One area of the governor's proposed budget that would affect water agencies is another increase in waste discharge permit fees that are paid annually to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). These fees are paid by water districts, other public agencies and private industries such as building and construction, boatyards, landfills, sewage treatment facilities and factories that discharge into the state's waterways.

Last year, the governor proposed and signed into law a budget trailer bill, AB 3000 (Assembly Budget Committee), which doubled the cap on waste discharge permit fees from $10,000 to $20,000. This doubling of the fee will bring an additional $30 million into the SWRCB's Waste Discharge Permit Fund this budget year.

Prior to 2002, the Waste Discharge Permit Fee had not been adjusted since 1988. While the Legislature had considered raising the fee even higher, it agreed to double the annual fee as proposed by Governor Davis.

However, the budget deficit has continued to grow since the enactment of the 2002-03 State Budget last fall. The governor, the Legislature, and the Legislative Analyst's Office are all searching for ways to cut the deficit even further and balance the budget.

The governor's budget proposal for 2003-04 calls for $13.7 million more in the Waste Discharge Permit Fund within the State Water Resources Control Board's budget. The $13.7 million difference would be paid for by an increase in the amount of the Waste Discharge Permit Fee, rather than the General Fund.

If the Legislature concurs with the governor's proposal to raise these fees even higher, a legislative bill, or "budget trailer bill," that lays out the details of the fee increase would have to be introduced. It would include specifics on the total amount of fee increases and which entities would be ordered to pay the fee.

The Legislature last year had initially expressed its intent to: increase the fee beyond $10,000 to $35,000; create a new category of "super discharger" for facilities with design flows over 100 million gallons per day; widen the base of entities paying into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund by including co-permitees; and add confined animal feeding operations, which are now exempt from these annual fees. With all these different scenarios on the table, the Legislature opted only to support the governor's proposal to double the permit fees.

All options for redesigning the Waste Discharge Permit Fee program will be back on the negotiating table when the Legislature begins meeting to discuss the proposed 2003-04 State Budget this spring.

Capitol insiders go right to the source to get their copies of the State Budget Highlight Summary and other budget materials at the Department of Finance's Web site: www.dof.ca.gov. Please check back regularly to ACWA's Web site for details and analysis.

Wendy Ridderbusch, State Legislative Advocate