SECTIONS 75020-75029.5 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 75020-75029.5

75020. This chapter is intended to provide the funds necessary to
address the most critical water needs of the state including the
provision of safe drinking water to all Californians, the protection
of water quality and the environment, and the improvement of water
supply reliability.

75021. (a) The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be
available to the Department of Health Services for grants and direct
expenditures to fund emergency and urgent actions to ensure that safe
drinking water supplies are available to all Californians. Eligible
projects include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Providing alternate water supplies including bottled water
where necessary to protect public health.
(2) Improvements in existing water systems necessary to prevent
contamination or provide other sources of safe drinking water
including replacement wells.
(3) Establishing connections to an adjacent water system.
(4) Design, purchase, installation and initial operation costs for
water treatment equipment and systems.
(b) Grants and expenditures shall not exceed $250,000 per project.
(c) Direct expenditures for the purposes of this section shall be
exempt from contracting and procurement requirements to the extent
necessary to take immediate action to protect public health and
safety.

75022. The sum of one hundred eighty million dollars ($180,000,000)
shall be available to the Department of Health Services for grants
for small community drinking water system infrastructure improvements
and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards. Priority
shall be given to projects that address chemical and nitrate
contaminants, other health hazards and by whether the community is
disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged. Special consideration shall
be given to small communities with limited financial resources.
Eligible recipients include public agencies and incorporated mutual
water companies that serve disadvantaged communities. The Department
of Health Services may make grants for the purpose of financing
feasibility studies and to meet the eligibility requirements for a
construction grant. Construction grants shall be limited to
$5,000,000 per project and not more than twenty five percent of a
grant may be awarded in advance of actual expenditures. The
Department of Health Services may expend up to $5,000,000 of the
funds allocated in this section for technical assistance to eligible
communities.

75023. For the purpose of providing the state share needed to
leverage federal funds to assist communities in providing safe
drinking water, the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) shall
be available for deposit into the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (Section 116760.30 of the Health and Safety Code).

75024. For the purpose of providing the state share needed to
leverage federal funds to assist communities in making those
infrastructure investments necessary to prevent pollution of drinking
water sources, the sum of eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) shall
be available for deposit into the State Water Pollution Control
Revolving Fund (Section 13477 of the Water Code).

75025. The sum of sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) shall be
available to the Department of Health Services for the purpose of
loans and grants for projects to prevent or reduce contamination of
groundwater that serves as a source of drinking water. The Department
of Health Services shall require repayment for costs that are
subsequently recovered from parties responsible for the
contamination. The Legislature may enact legislation necessary to
implement this section.

75026. (a) The sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) shall be
available to the department for grants for projects that assist
local public agencies to meet the long term water needs of the state
including the delivery of safe drinking water and the protection of
water quality and the environment. Eligible projects must implement
integrated regional water management plans that meet the requirements
of this section. Integrated regional water management plans shall
identify and address the major water related objectives and conflicts
within the region, consider all of the resource management
strategies identified in the California Water Plan, and use an
integrated, multi-benefit approach to project selection and design.
Plans shall include performance measures and monitoring to document
progress toward meeting plan objectives. Projects that may be funded
pursuant to this section must be consistent with an adopted
integrated regional water management plan or its functional
equivalent as defined in the department's Integrated Regional Water
Management Guidelines, must provide multiple benefits, and must
include one or more of the following project elements:
(1) Water supply reliability, water conservation and water use
efficiency.
(2) Storm water capture, storage, clean-up, treatment, and
management.
(3) Removal of invasive non-native species, the creation and
enhancement of wetlands, and the acquisition, protection, and
restoration of open space and watershed lands.
(4) Non-point source pollution reduction, management and
monitoring.
(5) Groundwater recharge and management projects.
(6) Contaminant and salt removal through reclamation, desalting,
and other treatment technologies and conveyance of reclaimed water
for distribution to users.
(7) Water banking, exchange, reclamation and improvement of water
quality.
(8) Planning and implementation of multipurpose flood management
programs.
(9) Watershed protection and management.
(10) Drinking water treatment and distribution.
(11) Ecosystem and fisheries restoration and protection.
(b) The Department of Water Resources shall give preference to
proposals that satisfy the following criteria:
(1) Proposals that effectively integrate water management programs
and projects within a hydrologic region identified in the California
Water Plan; the Regional Water Quality Control Board region or
subdivision or other region or sub-region specifically identified by
the department.
(2) Proposals that effectively integrate water management with
land use planning.
(3) Proposals that effectively resolve significant water-related
conflicts within or between regions.
(4) Proposals that contribute to the attainment of one or more of
the objectives of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program.
(5) Proposals that address statewide priorities.
(6) Proposals that address critical water supply or water quality
needs for disadvantaged communities within the region.
(c) Not more than 5% of the funds provided by this section may be
used for grants or direct expenditures for the development, updating
or improvement of integrated regional water management plans.
(d) The department shall coordinate the provisions of this section
with the program provided in Chapter 8 of Division 26.5 of the Water
Code and may implement this section using existing Integrated
Regional Water Management Guidelines.

75027. (a) The funding provided in Section 75026 shall be allocated
to each hydrologic region as identified in the California Water Plan
and listed below. For the South Coast Region, the department shall
establish three sub-regions that reflect the San Diego county
watersheds, the Santa Ana River watershed, and the Los
Angeles-Ventura County watersheds respectively, and allocate funds to
those sub-regions. The North and South Lahontan regions shall be
treated as one region for the purpose of allocating funds, but the
department may require separate regional plans. Funds provided in
Section 75026 shall be allocated according to the following schedule:

(1) North Coast $37,000,000
(2) San Francisco Bay $138,000,000
(3) Central Coast $52,000,000
(4) Los Angeles sub- $215,000,000
region
(5) Santa Ana sub-region $114,000,000
(6) San Diego sub-region $91,000,000
(7) Sacramento River $73,000,000
(8) San Joaquin River $57,000,000
(9) Tulare/Kern (Tulare $60,000,000
Lake)
(10) North/South $27,000,000
Lahontan
(11) Colorado River $36,000,000
Basin
(12) Inter- $100,000,000
regional/Unallocated

(b) The interregional and unallocated funds provided in
subdivision (a) may be expended directly or granted by the department
to address multi-regional needs or issues of statewide significance.

75028. (a) The department shall allocate grants on a competitive
basis within each identified hydrologic region or sub-region pursuant
to Section 75027. The department may establish standards and
procedures for the development and approval of local project
selection processes within hydrologic regions and sub-regions
identified in Section 75027. The department shall defer to approved
local project selection, and review projects only for consistency
with the purposes of Section 75026.
(b) If a hydrologic region or sub-region identified in Section
75027 does not have any adopted plan that meets the requirements of
Section 75026 at the time of the department's grant selection
process, the funds allocated to that hydrologic region or sub-region
shall not be reallocated to another region but will remain
unallocated until such time as an adopted plan from the hydrologic
region or sub-region is submitted to the department.

75029. The sum of one hundred thirty million dollars ($130,000,000)
shall be available to the department for grants to implement Delta
water quality improvement projects that protect drinking water
supplies. The department shall require a cost share from local
agencies. Eligible projects are:
(a) Projects that reduce or eliminate discharges of salt,
dissolved organic carbon, pesticides, pathogens and other pollutants
to the San Joaquin River. Not less than forty million ($40,000,000)
shall be available to implement projects to reduce or eliminate
discharges of subsurface agricultural drain water from the west side
of the San Joaquin Valley for the purpose of improving water quality
in the San Joaquin River and the Delta.
(b) Projects that reduce or eliminate discharges of bromide,
dissolved organic carbon, salt, pesticides and pathogens from
discharges to the Sacramento River.
(c) Projects at Franks Tract and other locations in the Delta that
will reduce salinity or other pollutants at agricultural and
drinking water intakes.
(d) Projects identified in the June 2005 Delta Region Drinking
Water Quality Management Plan, with a priority for design and
construction of the relocation of drinking water intake facilities
for in-delta water users.

75029.5. The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be
available to the state board for grants to public agencies and
non-profit organizations for projects that reduce the discharge of
pollutants from agricultural operations into surface waters of the
state.