116760.20-116760.45
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 116760.20-116760.45
116760.20. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the construction of this chapter: (a) "Cost-effective project" means a project that achieves an acceptable result at the most reasonable cost. (b) "Department" means the State Department of Public Health. (c) "Federal Safe Drinking Water Act" or "federal act" means the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f et seq.) and acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto. (d) "Fund" means the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund created by Section 116760.30. (e) "Funding" means a loan or grant, or both, awarded under this chapter. (f) "Matching funds" means state money that equals that percentage of federal contributions required by the federal act to be matched with state funds. (g) "Project" means proposed facilities for the construction, improvement, or rehabilitation of a public water system, and may include all items set forth in Section 116761 as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. It also may include refinancing loans, annexation or consolidation of water systems, source water assessments, source water protection, and other activities specified under the federal act. (h) "Public agency" means any city, county, city and county, whether general law or chartered, district, joint powers authority, or other political subdivision of the state, that owns or operates a public water system. (i) "Public water system" or "public water supply system" means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption, as defined in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116270), as it may be amended from time to time. (j) "Reasonable amount of growth" means an increase in growth not to exceed 10 percent of the design capacity needed, based on peak flow, to serve the water and fire flow demand in existence at the time plans and specifications for the project are approved by the department, over the 20-year useful life of a project. For projects other than the construction of treatment plants including, but not limited to, storage facilities, pipes, pumps, and similar equipment, where the 10-percent allowable growth cannot be adhered to due to the sizes of equipment or materials available, the project shall be limited to the next available larger size. (k) "Safe drinking water standards" means those standards established pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116270), as they may now or hereafter be amended. (l) "Supplier" means any person, partnership, corporation, association, public agency, or other entity that owns or operates a public water system. 116760.30. (a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for the purpose of implementing this chapter, and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the fund is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the department to provide, from moneys available for this purpose, grants or revolving fund loans for the design and construction of projects for public water systems that will enable suppliers to meet safe drinking water standards. The department shall be responsible for administering the fund. (b) The department shall report at least once every two years to the policy and budget committees of the Legislature on the implementation of this chapter and expenditures from the fund. The report shall describe the numbers and types of projects funded, the reduction in risks to public health from contaminants in drinking water provided through the funding of the projects, and the criteria used by the department to determine funding priorities. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, the Controller may use the moneys in the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for loans to the General Fund as provided in Sections 16310 and 16381 of the Government Code. However, interest shall be paid on all moneys loaned to the General Fund from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. Interest payable shall be computed at a rate determined by the Pooled Money Investment Board to be the current earning rate of the fund from which loaned. This subdivision does not authorize any transfer that will interfere with the carrying out of the object for which the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund was created. 116760.40. The department may undertake any of the following actions to implement the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: (a) Enter into agreements with the federal government for federal contributions to the fund. (b) Accept federal contributions to the fund. (c) Use moneys in the fund for the purposes permitted by the federal act. (d) Provide for the deposit of matching funds and other available and necessary moneys into the fund. (e) Make requests, on behalf of the state, for deposit into the fund of available federal moneys under the federal act. (f) Determine, on behalf of the state, that public water systems that receive financial assistance from the fund will meet the requirements of, and otherwise be treated as required by, the federal act. (g) Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund. (h) Take additional incidental action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund. (i) Enter into an agreement with, and accept matching funds from, a public water system. A public water system that seeks to enter into an agreement with the department and provide matching funds pursuant to this subdivision shall provide to the department evidence of the availability of those funds in the form of a written resolution, or equivalent document, from the public water system before it requests a preliminary loan commitment. (j) Charge public water systems that elect to provide matching funds a fee to cover the actual cost of obtaining the federal funds pursuant to Section 1452(e) of the federal act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300j-12) and to process the loan application. The fee shall be waived by the department if sufficient funds to cover those costs are available from other sources. (k) Use money returned to the fund under Section 116761.85 and any other source of matching funds, if not prohibited by statute, as matching funds for the federal administrative allowance under Section 1452(g) of the federal act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300j-12). (l) Establish separate accounts or subaccounts as required or allowed in the federal act and related guidance, for funds to be used for administration of the fund and other purposes. Within the fund the department shall establish the following accounts, including, but not limited to: (1) A fund administration account for state expenses related to administration of the fund pursuant to Section 1452(g)(2) of the federal act. (2) A water system reliability account for department expenses pursuant to Section 1452(g)(2)(A), (B), (C), or (D) of the federal act. (3) A source protection account for state expenses pursuant to Section 1452(k) of the federal act. (4) A small system technical assistance account for department expenses pursuant to Section 1452(g)(2) of the federal act. (5) A state revolving loan account pursuant to Section 1452(a)(2) of the federal act. (6) A wellhead protection account established pursuant to Section 1452(a)(2) of the federal act. (m) Deposit federal funds for administration and other purposes into separate accounts or subaccounts as allowed by the federal act. (n) Determine, on behalf of the state, whether sufficient progress is being made toward compliance with the enforceable deadlines, goals, and requirements of the federal act and the California Safe Drinking Water Act, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116270). 116760.41. Moneys in the fund and the special accounts may be expended for additional purposes provided in the federal act. 116760.42. (a) The department may enter into an agreement with the federal government for federal contributions to the fund only if both of the following apply: (1) The state has obtained or appropriated any required state matching funds. (2) The department is prepared to commit to expenditure of any minimum amount in the fund in the manner required by the federal act. (b) Any agreement between the department and the federal government shall contain those provisions, terms, and conditions required by the federal act, and any implementing federal rules, regulations, guidelines, and policies, including, but not limited to, agreement to the following: (1) Moneys in the fund shall be expended in an expeditious and timely manner. (2) All moneys in the fund as a result of federal capitalization grants shall be expended to ensure sufficient progress is being made toward compliance with the enforceable deadlines, goals, and requirements of the federal act, including any applicable compliance deadlines. (3) Federal funds deposited in the special accounts are continuously appropriated for use by the department as allowed by federal law. Any unexpended funds in the special accounts shall be carried over into subsequent years for use by the department. 116760.43. (a) The department may adopt emergency regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code necessary or convenient to implement this chapter and to meet requirements pursuant to the federal act. (b) The adoption of any emergency regulations that are filed with the Office of Administrative Law within 18 months of the effective date of this act shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare. 116760.44. The department may deposit administrative fees and charges paid by public water systems and other available and necessary money into the administrative account of the fund. 116760.45. (a) For purposes of this section "act" means the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, the department may expend moneys in the fund, received from the federal government pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), in accordance with the provisions of the act and federal guidelines implementing the act. To the extent that any law or regulation of the state is in conflict with the provisions and requirements of the act, to the extent that the conflict impairs the expenditure of federal moneys received, the provisions and requirements of the act shall prevail. (c) The department may develop criteria necessary to implement the act. These criteria shall not be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The department shall publish the criteria on its Internet Web site and shall provide opportunity for public review and comment, to include at least one public hearing conducted upon not less than 20 days' notice. (d) For the implementation of the act, the maximum amount of a grant to an applicant under this chapter is ten million dollars ($10,000,000) per project.