SECTIONS 79135-79147 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 79135-79147

79135. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this article:
(a) "Municipality" has the same meaning as that set forth in
subdivision (c) of Section 79120.
(b) "Subaccount" means the Water Recycling Subaccount created by
Section 79136.
(c) "Water recycling project" means a water recycling project that
meets applicable reclamation criteria and water reclamation
requirements and that complies with applicable water quality
standards, policies, and plans.

79136. There is hereby created in the account the Water Recycling
Subaccount.

79137. (a) The sum of forty million dollars ($40,000,000) is hereby
transferred from the account to the subaccount for the purposes of
this article.
(b) (1) Sixty percent of the money in the subaccount shall be
allocated to projects in the Counties of Riverside, Ventura, Los
Angeles, San Diego, Orange, or San Bernardino.
(2) Forty percent of the money in the subaccount shall be
allocated to projects in counties not described in paragraph (1).

79138. Unallocated funds remaining in the Water Recycling
Subaccount in the Clean Water and Water Recycling Account in the
Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Fund on March 8, 2000, and any
funds deposited into that subaccount after that date, shall be
transferred to, and all money repaid to the state pursuant to any
loan contract executed under Chapter 17 (commencing with Section
14050) of Division 7 or Article 3 (commencing with Section 78620) of
Chapter 5 of Division 24 shall be deposited in, the subaccount for
the purposes of this article.

79139. The board may enter into an agreement with the federal
government for federal contributions to the subaccount if all of the
following conditions have been met:
(a) The board has identified any required matching funds.
(b) The board is prepared to commit to the expenditure of any
minimum amount in the subaccount in the manner required by the Clean
Water Act.
(c) Any agreement between the board and the federal government is
consistent with the purposes of this article.

79140. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, 50
percent of the money in the subaccount is hereby continuously
appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the board for loans
to municipalities for the design and construction of water recycling
projects in accordance with Section 79141, and for the purposes
described in Sections 79143, 79144, and 79145.
(b) Fifty percent of the money in the subaccount, upon
appropriation by the Legislature to the board, may be used by the
board for grants to municipalities for the design and construction of
water recycling projects in accordance with Section 79141.

79141. The board may enter into agreements with municipalities for
loans and grants for projects to recycle water in accordance with
this article. Criteria to be considered by the board in determining
whether to enter into an agreement under this article may include,
but are not limited to, whether the project is a cost-effective means
to meet the state or local water supply needs, when compared to
other sources of water supply that may be available to the
municipality, whether the project is necessary to protect water
quality, the readiness of the municipality to proceed with the design
and construction of water recycling projects, the degree to which
the recycled water improves water supply reliability, water quality,
ecosystem restoration, and other environmental benefits, the net
water savings benefit, the degree to which the recycled water would
reduce water supply demands on the bay-delta system, the Colorado
River, or other water systems critical to regional or statewide water
supply, the ability to encourage development of new water recycling
projects, and the amount of funding that the municipality is
requesting under this article. The cost effectiveness of a project
when compared to other sources of state or local water supply shall
not be the sole factor in determining whether to enter into an
agreement.

79142. An agreement entered into pursuant to Section 79141 may
include those provisions determined by the board to be necessary for
the purposes of this article.

79142.2. (a) A contract for a loan made pursuant to this article
may not provide for a moratorium on, or the deferment of, the payment
of the principal of, or interest on, the loan.
(b) Any loan made pursuant to Section 79141 shall be for a period
not to exceed 20 years.
(c) The board may enter into a contract for a loan that equals up
to 100 percent of the total eligible cost of design and construction
of an eligible recycling project.

79142.4. (a) The board may establish the interest rate for a loan
made pursuant to this article at a rate equal to 50 percent of the
interest rate paid by the state on the most recent sale of state
general obligation bonds, to be computed according to the true
interest cost method.
(b) If the interest rate so determined is not a multiple of
one-tenth of 1 percent, the interest rate shall be set at the next
higher multiple of one-tenth of 1 percent.
(c) The interest rate set for each contract shall be applied
throughout the repayment period of the contract. There shall be a
level annual repayment of principal and interest on the loans.

79142.6. All principal and interest payments received pursuant to
loan contracts executed pursuant to this article shall be deposited
in the subaccount for the purposes of this article, and shall not be
transferred to the General Fund.

79142.8. All interest earned by assets in the subaccount shall be
deposited in the subaccount.

79143. The board may make grants to municipalities for facility
planning studies for water recycling projects. The amount of the
grants may not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per
study.

79144. 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 and wastewater recycling. For the purposes of this
section, "research" may include the design, acquisition,
installation, or construction of monitoring and testing equipment and
related facilities.

79145. (a) Not more than 3 percent of the total amount deposited in
the subaccount may be used to pay the costs incurred in connection
with the administration of this article.
(b) Not more than 3 percent of the total amount deposited in the
subaccount may be used for the purposes of Section 79144.

79146. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
money in the subaccount may not be used to provide financial
assistance to any water recycling project used to augment water
supplies by discharging recycled water into a surface water reservoir
that supplies water directly to a treatment facility for a water
supply system that serves domestic uses.

79147. (a) The board may adopt regulations to carry out this
article.
(b) The board is encouraged to expedite the review and processing
of agreements to carry out the purposes of this article. The board
shall report to the Legislature on the progress of implementing this
article on or before June 30, 2001.