BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 715
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: laird
VERSION: 6/5/07
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 12, 2007
SUBJECT:
Low flush water closets and urinals
DESCRIPTION:
This bill phases in lower flush volume requirements for water
closets and urinals.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (CBSC) and the process for
adopting state building codes. Under this process, relevant
state agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which
the CBSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. For example, the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the
relevant state agency for residential building codes. The
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is
responsible for hospitals and clinics, and Division of the State
Architect is the relevant agencies for schools and emergency
service buildings. Not all buildings fall under the
jurisdiction of a relevant state agency. Most commercial,
industrial, and manufacturing structures are considered "local
buildings," over which local governments may determine
applicable building standards.
Existing law also requires that all water closets (toilets) sold
or installed since 1994 in hotels, motels, lodginghouses,
apartment houses, and dwellings in this state use less than 1.6
gallons per flush and that all urinals use an average of one
gallon per flush. In addition, all low-flush water closets and
urinals must be labeled with specified language by the retailer
identifying the fixtures as low-flush models. Non-low-flush
fixtures may only be installed at historical sites where
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historically accurate low-flush models are not available, where
the installation of the low-flush fixtures would require the
modification of the plumbing system beneath a finished wall, or
where the local government has enacted an enabling ordinance
because the unique configuration of building drainage systems or
public sewer systems requires more water to function properly.
Existing law does not pre-empt cities, counties, or water
districts from adopting additional or stricter conservation
requirements for new or existing fixtures that would result in
greater water savings.
This bill phases in requirements that water closets and
water-using urinals have lower flush volumes, requiring
manufacturers to produce an increasing percentage of
high-efficiency models until 2014 when all new water closets and
urinals would have to meet the high-efficiency definition.
Specifically, this bill:
Defines a high-efficiency water closet as a tank type water
closet or a floor-mounted/floor-outlet or
wall-mounted/wall-outlet flushometer water closet that does
not use more than 1.28 gallons of water. In a single-flush
model, the maximum applies per flush. In a dual-flush model,
this maximum applies to a full flush or to the total volume of
two reduced flushes.
Defines a high-efficiency urinal as a water-using urinal that
uses no more than 0.5 gallons per flush.
Requires that all water closets and urinals sold or installed
in the state on or after January 1, 2014 be high-efficiency
appliances.
Requires each manufacturer selling water closets or urinals in
California to offer no less than the following percentages of
high-efficiency models:
? 50% by 2010.
? 67% by 2011.
? 75% by 2012.
? 85% by 2013.
? 100% by 2014.
Requires each manufacturer, from 2010 to 2013, to inform the
California Energy Commission in writing of the percentage of
models that meet the high-efficiency standard.
Requires that the water consumption of each fixture be
determined by the test procedures contained in specific
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American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards.
Requires that all water closets and urinals sold or installed
meet current performance, testing, and labeling requirements
established by the ASME, as certified by an accredited
third-party certification agency.
Deletes the labeling requirements in current law.
Maintains the exemptions for historical sites, for rooms where
interior plumbing modifications would be required, and for
communities with uniquely configured sewer or drainage
systems.
Maintains the ability of local governments to adopt more
restrictive conservation requirements.
The bill also establishes requirements for the sale and
installation of waterless urinals. Prior to January 1, 2010,
any waterless urinals sold in the must satisfy the following
requirements:
Be certified to meet standards established by the ASME.
Provide a barrier liquid sealant to maintain a trap seal.
Permit the uninhibited flow of waste.
Be cleaned and maintained in accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions after installation.
Be installed with a water supply rough-in that would allow
replacement with a water-supplied urinal.
In addition, the bill requires any state agency with
jurisdiction over building standards related to plumbing to
determine, by January 1, 2009, whether to propose building
standards that would authorize the use of waterless urinals. If
building standards are proposed and adopted, they must meet at
least all of the requirements listed above.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The statewide standards for toilet water
flush volume were last revised in 1992. According to the
author, updating the standards will save California as much as
eight billion gallons of water per year within ten years and
16 billion gallons per year within 20 years. The bill would
also save energy by reducing the need to obtain, pump, treat,
and pressurize water supplies and to treat sewage water.
2.Models currently available . This bill phases in new standards
for low-flush toilets. By 2014, all toilets and urinals sold
or installed in California would need to meet the new volume
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standards. According to the author, at the present time there
are 24 manufacturers producing 111 models of toilets and nine
manufacturers of urinals that meet the standards proposed in
this bill.
3.Circumventing the building standards process . The Legislature
has often sought to keep individual building standards out of
statute and instead to rely on the CBSC for the adoption and
updating of standards. Placing standards in statute is bulky,
cumbersome to amend, and circumvents both the existing process
and the expertise of state agencies and the CBSC. This bill
puts the Legislature in the position of requiring specific
building standards in statute, which it has often sought to
avoid. Current law relating to low-flush toilets is one of
the exceptions, however. While the bill does go against
general practice, it simply updates a statute that is already
on the books.
Using statute to further reduce flow volumes is also the basis
for the opposition to this bill. The CBSC argues that it is
not good policy to locate building standards in statute or to
duplicate them in statute and regulation. Statutory building
standards are not easily accessible to building industry
professionals, are not easily amended as conditions change,
and are difficult, if not impossible, to coordinate with
regulatory building codes.
The CBSC has suggested amendments that would remove its
opposition. The suggested amendments delete the current
contents of the bill and instead require state agencies and
the CBSC to develop by July 1, 2009 and submit for adoption
building standards to phase in lower flush volume requirements
for water closets and water-using urinals. The amendments
also require any state agency with jurisdiction over building
standards for plumbing systems to consider by July 1, 2009
standards for waterless urinals. While this approach would be
more consistent with recent legislation related to building
standards, it would also grant state agencies total discretion
over the amount of the reduction in flow volume. The
committee may wish to consider whether it is more appropriate
to update the existing statute or defer to the administrative
process.
4.Flexibility for the future . The June 5 amendments to the bill
remove language that would have allowed CBSC, by regulation,
to further reduce water flush volumes and to refer to
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successor standards if appropriate in light of the most recent
version of the California Plumbing Code. To the extent that
the committee wishes to maintain flush volume requirements in
statute, this flexibility would be useful to adapt to changing
situations in the future without jeopardizing the statute's
requirements. The committee may wish to consider restoring
CBSC's ability to lower flush volumes and update standards in
the future.
5.Ensuring inclusive standards for waterless urinals . One
manufacturer of trap systems for waterless urinals points out
that the standards in the bill for waterless urinals will
preclude the use of certain existing technologies, including
its product. To ensure that the standards allow for all
competing technologies, the manufacturer suggests a number of
amendments, including replacing the reference to ASME
standards with a reference to IAPMO standards, which include
the ASME performance standards but allows for a broader use of
materials and technologies. The committee may wish to
consider allowing a wider array of technologies in waterless
urinals.
6.Enforcement of model requirements . The bill requires that
manufacturers offer increasing percentages of high-efficiency
toilets and urinals each year until 2014 and requires the
manufacturers to report the percentages offered to the Energy
Commission. In the event that a manufacturer fails to meet
the requirement, it is not clear that the Energy Commission or
any other public entity can enforce the law. It is possible,
however, that competitors or consumers could bring a civil
action alleging an unfair business practice.
7.Arguments in opposition . In addition to the issue regarding
circumventing the administrative building standard process
mentioned above, the California Building Industry Association
expresses concerns over the requirement to install a "water
supply rough-in" along with a waterless urinal. This
requirement will eliminate one of the major benefits of
waterless urinals: the savings that come from not having to
plumb the fixture.
8.Veto message . Last year the author carried a similar bill, AB
2496, that was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The veto
message stated:
California has long been a leader in water
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conservation. The state's movement to low-flow
toilets in the early 1990s paved the way for the
federal government to adopt similar standards soon
thereafter. We should continue to be leaders in
this area.
However, before imposing new mandates on builders
and homeowners, we must conduct a thorough study
of the new technology to determine its readiness
for widespread use. For instance, the movement to
the current low-flow toilets, though ultimately
successful, was accompanied at first by legitimate
complaints from consumers of product failures. A
number of questions have arisen regarding the
toilets required by this bill, including whether
sufficient laboratory testing has verified
compatibility with existing plumbing
infrastructure.
This issue is best left to the California Building
Standards Commission, which is comprised of
experts qualified to lead an investigation into
how best Californians can integrate water-saving
technology into our homes and commercial
buildings. I encourage the proponents of this
measure to work with the Commission to adopt these
changes through the Commission process.
The author points that out that since the veto, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has released a study
concluding that flushes of 1.28 gallons are sufficient to
carry wastes.
9.Technical amendments :
On page 6, line 6 strike "(c)" and insert "(b)"
On page 6, line 8 strike "(c)" and insert "(b)"
On page 6, line 11 strike "(c)" and insert "(b)"
On page 6, line 19 strike "(c)" and insert "(b)"
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 46-25
Appr: 10-5
H&CD: 4-1
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
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Wednesday, June 6,
2007)
SUPPORT: California State Pipe Trades Council (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees
Association of California Water Agencies
California American Water
California Special Districts Association
East Bay Municipal Utility District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Irvine Ranch Water District
Marina Coast Water District
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
Planning and Conservation League
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of
California
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sonoma County Water Agency
OPPOSED: California Building Industry Association
California Building Standards Commission
Department of Housing and Community Development