Californias Revised Sanitary Sewer Regulations - Ready, Set, Go

In 2006 the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted waste discharge requirements (WDR) for sanitary sewer systems that currently regulate 1200 publicly operated collection systems with greater than one mile of sewers discharging to a publicly owned wastewater treatment plant. In 2013 these regulations were amended to modify the reporting requirements into the State sewer overflow database CIWQS, modifying the reporting categories for sewer overflows and requiring technical reports and sampling for overflows greater than 50,000 gallons. In 2019, professional organizations representing the enrolled agencies began discussions with the SWRCB staff regarding necessary changes in the requirements. Those discussions resulted in the public circulation of an Informal Staff Draft (IFSD) in February 2021by the SWRCB of a proposed replacement of the WDR. That draft was 85 pages long proposing to replace the 20-page 2006 WDR. It is the SWRCB's stated intention to revise and improve the enforceability of the WDR and to clarify and enhance system operational information from the 1200 enrolled agencies. In addition they have stated that the drivers for the revisions include the following SWRCB policies: -Reducing the cost of compliance (SWRCB Resolution 2013-0029) -Human Right to Water (SWRCB Resolution 2016-0010) -Comprehensive response to Climate Change Requirements Resolution 2017-0012) -Open data portal (SWRCB Resolution 2018-0032) -2017 Water Quality Enforcement Policy It is anticipated that the SWRCB will issue a Board WDR draft in late fall or early winter, and begin Board hearings following a 60-notice period in early 2022 with final WDR adoption in spring or early summer 2022. The 2006 and 2013 WDR requirements have resulted in meaningful reductions in both the number and volumes of sewage overflows across the state. The required State database for the reporting of all sewage enrolled agency overflows contains over 65,000 individual sewage overflow records since initiation in 2007. Total number of annual overflows have been reduced by almost 60% and the total volumes of overflows have dropped by approximately 40%. However large overflows greater than 1000 gallons discharging to Waters of the United Stated continue to be an area of concern to the SWRCB and to the enrolled agencies and are generally the result of winter weather issues or large diameter or force main failures. The SWRCB has done very limited enforcement on these large overflows but has not had the staff to deal with most. It is the enrolled agencies belief that greater enforcement and liability for the very small number agencies with these large overflows to waters of the US should be the first step in requiring compliance rather than a wholesale replacement of the 2006 WDR with substantial impacts on ALL 1200 enrolled agencies. The speaker has chaired the professional associations negotiations in the past two plus years with the SWRCB staff resulting in a substantial comment letter and redline markup of the IFSD for SWRCB staff considerations. These documents were submitted after a three-month intense face-to-face discussion period over the significant changes and poor language of the IFSD. The proposed changes in the IFSD were very prescriptive, enhanced enrolled agency legal risk and liability for expanded non-compliance while substantially expanding the operational requirements and information to be provided from enrolled agencies both annually and in the required sewer system management plans. The current podium presentation will review the successes of the 2006 WDR, discuss many of the significant new issues and anticipated requirements included in the WDR replacement requirements and the timeline for the 1200 enrolled agencies to obtain compliance. It is expected that these new sanitary sewer collection system requirements when adopted will be expensive especially for small and disadvantaged communities and will result in expanded consulting support services and litigation and enforcement on many sewer collection agencies. Several of the new topics anticipated to be in the revised WDR and to be covered at the podium may include the following: -Exfiltration from sewer systems -Resiliency requirements/ Capital Asset Management requirements -Substantially expanded Sewer System Management Plans requirements -Expanded annual reporting to State and Regional Boards -Expansion of sewer program financial, rate information and capital planning -Enhanced State enforceability -Detailed definitions of important terms used by the State -The inclusion of groundwater as the definition for Waters -Reduced requirements for well performing systems -Inclusion of private property systems satellite to enrolled agencies -Submittal of service area boundary mapping including surrounding water and sewer agencies -Requirement for Registered Engineers or collection system certified operators as designated officials -Use of Spill Rates per 100 miles per year for enrolled agency comparisons and performance evaluation It is expected that the new WDR will require additional public expenditures to comply even though it may, in the long term, enhance the operations of sanitary systems. As with many California regulations, these new requirements may inform other states and sanitary sewer regulations across the United States from the required changes and many new and expanded requirements. We have estimated that the resiliency requirements alone may require enrolled agencies to expend between 50 and 100 million dollars to comply. We also expect that this will require agencies to raise rates to customers to comply and will result in expanded NGO litigation and enforcement resulting from the revised WDR impacting agencies staff time for implementing compliance. This replacement of the 2006 WDR appears to move compliance enforcement to the private sector and away from the SWRCB Enforcement office due to staffing limitations. This may further enhance and expand the current cottage industry of sewer program litigation in California.