Drinking water: point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties relating to providing a dependable, safe supply of drinking water. The act prohibits the state board from issuing a permit to a public water system or amending a valid existing permit to allow the use of point-of-use treatment unless the state board determines that there is no community opposition to the installation of the treatment device. This bill would require the state board to adopt regulations, similar to those previously authorized for adoption by the State Department of Public Health, governing the use of point-of-entry and point-of-use treatment by a public water system in lieu of centralized treatment where it can be demonstrated that centralized treatment is not immediately economically feasible, with specified limitations. The bill would also require the state board to adopt emergency regulations governing the permitted use of point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment by public water systems in lieu of centralized treatment, as specified, and would require that these emergency regulations remain in effect until the earlier of January 1, 2018, or the effective date of the required nonemergency regulations. This bill would also prohibit the use of point-of-entry treatment absent a state board determination of no community opposition. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.