9. Development and
implementation of a statewide
biosolids land application
management policy
• Work in conjunction with CASA and SCAP to outreach and educate
legislators and regulators to develop an advocacy strategy for
regulatory framework that will support statewide objectives to
manage biosolids land application.
10. Development and
implementation of a strategy to
relieve OCSD of cumbersome
and outdated bid advertising
costs
• Work with relevant legislators and committees to draft legislation
that will lessen the cost burden on OCSD of complying with
outdated bid advertising requirements; and
• Conduct outreach with various other Sanitation Districts/POTW’s
across the
State to form a coalition to support any efforts.
11. Development and advocacy for
legislation to raise the
contracting and bid threshold
for Sanitation Districts
• Meet with local labor groups to initially present the issue;
• Brainstorm proposed solutions that will give OCSD and other
Sanitation District’s/POTW’s more flexibility to complete small
scale public works projects in house;
• Work in conjunction with CASA to outreach, educate, and develop
an advocacy strategy that will target all Sanitation Districts/POTW’s
affected by the current threshold limitations; and
• Develop and advocate for legislation that will raise the threshold for
work that can be performed in house as well as work that is
required to be bid.
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Legislative and Regulatory Policies
1. Air Quality: OCSD is committed to complying with federal, state, and local air quality laws, rules,
regulations, and policies.
a. Support air quality legislations, regulations, rules, and policies that encourage the use
of advanced air emission control technologies through greater flexibility and financial
incentives.
b. Support measures that maintain and enhance local decision-making authority, where
appropriate, in the development and implementation of air quality attainment
strategies.
c. Support legislation and regulations to ensure greater consistency between the
California and Federal Clean Air Acts.
d. Support strategies that clearly demonstrate and provide for the most cost-effective
means for meeting air quality goals.
e. Continue to follow OCSD’s odor policy to assure that OCSD is a good neighbor to the
surrounding communities.
f. Monitor CARB’s plans to accelerate zero- emissions medium and heavy-duty vehicle
fleets and oppose regulation that would mandate specific fuel types.
g. Monitor SCAQMD’s development of regulations and guidelines associated with AB 617
in the following areas: (1) implementation of best available retrofit control technology
(BARCT) requirements for existing stationary sources; (2) deployment of air
monitoring systems in selected communities; and (3) implementation of emissions
reduction plans in selected communities.
h. Participate in CASA ACE and SCAP’s effort to work with CARB in implementation of the
updated AB 617 Criteria Pollutants & Toxics Reporting and AB 2588 Air Toxics “Hot
Spots” Programs.
i. Monitor legislative and regulatory development in response to State’s goal of
achieving Carbon Neutrality including the electrification of engine-driven equipment.
j. Oppose redundant and unreasonable requirements, such as double reporting
requirements, with respect to criteria pollutants, air toxics, or greenhouse gas
emissions, including but not limited to reporting requirements associated with AB 617
(Garcia).
Appendix C
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k. Monitor and support any legislative development which would provide a relief
on the use of diesel emergency power generators during State of Emergency
events impacting the local electrical utility.
2. Biosolids, Organics and Biogas: OCSD strives to beneficially use biosolids through multiple management
options performed at reasonable costs that are protective of public health and the environment.
a. Support legislation, regulations and policies that support the beneficial use of biosolids on
agricultural lands, landscape, horticulture, California Healthy Soils Initiatives, mine
reclamation, fire ravaged lands, superfund sites, brownfields, overgrazed lands, carbon
sequestration and wetland restoration.
b. Support the promotion and funding of local pilot programs, studies, and research for the
beneficial use of biosolids.
c. Oppose legislation, regulations, and policies that imposes unreasonable new rules, guidance or
bans that restrict use of biosolids for land application in any region, county, or state without
scientific basis.
d. Support alternative energy legislation, regulation and policies that encourage use of biosolids as a
renewable energy resource.
e. Support streamlined legislation, regulations and policies that encourage the procurement of biogas,
biosolids, and compost.
f. Support CalRecycle, California Air Resources Board (CARB), California Public Utilities Commission,
(CPUC), California Energy Commission (CEC), California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA),
and State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) accepting quality standards that allow wastewater
treatment plants to inject biogas production into existing pipelines for renewable use.
g. Support composter associations and local cities and agencies in education, market expansion
activities, and meeting mandates to buy-back compost and other organics diverted from landfills.
h. Limit redundant reporting requirements on organics, recyclable material, and solid waste.
i. Support organic co digestion and recycling projects.
3. Source Control: OCSD supports legislative that reduces pollutants and harmful materials that could enter
the sewer system.
a. Support statewide or targeted public education programs and initiatives that teach appropriate
“What To Flush” practices and fats, oils, and grease management.
b. Support federal policies and legislation that regulates the disposal of flushable wipes to ensure
clarity on the definition of “flushable”.
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c. Support legislation, regulations, and funding assistance would lead to decreased introduction of
microplastics and other chemicals of concern discharged into the sewer system.
d. Support legislation and funding mechanisms that reduce the amount of trash, waste, chemicals,
and harmful organic material that enter the sewer system.
e. Support legislation that would create forever homes for forever chemicals.
f. Oppose regulations that would address PFAS as a class of constituents
4. Grant Funding: OCSD is committed to advancing the state of knowledge in the treatment and
management of wastewater through the application of innovative and alternative technologies. To this
end, OCSD supports grants assistance to offset its research, special projects and capital improvement
projects.
a. Support legislation, bonds, programs and projects that provide funding for: infrastructure
construction and rehabilitation, special studies and research or projects relating to security,
environmental education, water quality, wastewater processing, urban runoff, wastewater
recycling, biosolids and organics management, water quality improvement, resource recovery,
or alternative energy.
b. Support projects that provide for public benefit over projects that are primarily intended
for private benefit or gain.
c. Oppose proposals placing further requirements on grant recipients that return low value for high
administrative costs.
d. Support regional collaboration and funding for public agencies for food waste co digestion and
recycling projects.
5. Innovative Funding: OCSD is committed to supporting programs that provide the highest quality services
to its ratepayers.
a. Support programs to leverage federal assistance such as credit assistance and highly
subsidized loan assistance.
b. Support Public-Private-Partnerships, Public to Public and other financing approaches that can
reduce costs only if such projects do not impose costs on OCSD ratepayers.
c. Support the full funding of the Clean Water Act- State Revolving Fund Program at $4 billion
annually.
d. Seek federal assistance to support water conservation projects such as water recycling, green
infrastructure through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) and
direct grants to reduce project costs.
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e. Support highly subsidized assistance for disadvantaged communities.
6. Labor Relations/Human Resources: OCSD is committed to employer-employee relations including, but
not limited to meeting and conferring in good faith with recognized employee organizations regarding
the wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment. As Congress considers
reforming the federal tax code, many of the provisions subject to reform may impact labor relations.
a. Support measures to reform current workers compensation formulas that rely on a proportionate
exposure formula.
b. Support health insurance reform that does not create additional financial burdens on special
districts.
c. Support measures to ease applicability of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on public agencies.
d. Oppose any measure imposing compulsory and binding arbitration with respect to public
employees.
e. Oppose any measure that imposes upon local government mandated employee benefits that are
more properly decided at the local bargaining table.
f. Oppose efforts reducing local control over public employee disputes and imposing regulations on
an outside agency.
g. Oppose any measure granting essential public employees the right to strike.
h. Oppose a new mandatory Social Security tax for public employers and public employees.
i. Oppose overreaching and costly mandates that require non-necessary disclosures to employees
j. Oppose legislation and regulations that force OCSD to adjust paid and unpaid leave time parameters
7. Security: OCSD is committed to the safety of all personnel, facilities, and the entire sewer system.
a. Support legislation that would create efficiencies around the retention policy of surveillance video
for innocuous recordings.
b. Support funding assistance to implement COVID type employee protection needs.
c. Support funding for the hardening of essential regional facilities such as water recycling and sewer
collection and recycling sites.
d. Support legislation and funding for regional emergency management collaboration to protect critical
infrastructure.
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8. Planning: OCSD ensures the long-range planning of capital improvement programs in order to deliver the
highest quality facilities.
a. Support reform of existing state, regional and local planning processes only if directly linked to
reforms in the current revenue and tax structure of state and local governments.
b. Support measures that provide new revenues for growth management and the public facilities
necessary to support expected growth.
c. Support proposals encouraging regional, sub-regional or countywide cooperation in planning
urban development strategies, especially those that provide funding for effective
implementation of agreed upon goals.
d. Oppose legislation consolidating special districts that fail to address the concerns of cities affected
by the proposed consolidation.
e. Oppose measures that prevent or restrict the ability of cities or special districts to participate in
the Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) sub-regional process.
9. Public Health: Protection of public health is OCSD’s core mission. OCSD will work cooperatively with
county and state health officers to assure local health protection.
a. Support hazard mitigation, emergency response, planning, and recovery through direct
legislation, policy directives, and funding toward floodplain security within the Santa Ana
River watershed.
b. Support funding assistance to implement COVID and other viral type employee protection needs.
c. Support (generally) measures that provide for improved public health through regulation.
d. Support the protection of public health and environment through the construction and
implementation of advanced wastewater treatment technology.
e. Support sharing critical information and data from state and county agencies in the interest of
protecting the public health and saving taxpayer dollars.
f. Monitor legislation that provides additional occupational safety and health standard requirements
for employees, contractors, or subcontractors.
10. Public Works: OCSD is committed to the achievement of effective and efficient projects that provide
wastewater treatment services that benefit its ratepayers.
a. Support measures that provide funding and support to publicly owned treatment works and
sewage collection systems.
b. Support legislation and regulation that allow public agencies to procure goods and services in
manners similar to private industry, thereby reducing overall costs of delivery.
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c. Support legislation and regulation that improve the Utility Underground Service Alert Program in
order to improve coordination, identification, minimize damage, minimize environmental risks,
and minimize cost exposure to publicly owned facilities when contractors are performing sub-
surface work.
d. Support a comprehensive response to the state’s electricity and natural gas shortages that
provide a stable energy supply, respects the ability of municipalities to provide power,
recognizes that infrastructure (i.e. emergency and standby generators) exists that could be
employed temporarily during periods with minimal air quality impact and protects ratepayers
(including cities and special districts) against dramatic rate increases and statewide power
outages.
e. Support legislation and regulation that allow OCSD to utilize the Best Value Design/Build option
for the construction of public works projects.
f. Oppose Buy American mandates legislation that would increase project costs or prevent the use
of the most innovative technologies.
g. Monitor legislation that would require the inspection and possible repair of sewer laterals at the
time of sale in residential, commercial, and industrial areas
h. Support legislation that allows OCSD to utilize Job Order Contracting to more efficiently contract
for routine projects
i. Monitor legislation connected with government claims against special districts regarding risk and
wrap-up insurance
j. Support legislation that increases the thresholds for bid work and force account work
11. Tax Reform/Revenue and Taxation: Track pending legislation to ensure OCSD remains in compliance with
the government code as it pertains to wastewater system user fees and property tax revenues and the
investment of public funds.
a. Support measures leading to a greater financial independence from the state that would result in
greater stability and predictability in local government budgeting.
b. Oppose measures that impose mandated costs for which there is no guarantee of local
reimbursement or offsetting benefits.
c. Oppose legislation that shifts tax revenues away from local governments without the adequate
provision of a constitutionally guaranteed backfill to offset the lost revenues of those local
governments.
d. Oppose measures that shift existing local revenue sources back to the state, including the special
district share of property tax, sales tax, vehicle license fees, and rate payer fees.
e. Oppose the use of revenues traditionally used to fund the delivery of municipal services to fund
programs for which the state is responsible, particularly the courts, health, and welfare programs.
f. Oppose elimination or restriction of state and local tax deduction from federal tax liability of local
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taxpayers.
g. Oppose elimination or restriction on the availability of municipal tax-exempt financing for public
infrastructure projects.
h. Monitor legislation regarding changes in law that influence the fees and charges that OCSD
facilitates
12. Special Districts: OCSD supports the maintenance of special districts to provide specific services, in
response to citizen’s demands, in a cost-effective manner.
a. Support efforts to provide equitable treatment of Special Districts in emergency funding
assistance.
b. Support outreach to local, regional, and state elected officials to foster a greater understanding
regarding the critical relationship between adequate reserves and the successful short-and-long-
term operation of water and wastewater agencies.
c. Support the work of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), California Association
of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), and California Special Districts Association (CSDA) in any future
discussions or negotiations pertaining to the legislative and budget issues relative to preserving
control of members’ reserves.
d. Oppose further state regulations that adversely impact special district financing, operations, and
administration.
e. Oppose measures that create or grant powers to sub-regional or regional bodies that would result
in an infringement on clearly local concerns.
f. Oppose any administrative or legislative efforts to access or transfer any reserve funds held by
water and wastewater districts.
g. Oppose the imposition of unfunded, mandated programs on local governments.
h. Oppose efforts that diminish OCSD’s ability to govern efficiently and effectively, including
expanding the size of the Board of Directors.
i. Support alternate methods of public meetings notices that maintain transparency but are more cost
efficient and technologically advanced
j. Support legislation that gives local control on video retention guidelines to special districts to
maintain maximum flexibility and cost control.
13. Water Quality and Supply: OCSD is committed to participating collaboratively in the protection of
regional water resources for the benefit of the people we serve.
a. Support (generally) measures to increase water supply and improve water quality in the region,
including drought relief legislations and regulations.
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b. Support measures that would increase funding for water reuse technologies, including support for
the Groundwater Replenishment System project by the Orange County Water District and OCSD
to create new water supplies through wastewater recycling.
c. Support measures that promote and provide for the use of reclaimed water.
d. Support policy development, funding, and research for addressing urban runoff, stormwater, and
beach closures, including funding for studies that identify the sources of bacterial, viral and other
microbial contaminants and human pathogens.
e. Support measures to evaluate water quality standards, as needed, to ensure the objectives are
appropriately protecting the designated use.
f. Support legislation and regulation that would direct U.S. EPA levied fines to remain in the region.
g. Support measures addressing non-point source pollution in order to protect our ocean water
quality and provide funding to mitigate its effects, including integrated permitting approaches
that can reduce costs and achieve water quality improvements while allowing permits to be
tailored to the needs of Orange County and its watershed.
h. Support national infrastructure policies that contain aspirational goal that promotes
improved water use efficiency in construction of water efficient buildings and
communities.
i. Support legislation and regulation that promote improved water use efficiency through state
assistance in evaluating and implementing new programs and technologies and increasing public
awareness of water use efficiency.
j. Support legislation and regulation that provide for the development of the watershed approach,
including watershed management plans and watershed-based permitting.
k. Support legislation and regulation that necessitate the responsible use of water in residential,
commercial, and industrial areas.
l. Support streamlined environmental guidelines and regulations that would safeguard the region,
providing increased protections and lesser costs to ratepayers.
m. Oppose the imposition of statewide fees for environmental cleanup that is caused through private
sector actions or are regional in nature (e.g., when the nexus between those responsible for
environmental abuse and those required to pay for cleanup or mitigation is absent).
n. Support approaches to reduce compliance costs associated with stormwater controls including
the use of integrated plans.
o. Monitor state and federal legislation and regulations related to PFAS substances.
DRAFT
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2020-1263 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:3.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BILL (H.R.) 763
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Provide direction to staff regarding the House of Representatives Bill (H.R.)763 -Energy Innovation
and Carbon Dividend Act (Deutch).
BACKGROUND
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 H.R.763 is a Federal bill that proposes a
fee on carbon at the point of extraction to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy
technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District)mission states that we “protect public
health and the environment”,which is the goal of H.R.763.Generally,this bill does not have a direct
impact on the Sanitation District or the wastewater industry as a whole.
Conversely,H.R.763 could financially impact the Sanitation District by virtue of pass-through costs.
Additionally,it is anticipated the real impact to the Sanitation District is found in the higher costs of
fuel.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
·Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators,stakeholders,and
neighboring communities
PROBLEM
H.R.763 does not fall within the Sanitation District’s adopted Legislative and Regulatory Plan,
therefore, staff is seeking Committee direction.
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File #:2020-1263 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:3.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Per the 2020 Legislative and Regulatory Plan,“When a bill does not fall within the scope of the
legislative and regulatory plan or is a controversial issue,staff will seek direction from the Legislative
and Public Affairs Committee.”.
As such,staff is seeking guidance from the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee on the official
position on this bill.
This bill is generally supported by the 2020 Legislative and Regulatory Plan.In particular,Page 12
Appendix C, the 2020 Legislative and Regulatory Plan states:
·Support air quality legislations,regulations,rules,and policies that emphasize the use of
advanced technologies and promote greater flexibility and financial incentives to reduce air
emission.
TIMING CONCERNS
If action is taken by Congress, it anticipated that it will not occur until 2021.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
There will most likely not be any ramifications from not taking action as the bill is unlikely to receive
House committee action.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
At the request of a Board Member, staff is bringing this bill for Committee consideration.
At the writing of this report,the California Association of Sanitation Agencies and the National
Association of Clean Water Agencies have not taken a position on this bill.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
N/A
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com)with the complete agenda
package:
·House of Representatives Bill 763
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Shown Here:
Introduced in House (01/24/2019)
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 763
To create a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for the American people in order to encourage market-driven
innovation of clean energy technologies and market efficiencies which will reduce harmful
pollution and leave a healthier, more stable, and more prosperous nation for future generations.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 24, 2019
Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CRIST, Mr. PETERS, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. JUDY CHU of California,
and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To create a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for the American people in order to encourage market-driven
innovation of clean energy technologies and market efficiencies which will reduce harmful
pollution and leave a healthier, more stable, and more prosperous nation for future generations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) efficient markets strengthen our economy and benefit our Nation by encouraging
competition, innovation, and technological progress;
(2) efficient markets should reflect all costs of goods to ensure that they advance America’s
prosperity and national interests;
(3) emissions of carbon pollution and other harmful pollutants into our Nation’s air impose
substantial costs on all Americans and on future generations; and
(4) creation of a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund, to be distributed to the American people, will
make markets more efficient, create jobs, and stimulate competition, innovation, and
technological progress that benefit all Americans and future generations.
SEC. 3. CARBON DIVIDENDS AND CARBON FEE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new subtitle:
“Subtitle L—CARBON DIVIDENDS AND CARBON
FEE
“CHAPTER 101. CARBON FEES.
“CHAPTER 102. CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT.
“CHAPTER 101—CARBON FEES
“Sec. 9901. Definitions.
“Sec. 9902. Carbon fee.
“Sec. 9903. Emissions reduction schedule.
“Sec. 9904. Fee on fluorinated greenhouse gases.
“Sec. 9905. Decommissioning of Carbon Administration.
“Sec. 9906. Carbon Capture and Sequestration.
“Sec. 9907. Administrative authority.
“SEC. 9901. DEFINITIONS.
“For purposes of this subtitle:
“(a) ADMINISTRATOR .—The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency.
“(b) CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT OR CO2-E.—The term ‘carbon dioxide
equivalent’ or ‘CO2-e’ means the number of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions with the
same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas.
“(c) CARBON-INTENSIVE PRODUCT.—The term ‘carbon-intensive product’ means, as
identified by the Secretary by rule—
“(1) any manufactured or agricultural product which the Secretary in consultation with the
Administrator determines is emissions-intensive and trade-exposed, except that no covered fuel
is a carbon-intensive product, and
“(2) until such time that the Secretary promulgates rules identifying carbon-intensive
products, the following shall be considered carbon-intensive products: iron, steel, steel mill
products (including pipe and tube), aluminum, cement, glass (including flat, container, and
specialty glass and fiberglass), pulp, paper, chemicals, or industrial ceramics.
“(d) CARBON LEAKAGE.—The term ‘carbon leakage’ means an increase of global
greenhouse gas emissions which are substantially due to the relocation of greenhouse gas sources
from the United States to jurisdictions which lack comparable controls upon greenhouse gas
emissions.
“(e) COST OF CARBON OR CARBON COSTS.—The term ‘cost of carbon’ or ‘carbon
costs’ means a national or sub-national government policy which explicitly places a price on
greenhouse gas pollution and shall be limited to either a tax on greenhouse gases or a system of
cap-and-trade. The cost of carbon is expressed as the price per metric ton of CO2-e.
“(f) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered entity’ means—
“(1) in the case of crude oil—
“(A) a refinery operating in the United States, and
“(B) any importer of any petroleum or petroleum product into the United States,
“(2) in the case of coal—
“(A) any coal mining operation in the United States, and
“(B) any importer of coal into the United States,
“(3) in the case of natural gas—
“(A) any entity entering pipeline quality natural gas into the natural gas transmission
system, and
“(B) any importer of natural gas into the United States,
“(4) in the case of fluorinated gases any entity required to report the emission of a
fluorinated gas under part 98 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, and
“(5) any entity or class of entities which, as determined by the Secretary, is transporting,
selling, or otherwise using a covered fuel in a manner which emits a greenhouse gas to the
atmosphere and which has not been covered by the carbon fee, the fluorinated greenhouse gas
fee, or the carbon border fee adjustment.
“(g) COVERED FUEL.—The term ‘covered fuel’ means crude oil, natural gas, coal, or any
other product derived from crude oil, natural gas, or coal which shall be used so as to emit
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
“(h) CRUDE OIL.—The term ‘crude oil’ means unrefined petroleum.
“(i) EXPORT.—The term ‘export’ means to transport a product from within the jurisdiction
of the United States to persons outside the United States.
“(j) FLUORINATED GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘fluorinated greenhouse gas’ means
sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), and any fluorocarbon except for controlled
substances as defined in subpart A of part 82 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulation, and
substances with vapor pressures of less than 1 mm of Hg absolute at 25 degrees. With these
exceptions, ‘fluorinated greenhouse gas’ includes but is not limited to any hydrofluorocarbon,
any perfluorocarbon, any fully fluorinated linear, branched or cyclic alkane, ether, tertiary amine
or aminoether, any perfluoropolyether, and any hydrofluoropolyether.
“(k) FOSSIL FUEL.—The term ‘fossil fuel’ means coal, coal products, petroleum,
petroleum products, or natural gas.
“(l) FULL FUEL CYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—The term ‘full fuel cycle
greenhouse gas emissions’ means the greenhouse gas content of a covered fuel plus that covered
fuel’s upstream greenhouse gas emissions.
“(m) GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL.—The term ‘global warming potential’ means the
ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of one kilogram of a
trace substance relative to that of one kilogram of carbon dioxide.
“(n) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘greenhouse gas’ means carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbon (PFCs), and other gases as defined by rule of the Administrator.
“(o) GREENHOUSE GAS CONTENT.—The term ‘greenhouse gas content’ means the
amount of greenhouse gases, expressed in metric tons of CO2-e, which would be emitted to the
atmosphere by the use of a covered fuel and shall include, nonexclusively, emissions of carbon
dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and other greenhouse gases as identified by
rule of the Administrator.
“(p) GREENHOUSE GAS EFFECT.—The term ‘greenhouse gas effect’ means the adverse
effects of greenhouse gases on health or welfare caused by the greenhouse gas’s heat-trapping
potential or its effect on ocean acidification.
“(q) IMPORT.—Irrespective of any other definition in law or treaty, the term ‘import’
means to land on, bring into, or introduce into any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States.
“(r) PETROLEUM.—The term ‘petroleum’ means oil removed from the earth or the oil
derived from tar sands or shale.
“(s) PRODUCTION GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—The term ‘production greenhouse
gas emissions’ means the quantity of greenhouse gases, expressed in metric tons of CO2-e,
emitted to the atmosphere resulting from, nonexclusively, the production, manufacture,
assembly, transportation, or financing of a product.
“(t) UPSTREAM GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS .—The term ‘upstream greenhouse gas
emissions’ means the quantity of greenhouse gases, expressed in metric tons of CO2-e, emitted to
the atmosphere resulting from, nonexclusively, the extraction, processing, transportation,
financing, or other preparation of a covered fuel for use.
“SEC. 9902. CARBON FEE.
“(a) CARBON FEE.—There is hereby imposed a carbon fee on any covered entity’s
emitting use, or sale or transfer for an emitting use, of any covered fuel.
“(b) AMOUNT OF THE CARBON FEE.—The carbon fee imposed by this section is an
amount equal to—
“(1) the greenhouse gas content of the covered fuel, multiplied by
“(2) the carbon fee rate.
“(c) CARBON FEE RATE.—For purposes of this section—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The carbon fee rate, with respect to any use, sale, or transfer during a
calendar year, shall be—
“(A) in the case of calendar year 2019, $15, and
“(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), in the case of any calendar year thereafter—
“(i) the carbon fee rate in effect under this subsection for the preceding calendar year, plus
“(ii) $10.
“(2) EXCEPTIONS.—
“(A) INCREASED CARBON FEE RATE AFTER MISSED ANNUAL EMISSIONS
REDUCTION TARGET.—In the case of any year immediately following a year for which the
Secretary determines under 9903(b) that the actual emissions of greenhouse gases from covered
fuels exceeded the emissions reduction target for the previous year, paragraph (1)(B)(ii) shall be
applied by substituting ‘$15’ for the dollar amount otherwise in effect for the calendar year under
such paragraph.
“(B) CESSATION OF CARBON FEE RATE INCREASE AFTER CERTAIN EMISSION
REDUCTIONS ACHIEVED.—In the case of any year immediately following a year for which
the Secretary determines under 9903(b) that actual emissions of greenhouse gases from covered
fuels is not more than 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from covered fuels during the
year 2016, paragraph (1)(B)(ii) shall be applied by substituting ‘$0’ for the dollar amount
otherwise in effect for the calendar year under such paragraph.
“(3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of any calendar year after 2019, each of
the dollar amounts in paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(B)(ii), and (2)(A) shall be increased by an amount
equal to—
“(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
“(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year,
determined by substituting ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii)
thereof.
“(d) EXEMPTION AND REFUND.—The Secretary shall prescribe such rules as are
necessary to ensure the fee imposed by this section is not imposed with respect to any
nonemitting use, or any sale or transfer for a nonemitting use, including rules providing for the
refund of any carbon fee paid under this section with respect to any such use, sale, or transfer.
“(e) EXEMPTIONS.—
“(1) AGRICULTURE.—
“(A) FUEL.—If any covered fuel or its derivative is used on a farm for a farming purpose,
the Secretary shall pay (without interest) to the ultimate purchaser of such covered fuel or its
derivative, the total amount of carbon fees previously paid upon that covered fuel or its
derivative, as specified by rule of the Secretary.
“(B) FARM, FARMING USE, AND FARMING PURPOSE.—The terms ‘farm’, ‘farming
use’, and ‘farming purpose’ shall have the respective meanings given such terms under section
6420(c).
“(C) OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES EMISSIONS FROM AGRICULTURE.—The
carbon fee shall not be levied upon non-fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions which occur on a
farm.
“(2) ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.—If any covered fuel or its derivative
is used by the Armed Forces of the United States as supplies for vessels of war, vehicles, or
electrical power generation equipment, the Secretary shall pay (without interest) to the ultimate
purchaser of such covered fuel or its derivative, the total amount of carbon fees previously paid
upon that covered fuel or its derivative, as specified by rule of the Secretary.
“SEC. 9903. EMISSIONS REDUCTION SCHEDULE.
“(a) IN GENERAL.—An emissions reduction schedule for greenhouse gas emissions from
covered fuels is hereby established, as follows:
“(1) REFERENCE YEAR.—The greenhouse gas emissions from covered fuels during the
year 2016 shall be the reference amount of emissions and shall be determined from the
‘Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2016’ published by the
Environmental Protection Agency in April of 2018.
“(2) EMISSIONS REDUCTION TARGET.—The first emission reduction target shall be
for the year 2022. The emission target for each year thereafter shall be the previous year’s target
emissions minus a percentage of emissions during the reference year determined in accordance
with the following table:
“Year Emissions Reduction Target
2016 Reference year
2020 to 2024 No emissions reduction target
2025 to 2034 5 percent of 2016 emissions per year
2035 to 2050 2.5 percent of 2016 emissions per year
“(b) ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION.—Not later than 60 days after the beginning of
each calendar year beginning after the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation
with the Administrator, shall determine whether actual emissions of greenhouse gases from
covered fuels exceeded the emissions reduction target for the preceding calendar year. The
Secretary shall make such determination using the same greenhouse gas accounting method as
was used to determine the greenhouse gas emissions in the ‘Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2016’ published by the Environmental Protection Agency in April of
2018.
“SEC. 9904. FEE ON FLUORINATED GREENHOUSE GASES.
“(a) FLUORINATED GAS FEE.—A fee is hereby imposed upon any fluorinated
greenhouse gas which is required to be reported under part 98 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations.
“(b) AMOUNT.—The fee to be paid by the covered entity required to so report shall be an
amount equal to—
“(1) the total amount, in metric tons of CO2-e, of emitted fluorinated greenhouse gases (or,
in the case of a supplier, emissions that would result determined under the rules of such part),
multiplied by
“(2) an amount equal to 10 percent of the carbon fee rate in effect under section 9902(d)(1)
for the calendar year of such emission.
“SEC. 9905. DECOMMISSIONING OF CARBON FEE.
“(a) IN GENERAL.—At such time that—
“(1) the Secretary determines under 9903(b) that actual emissions of greenhouse gases from
covered fuels is not more than 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from covered fuels
during the year 2016, and
“(2) the monthly carbon dividend payable to an adult eligible individual has been less than
$20 for 3 consecutive years,
the Secretary shall decommission in an orderly manner all bureaus and programs associated with
administering the carbon fee, the carbon border fee adjustment, and the Carbon Dividend Trust
Fund.
“(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of any calendar year after 2020, the $20
amount under subsection (a)(2) shall be increased by an amount equal to—
“(1) such dollar amount, multiplied by
“(2) cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year,
determined by substituting ‘calendar year 2017’ for ‘calendar year 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii)
thereof.
“SEC. 9906. CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION.
“(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator and the
Secretary of Energy, shall prescribe regulations for making payments as provided in subsection
(b) to qualified facilities which capture and sequester qualified carbon dioxide.
“(b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make payments to a qualified facility in the same
manner as if such payment was a refund of an overpayment of the carbon fee imposed by section
9902, in cases in which such qualified facility—
“(A) uses any covered fuel—
“(i) with respect to which the carbon fee has been paid, and
“(ii) which results in the emission of qualified carbon dioxide,
“(B) captures such emitted qualified carbon dioxide, and
“(C) (i) sequesters such qualified carbon dioxide in a manner which is safe, permanent, and
in compliance with any applicable local, State, and Federal laws, or
“(ii) utilizes such qualified carbon dioxide in a manner provided in paragraph (3)(C).
“(2) AMOUNT OF REFUND.—The payment determined under this section shall be an
amount equal to the lesser of—
“(A) (i) the adjusted metric tons of qualified carbon dioxide captured and sequestered or
utilized, multiplied by
“(ii) the carbon fee rate during the year in which the carbon fee was imposed by section
9902 upon the covered fuel to which such carbon dioxide relates, or
“(B) the amount of the carbon fee imposed by section 9902 with respect to such covered
fuel.
“(3) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section—
“(A) QUALIFIED CARBON DIOXIDE; QUALIFIED FACILITY.—
“(i) QUALIFIED CARBON DIOXIDE.—The term ‘qualified carbon dioxide’ has the same
meaning given such term under section 45Q(b).
“(ii) QUALIFIED FACILITY.—The term ‘qualified facility’ means any industrial facility
at which carbon capture equipment is placed in service.
“(B) ADJUSTED TOTAL METRIC TONS.—The adjusted total metric tons of qualified
carbon dioxide captured and sequestered or utilized shall be the total metric tons of qualified
carbon dioxide captured and sequestered or utilized, reduced by the amount of any carbon
dioxide likely to escape and be emitted into the atmosphere due to imperfect storage technology
or otherwise, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Administrator.
“(C) UTILIZATION.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall
establish regulations providing for the methods and processes by which qualified carbon dioxide
may be utilized so as to remove that qualified dioxide safely and permanently from the
atmosphere. Utilization may include the production of substances such as but not limited to
plastics and chemicals. Such regulations shall minimize the escape or further emission of the
qualified carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“(D) SEQUESTRATION.—Not later 540 days after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall prescribe regulations
identifying the conditions under which carbon dioxide may be safely and permanently
sequestered.
“(4) COORDINATION WITH CREDIT FOR CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION.—
At such time that the Secretary prescribes regulations implementing this section, no payment
under this section shall be allowed to a taxpayer to whom a credit has been allowed for any
taxable year under section 45Q.
“SEC. 9907. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY.
“(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary in consultation with the Administrator shall prescribe
such regulations, and other guidance, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this
subtitle and assess and collect the carbon fee imposed by section 9902 and the fluorinated
greenhouse gas fee imposed by section 9904.
“(b) SPECIFICALLY.—Such regulations and guidance shall include—
“(1) the identification of an effective point in the production, distribution, or use of a
covered fuel or fluorinated greenhouse gas for collecting such carbon fee or fluorinated
greenhouse gas fee, in such a manner so as to minimize administrative burden and maximize the
extent to which full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions from covered fuels or fluorinated
greenhouse gases have the carbon fee or fluorinated greenhouse gas fee levied upon them,
“(2) the identification of covered entities which shall be liable for the payment of the carbon
fee or the fluorinated greenhouse gas fee,
“(3) requirements for the monthly payment of such fees,
“(4) as may be necessary or convenient, rules for distinguishing between different types of
covered fuels,
“(5) as may be necessary or convenient, rules for distinguishing between a covered fuel’s
greenhouse gas content and its upstream greenhouse gas emissions,
“(6) rules to ensure that no covered fuel or fluorinated greenhouse gas has the carbon fee,
fluorinated greenhouse gas fee, or carbon border fee adjustment imposed upon it more than once,
and
“(7) rules to ensure that the domestic implementation of the carbon fee and the fluorinated
greenhouse gas fee coordinate with the implementation of the carbon border fee adjustment of
chapter 102.
“CHAPTER 102—CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT
“Sec. 9908. Carbon border fee adjustment.
“Sec. 9909. Administration of the carbon border fee adjustment.
“Sec. 9910. Allocation of carbon border fee adjustment revenues.
“SEC. 9908. CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT.
“(a) IN GENERAL.—The fees imposed by, and refunds allowed under, this section shall be
referred to as ‘the carbon border fee adjustment’.
“(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the carbon border fee adjustment is to protect animal,
plant, and human life and health, to conserve exhaustible natural resources by preventing carbon
leakage, and to facilitate the creation of international agreements.
“(c) IMPORTED COVERED FUELS FEE.—In the case of any person that imports into the
United States any covered fuel, there shall be imposed a fee equal to the excess (if any) of—
“(1) an amount equal to—
“(A) the amount of full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions of such fuel, multiplied by
“(B) the carbon fee rate in effect for the year in which such fuel is imported, over
“(2) the total foreign cost of carbon carried by such fuel.
“(d) IMPORTED C ARBON-INTENSIVE PRODUCTS FEE.—In the case of any person that
imports into the United States any carbon-intensive products, there shall be imposed a fee equal
to the excess (if any) of—
“(1) an amount equal to—
“(A) production greenhouse gas emissions of such product, multiplied by
“(B) the carbon fee rate in effect for the year in which the production greenhouse gas
emissions of such product were emitted into the atmosphere, over
“(2) the total foreign cost of carbon carried by such product.
“(e) REFUND ON EXPORTS FROM UNITED STATES.—
“(1) CARBON-INTENSIVE PRODUCTS.—Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary,
there shall be allowed a credit or refund (without interest) to exporters of carbon-intensive
products manufactured or produced in the United States an amount equal to the excess (if any)
of—
“(A) an amount equal to—
“(i) the production greenhouse gas emissions of the exported carbon-intensive product,
multiplied by
“(ii) the carbon fee rate during the year in which the carbon fee or fluorinated greenhouse
gas fee was paid upon the production greenhouse gas emissions of the exported carbon-intensive
product, over
“(B) any total cost of carbon to be levied upon the carbon-intensive product by any
jurisdiction to which the carbon-intensive product is to be imported.
Any such credit or refund shall be allowed in the same manner as if it were an overpayment of
the fee imposed by section 9902 or 9904. The Secretary shall establish fair, timely, impartial, and
as necessary confidential procedures by which any exporter of any product from the United
States may petition the Secretary to include that exported product on the list of carbon-intensive
products.
“(2) COVERED FUELS.—Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in the case of a
covered fuel produced in the United States with respect to which the fee under section 9902 was
paid, there shall be allowed as a credit or refund (without interest) to any exporter of such
covered fuels an amount equal to the excess (if any) of—
“(A) an amount equal to—
“(i) the full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the covered fuel, multiplied by
“(ii) the carbon fee rate at the time the carbon fee was paid upon the full fuel cycle
greenhouse gas emissions of the exported covered fuel, over
“(B) any total cost of carbon to be levied upon the covered fuel by a jurisdiction to which
the carbon-intensive product is to be imported.
Any such credit or refund shall be allowed in the same manner as if it were an overpayment of
tax imposed by section 9902.
“(f) D EFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
“(1) FOREIGN COST OF CARBON; FOREIGN CARBON COSTS.—The term ‘foreign
cost of carbon’ or ‘foreign carbon cost’ means the cost of any laws of a foreign jurisdiction
which impose a system of cap-and-trade with respect to, or a tax or fee on, greenhouse gas. Such
cost shall be determined and expressed as a price per metric ton of CO2-e.
“(2) TOTAL COST OF CARBON CARRIED.—The term ‘total cost of carbon carried’
means an amount equal to—
“(A) the production greenhouse gas emissions of a carbon-intensive product or the full fuel
cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a covered fuel, multiplied by
“(B) the cost of carbon with respect to such product or fuel, reduced by any amount
refunded with respect to such product or fuel by a foreign jurisdiction.
The total cost of carbon carried shall be expressed as price in United States dollars.
“(3) TOTAL FOREIGN COST OF CARBON CARRIED.—The term ‘total foreign cost of
carbon carried’ means an amount equal to—
“(A) the production greenhouse gas emissions of a carbon-intensive product, or the full fuel
cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a covered fuel, multiplied by
“(B) the foreign cost of carbon with respect to such product or fuel, reduced by the amount
refunded with respect to such product or fuel by a foreign jurisdiction.
The total foreign cost of carbon carried shall be expressed as price in United States dollars.
“SEC. 9909. ADMINISTRATION OF THE CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT.
“(a) GENERALLY.—The Secretary in consultation with the Administrator shall prescribe
regulations and guidance which implement the carbon border fee adjustment under section 9908.
“(b) COLLABORATION.—In determining the production greenhouse gas emissions of an
imported carbon-intensive product, the upstream greenhouse gas emissions of an imported
covered fuel, the full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions of an imported covered fuel, or the
foreign cost of carbon, or otherwise administering the carbon border fee adjustment, it is the
sense of Congress that the Secretary should collaborate with authorized officers of any
jurisdiction, including sub-national governments, affected by the carbon border fee adjustment.
“(c) METHODOLOGY.—In determining the production greenhouse gas emissions of an
imported carbon-intensive product, the upstream greenhouse gas emissions of an imported
covered fuel, the full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions of an imported covered fuel, or the
foreign cost of carbon, the Secretary shall use reliable methodologies, which—
“(1) as may be necessary or convenient—
“(A) distinguish between different types of covered fuels,
“(B) distinguish between a covered fuel’s greenhouse gas content and that covered fuel’s
upstream greenhouse gas emissions,
“(C) distinguish between the different types of greenhouse gas emissions which compose a
covered fuel’s upstream greenhouse gas emissions or greenhouse gas content, as well as the
various processes which produced those emissions, and
“(D) distinguish between the different types of greenhouse gas emissions which compose a
carbon-intensive product’s production greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the various processes
which produced those emissions,
“(2) ensure that no covered fuel, covered fluorinated greenhouse gas, or carbon-intensive
product has the carbon fee, the fluorinated greenhouse gas fee, or the border fee adjustment
imposed upon it more than once,
“(3) ensure that the implementation of the border carbon adjustment aligns with the carbon
fee and the fluorinated gas fee,
“(4) in the case of incomplete data, rely upon the best available methodologies for
interpolating data gaps, and
“(5) are consistent with international treaties and agreements.
“(d) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall determine—
“(1) not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the production
greenhouse gas emissions of imported carbon-intensive products,
“(2) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the full fuel cycle
greenhouse gas emissions and the upstream greenhouse gas emissions of every imported covered
fuel, and
“(3) not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the foreign cost of
carbon in all jurisdictions.
“(e) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall establish fair, timely, impartial, and as necessary
confidential procedures by which the importer of any carbon-intensive product or any covered
fuel may petition the Secretary to revise the Secretary’s determination of the production
greenhouse gas emissions, full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions, or upstream greenhouse gas
emissions of that importer’s imported covered fuel or imported carbon-intensive product, or the
foreign cost of carbon carried by that importer’s imported carbon-intensive product.
“(f) SHIPMENTS FROM THE UNITED STATES TO THE TERRITORIES OF THE
UNITED STATES.—Notwithstanding any other treaty, law, or policy, shipments of covered
fuels or carbon-intensive products from the United States to Guam, the United States Virgin
Islands, Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be eligible for a refund of
the carbon fee under section 9908(e).
“(g) IMPORTS T O THE TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.—Notwithstanding
any other treaty, law, or policy, imports of covered fuels or carbon-intensive products to Guam,
the United States Virgin Islands, Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall not
be subject to Section 9908(c) or 9908(d).”
“SEC. 9910. ALLOCATION OF CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT REVENUES.
“The revenues collected under this chapter may be used to supplement appropriations made
available in fiscal years 2020 and thereafter—
“(1) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in such amounts as are necessary to administer
the carbon border fee adjustment, then
“(2) to the Department of Treasury, in such amounts as are necessary to allow refunds under
section 9908(e) to exporters of carbon-intensive products and exporters of covered fuels.”.
(b) COORDINATION WITH CARBON OXIDE SEQUESTRATION CREDIT.—Section
45Q(f) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(8) COORDINATION WITH CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION
PAYMENTS.—No credit shall be allowed under this section to a taxpayer which has received
any payment under section 9906.”.
(c) TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.—
(1) CONFORMANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.—In the case that the
Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, or any other authoritative international treaty
interpreter, shall find any portion of the carbon border fee adjustment under chapter 102 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to violate any treaty to which the United States is a party, the
Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to alter any aspect of such carbon border fee adjustment
so as to bring the carbon border fee adjustment into conformance with international law.
(2) INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.—The Congress finds the international
mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions to be of national importance. Therefore, the Congress
encourages the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s designee, to commence and complete
negotiations with other nations with the goal of forming treaties, environmental agreements,
accords, partnerships or any other instrument that effectively reduces global greenhouse gas
emissions to 10 percent of 2016 levels by 2050 and which respect the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
(3) SUSPENSION OF THE CARBON BORDER FEE ADJUSTMENT.—Any part of the
carbon border fee adjustment shall be suspended, in whole or in part,—
(A) by treaty or other international agreement which includes provisions for the suspension
of the carbon border fee adjustment, in whole or in part, with any party signatory to the treaty or
other international agreement, or
(B) by a finding of the Secretary that a jurisdiction of importation has implemented policies
which, in the case of high emitting countries, reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a rate at least
equivalent to United States greenhouse gas emission reductions, or, in the case of low emitting
countries, prevent the increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Any such finding shall be reviewed at least every 3 years and amended or revoked as required.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CARBON DIVIDEND TRUST FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 9512. CARBON DIVIDEND TRUST FUND.
“(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNDING.—There is hereby established in the Treasury of
the United States a trust fund to be known as the ‘Carbon Dividend Trust Fund’, consisting of
such amounts as may be appropriated to such trust fund as provided for in this section.
“(b) TRANSFERS TO T HE C ARBON DIVIDEND TRUST FUND.—There is hereby
appropriated to the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund amounts equal to the fees received into the
Treasury less any amounts refunded or paid under section 9902(d) or 9906 of chapter 101 for
each month.
“(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the trust fund shall be available for the following
purposes:
“(1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—So much of the expenses necessary to administer
the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for each year, as does not exceed—
“(A) in the case of the first 5 calendar years ending after the date of the enactment of this
section, the administrative expenses for any year may not exceed 8 percent of amounts
appropriated to the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund during such year, and
“(B) in the case of any calendar year thereafter, 2 percent of the 5-year rolling average of
the amounts appropriated to the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund, and
“(2) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—So much of the expenses as are
necessary to administer chapter 101 for any year as does not to exceed 0.60 percent of the
amounts appropriated to the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for the previous year, and further
limited as follows:
“(A) The Department of the Treasury.
“(B) The Social Security Administration.
“(C) The Environmental Protection Agency.
“(D) Department of State.
“(3) CARBON DIVIDEND PAYMENTS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts in the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund made
available under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for any year, the Secretary shall for
each month beginning more than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the Energy
Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019, make carbon dividend payments to each eligible
individual.
“(B) PRO-RATA SHARE.—A carbon dividend payment is one pro-rata share for each
adult, and half a pro-rata share for each child under 19 years old, of amounts available for the
month in the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund.
“(C) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible individual’ means, with respect to any
month, any natural living person who has a valid Social Security number or taxpayer
identification number and is a citizen or lawful resident of the United States (other than any
individual who is a citizen of any possession of the United States and whose bona fide residence
is outside of the United States). The Secretary is authorized to verify an individual’s eligibility to
receive a carbon dividend payment.
“(D) FEE TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—Amounts paid under this subsection shall be
includible in gross income.
“(E) FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND FEDERAL ASSISTED PROGRAMS.—The carbon
dividend amount received by any individual shall not be taken into account as income and shall
not be taken into account as resources for purposes of determining the eligibility of such
individual or any other individual for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits
or assistance, under any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in whole
or in part with Federal funds.
“(F) ADVANCE PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall transfer to the Carbon Dividend Trust
Fund such amounts as are necessary for the disbursement of an advanced carbon dividend to all
eligible individuals as follows:
“(i) An advanced carbon dividend shall be the same as the anticipated first carbon dividend
required to be distributed under subparagraph (A) and shall be distributed the month prior to the
first collection of the carbon fee.
“(ii) Total amounts disbursed as advanced carbon dividends shall be deducted from the
carbon dividends on a pro-rata basis over the first 3 years after the disbursement of the first
carbon dividends.
“(d) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall promulgate rules, guidance,
and regulations useful and necessary to implement the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund.”.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for subchapter A of chapter 98 of
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
“Sec. 9512. Carbon Dividend Trust Fund.”.
SEC. 5. LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.
Section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraphs:
“(23) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY INFORMATION RELATING TO
CARBON DIVIDEND PAYMENTS.—
“(A) DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY.—Individual identity information shall, without
written request, be open to inspection by or disclosure to officers and employees of the
Department of the Treasury whose official duties require such inspection or disclosure for
purposes of administering section 9512 (relating the Carbon Dividend Trust Fund).
“(B) COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—The Commissioner of Social Security
shall, on written request, disclose to officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury
individual identity information which has been disclosed to the Social Security Administration as
is necessary to administer section 9512.
“(C) RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE.—Information disclosed under this paragraph
shall be disclosed only for purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, carrying out section
9512.”.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW OF CARBON FEE AND
EMISSIONS REDUCTION SCHEDULE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Energy shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to
prepare a report relating to the carbon fee imposed by section 9902 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 and the emissions reductions schedule established under section 9903 of such Code.
(b) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—Such report shall—
(1) assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the carbon fee in achieving the emissions
reduction targets set forth in section 9903 of such Code;
(2) describe and make recommendations on whether the carbon fee rate and annual
increases prescribed by section 9902(c) of such Code should be adjusted in order to optimize the
efficiency and effectiveness of this Act in achieving the emissions reduction targets set forth in
section 9903 of such Code;
(3) describe the potential of the carbon fee to achieve future emissions targets set forth in
section 9903(a) of such Code through the year 2050;
(4) describe and evaluate the effectiveness of the carbon fee in reducing emissions from key
sectors of the economy, including sectors of the economy that have decreased their carbon
emissions, sectors of the economy that have increased their carbon emissions, and sectors of the
economy in which carbon emissions have not changed;
(5) make findings and recommendations to Federal departments and agencies and to
Congress on actions that could be taken to reduce carbon emissions in the sectors of the economy
in which carbon emissions have not decreased;
(6) make findings and recommendations on adjusting regulations enacted under the Clean
Air Act and other Federal laws that affect economic sectors achieving the emissions reduction
targets set forth in section 9903 of such Code; and
(7) provide an assessment of any other factors determined to be material to the program’s
efficiency and effectiveness in achieving the goals set forth in this act.
(c) REPORT MADE P UBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Not later than 10 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress the report required
under subsection (a). Such report shall be made electronically available to the public and open to
public comment for at least 60 days before the final submission to Congress.
SEC. 7. IMPACT OF CARBON FEE ON BIOMASS USE AND CARBON SINKS.
(a) S TUDY OF B IOMASS.—The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an agreement with
the National Academy of Sciences and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to conduct a study, make recommendations, and submit a report regarding the impact of
the carbon fee on the use of biomass as an energy source and the resulting impacts on carbon
sinks and biodiversity.
(b) STUDY REQUIREMENTS.—The study conducted under subsection (a) by the National
Academy of Sciences shall include analysis, documentation, and determinations on—
(1) the carbon fee and its impact on the use of biomass as an energy source and greenhouse
gas emissions from the use of biomass as an energy source;
(2) the impacts of the use of biomass as an energy source on carbon sinks and biodiversity;
and
(3) the various types of biomass that are being used as an energy source.
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the
National Academy of Sciences shall make recommendations to Federal departments and
agencies and to Congress. The recommendations shall include any actions that should be taken to
mitigate impacts of the carbon fee on—
(1) increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the use of biomass as an energy source; and
(2) degradation of carbon sinks and biodiversity relating to the use of biomass as an energy
source.
(d) REPORT.—The National Academy of Sciences shall prepare a report that includes any
findings and recommendations made pursuant to this section and, not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, make such report electronically available to the public.
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE CLEAN AIR ACT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7601) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
“SEC. 330. SUSPENSION OF REGULATION OF FUELS AND EMISSIONS BASED ON
GREENHOUSE GAS EFFECTS.
“(a) FUELS.—Unless specifically authorized in section 202, 211, 213, or 231 or this
section, if a carbon fee is imposed by section 9902 or 9908 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
with respect to a covered fuel, the Administrator shall not enforce any rule limiting the emission
of greenhouse gases from the combustion of that fuel under this Act (or impose any requirement
on any State to limit such emission) on the basis of the emission’s greenhouse gas effects.
“(b) EMISSIONS.—Unless specifically authorized in section 202, 211, 213, or 231 or this
section, if a fee is imposed by section 9904 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to
a fluorinated greenhouse gas, the Administrator shall not enforce any rule limiting such gas
under this Act (or impose any requirement on any State to limit such gas) on the basis of the
greenhouse gas effects of such gas.
“(c) AUTHORIZED R EGULATION.—Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), nothing in
this section limits the Administrator’s authority pursuant to any other provision of this Act—
“(1) to limit the emission of any greenhouse gas because of any adverse impact on health or
welfare other than its greenhouse gas effects;
“(2) in limiting emissions as described in paragraph (1), to consider the collateral benefits of
limiting the emissions because of greenhouse gas effects;
“(3) to limit the emission of black carbon or any other pollutant that is not a greenhouse gas
that the Administrator determines by rule has heat-trapping properties; or
“(4) to take any action with respect to any greenhouse gas other than limiting its emission,
including—
“(A) monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping requirements;
“(B) conducting or supporting investigations; and
“(C) information collection.
“(d) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—Notwithstanding
subsections (a) and (b), nothing in this section limits the Administrator’s authority to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions from—
“(1) sources that—
“(A) are subject to subpart OOOO or OOOOa of part 60 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, as in effect or January 1, 2020; or
“(B) would be subject to such subpart OOOO or subpart OOOOa if such subpart applied
regardless of the date on which construction, modification, or reconstruction of the source
involved commenced; or
“(2) POTW Treatment Plants (as defined in section 403.3(r) of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations).
“(e) SUSPENSION EXPIRATION.—
“(1) DETERMINATION.—The Administrator shall make a determination by March 30,
2030, and no less than once every five years thereafter, based on the determination required
by section 9903(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as to whether cumulative greenhouse
gas emissions from covered fuels subject to taxation under section 9902 of such Code during the
period from calendar year 2022 through the calendar year preceding the determination exceed
the cumulative emissions for that period that would have occurred if the emission reduction
targets in section 9903(a)(2) of such Code were met.
“(2) CONSEQUENCE OF CUMULATIVE EMISSIONS EXCEEDANCE.—If the
Administrator determines under paragraph (1) that cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from
covered fuels subject to tax under section 9902 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 exceed the
cumulative emissions for the period covered by the determination that would have occurred if the
emission reduction targets in section 9903(a)(2) of such Code were met, then the prohibitions in
subsection (a) of this section, and in section 211(c)(5) of this Act, shall cease to apply.
“(f) ASSURING ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY.—
“(1) AUTHORITY.—If the Administrator determines pursuant to subsection (e)(1) of this
section that the emission reduction targets in section 9903 (a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 are not met—
“(A) subsections (a) and (b) shall cease to apply; and
“(B) the Administrator shall—
“(i) issue such regulations as the Administrator deems necessary to bring greenhouse gas
emissions from covered fuels subject to taxation under section 9902 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 to levels that are at or below the emission reductions targets in section 9903(a)(2)
of such Code; and
“(ii) require in such regulations that additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are
achieved to fully compensate for any amount by which greenhouse gas emissions from covered
fuels subject to taxation under section 9902 of such Code have exceeded the targets in section
9903(a)(2) of such Code.
“(2) DEADLINE FOR FINALIZING REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall finalize
any regulations required by paragraph (1) not later than two years after the Administrator makes
the relevant determination pursuant to such paragraph.
“(3) ACHIEVEMENT OF ADDITIONAL REDUCTIONS.—Regulations issued pursuant
to paragraph (1) shall ensure that any additional reductions required by paragraph (1)(B)(ii) are
fully achieved by no later than eight years after the Administrator makes the determination
pursuant to subsection (e)(1) described in paragraph (1).
“(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘greenhouse gas’ and ‘greenhouse gas
effects’ have the meanings given to those terms in section 9901 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.”.
(b) NEW MOTOR VEHICLES AND NEW M OTOR VEHICLE ENGINES.—Section 202(b)
of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7521(b)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (3) (as redesignated by section 230(4)(C) of
Public Law 101–549 (104 Stat. 2529)) as paragraph (4); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(5) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 330, the Administrator may—
“(A) limit the emission of any greenhouse gas (as defined in section 9901 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986) on the basis of the emission’s greenhouse gas effects (as defined
in section 9901 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) from any class or classes of new motor
vehicles or new motor vehicle engines subject to regulation under subsection (a)(1); and
“(B) grant a waiver under section 209(b)(1) for standards for the control of greenhouse gas
emissions.”.
(c) FUELS.—Section 211(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(c)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(5) The Administrator shall not, pursuant to this subsection, impose on any manufacturer
or processor of fuel any requirement for the purpose of reducing the emission of any greenhouse
gas (as defined in section 9901 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) produced by combustion
of the fuel on the basis of the emission’s greenhouse gas effects (as defined in section 9901 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).”.
(d) NONROAD ENGINES AND VEHICLES EMISSIONS STANDARDS.—Section 213 of
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7547) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(e) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.—Notwithstanding section 330(a), the
Administrator may limit the emission of any greenhouse gas (as defined in section 9901 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) on the basis of the emission’s greenhouse gas effects (as defined
in section 9901 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) from any nonroad engines and nonroad
vehicles subject to regulation under this section.”.
(e) AIRCRAFT EMISSION S TANDARDS.—Section 231 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7571) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 330, the Administrator may limit the
emission of any greenhouse gas (as defined in section 9901 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986) on the basis of the emission’s greenhouse gas effects (as defined in section 9901 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) from any class or classes of aircraft engines, so long as any such
limitation is not more stringent than the standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation
Organization.”.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act,
except the carbon fee under section 9902 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall apply to
uses, sales, or transfers more than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 10. PRINCIPLE OF INTERPRETATION.
In the case of ambiguity, the texts of this statute and its amending texts shall be interpreted
so as to allow for the most effective abatement of greenhouse gas emissions.
SEC. 11. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.
Nothing in this legislation shall preempt or supersede, or be interpreted to preempt or
supersede, any State law or regulation.
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2020-1261 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:4.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2020
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Receive and file the Legislative Affairs Update for the months of September and October 2020.
BACKGROUND
The Orange County Sanitation District’s (Sanitation District)legislative affairs program includes
advocating the Sanitation District’s legislative interests;sponsoring legislation (where appropriate);
and seeking Local,State,and Federal funding for projects and programs.Staff will provide an
update on recent legislative and grant activities.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
·Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators,stakeholders,and
neighboring communities
PROBLEM
Without a strong advocacy program,elected officials may not be aware of the Sanitation District’s
mission, programs, and projects and how they could be impacted by proposed legislation.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Continue to work with Local,State,and Federal officials to advocate the Sanitation District’s
legislative interests.Help to create/monitor legislation and grants that would benefit the Sanitation
District,the wastewater industry,and the community as a whole.To assist in our relationship building
activities,we will continue to reach out to our elected officials providing facility tours,one-on-one
meetings, and trips to D.C. and Sacramento.
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File #:2020-1261 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:4.
TIMING CONCERNS
N/A
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
If we do not work with Local,State,and Federal elected officials,legislation could be passed that
negatively affects the Sanitation District and the wastewater industry as a whole.Additionally,a lack
of engagement may result in missed funding opportunities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Sanitation District State of the District was held on Friday,October 30 from 9-10 a.m.For the first
-time ever,the event was held virtually,allowing for a variety of participants to attend including local
associations,members of the community,State and Federal elected officials,and area businesses.
Additionally,the event showcased a video from Congressman Correa as well as a virtual tour of Plant
No.1 in Fountain Valley for which Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson served as the tour
guide.In total,we had over 100 attendees log on for the virtual State of the District.We appreciate
everyone’s attendance and look forward to next year’s event.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
N/A
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com)with the complete agenda
package:
·Federal Update - ENS Resources
·Federal Legislative Matrix - ENS Resources
·State Update - Townsend Public Affairs
·State Legislative Matrix - Townsend Public Affairs
·Grant Matrix
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TO: Rebecca Long
FROM: Eric Sapirstein
DATE: October 19, 2020
SUBJECT: Washington Update
Congress has been in pro forma session, recessing for the November elections. Prior
to recessing, another effort to pass COVID-19 relief legislation occurred when the
House passed a scaled back HEROES Act, paring back proposed spending from $3
trillion to $2.2 trillion. The White House, acting through Secretary of Treasury
Mnuchin offered a $1.8 trillion alternative, but the absence of extending increased
unemployment benefits by $600 per week and limited state and local governmental
assistance doomed progress. At the same time, the Senate appears fractured over
any package of assistance with a core group of Republican Senators opposing any
assistance package beyond airline assistance and small business support. As a
result, final passage of a compromise looks increasingly unlikely before the
November election. Despite the recess, a handful of policy matters continued to
progress and are summarized below.
MODERNIZING AMERICA’S WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND WATER
INFRASTRUCTURE PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER
On October 13, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on Modernizing
America’s Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure. Despite the lofty
provisions of the EO, it is essentially a campaign tool as its focus is on existing
programs that primarily address geographic water programs. Where the EO
addresses generic issues related to water infrastructure, it is simply a restatement
of prior efforts that are ongoing. The one element of this EO that could remain in
play regardless of the congressional elections and the race for President is the
Water Subcabinet. This subcabinet could form the core approach to a more unified
federal approach to address the multitude of water quality and water supply issues
as part of any national infrastructure initiative.
The EO formalizes federal policy to improve coordination of water resources and
infrastructure policy, reduce program duplication, promote water infrastructure
resilience, and support water-related workforce training. The EO also formally
establishes a “Water Subcabinet” that has operated over the past few years as an
informal group. The subcabinet will facilitate management of water supplies and
systems and promote increased coordination among departments and agencies.
2 | P a g e
The EO essentially brings together the numerous existing programs such as water
quality pollution trading, water recycling, flood control, reservoir forecasting, and
seeks to memorialize many of the actions carried out by the Trump Administration
to address water infrastructure and water resource management. There is no
additional commitment of resources. However, the EO lays out a priority to report
on how to integrate the various infrastructure programs at the federal level to
support modernization of the nation’s water infrastructure.
The EO addresses the following water resources matters:
• Establishes a Water Subcabinet to be co-chaired by Interior Secretary
Bernhardt and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew
Wheeler. The Water Subcabinet would consist of senior officials from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the
Department of Energy, and the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Water Subcabinet would coordinate with the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office
of Science and Technology Policy, and other federal agencies.
• Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Water Subcabinet shall identify
all existing federal entities currently addressing water-related issues and
make recommendations to consolidate and coordinate these entities to the
Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget, and the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy.
• Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Water Subcabinet shall submit
a report that recommends actions to address water resources management.
The report will identify a lead agency, other relevant agencies, and agency
milestones for fiscal years 2021 through 2025.
• The EO identifies the following actions to increase water storage, water
supply reliability, and drought resiliency and coordinate multiagency
permitting and regulatory actions:
▪ Coordinate with State, local, tribal partners and rural
stakeholders to implement the following regional
initiatives/projects: Colorado River Operations, Mississippi
River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force; Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan III; and,
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
▪ Implement the “Priority Actions Supporting Long-Term
Drought Resilience” document issued on July 31, 2019, by the
National Drought Resilience Partnership.
▪ Finalize and implement the following drinking water,
desalination, water reuse, wastewater, and flood control
initiatives/policies: National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations: Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions;
National Water Reuse Action Plan; and, Department of
Energy’s Water Security Grand Challenge.
3 | P a g e
▪ Support efforts to improve water data management, research,
modeling, and forecasting including actions identified in the
Federal Action Plan for Improving Water Prediction for
Western U.S.
▪ Within 150 days of the date of this order, the Water Subcabinet
shall identify and recommend actions and priorities to the
Director of OMB, the Chairman of CEQ, and the Assistant to the
President for Economic Policy to support integrated planning
and coordination.
▪ Within 150 days of the date of this order, the Water
Subcabinet, shall identify actions and develop
recommendations to enhance the recruitment, training, and
retention of water professionals within drinking water,
desalination, water reuse, wastewater, flood control,
hydropower, and delivery and storage sectors.
WRDA Reauthorization Discussions Continue with Goal of Final Passage by
December
The House and Senate Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) committee staff
continued to hold limited discussions on a compromise bill that could include
funding of core clean water and safe drinking water programs including the State
Revolving Fund (SRF). Central to the effort is whether a bill would address more
than funding the SRF. Proposals to address permitting mandates, extension of the
CSO/stormwater grants program, and addressing resiliency needs of the
wastewater industry, including planning for sea level rise remain points of
discussion. Whether any of these issues will be adopted as part of any final
agreement could rest on whether the elections result in a flipping of the Senate’s
control. Such a switch might lead to a decision to approve a simple U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers flood and navigation reauthorization bill and address the broader
water infrastructure policy and funding matters in the next Congress.
Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations
Unsurprisingly, Congress and the White House agreed to avoid a shutdown of the
government and approved a “clean” continuing resolution. The enactment of the
measure simply funds existing federal programs through December 12, 2020. When
Congress returns to work on or around November 16, its top priority will involve
finalizing spending for the remaining months of Fiscal Year 2021. How this unfolds
will depend on the election outcome, based on the experiences of past election
years.
If a switch does not occur in control of the Senate and White House, it is highly
conceivable that a final spending agreement will be acted on and enacted by
December 12. Additionally, the potential exists that a COVID-19 relief package
would be included in the measure. Subsequent to this, Congress and the White
House will then prepare for budget actions related to the Fiscal Year 2022 budget
process that would kick-off in February.
Transition Issues Likely Dominate Lame Duck Session
4 | P a g e
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, transition issues will dominate the Lame
Duck Session. First, a number of House Members are retiring. This includes a
number of House Republicans that are term limited in their roles as Ranking
Committee members. This means that committee assignments will see new
Members appointed, as well as a realignment of membership ratios of the two
parties on each committee to reflect any new majority/minority numbers. Perhaps
even more dramatic changes could be in the Senate. If Senate control flips to the
Democrats, then wholesale changes would occur as chairmanships of committee and
subcommittees would switch. For California, Senator Feinstein would be expected
to return to her senior role on the Committee on Appropriations. If she decided to
retain her position on the key Subcommittees on Energy and Water and Interior and
Environment that fund water quality and water supply programs, support for clean
water and water recycling programs that address OCSD interests would be expected
to secure additional funding.
One of the most intriguing transition matters involves whom Governor Newsom
would appoint to be Senator should the Biden ticket win election. The decision
could be consequential to OCSD since the appointment could result in any appointee
seeking appointment to the crucial Committee on Environment and Public Works
that develops clean water policy.
Last, it now seems all but certain that the next Congress will restore the ability to
legislate earmarks, directing spending to specific public purpose projects or
programs. The House will decide in December on the rules governing the next
Congress and recent hearings into the development of such rules illustrated strong,
bipartisan support to allow for earmarks as part of any rules package. In the Senate,
the key issue that will likely dominate debate is a strong push by a number of
Senators to eliminate the filibuster. The elimination or modification of the filibuster
is not a given as some of the chamber’s most senior Senators, including Senator
Feinstein, have suggested that the filibuster is a necessary evil to ensure that the
Senate can consider policy in a deliberative manner.
Title
WIFIA Improvement Act of 2020
Primary Sponsors
John Garamendi
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 24, 2020, 4:33 PM
To amend the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014
with respect to the final maturity date of certain loans, and for other
purposes.
Introduction Date: 2020-09-11
Labels: Infrastructure Water Finance
Federal Legislative Update - October 2020
Last Updated: October 15, 2020
Bills by Issue
Priority: High (6)
State
US
Bill Number
HR 8217
Last Action
Referred To The Subcommittee On Water
Resources And Environment 2020 09 14
Status
In House
Position
Monitor
Priority
High
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:29 PM
Amends WIFIA's 35-year loan terms to 55-years, allowing water projects with longer useful lifecycles to receive federal WIFIA financing. The bill
would further provide that federal projects that are managed and operated by nonfederal interests would be eligible for WIFIA assistance. This
provision could create increased competition for funding beyond the original intent of the WIFIA program (water and wastewater projects) by
allowing assistance to be provided to irrigation projects and other non-municipal needs. #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:29 PM
American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Works Association, National Water Resources Association, Sites Project Joint Powers
Authority, Friant Water Authority, San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, Family Farm Alliance - SUPPORT H.R. 8217 #OCSD
Title
Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019
Description
Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019 This bill
reauthorizes funding for several grants programs that address
water pollution, such as wastewater and stormwater. Specifically,
the bill reauthorizes through FY2024 * grants to states for water
pollution control programs; * grants to municipalities for
watershed pilot projects, such as projects that manage wet
weather discharges (e.g., sewer overflows and sanitary sewer
overflows) or control pollutants from municipal separate storm
sewer systems; * grants to states, local governments, private
utilities, and nonprofit entities for alternative water source projects
to meet critical water supply needs; * grants to states for the
purpose of providing grants to municipalities for controlling,
treating, reducing, or reusing municipal combined sewer overflows,
sanitary sewer overflows, or stormwater; and * grants to states for
clean water state revolving funds.
Primary Sponsors
Peter DeFazio
Bill Summary: Last edited by Eric Sapirstein at Sep 23, 2020, 8:16 PM
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain
water pollution control programs, and for other purposes. Includes
reauthorization of CWSRF, grants to municipalities to capture, treat, or
reuse combined and sanitary sewer overflows or stormwater, clean
water pilot programs, and grants for alternative water source projects.
Introduction Date: 2019-03-05
Labels: Infrastructure Permits
State Revolving Loan Fund Water Quality
State
US
Bill Number
HR 1497
Last Action
Reported Amended By The Committee On
Transportation And Infrastructure H Rept 116
484 2020 09 04
Status
In House
Position
Monitor
Priority
High
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 12:51 PM
CASA Supports #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 12:33 PM
H.R. 1497 serves as the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure approach to address renewal of key elements of the Clean Water
Act. Selected provisions of the measure may become part of a final WRDA bill during the Lame Duck Session. Among the key provisions that could
be included are: 1) spending authorization of the Clean Water SRF with an average of $3 billion per year over five years, 2) providing $110 million
for research and planning to address resiliency impacts to wastewater treatment systems (including manmade, natural and sea level rise), 3)
renews alternative water sources program with $150 million in authorized grants assistance, 4) extends CSO/Stormwater grants program through
2025, 5) reserving up to 30% of SRF allocation to a state to provide increased subsidies for DACs, and 5) reserving up to 1% of SRF state allocation
of SRF assistance to develop workforce training. #OCSD
Title
Moving Forward Act
Description
Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface
Transportation in America Act or the INVEST in America Act This bill
addresses provisions related to federal-aid highway, transit,
highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and
rail programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Among
other provisions, the bill * extends FY2020 enacted levels through
FY2021 for federal-aid highway, transit, and safety programs; *
reauthorizes for FY2022-FY2025 several surface transportation
programs, including the federal-aid highway program, transit
programs, highway safety, motor carrier safety, and rail programs;
* addresses climate change, including strategies to reduce the
climate change impacts of the surface transportation system and
conduct a vulnerability assessment to identify opportunities to
enhance the resilience of the surface transportation system and
ensure the efficient use of federal resources; * revises Buy America
procurement requirements for highways, mass transit, and rail; *
establishes a rebuild rural grant program to improve the safety,
state of good repair, and connectivity of transportation
infrastructure in rural communities; * implements new safety
requirements across all transportation modes; and * directs DOT
to establish a pilot program to demonstrate a national motor
vehicle per-mile user fee to restore and maintain the long-term
solvency of the Highway Trust Fund and achieve and maintain a
state of good repair in the surface transportation system.
Primary Sponsors
Peter DeFazio
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 30, 2020, 5:45 PM
Moving Forward Act is the House Democratic infrastructure policy. H.R. 2
authorizes $60 billion for SRF program, $1 billion for water recycling and
$500 million in grants to municipalities to adopt smart water
technologies to modernize wastwater treatment systems. H.R. 2 also
provides for tax policy changes to provide: unrestricted use of private
activity bonds to finance water and wastwater projects, restoration of
advanced refundings of municipal obligations and restoration of Build
America Bonds. Expands the application of Buy America mandates to
include manufactured products.
Introduction Date: 2020-06-11
Labels: Infrastructure PFAS Water Finance
Water Quality
State
US
Bill Number
HR 2
Last Action
Received In The Senate 2020 07 20
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
High
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:58 PM
- Invests $40 billion in new wastewater infrastructure to encourage efficiency and affordability, and helps communities address stormwater
needs, preventing pollution in local rivers - Invests in clean water and wastewater infrastructure to meet the federal government’s trust
obligations to Indian Country and making responsible investments to repair severely damaged federal canals, leveraging taxpayer dollars to
maximize public benefits. - Unlocks more tax-exempt bond financing for water infrastructure projects by exempting bonds funding these projects
from State allocation caps for Private Activity Bonds. - Protects access to safe drinking water by investing over $25 billion in the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund and other programs to ensure all communities have clean drinking water and to help remove dangerous contaminants like
PFAS from local water systems. H.R. 2 passed House this summer on vote of 233-188 and received in Senate. Senate Republican majority are not
going to take up the bill. The bill's clean water provisions could be used as policy markers for Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works Democrat staff during WRDA 2020 negotiations. #OCSD
Title
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020
Primary Sponsors
Tom Udall
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:29 PM
H.R. 5845 is a comprehensive and expansive package that addresses
wide-ranging issues dealing with plastic pollution in the U.S. Overall, the
bill does the following: - Require big corporations take responsibility for
their pollution, requiring producers of plastic products to design,
manage, and finance waste and recycling programs. - Spur innovation,
incentivizing big corporations to make reusable products and items that
can actually be recycled. - Create a nationwide beverage container
refund program, which is successful at the state level. - Reduce and ban
certain single-use plastic products that are not recyclable. - Establish
minimum recycled content requirements for beverage containers,
packaging, and food-service products, while standardizing recycling and
composting labeling. - Spur massive investments in U.S. domestic
recycling and composting infrastructure, while pressing pause on new
plastic facilities until critical environment and health protections are put
in place. - Require manufacturers and producers of single-use wet wipes
to print a "Do Not Flush" label on packaging.
Introduction Date: 2020-06-11
Labels: Plastic and Wipes
State
US
Bill Number
S 3944
Last Action
Read Twice And Referred To The Committee
On Environment And Public Works 2020 06 11
Status
In Senate
Position
None
Priority
High
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:14 PM
CASA Supports #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:59 PM
S. 3944 is a expansive and comprehensive bill that addresses issues related to single-use plastics, plastic pollution, fixing the broken recycling
system in the U.S., and having manufacturers and producers of plastics be responsible for paying for the solutions to the pollution problems. S.
3944 includes a provision that would require manufacturers of single-use synthetic wet wipes to print a "Do Not Flush" label on the product
packaging that is in accordance with the voluntary guidelines for labeling practices contained in the Code of Practice of the Association of the
Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and the European Disposables and Nonwovens Association, entitled ‘Communicating Appropriate Disposal Pathways
for Nonwoven Wipes to Protect Wastewater Systems’. For single-use wet wipes that are flushable, bill requires the product meets performance
standards for dispersibility in a sewer or septic system established by the International Water Services Flushability Group and the wipes product
do not contain chemicals harmful to public wastewater infrastructure. #OCSD
Title
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020
Description
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 This bill sets forth
requirements related to waste and recycling collection systems for
a variety of products and materials, including plastics. The bill
makes certain producers of products (e.g., packaging, paper, single-
use products, beverage containers, or food service products)
fiscally responsible for collecting, managing, and recycling or
composting the products after consumer use. In addition, the bill
establishes (1) minimum percentages of products that must be
reused, recycled, or composted; and (2) an increasing percentage
of recycled content that must be contained in beverage containers.
Beginning on January 1, 2022, the bill phases out a variety of single-
use products, such as plastic utensils. The bill also sets forth
provisions to encourage the reduction of single-use products,
including by establishing programs to refund consumers for
returning beverage containers and by establishing a tax on
carryout bags. The bill creates a temporary moratorium on new or
expanded permits for facilities that manufacture plastics until
regulations are updated to address pollution from the facilities. The
Environmental Protection Agency must publish guidelines for a
national standardized labeling system for recycling and composting
receptacles. Producers must include labels on their products that
are easy to read and indicate whether the products are recyclable,
compostable, or reusable. Finally, the bill establishes limitations on
the export of plastic waste to other countries.
Primary Sponsors
Alan Lowenthal
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:29 PM
H.R. 5845 is a comprehensive and expansive package that addresses
wide-ranging issues dealing with plastic pollution in the U.S. Overall, the
bill does the following: - Require big corporations take responsibility for
their pollution, requiring producers of plastic products to design,
manage, and finance waste and recycling programs. - Spur innovation,
incentivizing big corporations to make reusable products and items that
can actually be recycled. - Create a nationwide beverage container
refund program, which is successful at the state level. - Reduce and ban
certain single-use plastic products that are not recyclable. - Establish
minimum recycled content requirements for beverage containers,
packaging, and food-service products, while standardizing recycling and
composting labeling. - Spur massive investments in U.S. domestic
recycling and composting infrastructure, while pressing pause on new
plastic facilities until critical environment and health protections are put
in place. - Require manufacturers and producers of single-use wet wipes
to print a "Do Not Flush" label on packaging.
Introduction Date: 2020-02-11
Labels: Plastic and Wipes
State
US
Bill Number
HR 5845
Last Action
Referred To The Subcommittee On Water
Resources And Environment 2020 02 12
Status
In House
Position
Support
Priority
High
Private Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 9, 2020, 6:52 PM
CASA Supports #OCSD
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:26 PM
H.R. 5845 is a expansive and comprehensive bill that addresses issues related to single-use plastics, plastic pollution, fixing the broken recycling
system in the U.S., and having manufacturers and producers of plastics be responsible for paying for the solutions to the pollution problems.
#OCSD H.R. 5845 includes a provision that would require manufacturers of single-use synthetic wet wipes to print a "Do Not Flush" label on the
product packaging that is in accordance with the voluntary guidelines for labeling practices contained in the Code of Practice of the Association of
the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and the European Disposables and Nonwovens Association, entitled ‘Communicating Appropriate Disposal
Pathways for Nonwoven Wipes to Protect Wastewater Systems’. For single-use wet wipes that are flushable, bill requires the product meets
performance standards for dispersibility in a sewer or septic system established by the International Water Services Flushability Group and the
wipes product do not contain chemicals harmful to public wastewater infrastructure. #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 11, 2020, 9:27 PM
Includes language that would establish “Do Not Flush” labeling requirements for synthetic wet wipes and requiring that non-synthetic wet wipes
meet dispersibility performance standards outlined by the International Water Services Flushability Group. #OCSD
Title
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to
permitting terms, and for other purposes.
Primary Sponsors
John Garamendi
Introduction Date: 2019-03-14
Labels: Infrastructure
State
US
Bill Number
HR 1764
Last Action
Referred To The Subcommittee On Water
Resources And Environment 2019 03 15
Status
In House
Position
Support
Priority
High
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 10, 2020, 4:12 PM
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to permitting terms, and for other purposes. Extends NPDES term from 5 to 10
years for municipalities. #OCSD
Priority: Medium (6)
Title
Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water
Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing,
and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021
Description
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2021 This bill provides
FY2021 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for
military activities. (The bill excludes military construction, military
family housing, civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers,
and nuclear warheads, which are all considered in other
appropriations bills.) Within the DOD budget, the bill provides
appropriations for * Military Personnel; * Operation and
Maintenance; * Procurement; * Research, Development, Test and
Evaluation; and * Revolving and Management Funds. The bill
provides appropriations for Other Department of Defense
Programs, including * the Defense Health Program, * Chemical
Agents and Munitions Destruction, * Drug Interdiction and
Counter-Drug Activities, and * the Office of the Inspector General.
The bill provides appropriations for (1) Related Agencies, including
the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System
Fund and the Intelligence Community Management Account; and
(2) Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism. The
bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds
provided by this and other appropriations Acts.
Primary Sponsors
Pete Visclosky
Bill Summary: Last edited by David French at Oct 8, 2020, 7:42 PM
HR 7617 is a FY 21 omnibus spending bill that includes funding for:
Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development,
Financial Services and General Government, Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development
Introduction Date: 2020-07-16
Labels: Appropriations
State
US
Bill Number
HR 7617
Last Action
Received In The Senate And Read Twice And
Referred To The Committee On
Appropriations 2020 08 12
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
Medium
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 7:38 PM
Responsible for funding U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) water infrastructure programs and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. USBR is funded at
$4.487 billion for management, development, and restoration of water and related natural resources, of which: - $50 million to be used for water
reclamation and reuse projects (Title XVI Program) - Not less than $300 million will be used for WaterSMART. - $50 million to be used for water
reclamation and reuse projects (Title XVI Program) #OCSD
Title
Water Resources Development Act of 2020
Primary Sponsors
Peter DeFazio
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 30, 2020, 5:36 PM
House Water Resources Development Act that provides base language
for conference with Senate on expanded water resources legislation that
could included clean water and drinking water SRF funding
authorizations. Approved on bipartisan vote in committee. Passed
House on bipartisan vote and referred to Senate.
Introduction Date: 2020-07-13
Labels: Infrastructure Water Finance Wetlands
WRDA
Title
State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior,
Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs
Appropriations Act, 2021
Description
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2021 This bill provides FY2021 appropriations
for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related
programs. The bill provides appropriations to the State
Department for * Administration of Foreign Affairs, * International
Organizations, and * International Commissions. The bill provides
appropriations for Related Agencies and Related Programs,
including * the U.S. Agency for Global Media, * the Asia Foundation,
* the U.S. Institute of Peace, * the Center for Middle Eastern-
Western Dialogue Trust Fund, * the Eisenhower Exchange
Fellowship Program, * the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program, * the
East-West Center, and * the National Endowment for Democracy.
The bill provides appropriations for Other Commissions, including
* the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage
Abroad, * the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,
* the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, * the
Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of
China, and * the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission. The bill provides appropriations to * the U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID), * the State Department and
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:54 PM
H.R. 7608 is a FY 2021 omnibus spending bill containing funding for:
State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior,
Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs
Introduction Date: 2020-07-13
Labels: Appropriations
State
US
Bill Number
HR 7575
Last Action
Received In The Senate 2020 07 30
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
Medium
Private Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 9, 2020, 6:54 PM
CASA Supports #OCSD
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 12:41 PM
Bill's provisions are limited to addressing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water resources development projects mainly. H.R. 7575 was passed by
House earlier this summer on bipartisan voice vote. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure staff and Senate Committee on
Environment and Public Works staff currently engaging in conference negotiations to reach final compromise WRDA 2020 bill. Compromise bill
expected to be released during Lame Duck Session. #OCSD
State
US
Bill Number
HR 7608
Last Action
Received In The Senate And Read Twice And
Referred To The Committee On
Appropriations 2020 07 30
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
Medium
the President for International Security Assistance, and * the
President and International Financial Institutions for Multilateral
Assistance. The bill provides appropriations for Bilateral Economic
Assistance to * the President; * the State Department; *
Independent Agencies, including the Peace Corps, the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, the Inter-American Foundation, and the
U.S. African Development Foundation; and * the Department of the
Treasury. The bill provides appropriations for Export and
Investment Assistance to * the Export-Import Bank of the United
States, * the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation,
and * the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The bill also
includes provisions that * provide emergency funding for expenses
to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus (i.e., the
virus that causes COVID-19); * establish the People-to-People
Partnership for Peace Fund to fund projects that help build the
foundation for a peaceful coexistence between Israelis and
Palestinians and a sustainable two-state solution; and * establish
the Joint Investment of Peace Initiative to support the development
of the Palestinian private sector economy and increased economic
cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. The bill sets forth
requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and
other appropriations Ac... (click bill link to see more).
Primary Sponsors
Nita Lowey
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 7:44 PM
Responsible for funding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) water infrastructure assistance programs. USEPA would be funded at
$9.37 billion, of which Clean Water SRF receives $1.6 billion (additional $6.3 billion provided in emergency spending), of which $2 million is
reserved for technical assistance and training grants. The Interior-Environment FY2021 spending bill's WIFIA Program language rescinds
unobligated program appropriations from FY2017-FY2019 to fund the program in FY2021 rather than appropriating a new tranche of funding. If
enacted this could cause those currently working through the WIFIA application process for loans from these prior fiscal year appropriations
would lose that funding source and restart the application process in FY2021. Upon House passage of the minibus, an amendment from Rep.
Jackie Speier (D-CA) was adopted that protects such WIFIA applicants from having to start the process over again if the rescission language is
enacted. Stakeholder groups have articulated to Congress the concerns regarding the language and are advocating for the House and Senate
appropriators to fix the language when during conference negotiations. #OCSD
Title
Water for Tomorrow Act of 2020
Description
Water for Tomorrow Act of 2020 This bill provides assistance for
water resources development and ecosystem protection and
restoration projects in western states. Specifically, among other
things, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to provide
assistance to water supply projects that would contribute to a safe,
adequate water supply for domestic, agricultural, environmental,
municipal, or industrial use. Interior must also award grants to help
disadvantaged communities with populations of 60,000 or
less meet specified drinking water standards or address a
significant decline in quantity or quality of drinking water. Further,
the bill reauthorizes through FY2026 the rural water supply
program, reauthorizes through FY2025 the cooperative watershed
management program, permanently reauthorizes certain water
management improvement grants, and modifies provisions related
to funding for water recycling and reuse projects. Additionally, the
bill requires Interior to award grants for habitat restoration
projects that improve watershed health to entities with water or
power delivery authority. Interior may also enter into agreements
to fund aquatic ecosystem restoration and protection projects if
they are likely to improve the quality of the environment by
improving fish passage. Further, the bill requires the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to develop, and update every three years, a plan to
sustain the survival of critically important fisheries within western
states during future periods of extended drought. The bill also
requires Interior to incorporate information from emerging
technologies for snowpack measurement when determining water
supply allocations and to study the projected impact of climate
change on the safety of Bureau of Reclamation dams.
Primary Sponsors
Kamala Harris
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 12:58 PM
Comprehensive bill that combines policy provisions and initiatives
contained in Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), Rep. Jared Huffman's (D-CA)
FUTURE Drought Resiliency Act Discussion Draft, and Sen. Kamala Harris'
Water For Tomorrow Act (S. 2466). S. 4188 makes an overall $3 billion
investment in water infrastructure and sustainability, ecosystem
restoration and protection activities, and improved technology and data
collection.
Introduction Date: 2020-07-02
Labels: Infrastructure
State
US
Bill Number
S 4188
Last Action
Committee On Energy And Natural Resources
Subcommittee On Water And Power Hearings
Held 2020 07 22
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
Medium
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 12:54 PM
Authorizes $3 billion to invest in 3 areas: (1) Water infrastructure and sustainability (e.g. strage, transport, stormwater capture, desalination, etc.);
incorporates House water bills' provisions, including H.R. 1162 Title XVI investment (see report) and H.R. 5347 investment in drinking water access
for disadvantaged communities. (2) Ecosystem protection and restoration. (3) Improved technology and data, including utilization of data from
technologies like LIDAR to measure water availability in snowpack, and studies to examine the climate change vulnerabilities of Federal dams.
#OCSD
Title
America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2020
Primary Sponsors
John Barrasso
Bill Summary: Last edited by Eric Sapirstein at Sep 11, 2020, 3:44 PM
To provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United
States, to provide for the conservation and development of water and
related resources, to provide for water pollution control activities, and
for other purposes.
Introduction Date: 2020-05-04
Labels: Infrastructure
Title
Water Recycling Investment and Improvement Act
Description
Water Recycling Investment and Improvement Act This bill makes
permanent, and otherwise revises, the Bureau of
Reclamation's grant program for the funding of water recycling and
reuse projects. The bill removes priority under the program for
projects in areas that, in the preceding four-year period, have been
(1) identified as experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional
drought; or (2) designated as a disaster area by a state.
Additionally, the bill increases the authorization of appropriations
for the program and otherwise revises provisions related to
program funding.
Primary Sponsors
Grace Napolitano
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:31 PM
H.R. 1162 would increase the funding authorization for the Bureau of
Reclamation’s Title XVI water recycling competitive grant program from
$50 million to $500 million, giving local water agencies the necessary
funding to increase capacities for existing recycling plants or create new
cost-effective projects to boost water supplies. The bill has been placed
on the House Calendar for consideration for the full House of
Representatives.
Introduction Date: 2019-02-13
Labels: Water Finance
State
US
Bill Number
S 3591
Last Action
S Amdt 1593 Senate Amendment Submitted
2020 06 08
Status
In Senate
Position
Support
Priority
Medium
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 3:04 PM
It provides for reauthorization of Clean Water SRF Program at $3 billion annually (rolling average) over five years, authorizes funding for
Workforce Training Assistance, establishes funding priorities for coastal water needs and resiliency projects. Senate Committee on Environment
and Public Works passed S. 3591 on bipartisan vote in May and committee staff are currently engaging in conference negotiations with House
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure staff to reach a compromise final bill. Final WRDA 2020 bill expected to be released during Lame
Duck Session. #OCSD
State
US
Bill Number
HR 1162
Last Action
Subcommittee On Water Oceans And Wildlife
Discharged 2020 03 11
Status
In House
Position
Monitor
Priority
Medium
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:31 PM
CASA Supports #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:31 PM
H.R. 1162 would increase the funding authorization for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI water recycling competitive grant program from $50
million to $500 million, giving local water agencies the necessary funding to increase capacities for existing recycling plants or create new cost-
effective projects to boost water supplies. #OCSD
Priority: None (4)
Title
Securing Access for the central Valley and Enhancing (SAVE) Water
Resources Act
Primary Sponsors
Josh Harder
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 11, 2020, 9:16 PM
To promote water supply reliability and improved water management
for rural communities, the State of California, and the Nation, and for
other purposes.
Introduction Date: 2019-05-02
Labels: Infrastructure
State
US
Bill Number
HR 2473
Last Action
Subcommittee On Water Oceans And Wildlife
Discharged 2020 03 11
Status
In House
Position
Monitor
Priority
None
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:46 PM
H.R. 2473 increases Title XVI funding to $500 million and creates a prize program authorizing $2 million per year to incentivize development of
innovative water technologies that support increased water security, supply, and quality outcomes. It also establishes a water infrastructure and
drought solutions fund to provide total of $300 million for water surface and groundwater storage, water reclamation and reuse, and
WaterSMART program projects, of which: - $100 million for new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation surface or ground water storage projects (RIFIA) -
$100 million for water reclamation and reuse projects authorized under Title XVI - $100 million for WaterSMART grants #OCSD
Title
Water Justice Act
Description
Water Justice Act This bill addresses affordable access to clean
water by establishing, expanding, or extending various programs
or requirements related to drinking water infrastructure, water
pollution control, water supply, water recycling, water efficiency, or
conservation programs. Specifically, the bill provides $50 billion in
FY2020 supplemental appropriations to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for programs that reduce contaminants of
concern in drinking water, such as grant programs for lead testing
or remediation efforts in schools, child care programs, or high-risk
communities. The funds are designated as an emergency
requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary
spending limits and other budget enforcement rules. Each year, the
EPA must obligate specified amounts of funding for several water
infrastructure programs, including state revolving fund programs
and grant programs for managing or controlling water pollution.
The EPA must also establish a grant program to help communities
that serve environmentally at-risk households and low-income
households afford the costs for remediating contaminated drinking
water. Further, the Department of Health and Human Services may
make grants to states to assist low-income households in meeting
their needs for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater
services. In addition, the EPA must promulgate an interim national
primary drinking water regulation for perfluoroalkyl or
polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, which
may have adverse human health effects. Finally, the bill establishes
or reauthorizes a variety of programs that provide financial
support for water supply projects, water recycling or reuse
projects, rural water systems, water efficiency improvements, or
conservation programs.
Primary Sponsors
Kamala Harris
Bill Summary: Last edited by Eric Sapirstein at Sep 30, 2020, 2:25 PM
S. 2466 would provide federal assistance to support safe and reliable
water supplies for disadvantaged communities. Federal authorization of
$50 billion provided.
Introduction Date: 2019-09-11
Labels: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Water Finance
State
US
Bill Number
S 2466
Last Action
Introduced In Senate 2019 09 11
Status
In Senate
Position
Monitor
Priority
None
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:17 PM
Sponsored by Senator Harris, it authorizes $50 billion in emergency funds to address communities and schools dealing with contaminated water
sources through testing and replacing toxic infrastructure, establishes $10 billion grant program to allow states to offset water bills in low-income
communities at risk, invest $20 billion in diverse portfolio of sustainable water supplies, recycling, and conservation programs, invest $170 billion
in Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts' programs. Legislation is companion bill to H.R. 4033. #OCSD
Title
Coastal Communities Adaptation Act
Primary Sponsors
Harley Rouda
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:40 PM
Jumpstarts research at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) into improved
buildings and structures that account for extreme weather. The bill will
also provide grant funding for coastal communities that need to adapt to
a changing climate.
Introduction Date: 2019-02-22
Labels: Water Quality
State
US
Bill Number
HR 1317
Last Action
Referred To The Subcommittee On Water
Oceans And Wildlife 2019 03 06
Status
In House
Position
Support
Priority
None
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 15, 2020, 2:57 PM
H.R. 1317 would direct Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award capitalization grants to coastal States for
the purpose of establishing a community resilience revolving fund. To receive funding, the awardee must enter into an agreement with the State
to follow criteria and procedures established by State. Awarded funding may be used for the following activities: for the completion of a
vulnerability assessment; for the protection of natural flood risk mitigation features, including land acquisition from willing sellers; for the
construction of natural features or nature-based features, including beach nourishment and dune restoration; for the implementation of a
regional sediment management program; for other measures to prevent, manage, mitigate, or adapt to shoreline erosion, saltwater intrusion,
nuisance flooding, sea level rise, and other coastal hazards related to climate change; to carry out nonstructural measures to mitigate flood risk;
and to plan, develop, and obtain financing for eligible projects under this subsection, including planning, design, and associated preconstruction
activities. #OCSD
Title
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019
Description
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 This bill
imposes a fee on the carbon content of fuels, including crude oil,
natural gas, coal, or any other product derived from those fuels
that will be used so as to emit greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. The fee is imposed on the producers or importers of
the fuels and is equal to the greenhouse gas content of the fuel
multiplied by the carbon fee rate. The rate begins at $15 in 2019,
increases by $10 each year, and is subject to further adjustments
based on the progress in meeting specified emissions reduction
targets. The bill also imposes a specified fee on fluorinated
greenhouse gases. The bill includes * exemptions for fuels used for
agricultural or nonemitting purposes, * exemptions for fuels used
by the Armed Forces, * rebates for facilities that capture and
sequester carbon dioxide, and * border adjustment provisions that
require certain fees or refunds for carbon-intensive products that
are exported or imported. The fees must be deposited into a
Carbon Dividend Trust Fund and used for administrative expenses
and dividend payments to U.S. citizens or lawful residents. The fees
must be decommissioned when emissions levels and monthly
dividend payments fall below specified levels. The bill also
suspends certain regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The suspensions expire if the emissions targets established by this
bill are not reached after a specified time period.
Primary Sponsors
Ted Deutch
Bill Summary: Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Oct 7, 2020, 1:33 PM
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act will help reduce U.S.
carbon pollution by 90% by 2050 compared to 2016 levels. This would be
achieved by pricing carbon at $15 per metric ton of CO2e and increasing
the price by $10 every year. The Treasury Department would return
100% of the net revenue back to the American people, a policy
highlighted by a Treasury Department report as helping lower- and
middle-income families.
Introduction Date: 2019-01-24
State
US
Bill Number
HR 763
Last Action
Referred To The Subcommittee On Energy
2019 01 25
Status
In House
Position
None
Priority
None
Organizational Notes
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 29, 2020, 1:00 PM
Overview of Bill Provisions: Carbon Fee - A gradually-rising upstream fee on the carbon content of fuels: ~ Creates market-driven demand for
cleaner energy technologies. ~ Corrects market distortions by reflecting externalities of pollution costs ~ Starts at $15 per metric ton of CO2e,
increases $10each year. Exemption for agricultural fuels and non-emissive uses. Rebate for CCS. ~ HFCs: Fee also assessed at 10% of GWP of
fluorinated gases. Carbon Dividend - Rebates 100% of net revenues to the American people. ~ Protects consumers and the economy. Maintains
revenue neutrality. ~ Rebate offsets cost increases for most Americans. ~ Equal share to adults with SSN or TIN, half share to minors.
Administered by Treasury. Admin costs not to exceed 2%. 1-month advance payment. Carbon Equalization Tariff - Carbon intensive imported
goods pay equalization tariff if country of origin does not price carbon. Exported goods receive refund. ~ Purpose: Removes incentive for dirty
production for all manufacturers from all countries. Creates economic incentive for all nations to price carbon. ~ Designed for WTO compliance.
Tariff on fossil fuels and carbon intensive goods only. Regulatory Adjustment - Adjusts certain GHG regulations which would become duplicative
with enactment of this policy. ~ To avoid double jeopardy of both fee and regulation on certain GHGs. ~ Affects only certain GHG regulatory
authority. ~ CAFE vehicle efficiency standards, methane, mercury, particulate, regulations remain in place. If cumulatively emissions targets aren’t
hit after 10 years regulatory authority restored. #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 29, 2020, 12:56 PM
Citizen's Climate Lobby supports #OCSD
Last edited by Sarah Sapirstein at Sep 29, 2020, 12:55 PM
Quick link to breakout of supporting/endorsing organizations: https://energyinnovationact.org/supporters-overview/ #OCSD
To: Orange County Sanitation District
From: Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.
Date: October 19, 2020
Subject: Legislative and Public Affairs Agenda Report
State Legislative Update
Since the Legislature adjourned on August 31, lawmakers have returned to their respective
districts to focus on the upcoming November 3 General Election. Much of the legislative focus in
Sacramento was on the Governor as he considered legislation that required a veto or signature
by the September 30 deadline. Bills that were signed into law will take effect starting January 1
unless the bill included an urgency clause that would allow the bill to take effect immediately after
it was signed. The Governor signed multiple bill packages on a variety of issues, including racial
justice, healthcare, employee protections during COVID-19, and sexual assault victims.
In September and into October, Governor Newsom continued his daily press conferences to
update the public on the State’s efforts to combat COVID-19, including the State’s new county
tier system that moves counties between varying levels of re-opening phases based on local
COVID-19 cases and testing data. The Governor has also been encouraging all Californians to
receive their flu shot. During a recent press briefing, Governor Newsom received his annual flu
shot to show Californians the importance of maintaining public health and avoiding a “twindemic”,
or two health pandemics occurring at the same time.
Additionally, in response to the growing number of wildfires throughout the State, the Governor
issued several executive orders that call for all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California
to be emission free by 2035. The executive orders estimate that this action will result in a 35
percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) will be responsible for developing the State regulations, and the Administration
stated that it will work with the private sector to accelerate the deployment of additional electric
vehicle charging stations throughout the State.
Below are the upcoming relevant dates for the Legislature:
November 3 – General Election
December 7 – Legislature officially sworn in for the 2021-2022 Regular Session
January 1 – Most statutes passed in 2020 take effect
January 4 – Legislature reconvenes to begin legislative business
October 2020 Report 2
Governor’s COVID-19 Action Summary
Below is a summary of the major COVID-19 actions taken by the State Administration in
September and October:
• October 9, 2020 – Project Homekey Round 4: Governor Newsom announced a fourth
round of awards for Homekey, totaling $147 million for 20 projects that will provide an
additional 1,109 units of housing. Included in this funding round is $23 million for projects
in Orange County that will result in 132 units of permanent supportive housing.
• September 28 – Project Homekey Round 3: Governor Newsom announced the third
round of awards for Homekey, California’s $600 million program to purchase and
rehabilitate hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other properties and convert
them into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing
homelessness. The Governor also announced he has asked the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee (JLBC) to approve his request for an additional $200 million in Coronavirus
Relief Funding for Homekey.
• September 23 – COVID-19 Executive Order: Governor Newsom signed an executive
order to extend authorization for local governments to halt evictions for commercial renters
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through March 31, 2021, and address a variety of
issues in response to the pandemic. Additionally, the order extends provisions allowing
certain posting, filing and notice requirements under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) to be fulfilled electronically.
• September 17 – COVID-19 Legislation: The Governor signed two bills into law related
to COVID-19. AB 685 (Reyes) would require a public or private employer to provide
specified notifications to its employees, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health,
and the State Department of Public Health, relating to the exposure of its employees to
COVID-19 that the employer knew of or should have reasonably have known of. SB 1159
(Hill) codifies the Governor’s Executive Order that created a rebuttable presumption that
essential employees who contracted COVID-19 were infected on the job, and establishes
the scope and terms of a similar presumption for infected employees outside of the
Executive Order.
• September 3 – COVID-19 Executive Order: Governor Gavin Newsom today signed an
executive order extending consumer protections against price gouging through March 4,
2021 as California continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The protections
generally prohibit sellers of any kind from increasing prices on food, consumer goods,
medical or emergency supplies, and certain other items by more than 10 percent.
October 2020 Report 3
Housing
On September 28, Governor Newsom signed 15 housing related bills aimed at addressing the
state’s affordability crisis and building on the eviction moratorium legislation that was signed into
law on August 31. While the Legislature and Governor were able to come to a compromise on AB
3088 (Chiu, D – San Francisco), the eviction moratorium bill, the Legislature failed to pass several
housing bills that would have impacted local communities. Those bills included addressing issues
such as CEQA review procedures, short-term rental ordinances, the state density bonus law, and
local subdivision maps. Nonetheless, the Governor and housing advocates are touting the 15-bill
package as a positive step forward in housing production reforms in the midst of a pandemic.
The more significant bills that were signed includes AB 725 (Wicks, D – Oakland) which would
require metropolitan and suburban jurisdictions, through their housing element process, to ensure
that more land is zoned for medium-density housing projects. AB 1561 (Garcia, D – Bell Gardens)
will require cities and counties to evaluate the impact of government actions on the cost of housing
and associated impacts to minority communities. The Governor also signed AB 2345 (Gonzalez,
D – San Diego) which would amend the state Density Bonus Law to increase the maximum
allowable density and the number of concessions and incentives a developer can seek.
Lastly, the Governor signed SB 1190 (Durazo, D – Los Angeles) which extends existing law
authorizing a tenant to terminate a tenancy when the tenant suffered from a crime that caused
bodily injury or death, use of a firearm or other deadly weapon, or that included the use of force
or threat of force against the victim while expanding these provisions to apply to family members.
Wildfires
The 2020 West Coast wildfire season has proven to be the most destructive on record to date.
According to CalFIRE, approximately 3.7 million acres have burned with more than 8,000
incidents of fire this year. 29 individuals have lost their lives and more than 8,000 structures have
been damaged or destroyed. CalFIRE has also stated that the length of the fire season is
estimated to have increased by 75 days across the Sierras and appears to correspond with an
increase in the extent of forest fires across the State.
In September, the Governor declared a State of Emergency in Napa, Sonoma, Shasta, Del Norte,
Los Angeles, Mendocino, and Siskiyou counites. The Governor also declared a statewide
emergency and secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster the State’s response
to the fires. State of emergency declarations allow for federal disaster funding to be issued to the
State, and the federal government has approved FEMA funds to assist the State.
Governor Newsom also signed multiple bills into law to address the State’s wildfire crisis. AB 3074
(Friedman, D – Burbank) enhances the defensible space requirements for structures in high fire
hazard areas. Additionally, AB 2421 (Quirk, D – Haywood) would streamline the permitting
process for emergency standby generators for macro cell towers. The Governor also signed
multiple bills to boost homeowner insurance protections to help safeguard communities in high
fire hazard areas. Additional legislation that was signed includes efforts to reform CalOES to work
with local communities when updating the State Emergency Plan as well as encouraging CalOES
to work closely with FEMA to update local emergency plans.
October 2020 Report 4
The State is also hiring an additional 858 firefighters and six California Conservation Corps crews
to help support the State’s firefighting efforts. The State has also made investments in its
firefighting air fleet with new Firehawk S-70 helicopters and C-130 planes to help with fire surge
capacity and pre-positioning capabilities to mitigate the impact of wildfires. TPA will continue to
provide timely updates regarding the State’s efforts to address wildfires and advocate for a
collaborative approach that includes the input of local communities and cities.
New Water Year
California’s “Water Year” officially ended on September 30. The Water Year is a unit of time that
is used by water professionals to compare water supply conditions year to year, taking into
account the typical differences in weather between seasons and how California’s hydrology works
into our water system.
While California’s water supply outlook is better than it has been at the end of some Water Years,
most major water reservoirs are at below average storage. Furthermore, 2019-2020 was
unusually dry given the lack of statewide rainfall, which directly contributes to a longer and more
dangerous wildfire season. An additional dry year in 2021 would almost certainly propel California
into drought territory and would stress the already inundated water system to allow for more
groundwater pumping and draw-down of critical reservoirs. It is unclear if the Legislature will take
action this year after just one year of dry conditions, but it is likely that drought and water
conditions will be taken into account when considering any wildfire legislation in 2021.
October 2020 Report 5
Orange County Sanitation District Legislative Positions
The following table represents the legislative positions that the Orange County Sanitation District
adopted in 2020 and the corresponding status of those bills.
Bill Description OCSD
Position
Status
AB 685 (Quirk) Require employers to provide certain
disclosures related to COVID-19 exposure
to employees
Oppose Signed
AB 1672 (Bloom) Requires non-flushable products (wipes) to
be labeled clearly and conspicuously to
communicate that they should not be flushed
Support Dead
AB 2762
(Muratsuchi)
Prohibits the sale, delivery, or production of
cosmetic products that contain intentionally
added ingredients including PFAS
Support Signed
AB 3163 (Salas) Redefines biomethane for the purposes of
anaerobic digestion of organic materials.
Support Signed
SB 667 (Hueso) Require CalRecycle to provide additional
resources and need assessments to help
the State meet its organics goals
Support Dead
SB 931
(Wieckowski)
Require local agencies to email electronic
copies of Board agenda packets to
constituents requesting
Oppose Dead
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 69 Ting [D]Help Homeowners Add New Housing Program: accessory dwelling
unit financing. Current law provides for the creation by local ordinance,
or by ministerial approval if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance,
of accessory dwelling units to allow single-family or multifamily dwelling
residential use in accordance with specified standards and conditions.
This bill would require the Treasurer, within 6 months of the effective
date of these provisions, to develop the Help Homeowners Add New
Housing Program with the purpose of assisting homeowners, as defined,
in qualifying for loans to construct additional housing units on their
property, including accessory dwelling units and junior accessory
dwelling units. The bill would, with regard to the development of the
program, require the Treasurer to consult with the California Housing
Financing Agency and the Department of Housing and Community
Development and would authorize the Treasurer to consult with private
lenders.
Vetoed Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
AB 134 Bloom [D]Safe Drinking Water Restoration Would require the State Water
Resources Control Board to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2025, on
its progress in restoring safe drinking water to all California communities
and to create an internet website that provides data transparency for all
of the board’s activities described in this measure. The bill would require
the board to develop metrics to measure the efficacy of the fund in
ensuring safe and affordable drinking water for all Californians.
Dead Watch State Priorities: Support
legislation or regulations that
restrict the use of
microplastics in any product
that is disposed of through
the sewer system.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
AB 291 Chu Emergency preparedness Would establish a Local Emergency
Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Fund to support staffing, planning,
and other emergency mitigation priorities to help local governments meet
emergency management, preparedness, readiness, and resilience goals.
The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the
Controller to transfer $500,000,000 to the fund. The bill would require the
Office of Emergency Services to establish the Local Emergency
Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Fund Committee under the
Standardized Emergency Management System Advisory Board.
Dead Watch State Priorities: Secure
funding through grants and
legislation for infrastructure,
collection improvements and
alternative renewable energy
at the Fountain Valley, Plant
No. 1 and Huntington Beach,
Plant No. 2.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
AB 292 Quirk [D]Recycled water: raw water and groundwater augmentation Current
law requires the State Water Resources Control Board, on or before
December 31, 2023, to adopt uniform water recycling criteria for direct
potable reuse through raw water augmentation, as specified. This bill
would eliminate the definition of “direct potable reuse” and instead would
substitute the term “groundwater augmentation” for “indirect potable
reuse for groundwater recharge” in these definitions. The bill would
require, on or before December 31, 2023, the state board to adopt
uniform water recycling criteria for raw water augmentation.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Water Quality and
Supply - Support measures
that promote and provide for
the use of reclaimed water
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Support
Proposed Legislation 2020-2021
High Priority
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 352 E. Garcia [D]Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and
Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020. Would enact the Wildfire
Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood
Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by the voters, would
authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,920,000,000
pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a wildlife
prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection
program. The bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to
the voters at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Grant Funding -
Support legislation, bonds,
programs and projects that
provide funding for:
infrastructure construction
and rehabilitation, special
studies and research or
projects relating to security,
environmental education,
water quality, wastewater
processing, urban runoff,
wastewater recycling,
biosolids and organics
management, water quality
improvement, resource
recovery, or alternative
energy.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
AB 685 Quirk [D]Occupational safety: COVID-19 exposure: notification. Would require
a public or private employer to provide specified notifications to its
employees, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the
State Department of Public Health, relating to the exposure of its
employees to COVID-19 in the workplace, when the employer has been
notified of the exposure, as specified. The bill would provide for a
specified civil penalty for an employer that violates the notification
requirements of these provisions.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Oppose Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Human Resources
- Support measures to reform
current workers
compensation formulas that
rely on a proportionate
exposure formula.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Oppose
CASA - Oppose
ACWA - Oppose
CSDA - Watch
AB 992 Mullin [D]Open meetings: local agencies: social media Would provide that the
Ralph M. Brown Act does not apply to the posting, commenting, liking,
interaction with, or participation in, internet-based social media platforms
that are ephemeral, live, or static, by a majority of the members of a
legislative body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss
among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject
matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Approve
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Support
AB 1080 Gonzalez [D]California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
Would establish the California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution
Reduction Act, which would require the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery, in consultation with the State Water Resources
Control Board and the Ocean Protection Council, to adopt, on or before
January 1, 2023, regulations to achieve, by 2030, a 75% reduction by
manufacturers and retailers of the waste generated from single-use
packaging and products offered for sale or sold in the state through
source reduction, recycling, or composting.
Dead Watch State Priorities: Support
legislation or regulations that
restrict the use of
microplastics in any product
that is disposed of through
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Support
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 1484 Grayson [D]Mitigation Fee Act: housing developments. This bill would prohibit a
local agency from imposing a housing impact requirement adopted by
the local agency on a housing development project, as defined, unless
specified requirements are satisfied by the local agency, including that
the housing impact requirement be roughly proportional in both nature
and extent to the impact created by the housing development project.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Oppose
AB 1672 Bloom [D]Solid waste: flushable products The California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management,
and recycling of solid waste. This bill would, among other things, on or
after January 1, 2021, prohibit a covered entity, as defined, from labeling
a covered product as safe to flush, safe for sewer systems, or safe for
septic systems, unless the product is a flushable wipe that meets certain
performance standards. The bill would require nonflushable products to
be labeled clearly and conspicuously to communicate that they should
not be flushed, as specified.
Dead Support Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Source Control -
Support legislation that
regulates the disposal of
flushable wipes.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Sponsor
ACWA - Support
CSDA - Support
AB 1751 Chiu [D]Water and sewer system corporations: consolidation of service.
This bill, the Consolidation for Safe Drinking Water Act of 2019, would
authorize a water or sewer system corporation to file an application and
obtain approval from the commission through an order authorizing the
water or sewer system corporation to consolidate with a public water
system or state small water system that has fewer than 3,300 service
connections and serves a disadvantaged community, or to implement
rates for the subsumed water system.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
AB 1924 Grayson [D]Housing development: fees Would require that a fee levied or imposed
on a housing development project by a local agency be proportionate to
the square footage of the proposed unit or units.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
AB 1945 Salas [D]Emergency services: first responders Would, for purposes of the
California Emergency Services Act, define “first responder” as an
employee of the state or a local public agency who provides emergency
response services, including a peace officer, firefighter, paramedic,
emergency medical technician, public safety dispatcher, public safety
telecommunicator, emergency response communication employee,
rescue service personnel, or emergency manager. Does not explicitly
include water or wastewater personnel.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 2093 Gloria [D]Public records: writing transmitted by electronic mail: retention
Would, unless a longer retention period is required by statute or
regulation, require a public agency for purposes of the California Public
Records Act to retain and preserve for at least 2 years every writing
containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business
prepared, owned, or used by any public agency that is transmitted by
electronic mail.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Oppose
CASA - Watch
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Oppose
AB 2107 Rodriguez [D]Local government: securitized limited obligation notes Current law,
until December 31, 2019, authorizes a special district to issue, as
specified, securitized limited obligation notes for the acquisition or
improvement of land, facilities, or equipment. This bill would extend that
authorization to December 31, 2024.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - NYC
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Support
AB 2182 Rubio [D]Emergency backup generators: water and wastewater facilities:
exemption Would exempt the operation of an alternative power source,
as defined, to provide power to a critical facility, as defined, from any
local, regional, or state regulation regarding the operation of that source.
The bill would authorize providers of essential public services, in lieu of
compliance with applicable legal requirements, to comply with the
maintenance and testing procedure set forth in the National Fire
Protection Association Standard for Emergency and Standby Power
System, NFPA 110, for alternative power sources designated by the
providers for the support of critical facilities.
Dead Watch Guiding Principles: Oppose
redundant regulatory and
legislative requirements that
cause undue constraints on
efficient operations
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Support
AB 2364 Rubio [D]Municipal separate storm sewer systems: financial capability
analysis Would require the State Water Resources Control Board, by
July 1, 2021, to establish financial capability assessment guidelines for
municipal separate storm sewer system permittees that are adequate
and consistent when considering the costs to local jurisdictions. The bill
would require the state board and the regional boards to continue using
available regulatory tools and other approaches to foster collaboration
with permittees to implement permit requirements in light of the costs of
implementation.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Water Quality and
Supply - Support measures
that promote and provide for
the use of reclaimed water
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 2560 Quirk [D]Water quality: notification and response levels: procedures The
California Safe Drinking Water Act requires the State Water Resources
Control Board to adopt drinking water standards for contaminants in
drinking water based upon specified criteria and requires any person who
owns a public water system to ensure that the system, among other
things, complies with those drinking water standards. The act requires a
public water system to provide prescribed notices within 30 days after it
is first informed of a confirmed detection of a contaminant found in
drinking water delivered by the public water system for human
consumption that is in excess of a maximum contaminant level, a
notification level, or a response level established by the state board. This
bill would require the state board to comply with specified public notice
and comment procedures when establishing or revising notification or
response levels.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch State Priorities: Monitor
state legislation as well as
State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB)
regulatory activity related to
PFAS.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
AB 2612 Maienschein [D]Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: recycling: appropriation Would,
beginning in the 2020–21 fiscal year, would continuously appropriate
$100,000,000 from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund annually to the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for in-state organic
waste recycling projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
achieve certain organic waste disposal goals, as specified. The bill,
beginning in the 2020–21 fiscal year, would also continuously
appropriate $100,000,000 from the fund annually to the department for in-
state recycling projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help
achieve a specified state policy relating to solid waste, as specified.
Dead Watch Guiding Principles: Seek
funds for OCSD projects
through grants,
appropriations, or other
means
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Support
CASA - Support
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
AB 2762 Muratsuchi [D]Cosmetics: safety. The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law
prohibits the manufacture, sale, delivery, holding, or offer for sale of
adulterated cosmetics, and prescribes when a cosmetic is adulterated,
including when it bears or contains a poisonous or deleterious substance
that may render it injurious to users when used as directed in the
cosmetic’s labeling or advertising or under customary or usual
conditions. Provisions of this law are enforced by the State Department
of Public Health. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2025, prohibit a
person or entity from manufacturing, selling, delivering, holding, or
offering for sale, in commerce any cosmetic product that contains any of
several specified intentionally added ingredients, except under specified
circumstances.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Support State Priorities: Monitor
state legislation as well as
State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB)
regulatory activity related to
PFAS.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - Support
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
AB 2943 Ting [D]Surplus property: disposal Current law prescribes requirements for the
disposal of surplus land, as defined, by a local agency, as defined.
Current law requires land to be declared surplus land or exempt surplus
land, as supported by written findings, before a local agency takes any
action to dispose of it consistent with the agency’s policies or
procedures. This bill would provide that the provisions regulating the
disposal of surplus land shall not be construed to require a local agency
to dispose of land that is determined to be surplus.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
AB 3147 Gabriel [D]Fees for development projects Would require a judicial action or
proceeding to be conducted in accordance with other procedures that,
among other things, require a protest to be filed within 90 days after the
imposition of the fees and an action to attack, review, set aside, void, or
annul the imposition of the fees to be filed within 180 days after delivery
of a specified notice by the local agency. The bill would require revenues
in excess of actual cost to be used to reimburse the payor of the fee or
service charge.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Oppose
AB 3163 Salas [D]Energy: biomethane: procurement. Current law requires the Public
Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board,
to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals
for each gas corporation so that each gas corporation procures a
proportionate share, as determined by the commission, of biomethane
annually, as specified. Current law defines “biomethane” for that purpose
as biogas that meets specified standards adopted by the commission for
injection into a common carrier pipeline. This bill would instead define
“biomethane” for that purpose as methane produced from an organic
waste feedstock, rather than biogas, that meets those specified
standards and is either produced from the anaerobic decomposition of
organic material or produced from the noncombustion thermal
conversion of specified materials.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Support Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Biosolids and
Biogas - Support streamlined
legislation, regulations and
policies that encourage the
procurement of biogas,
biosolids, and compost
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Support
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Watch
AB 3256 Garcia [D]Climate risks: bond measure The California Drought, Water, Parks,
Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018,
approved by the voters as Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, statewide
direct primary election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount
of $4,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to
finance a drought, water, parks, climate, coastal protection, and outdoor
access for all program. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature
to enact a bond measure that would address climate risks to the State of
California.
Dead Watch Guiding Principles: Seek
funds for OCSD projects
through grants,
appropriations, or other
means
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
ACA 1 Aguiar-Curry [D]Local government financing: affordable housing and public
infrastructure: voter approval. The California Constitution prohibits the
ad valorem tax rate on real property from exceeding 1% of the full cash
value of the property, subject to certain exceptions. This measure would
create an additional exception to the 1% limit that would authorize a city,
county, city and county, or special district to levy an ad valorem tax to
service bonded indebtedness incurred to fund the construction,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure,
affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing, or the acquisition
or lease of real property for those purposes, if the proposition proposing
that tax is approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, or city and
county, as applicable, and the proposition includes specified
accountability requirements.
Dead Watch Guiding Principles: Seek
funds for OCSD projects
through grants,
appropriations, or other
means;
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Support
CASA - Support
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - Support
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
SB 667 Hueso [D]Greenhouse gases: recycling infrastructure and facilities. Would
require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to
develop, on or before January 1, 2021, and would authorize the
department to amend, a 5-year needs assessment to support innovation
and technological and infrastructure development, in order to meet
specified organic waste reduction and recycling targets, as provided. The
bill would require, on or before June 1, 2021, the department, in
coordination with the Treasurer and the California Pollution Control
Financing Authority, to develop financial incentive mechanisms,
including, among other mechanisms, loans and incentive payments, to
fund and accelerate public and private capital towards organic waste
diversion and recycling infrastructure.
Dead Support Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Biosolids and
Biogas - Support the
promotion and funding of
local pilot programs, studies,
and research for the
beneficial use of biosolids.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Support
CASA - Support
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
SB 931 Wieckowski [D]Local government meetings: agenda and documents This bill would
require, if the local agency has an internet website, a legislative body or
its designee to email a copy of, or website link to, the agenda or a copy
of all the documents constituting the agenda packet if the person
requests that the items be delivered by email. The bill would require,
where the local agency determines it is technologically infeasible to send
a copy of all documents constituting the agenda packet or a website link
containing the documents by electronic mail or by other electronic
means, the legislative body or its designee to send by electronic mail a
copy of the agenda or a website link to the agenda and mail a copy of all
other documents constituting the agenda packet in accordance with the
mailing requirements.
Dead Oppose Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Special Districts -
Oppose further state
regulations that adversely
impact special district
financing, operations, and
administration.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Oppose
CASA - Oppose
ACWA - Oppose
CSDA - Oppose
SB 996 Portantino [D]State Water Resources Control Board: Constituents of Emerging
Concern Program Would require the State Water Resources Control
Board to establish, maintain, and direct an ongoing, dedicated program
called the Constituents of Emerging Concern Program to assess the
state of information and recommend areas for further study on
constituents of emerging concern in drinking water that may pose risks to
public health. The bill would require the state board to establish the
Stakeholder Advisory Group and, by an unspecified date, the Science
Advisory Panel, both as prescribed, to assist in the gathering and
development of information for the program, among other functions. The
bill would require the program to provide opportunities for public
participation, including conducting stakeholder meetings and workshops
to solicit relevant information and feedback for development and
implementation of the program.
Dead Watch State Priorities: Monitor
state legislation as well as
State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB)
regulatory activity related to
PFAS.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
SB 1044 Allen [D]Firefighting equipment and foam: PFAS chemicals. Would,
commencing January 1, 2022, require any person, including a
manufacturer, as defined, that sells firefighter personal protective
equipment to any person or public entity to provide a written notice to the
purchaser at the time of sale if the firefighter personal protective
equipment contains perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS), and would provide that a violation of this requirement is
punishable by a specified civil penalty. The bill would require the seller
and the purchaser to retain the notice on file for at least 3 years and to
furnish the notice and associated sales documentation to the State Fire
Marshal within 60 days upon request, as provided.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch State Priorities: Monitor
state legislation as well as
State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB)
regulatory activity related to
PFAS.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Support
SB 1052 Hertzberg [D]Water quality: municipal wastewater agencies Would establish
municipal wastewater agencies and would authorize a municipal
wastewater agency, among other things, to enter into agreements with
entities responsible for stormwater management for the purpose of
managing stormwater and dry weather runoff, to acquire, construct,
expand, operate, maintain, and provide facilities for specified purposes
relating to managing stormwater and dry weather runoff, and to levy
taxes, fees, and charges consistent with the municipal wastewater
agency’s existing authority in order to fund projects undertaken pursuant
to the bill.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Water Quality and
Supply - Support measures
that promote and provide for
the use of reclaimed water
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - NYC
CASA - Sponsor
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Support
SB 1056 Portantino [D]Drinking water: testing: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl
substances. Would require the State Water Resources Control Board,
on or before January 1, 2022, to certify a methodology or methodologies
for testing drinking water, groundwater, and surface water for
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, as provided, and to
accredit qualified laboratories in California to analyze perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances pursuant to the adopted methodology or
methodologies.
Dead Watch State Priorities: Monitor
state legislation as well as
State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB)
regulatory activity related to
PFAS.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
SB 1099 Dodd [D]Emergency backup generators: critical facilities: exemption Would,
consistent with federal law, require air districts to adopt a rule, or revise
its existing rules, to allow critical facilities with a permitted emergency
backup generator to use that emergency backup generator during a
deenergization event or other loss of power, and to test and maintain that
emergency backup generator, as specified, without having that usage,
testing, or maintenance count toward that emergency backup generator’s
time limitation on actual usage and routine testing and maintenance. The
bill would prohibit air districts from imposing a fee on the issuance or
renewal of a permit issued for those critical facility emergency backup
generators.
Dead Watch Guiding Principles: Oppose
redundant regulatory and
legislative requirements that
cause undue constraints on
efficient operations
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Support
OCSD
State
Bills of Interest
BILL AUTHOR SUMMARY LATEST ACTION OCSD
POSITION LEGISLATIVE PLAN OTHER
POSITIONS
SB 1159 Hill [D]Workers’ compensation: COVID-19: critical workers. Would, until an
unspecified date, define “injury” for a critical worker, as specified, to
include illness or death that results from exposure to coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) under specified circumstances. The bill would create a
disputable presumption, as specified, that an injury that develops or
manifests itself while a critical worker is employed arose out of and in the
course of the employment.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Human Resources
- Support measures to reform
current workers
compensation formulas that
rely on a proportionate
exposure formula.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Watch
SB 1352 Hueso [D]Gas corporations: renewable gas procurement Would require the
Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewable gas, as defined,
procurement program that requires each gas corporation to procure
renewable gas in an amount so that, by January 1, 2030, at least 20
percent of the total volume of gas delivered to core customers in
California by that gas corporation is renewable gas. The bill would
require the commission, in designing and implementing the program, to
ensure that the renewable gas procurement program is a cost-effective
means to achieve forecast reductions in emissions of short-lived climate
pollutants pursuant to specified laws and that the program complies with
all applicable state and federal laws.
Dead Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Biosolids and
Biogas - Support streamlined
legislation, regulations and
policies that encourage the
procurement of biogas,
biosolids, and compost
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - NYC
CSDA - NYC
SB 1383 Jackson [D]Unlawful employment practice: family leave Would revise and recast
specified provisions to make it an unlawful employment practice for any
employer to refuse to grant a request by an employee to take up to 12
workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period to
bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves or a
child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic
partner, as specified. The bill would require an employer who employees’
both parents of a child to grant leave to each employee.
Signed into law by the
Governor
Watch Legislative and Regulatory
Policies: Public Health -
Monitor legislation that
provides additional
occupational safety and
health standard requirements
for employees, contractors,
or subcontractors.
ACCOC - NYC
LOCC - Watch
CASA - Watch
ACWA - Watch
CSDA - Oppose
Legend:
ACC-OC - Association of California Cities, Orange County
LOCC - League of California Cities
NYC - Not Yet Considered
CASA - California Association of Sanitation Agencies
ACWA - Association of California Water Agencies
CSDA - California Special Districts Association
OCSD's Grant and Loan Funding Tracker 2019- 2020
Name of Grant/Loan Synopsis of Grant/Loan Amount of Grant/Loan Amount
Applying for Applying Y/N Project/Program Reason Match Deadline Category Rcvd Grant/
Financing Y/N
Organics Grant Program
The Organics Grant Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide
program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the
environment - particularly in disadvantaged and/or low-income communities. The Cap-
and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean
technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate
Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public
transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, more sustainable
agriculture, recycling, and much more. At least 35 percent of these investments are
made in disadvantaged and low-income communities.
Application materials for FY 2020–21 will
tentatively be available summer 2020.TBD Yes
Food-Waste Co-Digestion facility
at Plant No.2 in Huntington
Beach to accept up to 150 wet
tons per day (wtpd) of pre-
processed source separated
organics.
We will review the possible funding
opportunity to determine if it is a fit for
the Sanitation District.
TBD TBD Energy/Recycling No
CalOES Grant- Community Power
Resiliency Allocation to Special
Districts Program
The purpose of the Community Power Resiliency Allocation to Special Districts
Program is to support California special districts with additional preparedness
measures in response to power outage events. Of the $50 million overall appropriation
for Community Power Resiliency funding, $20 million has been reserved for special
district needs.
$300,000 $300,000 No Portable Generators We did not meet the requirements of
the grant.NA 10/30/2020 Renewable energy No
Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) Grant Program
The Proposition 1 IRWM Grant Program, administered by DWR, provides funding for
projects that help meet the long term water needs of the state, including:
Assisting water infrastructure systems adapt to climate change;
Providing incentives throughout each watershed to collaborate in managing the
region's water resources and setting regional priorities for water infrastructure
TBD NA No NA
TPA and OCSD are monitoring the
grant program development from the
Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
(SAWPA). Currently, Round 2 has yet
to be announced. TPA and OCSD will
continue to watch this and other
matches.
50%NA. Will return in 2021
for Round 2 Water No
The Water Infrastructure Improvements
Act (WIIN)
The Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects funding opportunity allows for
sponsors of water reclamation and reuse projects that are congressionally authorized
or are eligible under section 4009(c) of the WIIN Act to request cost-shared funding for
planning, design and/or construction of those Projects. Water reclamation and reuse
projects provide improved efficiency, flexibility during water shortages and diversifies
the water supply.
Reclamation is making up to $20 million
available for those projects authorized under the
WIIN Act.
$3 million Yes Final Expansion of GWRS
Headworks (P2-122)
The Sanitation District applied for
Headworks Segregation project that will
help to bring more water to the GWRS.
$20mm or 25% of
project costs
whichever is less.
6/28/2019 Water/ Infrastructure
TBD We are waiting
to hear back on this
grant and anticipate
to receive notice by
Summer 2020
(Congress has
demanded that
project
recommendations be
transmitted to
without delay as part
of USBR FY 2021
Spending Bill)
Stormwater and CSO Grant Program USEPA is authorized to provide grants assistance of public agencies to control
stormwater flows and CSO's. Funding through state awards.Funding cost-share is not identified in the law TBD TBD. We will monitor for possible
funding opportunities/A TBD FY 2020 - $28 million Yes Anticipate by July 2020 Water/ Infrastructure
USEPA published
allocation formula
with deadline for
public comments
9/3/2020. Expect
formal allocation to
State as early as 45
days after 9/3/2020
STATE
FEDERAL
Updated 10/19/2020
OCSD's Grant and Loan Funding Tracker 2019- 2020
Name of Grant/Loan Synopsis of Grant/Loan Amount of Grant/Loan Amount
Applying for Applying Y/N Project/Program Reason Match Deadline Category Rcvd Grant/
Financing Y/N
The Department of Energy (DOE),
USBR and USEPA
The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency is likely to continue to be funded by Congress to
support such efforts as biogas, biosolids and green energy.
Through the WaterSmart program, USBR will
issue solicitations for innovative approaches to
managing water and water treatment through
technology and processes for FY 2020 - $60
million
TBD TBD. We will monitor for possible
funding opportunities
Project Funding Opportunity:
Energy production to reduce
costs of recycled water through
innovative technologies.
Innovative water monitoring
technology that can produce
efficient real time monitoring and
data analysis, Biogas
Management and Use
Improvements.
We will review the possible funding
opportunity to determine if it is a fit for
the Sanitation District.
N/A TBD Energy/Water/Infrastructure TBD
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Supporting Anerobic Digestion in Communities.$300,000 $300,000 No
The goal of this funding
opportunity is to increase use of
AD to manage food waste.
Another goal is to support the
development of new AD
infrastructure in the U.S. EPA is
interested in funding projects that
increase anaerobic digestion
capacity in the United States.
We will not be applying for this grant as
after further research we do not feel we
will be qualified as there is an
educational component that we do not
meet
No 7/14/2020 Energy/Recycling No
Community Partnering Program Grant Metropolitan Water District
The primary focus of the Community Partnering
Program (CPP) is sponsorship of water
conservation and water-use efficiency programs
and activities. Applications must be submitted
30 days prior to the start date of the event or
program.
Requests for a maximum $2,000 award will be
reviewed year-round and funds are awarded
throughout the year. Funds are limited,
however, and may be depleted prior to the
ending of this fiscal year (June 30).
$2,000 Yes For Plant No. 1 Signage Applied Match ongoing Education Yes
Mass Timber Competition CalGovOps
The California Government Operations Agency
(GovOps) will award $500,000 in grants as part
of the statewide California Mass Timber
Building Competition. Grants will be awarded to
selected proponent teams presenting viable and
repeatable mass timber solutions for
commercial and multi-family projects in
California. The competition is being hosted by
GovOps and administered by WoodWorks –
Wood Products Council.
$40,000 Yes Headquarters Building Applied No 03/18/19 Environment Yes
Other
Updated 10/19/2020
Orange County Sanitation District
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Agenda Report
Administration Building
10844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7433
File #:2020-1265 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:5.
FROM:James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2020
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
Receive and file the Public Affairs Update for the months of September and October 2020.
BACKGROUND
Staff will provide an update on recent public affairs activities.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
·Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
·Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
·Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators,stakeholders,and
neighboring communities
·Listen to and seriously consider community input on environmental concerns
PROBLEM
The Orange County Sanitation District (Sanitation District)is well-recognized within the
water/wastewater industry;however,within our service area there is limited knowledge by our
customers of the important work we do to protect public health and the environment.In general,the
customers we serve do not realize that when they improperly dispose of waste into the sanitation
system,it can negatively affect our sewer lines,our treatment plants,and the quality of water we
supply for the Groundwater Replenishment System.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
By providing tours,community outreach,education,and general communication via the Sanitation
District’s website,social media outlets,and direct mailings,we have the ability to educate the
community,local agencies,and businesses on our messaging such as the What2Flush program,
energy production,water recycling,biosolids,and our source control program.This,in turn,helps
improve the quality of wastewater that is recycled or released to the ocean.
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 10/29/2020Page 1 of 3
powered by Legistar™
File #:2020-1265 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:5.
TIMING CONCERNS
N/A
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
If we do not educate the community,local agencies,and area businesses about the Sanitation
District, we may not have the support necessary to deliver our mission.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Current activities for the months of September and October
Outreach Report
Staff has created a new outreach report that includes tours,website postings,social media postings,
construction notifications,speaker engagements,and more.This report is included as an attachment
to this Agenda Report.
Virtual Tours
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,our Plant tours have been temporarily suspended.To continue
engaging with the community and our stakeholders,staff has developed virtual tours of the Plant
which has allowed participants an opportunity to remotely visit the Sanitation District and learn how
we protect public health and the environment.Over the last two months,nine virtual tours have
taken place reaching 368 people with more coming in the future.
OC Polling
As a follow-up to the poll conducted in March 2020 to determine the service area’s awareness of the
Sanitation District,a new poll took place to identify any changes or improvements in the awareness
level.The polling was conducted via social media and direct phone calls,and a verbal report will be
given at the Committee meeting.
Inside the Outdoors
Inside the Outdoors has continued to reach out to our community to help spread the Sanitation
District’s messaging.Over the 2019-2020 school year a total of 2,550 students were reached:944
elementary students for our Scientist of the Sewers program and 1,606 high school students for our
Drip Drop program.Most of the participating schools are in Anaheim,Buena Park,Garden Grove,
Newport-Mesa, Orange, Santa Ana, and Westminster.
Volunteer Incentive Program Virtual Event
In September we celebrated our employees who volunteer their time and effort to support the
Sanitation District’s educational mission through the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP).Due to
COVID-19 restrictions,we were unable to gather in person as we typically do for the annual
luncheon,however,we held a virtual celebration to recognize our VIPs.The Board Chair and Vice
Chair participated in the celebration to help recognize our staff.We had over 800 hours of volunteerOrange County Sanitation District Printed on 10/29/2020Page 2 of 3
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File #:2020-1265 Agenda Date:11/9/2020 Agenda Item No:5.
Chair participated in the celebration to help recognize our staff.We had over 800 hours of volunteer
time dedicated to support 112 tours,eight community events,and 20 speaking engagements.
Through these efforts,it is estimated that the Sanitation District reached 3,690 people in fiscal year
2019/20.
The Sanitation District Has a New Logo
In September,the Board of Directors approved a new logo and name for the Sanitation District.We
will officially be referred to as OC San and discontinue using OCSD.The new logo and name will be
more reflective of the modern agency that we are and allow us to continue to stand out from the
crowd.The new logo is easy to recognize and the revised branding and imaging will slowly be rolled
out over the next two years.
Member Agency Outreach Toolkit
To continue spreading our messaging,the third outreach toolkit was distributed to our member
agencies to use in their communication platforms.This toolkit highlights the Sanitation District’s
general focus on FOG (Fats,Oils and Grease).A series of videos,graphics,and fact sheet were
provided that can be used on social media, websites, and local cable channels.
Awards:
·Excellence in Management Award
The Sanitation District was recently given the Excellence in Management Gold Recognition which
acknowledges the significant achievements of agencies in the utility management arena.The
program honors member agencies that are implementing management practices that address a
range of challenges.
·Utility of the Future
The Sanitation District has once again been recognized by various national water sector
organizations including the Water Environment Federation (WEF)and the National Association of
Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)as a “Utility of the Future Today”.The Utility of the Future award
highlights the progress and exceptional performance of achievements of water utilities that
transform from the traditional wastewater treatment system to a resource recovery center and
leader in the overall sustainability and resilience of the communities they serve.
·Excellence in Procurement Award
The Sanitation District has received the 2020 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP)
Award from the National Procurement Institute.The AEP Award is earned by public and non-
profit agencies that demonstrate a commitment to procurement excellence and recognizes
organizations that embrace innovation,professionalism,productivity,leadership,and e-
procurement.
ATTACHMENTS
The following attachment(s)may be viewed on-line at the OCSD website (www.ocsd.com)with the complete agenda
package:
·Outreach and Media Summary Report September-October 2020
Orange County Sanitation District Printed on 10/29/2020Page 3 of 3
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Outreach and Media
Summary
September - October 2020
O C S D P u b l i c A f f a i r s O f f i c e
Table of Contents
OUTREACH REPORT…………………………………………………………PAGE 1
FACEBOOK POSTINGS ……………………………………………...............PAGE 3
TWITTER POSTINGS …………………………………………………………PAGE 11
INSTAGRAM POSTINGS………………………………………………………PAGE 13
ARTICLE SUMMARY………………………………………………………….PAGE 15
Outreach Report September-October 2020
Date Tours Attendees Tour Guide
9/12/2020 OCSD Virtual Tour 52 Cortney Light
9/16//2020 OCSD / OCWD Virtual Tour 36 Jim Herberg/Mike
Markus
9/30/2020 OCSD/ OCWD Nursing Virtual Tour 75 Cortney Light
10/5//2020 Boy Scouts Virtual Tour 33 Belen Carrillo
10/7/2020 Grand Jury Tour 6 Jim Herberg/Rob
Thompson
10/13//2020 OCSD Virtual Tour 55 Dickie Fernandez
10/14/2020 UCI Virtual Tour 46 Dickie Fernandez
*10/30/2020 State of the District Virtual Tour 15 Jim Herberg/ Rob
Thompson
*10/31/2020 OCSD Virtual Tour 50 Cortney Light
Date Speaking Engagements Attendees Presenter
9/2/2020 SCAP- Effluent Limit Impacts When
Moving to 100% Reuse 30 George Robertson/
Jim Herberg
9/12/2020 Citizens Climate Lobby 10 Director Glenn Parker
9/21/2020 University of Mass. Amherst 20 Violet Renick
10/1/2020 North American Society for Trenchless
Technology presentation 200 Raul Cuellar/ Brad
Moore
10/13/2020 Rossmoor Community Services District
Board presentation 15 Kathy Millea
10/15/2020 Orange Coast College Marine Policy
and Conservation. 37 Jeff Armstrong
*10/21/2020 UCI- Wastewater Treatment and
Challenges 20 Tom Meregillano
*10/23/2020 Society of Women’s Engineers:
Evening with the Industry 100 Valerie Ratto
*10/27/2020 OCWD Webinar: Careers in
Water/Wastewater Industry 100 Mary Farazmehr
*10/29/2020 CASQA Quarterly Meeting on Urban
Runoff Program 40 Lan Wiborg
*10/30/2020 OCSD State of the District 150 Jim Herberg/ Chair
Shawver
* These events have not occurred at time
of this report, therefore # of attendees is
estimated.
Construction Outreach Notifications
Project Area Number of Construction Notices # of People
Reached
Website Posts and
Text Alerts
Newport Beach 1 notification 15
Westminster Electronic Communication 2 website posts/
2 text alerts
Huntington
Beach 1 notification 200
Anaheim 4 notifications 2260 4 website posts/
4 text alerts
Seal Beach 1 notification 9,000
External
Communications Distribution # of People
Reached
5 Minutes Per
Month Four 1,276
Board Member
Talking Points Two 50
Member
Outreach Toolkit One 25
Website Posts 12 posts 129 views
Facebook 46 posts 5k people
Twitter 40 tweets 15k people
Instagram 40 posts 7k people
Facebook Posts
Sept-Oct 2020
Graphs of Page Likes, Post Reach and Total Views for Sept-Oct 2020
Twitter Posts
Sept- Oct 2020
Instagram Posts
Sept- Oct 2020
Article Date Resource Link
Its Electric Grid Under Strain, California Turns to Batteries 3‐Sep‐20 New York Times
Orange County saves ratepayers money with WIFIA loan
update 8‐Sep‐20 Water Finance Management
RO Provides Promising Win in Battle against Water
Scarcity 14‐Sep‐20 Water World
Brown & Caldwell, Black & Veatch team up for next‐
generation Class A wastewater digester facility 23‐Sep‐20 Smart Water Magazine
Brown and Caldwell/OCSD Press Release: Brown &
Caldwell, Black & Veatch team up for next‐generation
Class A wastewater digester facility 21‐Sep‐20 Press Release
Brown and Caldwell, Black & Veatch team up for Orange
County digester facility 24‐Sep‐20 Daily Commericial News
Brown and Caldwell, Black & Veatch to develop next‐
generation Class A wastewater digester facility
24‐Sep‐20 Water World
Temperature‐phased AD project gets underway at
California wastewater plant 1‐Oct‐20 Bioenergy Insight
Brown and Caldwell, Black & Veatch team up for ‘next‐
generation’ wastewater digester facility 5‐Oct‐20 Water Finance Management
https://www.bioenergy-news.com/news/temperature-
phased-ad-project-gets-underway-at-california-
wastewater-plant/
https://www.waterworld.com/wastewater/treatment/
press-release/14184110/brown-and-caldwell-black-
veatch-to-develop-nextgeneration-class-a-
wastewater-digester-facility
https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/
projects/2020/09/brown-and-caldwell-black-veatch-
team-up-for-orange-county-digester-facility
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/business/energy-
environment/california-electricity-blackout-
battery.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://waterfm.com/orange-county-saves-ratepayer-
money-with-wifia-loan-update/
https://www.waterworld.com/wastewater/treatment/
article/14182398/ro-provides-promising-win-in-
battle-against-water-scarcity
https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/brown-and-
caldwell/brown-caldwell-black-veatch-team-next-
generation-class-a-wastewater-digester
https://www.ocsd.com/Home/ShowDocument?
id=29997
https://waterfm.com/brown-and-caldwell-black-
veatch-team-up-for-next-generation-wastewater-
digester-facility/
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
COMMON ACRONYMS
ACWA Association of California
Water Agencies LOS Level Of Service RFP Request For Proposal
APWA American Public Works
Association MGD Million Gallons Per Day RWQCB Regional Water Quality
Control Board
AQMD Air Quality Management
District MOU Memorandum of
Understanding SARFPA Santa Ana River Flood
Protection Agency
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers NACWA National Association of Clean Water Agencies SARI Santa Ana River Interceptor
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand NEPA National Environmental Policy
Act SARWQCB Santa Ana Regional Water
Quality Control Board
CARB California Air Resources
Board NGOs Non-Governmental
Organizations SAWPA Santa Ana Watershed
Project Authority
CASA California Association of
Sanitation Agencies NPDES National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System SCADA Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition
CCTV Closed Circuit Television NWRI National Water Research
Institute SCAP
Southern California
Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works
CEQA California Environmental
Quality Act O & M Operations & Maintenance SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality
Management District
CIP Capital Improvement
Program OCCOG Orange County Council of
Governments SOCWA South Orange County
Wastewater Authority
CRWQCB California Regional Water
Quality Control Board OCHCA Orange County Health Care
Agency SRF Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
CWA Clean Water Act OCSD Orange County Sanitation District SSMP Sewer System Management Plan
CWEA California Water Environment Association OCWD Orange County Water District SSO Sanitary Sewer Overflow
EIR Environmental Impact Report OOBS Ocean Outfall Booster Station SWRCB State Water Resources
Control Board
EMT Executive Management Team OSHA Occupational Safety and
Health Administration TDS Total Dissolved Solids
EPA US Environmental Protection Agency PCSA
Professional
Consultant/Construction
Services Agreement
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
FOG Fats, Oils, and Grease PDSA Professional Design Services
Agreement TSS Total Suspended Solids
gpd gallons per day PFAS
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances WDR Waste Discharge
Requirements
GWRS Groundwater Replenishment
System PFOA Perfluorooctanoic Acid WEF Water Environment
Federation
ICS Incident Command System PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid WERF Water Environment & Reuse Foundation
IERP Integrated Emergency
Response Plan POTW Publicly Owned Treatment
Works WIFIA Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act
JPA Joint Powers Authority ppm parts per million WIIN Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act
LAFCO Local Agency Formation
Commission PSA Professional Services
Agreement WRDA Water Resources
Development Act
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS – A secondary biological wastewater treatment process where bacteria reproduce at a high rate with the introduction of excess air or oxygen and consume dissolved nutrients in the wastewater.
BENTHOS – The community of organisms, such as sea stars, worms, and shrimp, which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD) – The amount of oxygen used when organic matter undergoes decomposition by microorganisms. Testing for BOD is done to assess the amount of organic matter in water.
BIOGAS – A gas that is produced by the action of anaerobic bacteria on organic waste matter in a digester tank that can be used
as a fuel.
BIOSOLIDS – Biosolids are nutrient rich organic and highly treated solid materials produced by the wastewater treatment process. This high-quality product can be recycled as a soil amendment on farmland or further processed as an earth-like product for
commercial and home gardens to improve and maintain fertile soil and stimulate plant growth.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) – Projects for repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of assets. Also includes treatment improvements, additional capacity, and projects for the support facilities.
COLIFORM BACTERIA – A group of bacteria found in the intestines of humans and other animals, but also occasionally found elsewhere, used as indicators of sewage pollution. E. coli are the most common bacteria in wastewater.
COLLECTIONS SYSTEM – In wastewater, it is the system of typically underground pipes that receive and convey sanitary wastewater or storm water.
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION (COP) – A type of financing where an investor purchases a share of the lease revenues of a program rather than the bond being secured by those revenues.
CONTAMINANTS OF POTENTIAL CONCERN (CPC) – Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants.
DILUTION TO THRESHOLD (D/T) – The dilution at which the majority of people detect the odor becomes the D/T for that air sample.
GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG) – In the order of relative abundance water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone gases that are considered the cause of global warming (“greenhouse effect”).
GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM (GWRS) – A joint water reclamation project that proactively responds to Southern California’s current and future water needs. This joint project between the Orange County Water District and OCSD provides 70
million gallons per day of drinking quality water to replenish the local groundwater supply.
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) – Goals to support environmental and public expectations for performance.
N-NITROSODIMETHYLAMINE (NDMA) – A N-nitrosamine suspected cancer-causing agent. It has been found in the GWRS
process and is eliminated using hydrogen peroxide with extra ultra-violet treatment.
NATIONAL BIOSOLIDS PARTNERSHIP (NBP) – An alliance of the NACWA and WEF, with advisory support from the EPA. NBP is committed to developing and advancing environmentally sound and sustainable biosolids management practices that go beyond regulatory compliance and promote public participation to enhance the credibility of local agency biosolids programs and improved communications that lead to public acceptance.
PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) – A large group (over 6,000) of human-made compounds that are resistant to heat, water, and oil and used for a variety of applications including firefighting foam, stain and water-resistant clothing, cosmetics, and food packaging. Two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been the focus of increasing regulatory scrutiny in drinking water and may result in adverse health effects including developmental effects to fetuses during pregnancy, cancer, liver damage, immunosuppression, thyroid effects, and other effects.
PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) – An ingredient for several industrial applications including carpeting, upholstery, apparel, floor wax, textiles, sealants, food packaging, and cookware (Teflon).
PERFLUOROOCTANESULFONIC ACID (PFOS) – A key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and used in numerous stain repellents.
PLUME – A visible or measurable concentration of discharge from a stationary source or fixed facility.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) – A municipal wastewater treatment plant.
SANTA ANA RIVER INTERCEPTOR (SARI) LINE – A regional brine line designed to convey 30 million gallons per day of non-reclaimable wastewater from the upper Santa Ana River basin to the ocean for disposal, after treatment.
SANITARY SEWER – Separate sewer systems specifically for the carrying of domestic and industrial wastewater.
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SCAQMD) – Regional regulatory agency that develops plans and
regulations designed to achieve public health standards by reducing emissions from business and industry.
SECONDARY TREATMENT – Biological wastewater treatment, particularly the activated sludge process, where bacteria and other microorganisms consume dissolved nutrients in wastewater.
SLUDGE – Untreated solid material created by the treatment of wastewater.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS) – The amount of solids floating and in suspension in wastewater.
ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
TRICKLING FILTER – A biological secondary treatment process in which bacteria and other microorganisms, growing as slime on the surface of rocks or plastic media, consume nutrients in wastewater as it trickles over them.
URBAN RUNOFF – Water from city streets and domestic properties that carry pollutants into the storm drains, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
WASTEWATER – Any water that enters the sanitary sewer.
WATERSHED – A land area from which water drains to a particular water body. OCSD’s service area is in the Santa Ana River Watershed.