ACWA Outreach Alert
June 15, 2015
Letters, Calls Needed on Trailer Bill to Restructure Drinking Water Program Fees Opposition Letters Needed to Stop Proposal That Would Repeal Existing Safeguards
ACWA is working with a coalition of public water agencies and investor-owned water utilities to stop budget trailer bill language that would restructure the current drinking water program fee and repeal existing safeguards, including a cap on the total amount of fees and on fee increases.
The trailer bill language could be taken up on the Senate and Assembly floors as early as today as part of the state budget package.
ACWA is requesting member agencies to immediately fax letters opposing the proposal and call their local state Senate and Assembly member or staff. See below for a link to a sample letter.
Basis for Opposition
The state’s drinking water program is administered by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water and currently is funded in large part through “operating fees” paid by public water systems. Under existing law the fees for large water systems must be based on the actual costs incurred in relation to the public water system in question (i.e., a fee-for-service model). The statute sets a cap on the base total for the fees and a cap on annual increases.
In the budget trailer bill proposal, the State Water Board is proposing to dramatically change how it imposes these fees. Under the proposed language, each public water system would submit an annual fee according to a schedule established by the State Water Board “for the purpose of Budget Trailer Bill Language #807 June 2<http://outreach.acwa.com/site/R?i=5-W6dqjlrsHpS8iX6hB4xQ>, reimbursing SWRCB for the costs incurred by the state board for activities mandated by this chapter.” The State Water Board would be authorized to adopt these fees by emergency regulation, and would “set the amount of total revenue collected each year through the fee schedule at an amount equal to the amount appropriated by the Legislature in the annual budget act…” There would be no cap in statute on the total amount of the fees or on fee increases. The fees for large systems would not have to be based on actual costs for the system in question.
The language is in stark contrast to the commitment to increased transparency and public participation pledged to the water community when the drinking water program was transferred to the State Water Board last year.
ACWA and other coalition members agree the drinking water program needs to be funded adequately, and support a short-term solution that would temporarily increase the total cap on large water system fees by $1 million to provide time for the State Water Board to convene a stakeholder process in the fall to work on a long-term solution.
Take Action Now
ACWA is requesting that members send letters opposing the proposal and make phone calls to their local Senate and Assembly members or staff today if possible.
A sample letter is available here<http://outreach.acwa.com/site/R?i=UM7G9NYMYrIzs9iLM29WTw> to edit and send. Please be sure to edit and personalize the sections of the letter referencing your agency name.
Please send a copy of your final letter to ACWA by fax at (916) 325-4927 or email to mariem@acwa.com<mailto:mariem@acwa.com>.
Questions
Questions may be directed to ACWA Deputy Executive Director for Government Relations Cindy Tuck at 916-441-4545 or cindyt@acwa.com<mailto:cindyt@acwa.com>.
Tags: California, policy, water