116768.
(a) The board shall administer the fund for the purposes of this chapter to provide a source of funding to secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure. The board shall prioritize the use of this funding to assist disadvantaged communities served by a public water system and low-income households served by a state small water system or a domestic well. The board shall consider and prioritize, where appropriate, the use of funding for consolidation or extension of service or both. In order to maximize the use of other funding sources for capital construction projects when available, the board shall prioritize use of this funding for costs other than those related to capital construction costs,
except for capital construction costs associated with consolidation and service extension to reduce the ongoing unit cost of service and to increase sustainability of drinking water infrastructure and service delivery. Beginning January 1, 2021, an expenditure from the fund shall be consistent with the annual fund implementation plan.(b) In accordance with subdivision (a), the board shall expend moneys in the fund for grants, loans, contracts, or services to assist eligible applicants with any of the following:
(1) The provision of replacement water, as needed, to ensure immediate protection of health and safety as a short-term solution.
(2) The development, implementation, and sustainability of long-term drinking water solutions, including, but not limited to,
technical assistance, planning, construction, repair, and operation and maintenance costs associated with replacing, blending, or treating contaminated drinking water, or with fixing failing water systems, pipes, or fixtures; operation and maintenance costs associated with consolidated water systems, extended drinking water services, or reliance on a substituted drinking water source; creating and maintaining natural means and green infrastructure solutions that contribute to sustainable drinking water; consolidating water systems; extending drinking water services to other public water systems, domestic wells, or state small water systems; and the satisfaction of outstanding long-term debt obligations of public water systems where the board determines that a system’s lack of access to capital markets renders this solution the most cost-effective for removing a financial barrier to the system’s sustainable, long-term provision of drinking water. Technical assistance and planning costs may include, but are
not limited to, analyses to identify, and efforts to further, opportunities to reduce the unit cost of providing drinking water through organizational and operational efficiency improvements, system consolidation and service extension, implementation of new technology, and other options and approaches to reduce costs.
(3) Identifying and providing outreach to Californians who are eligible to receive assistance from the fund.
(4) Testing the drinking water quality of domestic wells serving low-income households, prioritizing those in high-risk areas identified pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 116770).
(5) The provision of administrative and managerial services under Section 116686.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 11019 of the Government Code,
the board may make advance payments as necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter.
(d) The board may expend moneys from the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of this section. Beginning July 1, 2023, the board may expend no more than 5 percent of the annual revenues of the fund for reasonable costs associated with administration of this section.
(e) The board may undertake any of the following actions to implement the fund:
(1) Provide for the deposit of both of the following moneys into the fund:
(A) Federal contributions.
(B) Voluntary contributions, gifts, grants, or bequests.
(2) Enter into
agreements for contributions to the fund from the federal government, local or state agencies, and private corporations or nonprofit organizations.
(3) Provide for appropriate audit, accounting, and fiscal management services, plans, and reports relative to the fund.
(4) Direct portions of the fund to a subset of eligible applicants as required or appropriate based on funding source and consistent with the annual fund implementation plan.
(5) Direct moneys deposited into the fund described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) towards a specific project, program, or study.
(6) Take additional action as may be appropriate for adequate administration and operation of the fund.
(f) In
administering the fund, the board shall make reasonable efforts to ensure both of the following:
(1) That funds are used to secure the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure, including, but not limited to, requiring adequate technical, managerial, and financial capacity of eligible applicants as part of funding agreement outcomes. Funding shall be prioritized to implement consolidations and service extensions when feasible, and administrative and managerial contracts or grants entered into pursuant to Section 116686 where applicable. Funds shall not be used to delay, prevent, or avoid the consolidation or extension of service to public water systems where it is feasible and the least-cost alternative. The board may set appropriate requirements as a condition of funding, including, but not limited to, a system technical, managerial, or financial capacity audit, improvements to reduce costs and increase
efficiencies, an evaluation of alternative treatment technologies, and a consolidation or service extension feasibility study. As a condition of funding, the board may require a domestic well with nitrate contamination where ongoing septic system failure may be causing or contributing to contamination of a drinking water source to conduct an investigation and project to address the septic system failure if adequate funding sources are identified and accessible.
(2) That funds are not used to subsidize large-scale nonpotable use.
(g) At least once every 10 years, the board shall conduct a public review and assessment of the fund to determine all of the following:
(1) The effectiveness of the fund in securing access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of
drinking water service and infrastructure.
(2) If the moneys deposited into the fund have been appropriately expended.
(3) What other actions are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(h) Neither the board nor any employee of the board may be held liable for any act that is necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The board or any authorized person shall not be deemed to have incurred or to be required to incur any obligation to provide additional funding or undertake additional action solely as a result of having undertaken an action pursuant to this chapter.
116769.
By July 1 of each year, the board shall do all of the following:(a) Prepare and make available a report of expenditures from the fund.
(b) Adopt, after a public hearing, an assessment of funding need, based on available data, that includes all of the following:
(1) Identification of systems and populations potentially in need of assistance, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) A list of systems that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The list shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Any public water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(ii) Any community water system that serves a disadvantaged community that must charge fees that exceed the affordability threshold established by the board in order to supply, treat, and distribute potable water that complies with federal and state drinking water standards.
(iii) Any state small water system that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(B) A list of programs that assist, or that will assist, households supplied by a domestic well that consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water. This list shall include the number and approximate location of households served by each program
without identifying exact addresses or other personal information.
(C) A list of public water systems and state small water systems that may be at risk of failing to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.
(D) An estimate of the number of households that are served by domestic wells or state small water systems in high-risk areas identified pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 116770). The estimate shall identify approximate locations of households, without identifying exact addresses or other personal information, in order to identify potential target areas for outreach and assistance programs.
(E) A list of programs that assist, or that will assist, households and schools whose tap water contains contaminants, such as lead or other secondary contaminants, at levels that exceed recommended
standards. This list shall include the number and approximate location of households served by each program without identifying exact addresses or other personal information.
(2) An analysis of anticipated funding, per contaminant, needed for known projects, services, or programs by eligible applicants, consistent with the fund implementation plan, including any funding needed for existing long-term funding commitments from the fund. The board shall identify and consider other existing funding sources able to support any projects, services, or programs identified, including, but not limited to, local funding capacity, state or federal funding sources for capital projects, funding from responsible parties, and specialized funding sources contributing to the fund.
(3) An estimate of the funding needed for the next fiscal year based on the amount available in the fund, anticipated
funding needs, other existing funding sources, and other relevant data and information.
(c) (1) Adopt, after a public hearing, a fund implementation plan and policy handbook with priorities and guidelines for expenditures of the fund.
(2) The board shall work with a multistakeholder advisory group to establish priorities and guidelines for the fund implementation plan and policy handbook. The multistakeholder advisory group shall be open to participation by all of the following:
(A) Representatives of entities paying into the fund.
(B) Public water systems.
(C) Technical assistance providers.
(D) Local
agencies.
(E) Nongovernmental organizations.
(F) Residents served by community water systems in disadvantaged communities, state small water systems, and domestic wells.
(G) The public.
(3) The adoption of a fund implementation plan and policy handbook and the implementation of the fund pursuant to the policy handbook are not 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).