(a) (1) The department shall convene and administer an expert panel for the 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.
(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 microbiologist, and a chemist.
(3) Members of the expert panel may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary travel expenses.
(b) (1) The department may appoint 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, and the business community, to advise the department regarding the development of uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse.
(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.