Section 13565 Of Chapter 7.3. Direct And Indirect Potable Reuse From California Water Code >> Division 7. >> Chapter 7.3.
13565
. (a) (1) On or before February 15, 2014, the department shall
convene and administer an expert panel for purposes of advising the
department on public health issues and scientific and technical
matters regarding development of uniform water recycling criteria for
indirect potable reuse through surface water augmentation and
investigation of the feasibility of developing uniform water
recycling criteria for direct potable reuse. The expert panel shall
assess what, if any, additional areas of research are needed to be
able to establish uniform regulatory criteria for direct potable
reuse. The expert panel shall then recommend an approach for
accomplishing any additional needed research regarding uniform
criteria for direct potable reuse in a timely manner.
(2) The expert panel shall be comprised, at a minimum, of a
toxicologist, an engineer licensed in the state with at least three
years' experience in wastewater treatment, an engineer licensed in
the state with at least three years' experience in treatment of
drinking water supplies and knowledge of drinking water standards, an
epidemiologist, a limnologist, a microbiologist, and a chemist. The
department, in consultation with the advisory group and the state
board, shall select the expert panel members.
(3) Members of the expert panel may be reimbursed for reasonable
and necessary travel expenses.
(b) (1) On or before January 15, 2014, the department shall
convene an advisory group, task force, or other group, comprised of
no fewer than nine representatives of water and wastewater agencies,
local public health officers, environmental organizations,
environmental justice organizations, public health nongovernmental
organizations, the department, the state board, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, ratepayer or taxpayer advocate
organizations, and the business community, to advise the expert panel
regarding the development of uniform water recycling criteria for
direct potable reuse and the draft report required by Section 13563.
The department, in consultation with the state board, shall select
the advisory group members.
(2) Environmental, environmental justice, and public health
nongovernmental organization representative members of the advisory
group, task force, or other group may be reimbursed for reasonable
and necessary travel expenses.
(3) In order to ensure public transparency, the advisory group
established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be subject to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code).
(c) On or before June 30, 2016, the department shall prepare a
draft report summarizing the recommendations of the expert panel.
(d) The department may contract with a public university or other
research institution with experience in convening expert panels on
water quality or potable reuse to meet all or part of the
requirements of this section should the department find that the
research institution is better able to fulfill the requirements of
this section by the required date.