(a) (1) On or before July 31, 2009, the state board shall adopt a general permit for landscape irrigation uses of recycled water for which the State Department of Public Health has established uniform statewide recycling criteria pursuant to Section 13521.

(2) The state board shall establish criteria to determine eligibility for coverage under the general permit.

(3) For the purpose of developing the general permit and establishing eligibility criteria to carry out paragraph (1), the state board shall hold at least one workshop and shall consult with and consider comments from the regional boards, groundwater management agencies and water replenishment districts with statutory authority to manage groundwater pursuant to their principal act, and any interested party.

(4) The general permit shall include language that provides for the modification of the terms and conditions of the general permit if a regulatory or statutory change occurs that affects the application of the general permit or as necessary to ensure protection of beneficial uses.

(b) The state board shall establish a reasonable schedule of fees to reimburse the state board for the costs it incurs in implementing, developing, and administering this section.

(c) Following the adoption of the general permit pursuant to this section, an applicant may obtain coverage for a landscape irrigation use of recycled water by filing a notice of intent to be covered under the general permit and submitting the appropriate fee established pursuant to subdivision (b) to the state board.

(d) Coverage under the general permit adopted pursuant to this section is effective if all of the following apply:

(1) The applicant has submitted a completed application.

(2) The state board has determined that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(3) The state board has made the application available for public review and comment for 30 days.

(4) The state board has consulted with the appropriate regional board.

(5) The executive officer of the state board approves the application.

(e) (1) Except as provided by modification of the general permit, a person eligible for coverage under the general permit pursuant to subdivision (d) is not required to become or remain subject to individual waste discharge requirements or water reclamation requirements.

(2) For a landscape irrigation use of recycled water, a person who is subject to general or individual waste discharge requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13263 or 13377, or is subject to individual or master water reclamation requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 13523 or 13523.1, may apply for coverage under the general permit adopted pursuant to this section in lieu of remaining subject to requirements prescribed pursuant to those sections.

(f) (1) The state board shall designate an ombudsperson to coordinate and facilitate communication on recycled water, on the issuance of water reclamation requirements or waste discharge requirements, as applicable, pursuant to Section 13523 or 13523.1 or this section, and on the promotion of water recycling while ensuring reasonable protection of water quality in accordance with applicable provisions of state and federal water quality law.

(2) The person appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall facilitate consultations between the state board and the regional boards relating to matters described in that paragraph.

(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 535, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2008.)