SECTIONS 79560-79565 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 79560-79565

79560. The sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) shall
be available for appropriation by the Legislature from the fund for
competitive grants for projects set forth in this section to protect
communities from drought, protect and improve water quality, and
improve local water security by reducing dependence on imported
water. No project financed pursuant to this section shall include an
on-stream surface water storage facility or an off-stream surface
water storage facility other than percolation ponds for groundwater
recharge in urban areas. No river or stream channel modification
project whose construction or operation causes any negative
environmental impacts may be financed pursuant to this chapter unless
those impacts are fully mitigated.

79560.1. (a) The department shall administer 50 percent of the
funds, and the board shall administer the remaining 50 percent of the
funds, made available to the program described in Sections 79560 and
79561.
(b) For projects proposed to be funded pursuant to Section 79560
that include any modification of a river or stream channel, the state
agency making the grant, prior to the award of the grant, shall
determine whether the environmental impacts resulting from that
modification will be fully mitigated by considering all of the
impacts of that modification and any mitigation, environmental
enhancement, and environmental benefit resulting from the project,
and determining whether, on balance, any environmental enhancement or
benefit equals or exceeds any negative environmental impacts of the
project. The costs of mitigation or enhancement may be included in
the project costs eligible for funding pursuant to Section 79560.
(c) This section shall become operative only if the Water
Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of
2002 is approved by the voters at the November 5, 2002, statewide
general election.

79560.5. For the purposes of carrying out this chapter, the
department and the board shall jointly develop project solicitation
and evaluation guidelines. Before developing the solicitation and
evaluation guidelines, the department and the board shall jointly
conduct a public meeting to receive public comments on the scope,
procedures, and content of the guidelines. Considering the public
comments, the department and the board shall jointly develop
solicitation and evaluation guidelines that are consistent with law
and state programs and policies. The department and the board shall
post the solicitation and evaluation guidelines on their respective
Internet Web sites.

79561. Money appropriated in Section 79560 shall be available for
grants for water management projects that include one or more of the
following elements:
(a) Programs for water supply reliability, water conservation, and
water use efficiency.
(b) Storm water capture, storage, treatment, and management.
(c) Removal of invasive non-native plants, the creation and
enhancement of wetlands, and the acquisition, protection, and
restoration of open space and watershed lands.
(d) Non-point source pollution reduction, management, and
monitoring.
(e) Groundwater recharge and management projects.
(f) Contaminant and salt removal through reclamation, desalting,
and other treatment technologies.
(g) Water banking, exchange, reclamation, and improvement of water
quality.
(h) Planning and implementation of multipurpose flood control
programs that protect property; and improve water quality, storm
water capture and percolation; and protect or improve wildlife
habitat.
(i) Watershed management planning and implementation.
(j) Demonstration projects to develop new drinking water treatment
and distribution methods.

79561.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the
funds appropriated to the department for the purposes of Sections
79560 and 79560.1, the department shall allocate the sum of not less
than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) to competitive grants for
groundwater management and recharge projects. The department shall
not allocate funds pursuant to this section unless it determines that
the allocation is consistent with this division, as approved by the
voters at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that these funds be used
to enhance water supply in rapidly growing areas of this state with
limited access to imported water supplies.
(c) Not more than 50 percent of the grants pursuant to this
section shall be for projects in northern California. For projects in
southern California, the department shall give preference to
projects outside the service area of the Metropolitan Water District
of Southern California that are infill projects within one mile of
established residential and commercial development.
(d) As used in this section, the term "rapidly growing areas"
means counties located in southern California where the county
population increased by 2.4 percent or more between January 1, 2002,
and January 1, 2003.

79562. An amount, not to exceed 10 percent of the money available
for appropriation in Section 79560, may be appropriated by the
Legislature for facilities, equipment, and other expenses associated
with the establishment of comprehensive statewide groundwater
monitoring pursuant to Part 2.76 (commencing with Section 10780) of
Division 6.

79562.5. (a) For the purposes of carrying out Section 79560, the
department shall award grants to eligible projects consistent with an
adopted integrated regional water management plan.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), the department shall
establish standards for integrated regional water management plans.
At a minimum, these plans shall address the major water related
objectives and conflicts of the watersheds in the region covered by
the plan, including water supply, groundwater management, ecosystem
restoration, and water quality elements, and may include other
elements consistent with this chapter.
(c) The department may waive the requirement for consistency with
an adopted integrated regional water management plan until January 1,
2007, if the applicant is engaged in the development of an
integrated regional water management plan and indicates, within its
grant application, how the project fits into achieving the integrated
regional water management plan objectives.
(d) The department may waive the matching fund requirement for
disadvantaged communities.
(e) For groundwater management and recharge projects and for
projects with potential groundwater impacts, the board and the
department shall give preference to eligible projects in areas
subject to a groundwater management plan that meets the requirements
of Section 10753.7, or that includes the development of a groundwater
management plan as a project component.
(f) The maximum award for any single grant pursuant to this
section may not exceed fifty million dollars ($50,000,000).
(g) The department shall require that eligible projects include a
nonstate contribution.
(h) For the purposes of implementing Section 79563, and to the
extent funds are expended for the purposes of Section 30947 of the
Public Resources Code, those funds shall comply with the requirements
of that section.

79563. At least 50 percent of the amount available for
appropriation in Section 79560 shall be appropriated to the board.
The board shall establish procedures for selecting among eligible
projects specified in Section 79561 that use the procedures developed
by the board for stakeholder-based accelerated selection and
contracting pursuant to Section 79104.32.

79563.5. (a) The board, to the extent that funds are appropriated
pursuant to Section 79563 of the Water Code for purposes that are
consistent with this section, shall fund the development of one or
more integrated coastal watershed management plans.
(b) The plans shall be designed to allow for the integration of
projects funded by the State Coastal Conservancy pursuant to Chapter
5.5 (commencing with Section 31220) of Division 21 of the Public
Resources Code, and projects funded by the board pursuant to Chapter
3 (commencing with Section 30915) and Article 5 (commencing with
Section 30945) of Chapter 4, of Division 20.4 of the Public Resources
Code, within one or more coastal regions.
(c) The planning areas shall be selected by the board in
consultation with the State Coastal Conservancy and the Department of
Fish and Game and shall include coastal watersheds that influence
water quality in areas of special biological significance.
(d) The board may only expend funds for the purposes of this
section to the extent the board determines that the expenditures are
consistent with the requirements of this chapter.

79564. To be eligible for financing pursuant to Section 79563, a
project shall meet both of the following criteria:
(a) The project is consistent with an adopted integrated water
management plan designed to improve regional water supply
reliability, water recycling, water conservation, water quality
improvement, storm water capture and management, flood management,
recreation and access, wetlands enhancement and creation, and
environmental and habitat protection and improvement.
(b) The project includes matching funds or donated services from
non-state sources.

79564.1. (a) Of the funds made available by Section 79560, not less
than 40 percent shall be available for eligible projects in northern
California and not less than 40 percent be available for eligible
projects in southern California, subject to a determination by the
administering agency that each project meets all of the requirements
of this chapter.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "southern California" means
the Counties of San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles,
Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, and Ventura.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "northern California" means
all California counties except those identified in subdivision (b).

79565. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
sum of one hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000) is hereby
continuously appropriated from the fund to the Wildlife Conservation
Board, without regard to fiscal years, for expenditure by the board
and for grants, for the acquisition from willing sellers of land and
water resources, including the acquisition of conservation easements,
to protect regional water quality, protect and enhance fish and
wildlife habitat, and to assist local public agencies in improving
regional water supply reliability.