Legislative Corner

BY HARRISON PHIPPS

The Governor has signed into law several bills relating to MTBE:

AB 521 appropriates $500,000 for a study of the risks associated with MTBE,

AB 592 requires the State Department of health Services to establish drinking water standards for the gasoline additive,

SB 1189 addresses pipelines and storage of MTBE near drinking water supplies,

AB 1491 restricts depositing petroleum into an underground storage tank unless it meets described requirements.

Another groundwater related bill that was passed, SB 660 addresses hazardous waste management and creates a new account Ñ the Toxic Substances Control Account Ñ to fund toxic waste cleanup, emergency response activities, and scientific and risk assessment programs.

SB 1307 makes changes to CaliforniaÕs Safe Drinking Water Act to conform to federal guidelines; provides the framework for the state to take advantage of $1 billion in federal capitalization grant money for water system infrastructure improvements; and Requires DHS to develop a program to protect sources of drinking water.

In all there were 321 water-related bills considered, 101 dealt with flooding and 31 directly adressed groundwater.