H-2138.2 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1548
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By House Committee on Agriculture & Ecology (originally sponsored by Representatives G. Chandler, Linville, Mastin and Koster)
Read first time 03/02/1999.
AN ACT Relating to industrial reclaimed water; amending RCW 90.46.010, 90.46.120, 90.46.030, 90.46.130, and 90.14.140; and adding a new section to chapter 90.46 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 90.46.010 and 1997 c 444 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Greywater" means wastewater having the consistency and strength of residential domestic type wastewater. Greywater includes wastewater from sinks, showers, and laundry fixtures, but does not include toilet or urinal waters.
(2) "Land application" means application of treated effluent for purposes of irrigation or landscape enhancement for residential, business, and governmental purposes.
(3) "Person" means any state, individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, governmental subdivision, governmental agency, municipality, copartnership, association, firm, trust estate, or any other legal entity whatever.
(4) "Reclaimed water" means effluent derived in any part from sewage from a wastewater treatment system that has been adequately and reliably treated, so that as a result of that treatment, it is suitable for a beneficial use or a controlled use that would not otherwise occur and is no longer considered wastewater.
(5) "Industrial reclaimed water" means industrial wastewater that is used for industrial purposes, irrigation, municipal purposes, streamflow augmentation for fish, and other purposes authorized in conformance with a permit issued under chapter 90.48 RCW.
(6) "Sewage" means water-carried human wastes from residences, buildings, industrial and commercial establishments, or other places, together with such ground water infiltration, surface waters, or industrial wastewater as may be present.
(((6)))
(7) "User" means any person who uses reclaimed water.
(((7)))
(8) "Wastewater" means water and wastes discharged from homes,
businesses, and industry to the sewer system.
(((8)))
(9) "Industrial wastewater" means the water or liquid carried
waste from industrial or commercial processes, as distinct from sewage or
domestic wastewater, and may result from any process or activity of industry,
manufacture, trade or business, from the development of any natural resource,
or from animal operations, such as feed lots, poultry houses, or dairies.
(10)
"Beneficial use" means the use of reclaimed water((, that has been
transported from the point of production to the point of use without an
intervening discharge to the waters of the state,)) for a beneficial
purpose, including but not limited to land application, replenishment of
ground water, wetland enhancement, and streamflow augmentation providing
increased instream flows for fish.
(((9)))
(11) "Direct recharge" means the controlled subsurface
addition of water directly to the ground water basin that results in the
replenishment of ground water.
(((10)))
(12) "Ground water recharge criteria" means the contaminant
criteria found in the drinking water quality standards adopted by the state
board of health pursuant to chapter 43.20 RCW and the department of health
pursuant to chapter 70.119A RCW.
(((11)))
(13) "Planned ground water recharge project" means any
reclaimed water project designed for the purpose of recharging ground water,
via direct recharge or surface percolation.
(((12)))
(14) "Reclamation criteria" means the criteria set forth in
the water reclamation and reuse interim standards and subsequent revisions
adopted by the department of ecology and the department of health.
(((13)))
(15) "Streamflow augmentation" means the discharge of
reclaimed water to rivers and streams of the state or other surface water
bodies, but not wetlands.
(((14)))
(16) "Surface percolation" means the controlled application of
water to the ground surface for the purpose of replenishing ground water.
(((15)))
(17) "Wetland or wetlands" means areas that are inundated or
saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration
sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a
prevalence of vegetation typically adapted to life in saturated soil
conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Wetlands regulated under this chapter shall be delineated in accordance with
the manual adopted by the department of ecology pursuant to RCW 90.58.380.
(((16)))
(18) "Constructed beneficial use wetlands" means those
wetlands intentionally constructed on nonwetland sites to produce or replace
natural wetland functions and values. Constructed beneficial use wetlands are
considered "waters of the state."
(((17)))
(19) "Constructed treatment wetlands" means those wetlands
intentionally constructed on nonwetland sites and managed for the primary
purpose of wastewater or storm water treatment. Constructed treatment wetlands
are considered part of the collection and treatment system and are not
considered "waters of the state."
Sec. 2. RCW 90.46.120 and 1997 c 444 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
Except
as provided in RCW 90.46.130, the owner of a wastewater treatment facility
that is reclaiming water with a permit issued under ((this)) chapter 90.48
RCW governing the location, rate, water quality, and purpose of the use has
the exclusive right to any reclaimed water generated by the wastewater
treatment facility. Upon securing a permit under this chapter, the use
and distribution of the reclaimed water by the owner of the wastewater
treatment facility is exempt from the ((permit requirements of)) requirements
to obtain a permit under RCW 90.03.250 and 90.44.060 and the
requirements to obtain approval of a change or amendment of a water right under
RCW 90.03.380, 90.03.383, 90.03.390, 90.44.100, or 90.44.105. Revenues
derived from the reclaimed water facility shall be used only to offset the cost
of operation of the wastewater utility fund or other applicable source of
system-wide funding.
If
the proposed use or uses of reclaimed water are intended to augment or replace
potable water supplies or create the potential for the development of
additional potable water supplies, such use or uses shall be considered in the
development of the regional water supply plan or plans addressing potable water
supply service by multiple water purveyors. This may include water system
plans and coordinated water system plans adopted under chapters 43.20 and
70.116 RCW. The owner of a wastewater treatment facility that proposes to
reclaim water shall be included as a participant in the development of such
regional water supply plan ((or plans)) and water system plans. The
water supply planning activities shall be developed and coordinated to ensure
that opportunities for reclaimed water are evaluated and that proposals for
construction in public rights of way delineated within the plan consider
infrastructure needed to distribute reclaimed water. Wastewater plans adopted
under chapter 90.48 RCW shall include a statement of certification that
reclamation and reuse elements in applicable regional water supply plans and
water system plans have been fully considered and accounted for with regard to
the need for future distribution of reclaimed water.
Sec. 3. RCW 90.46.030 and 1992 c 204 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The department of ((health)) ecology shall, in coordination with
the department of ((ecology)) health, adopt ((a single set of
standards, procedures, and guidelines on or before August 1, 1993)) rules
by December 31, 2000, for the industrial and commercial use of reclaimed
water.
(2)
The department of ((health)) ecology may issue a reclaimed water
permit for industrial and commercial uses of reclaimed water to the generator
of reclaimed water who may then distribute the water, subject to provisions in
the permit governing the location, rate, water quality, and purposes of use.
(3)
The department of ((health)) ecology in consultation with the
advisory committee established in RCW 90.46.050, shall develop recommendations
for a fee structure for permits issued under subsection (2) of this section.
Fees shall be established in amounts to fully recover, and not exceed, expenses
incurred by the department of health and the department of ecology in
processing permit applications and modifications, monitoring and evaluating
compliance with permits, and conducting inspections and supporting the
reasonable overhead expenses that are directly related to these activities. Permit
fees may not be used for research or enforcement activities. The department of
health shall not issue permits under this section until a fee structure has
been established.
(4) A permit under this section for use of reclaimed water may be issued only to a municipal, quasi-municipal, or other governmental entity or to the holder of a waste discharge permit issued under chapter 90.48 RCW.
(5) The authority and duties created in this section are in addition to any authority and duties already provided in law with regard to sewage and wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal for the protection of health and safety of the state's waters. Nothing in this section limits the powers of the state or any political subdivision to exercise such authority.
Sec. 4. RCW 90.46.130 and 1997 c 444 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
Facilities
that reclaim water under this chapter shall not impair any existing water right
((downstream from any freshwater discharge points of such facilities unless
compensation or mitigation for such impairment is agreed to by the holder of
the affected water right)) unless the holder of the water right is
equitably compensated. If the original source of the industrial reclaimed
water is ground water, and the industrial reclaimed water is used for land
application, then no compensation is required under this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 90.46 RCW to read as follows:
The department of ecology, in consultation with the department of health and water purveyors, may adopt rules establishing criteria to determine when the use of reclaimed water is feasible to replace potable water supplied for nonpotable water use. Local governments may adopt ordinances requiring the use of reclaimed water for nonpotable uses when determined feasible.
Sec. 6. RCW 90.14.140 and 1998 c 258 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) For the purposes of RCW 90.14.130 through 90.14.180, "sufficient cause" shall be defined as the nonuse of all or a portion of the water by the owner of a water right for a period of five or more consecutive years where such nonuse occurs as a result of:
(a) Drought, or other unavailability of water;
(b) Active service in the armed forces of the United States during military crisis;
(c) Nonvoluntary service in the armed forces of the United States;
(d) The operation of legal proceedings;
(e) Federal or state agency leases of or options to purchase lands or water rights which preclude or reduce the use of the right by the owner of the water right;
(f) Federal laws imposing land or water use restrictions either directly or through the voluntary enrollment of a landowner in a federal program implementing those laws, or acreage limitations, or production quotas;
(g) The substitution of the use of industrial reclaimed water, as defined in RCW 90.46.010, for water used under a valid right, when the reclaimed water is used in accordance with a permit issued under chapter 90.48 RCW.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of RCW 90.14.130 through 90.14.180, there shall be no relinquishment of any water right:
(a) If such right is claimed for power development purposes under chapter 90.16 RCW and annual license fees are paid in accordance with chapter 90.16 RCW;
(b) If such right is used for a standby or reserve water supply to be used in time of drought or other low flow period so long as withdrawal or diversion facilities are maintained in good operating condition for the use of such reserve or standby water supply;
(c) If such right is claimed for a determined future development to take place either within fifteen years of July 1, 1967, or the most recent beneficial use of the water right, whichever date is later;
(d) If such right is claimed for municipal water supply purposes under chapter 90.03 RCW;
(e) If such waters are not subject to appropriation under the applicable provisions of RCW 90.40.030; or
(f) If such right or portion of the right is leased to another person for use on land other than the land to which the right is appurtenant as long as the lessee makes beneficial use of the right in accordance with this chapter and a transfer or change of the right has been approved by the department in accordance with RCW 90.03.380, 90.03.383, 90.03.390, or 90.44.100.
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