Bill Text: CA AB626 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Bond revenues: integrated regional water management:
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 367, Statutes of 2009. [AB626 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB626-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 626 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 367
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Jones, Mendoza, John A. Perez, and
Salas)
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Section 83002 of the Water Code, relating to
water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 626, Eng. Bond revenues: integrated regional water management:
grants.
The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control,
River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative bond act
approved by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide general
election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of
$5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water,
water quality and supply, flood control, and resource protection
program. Existing law appropriates $181,971,000 of that bond money to
the Department of Water Resources for integrated regional water
management activities.
Of the $181,971,000 appropriated to the department, existing law
allocates $100,000,000 for implementation grants and $39,000,000 for
planning grants, local groundwater assistance grants, and CALFED
scientific research grants. Of that amount, existing law also
requires the department to allocate not less than 10% to address the
critical water supply needs of disadvantaged communities and to
facilitate the participation of those communities in integrated
regional water management planning.
This bill would require the department to achieve that 10%
statewide allocation by awarding grants for those purposes to
disadvantaged communities within a hydrologic region in a total
dollar amount that is not less than 10% of the total dollar amount of
grants awarded within that region. The bill would require the
department to implement the allocation with due diligence, but would
require the department to implement that specified regional
allocation only to the extent that the implementation does not affect
the expeditious allocation of funds, as specified. The department
would be required to submit a related report to the Legislature by
July 1, 2010.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 83002 of the Water Code is amended to read:
83002. The sum of eight hundred twenty million nine hundred
seventy-three thousand dollars ($820,973,000) is hereby appropriated
in accordance with the following schedule:
(a) Of the funds made available pursuant to Chapter 1.699
(commencing with Section 5096.800) of Division 5 of the Public
Resources Code, the sum of two hundred eighty-five million dollars
($285,000,000) is hereby appropriated as follows:
(1) Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5096.821 of the Public
Resources Code, the sum of one hundred thirty-five million dollars
($135,000,000) to the department for the acquisition, design, and
construction of essential emergency preparedness supplies and
projects. Prior to the design or construction of any project funded
pursuant to this paragraph, the California Bay-Delta Authority, or
its successor, shall approve the specific project or program.
Preference shall be given to projects that protect and improve Delta
water quality and drinking water supplies. Of the amount made
available pursuant to this paragraph, not less than thirty-five
million dollars ($35,000,000) shall be expended by the department for
projects to reinforce those sections of the levees that have the
highest potential to suffer breaches or failure and cause harm to
municipal and industrial water supply aqueducts that cross the Delta
and which are vulnerable to flood damage, including the installation
of scour protection on the supports of the aqueducts in those areas
located adjacent to the sections of the levees that have been
identified as having the highest risk for breaches or failure.
(2) Pursuant to Section 5096.827 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) to the
department for grants for stormwater flood management projects that
reduce flood damage and provide other benefits, including groundwater
recharge, water quality improvement, and ecosystem restoration. Not
less than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) of this amount
shall be available for projects that address immediate public health
and safety needs or strengthen existing flood control facilities to
address seismic safety issues. Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000)
shall be available for local agencies to meet immediate water quality
needs related to combined municipal sewer and stormwater systems to
prevent sewage discharges into state waters. Twenty million dollars
($20,000,000) shall be available for urban stream stormwater flood
management projects to reduce the frequency and impacts of flooding
in watersheds that drain to the San Francisco Bay.
(b) Of the funds made available pursuant to Division 43
(commencing with Section 75001) of the Public Resources Code, the sum
of five hundred twenty-six million four hundred ninety-one thousand
dollars ($526,491,000) is hereby appropriated as follows:
(1) Pursuant to Section 75022 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) to the State Department of
Public Health for grants for small community drinking water system
infrastructure improvements and related action to meet safe drinking
water standards. First priority for these funds shall be given to
disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities lacking resources
to provide safe drinking water to residents. Small community
drinking water systems that are dependent on surface water and are
under orders from the State Department of Public Health to boil water
from existing treatment systems for parasites, viruses, or giardia
shall be eligible for grants for drinking water system infrastructure
improvements.
(2) Pursuant to Section 75025 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of fifty million four hundred thousand dollars ($50,400,000) to
the State Department of Public Health for grants for projects to
prevent or reduce the contamination of groundwater that serves as a
source of drinking water. Funds appropriated by this paragraph shall
be available for immediate projects needed to protect public health
by preventing or reducing the contamination of groundwater that
serves as a major source of drinking water for a community.
(A) The State Department of Public Health shall prioritize project
funding based on the following criteria:
(i) The threat posed by groundwater contamination to the affected
community's overall drinking water supplies, including the need for
the treatment or construction of alternative supplies if groundwater
is not available due to contamination.
(ii) The potential for groundwater contamination to spread and
reduce drinking water supply and water storage capacity for major
population areas.
(iii) The potential of the project, if fully implemented, to
enhance local water supply reliability.
(iv) The potential of the project to increase opportunities for
groundwater recharge and optimization of groundwater supplies.
(B) The State Department of Public Health shall give additional
consideration to projects that meet any of the following criteria:
(i) The project is implemented pursuant to a comprehensive
basinwide groundwater quality management and remediation plan or is
necessary to develop a comprehensive groundwater plan.
(ii) Affected groundwater provides a local supply that, if
contaminated, will require the importation of additional water from
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or the Colorado River.
(iii) The project will serve an economically disadvantaged
community.
(iv) Multiple contaminants affect more than one-third of the well
capacity of a local water system.
(C) Of the amount made available by this paragraph, up to ten
million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be allocated for projects that
meet the criteria of this paragraph and both of the following
criteria:
(i) The project has the potential to leverage funds.
(ii) The project addresses contamination at a site on the list
maintained by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to
Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code or a site listed on the
National Priorities List pursuant to the federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.).
(D) Of the funds made available by this paragraph, two million
dollars ($2,000,000) shall be allocated to the State Department of
Public Health to contract with the State Water Resources Control
Board for the purposes of Section 83002.5.
(3) (A) Pursuant to Section 75026 of the Public Resources Code,
the sum of one hundred eighty-one million seven hundred ninety-one
thousand dollars ($181,791,000) to the department for integrated
regional water management activities as follows:
(i) One hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) for implementation
grants.
(ii) Thirty-nine million dollars ($39,000,000) for planning
grants, local groundwater assistance grants, and CALFED scientific
research grants.
(iii) Twenty-two million ninety-one thousand dollars ($22,091,000)
for projects with interregional or statewide benefits.
Of the amount made available pursuant to this paragraph, not less
than ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be made available for
expenditure to interconnect municipal and industrial water supply
aqueducts that cross the Delta and that are vulnerable to flood
damage, including the design and construction of interties among
aqueducts that provide at least 90 percent of a regional water supply
that would be threatened in the event of levee failure or other
disaster, and that support an integrated regional emergency water
supply system.
(iv) Twenty million seven hundred thousand dollars ($20,700,000)
for program delivery costs.
(B) An implementation grant pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph
(A) shall be available only for projects included in an integrated
regional water management plan that meets one of the following
conditions:
(i) The plan complies with Part 2.2 (commencing with Section
10530) of Division 6.
(ii) For a plan adopted before the date on which this section is
enacted, both of the following apply:
(I) The regional water management group that prepared the plan
enters into a binding agreement with the department to update the
plan to comply with Part 2.2 (commencing with Section 10530) of
Division 6 within two years of the date on which the agreement was
entered into.
(II) The regional water management group undertakes all reasonable
and feasible efforts to take into account water-related needs of
disadvantaged communities in the area within the boundaries of the
plan.
(C) (i) Of the funds described in clauses (i) and (ii) of
subparagraph (A), the department shall allocate not less than 10
percent to facilitate and support the participation of disadvantaged
communities in integrated regional water management planning and for
projects that address critical water supply or water quality needs
for disadvantaged communities.
(ii) Except as otherwise specified in clause (iii), the department
shall achieve the allocation described in clause (i) by awarding
grants for those purposes to disadvantaged communities within a
hydrologic region in a total dollar amount that is not less than 10
percent of the total dollar amount of grants awarded within the
region.
(iii) The department shall implement this subparagraph with due
diligence, but shall implement clause (ii) only to the extent that
the implementation does not affect the expeditious allocation of
funds for integrated regional water management grants.
(iv) The department shall submit a report to the Legislature with
regard to the implementation of this subparagraph on or before July
1, 2010.
(D) Of the funds described in clause (iii) of subparagraph (A),
the department shall allocate two million dollars ($2,000,000) to
Tulare County for development of an integrated water quality and
wastewater treatment program plan to address the drinking water and
wastewater needs of disadvantaged communities in the Tulare Lake
Basin. Funds allocated pursuant to this paragraph shall be available
for assessment and feasibility studies necessary to develop the plan,
and the plan shall include recommendations for planning,
infrastructure, and other water management actions, and shall include
specific recommendations for regional drinking water treatment
facilities, regional wastewater treatment facilities, conjunctive use
sites and groundwater recharge, groundwater for surface water
exchanges, related infrastructure, and cost-sharing mechanisms.
Tulare County shall consult with appropriate stakeholders, including
representatives of disadvantaged communities, when preparing the
plan. The department, in consultation with the State Department of
Public Health, shall submit the plan to the Legislature by January 1,
2011.
(E) Of the funds described in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), the
department shall allocate not less than twenty million dollars
($20,000,000) to support urban and agricultural water conservation
projects necessary to meet a 20-percent reduction in per capita water
use by the year 2020.
(4) Pursuant to Section 75029 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of ninety million dollars (90,000,000) to the department for the
implementation of Delta water quality improvement projects that
protect drinking water supplies as follows:
(A) Pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 75029 of the Public
Resources Code, the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) for
drinking water intake facility projects to improve the quality of
drinking water supply from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that are
identified in the June 2005 Delta Region Drinking Water Quality
Management Plan. Funding shall be made available for environmental
review, design, and construction. Project proponents seeking funding
for construction shall meet all of the following criteria:
(i) Have completed documentation required under the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code) and a notice of determination
has been filed prior to June 30, 2008.
(ii) Have demonstrated multiple benefits in conveyance and Delta
operation to achieve protection or improvement to Delta pelagic
fisheries, as well as drinking water quality improvement and public
health protection.
(iii) Are able to complete design and commence construction before
June 30, 2009.
(iv) Have local or federal cost-sharing funds immediately
available.
(B) The sum of forty million dollars ($40,000,000) for projects
consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 75029 of the Public
Resources Code.
(5) Pursuant to Section 75033 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) to the department
for the acquisition, preservation, protection, and restoration of
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta resources in accordance with Section
75033 of the Public Resources Code. The department shall expend these
funds pursuant to priorities that reflect the value of the resources
and land uses protected by the levees to the state as a whole,
consistent with the Delta Vision Strategic Plan. Projects shall be
selected to improve the stability of the Delta levee system, reduce
subsidence, and assist in restoring the ecosystem of the Delta.
Priority shall be given to projects that improve conditions for Delta
smelt and other native fish. Up to five million dollars ($5,000,000)
made available pursuant to this paragraph shall be available as
grants and direct expenditures for emergency communications equipment
to improve emergency response preparedness.
(6) Pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 75041) of
Division 43 of the Public Resources Code, the sum of thirty-seven
million dollars ($37,000,000) to the department as follows:
(A) (i) Twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) to complete the
planning and feasibility studies associated with new surface storage
under the California Bay-Delta Program.
(ii) The planning and feasibility studies shall include the
following information:
(I) The identification of specific construction and operation
conditions proposed for each surface storage facility, including
consideration of climate change, an estimated schedule for the
construction and completion of each project funded under Section
75041, and the total costs of constructing each project.
(II) A description of the estimated total costs to construct each
project and an allocation of the costs to public and private
beneficiaries.
(iii) Any feasibility study conducted by or funded by the state
for new surface storage under the California Bay-Delta Program shall
evaluate funded projects consistent with all statutory and other
legally established requirements for protection of environmental and
natural resources, including protections for the McCloud River
pursuant to Section 5093.542 of the Public Resources Code.
(iv) The feasibility studies shall be prepared and submitted to
the Governor and the Legislature no later than December 31, 2009.
(B) (i) Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for planning and
feasibility studies to identify potential options for the reoperation
of the state's flood protection and water supply systems that will
optimize the use of existing facilities and groundwater storage
capacity.
(ii) The studies shall incorporate appropriate climate change
scenarios and be designed to determine the potential to achieve the
following objectives:
(I) Integration of flood protection and water supply systems to
increase water supply reliability and flood protection, improve water
quality, and provide for ecosystem protection and restoration.
(II) Reoperation of existing reservoirs, flood facilities, and
other water facilities in conjunction with groundwater storage to
improve water supply reliability, flood control, and ecosystem
protection and to reduce groundwater overdraft.
(III) Promotion of more effective groundwater management and
protection and greater integration of groundwater and surface water
resource uses.
(IV) Improvement of existing water conveyance systems to increase
water supply reliability, improve water quality, expand flood
protection, and protect and restore ecosystems.
(C) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to update the California
Water Plan, including evaluation of climate change impacts, the
development of strategies to adapt to climate change impacts,
technical assistance to local agencies that incorporate climate
change into their studies, reports, and plans, and the identification
of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to the
storage, conveyance, and distribution of water.
(D) Of the money made available pursuant to subparagraphs (A),
(B), and (C), up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) may be expended
for planning and feasibility studies necessary to implement the Delta
Vision Strategic Plan, developed pursuant to Executive Order No.
S-17-06, dated September 28, 2006, establishing the Delta Vision
process.
(7) Pursuant to Section 75050 of the Public Resources Code, the
sum of seventeen million three hundred thousand dollars ($17,300,000)
for the protection and restoration of rivers and streams as follows:
(A) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to the State Coastal
Conservancy for the purposes of subdivision (i) of Section 75050 of
the Public Resources Code.
(B) Seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000) to
the department for the purposes of subdivision (e) of Section 75050
of the Public Resources Code.
(c) Of the funds made available pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 79550, the sum of three million seven hundred sixty thousand
dollars ($3,760,000) is hereby appropriated to the department for
planning and feasibility studies associated with surface storage
under the California Bay-Delta Program.
(d) (1) Of the funds available pursuant to Section 79101, the sum
of two million two hundred seventy-two thousand dollars ($2,272,000)
is appropriated to the department for the Sacramento River Hamilton
City Area Flood Damage Reduction Project.
(2) Of the funds available pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
79196.5, the sum of three million four hundred fifty thousand dollars
($3,450,000) is appropriated to the department for the Franks Tract
Pilot Project under the CALFED Drinking Water Quality Program.
