SECTIONS 78610-78619 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 78610-78619

78610. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this article:
(a) "Eligible project" means a project or activity described in
paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 13480
that is all of the following:
(1) Necessary to prevent water pollution or to reclaim water.
(2) Eligible for funds from the State Revolving Fund Loan Account
or federal assistance.
(3) Certified by the board as entitled to priority over other
eligible projects.
(4) Complies with applicable water quality standards, policies,
and plans.
(b) "Federal assistance" means money provided to a municipality,
either directly or through allocation by the state, from the federal
government to construct eligible projects pursuant to the Clean Water
Act.
(c) "Municipality" has the same meaning as defined in the Clean
Water Act and also includes the state or any agency, department, or
political subdivision thereof, and applicants eligible for assistance
under Sections 1329 and 1330 of Title 33 of the United States Code.
(d) "Small community" means a municipality with a population of
5,000 persons or less, or a reasonably isolated and divisible segment
of a larger municipality encompassing 5,000 persons or less, with a
financial hardship as determined by the board.
(e) "Treatment works" has the same meaning as defined in the Clean
Water Act.

78611. There is hereby created in the account both of the following
subaccounts:
(a) The State Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount.
(b) The Small Communities Grant Subaccount.

78612. The board may, by contract or otherwise, undertake plans,
surveys, research, development, and studies necessary or desirable to
carry out this article, and may prepare recommendations with regard
thereto, including the preparation of comprehensive statewide or
areawide studies and reports on the collection, treatment, and
disposal of waste under a comprehensive cooperative plan.

78612.5. Not more than 3 percent of the total amount deposited in
the State Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount and the Small Communities
Grant Subaccount may be used for both of the following purposes:
(a) To pay the costs incurred in connection with the
administration of this article.
(b) For the purposes of Section 78612.

78613. The following amounts are hereby transferred from the
account to the State Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount and the Small
Communities Grant Subaccount and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of
the Government Code, continuously appropriated, without regard to
fiscal years, from the subaccounts to the board:
(a) Eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) to the State Revolving
Fund Loan Subaccount for the purposes of providing loans pursuant to
the Clean Water Act, to aid in the construction or implementation of
eligible projects, and for the purposes described in Section 78612.
(b) Thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) to the Small Communities
Grant Subaccount for grants by the board to small communities for
construction of eligible treatment works. If, in the judgment of the
board, the money in the Small Communities Grant Subaccount will not
be expended within a reasonable time, the board may transfer the
money to the State Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount to be used for any
of the purposes specified in subdivision (a).
(c) The board may transfer unallocated funds from the State
Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount to the State Water Pollution Control
Revolving Fund for the purposes of meeting federal requirements for
state matching funds to provide loans in accordance with the Clean
Water Act.

78614. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 78613, the board
may make loans to municipalities, pursuant to contract, to aid in the
construction or implementation of eligible projects.

78615. For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 78613, the board
may make grants to small communities so that any combined federal and
state grant does not exceed 97 1/2 percent of the eligible cost of
necessary studies, planning, design, and construction of the eligible
project determined in accordance with applicable state law and
regulations. The total amount of grants made pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 78613, for any single project, may not exceed three
million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000).

78616. Any contract entered into pursuant to this article for loans
or grants may include provisions determined by the board, and shall
include all of the following provisions:
(a) An estimate of the reasonable cost of the project.
(b) A description of the type of assistance being offered.
(c) An agreement by the board to pay to the entity, during the
progress of the project or following completion, as agreed upon by
the parties, the amount specified in the contract determined pursuant
to applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
(d) An agreement by the public entity to proceed expeditiously
with, and complete, the project, commence operation of the project
upon completion, properly operate and maintain the project in
accordance with applicable provisions of law, and provide for payment
of the public entity's share of the cost of the project.

78617. All contracts entered into pursuant to this article for
loans or grants are also subject to both of the following
requirements:
(a) Public entities seeking assistance shall demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the board, that an adequate opportunity for public
participation regarding the project has been provided.
(b) Any election held with respect to the project shall include
the voters of the entire municipality unless the municipality
proposes to accept the assistance on behalf of a specified portion or
portions of the municipality, in which case the election shall be
held in that portion or portions of the municipality only.

78618. Any loan made pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 78613
shall be for a period not to exceed 20 years, with an interest rate
set in accordance with Section 13480.

78619. All principal and interest payments received pursuant to
loan contracts entered into pursuant to this article shall be
deposited in the State Revolving Fund Loan Subaccount for additional
loans under subdivision (a) of Section 78613, and shall not be
transferred to the General Fund.