Enrolled  September 13, 2023
Passed  IN  Senate  September 11, 2023
Passed  IN  Assembly  September 07, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  September 01, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 12, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  April 27, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 470

Introduced by Senator Alvarado-Gil

February 13, 2023

An act to add Sections 13198.5 and 13198.51 to the Water Code, relating to water.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 470, Alvarado-Gil. Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief program: high fire hazard and very high fire hazard severity zones.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal, as provided.
Existing law authorizes specified state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, subject to an appropriation, to make grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from a drought scenario to address immediate impacts on human health and safety or on fish and wildlife resources or to provide water to persons or communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies.
This bill would establish in the department the Urban Water Community Drought Relief program and the Small Community Drought Relief program to provide grants for similar interim or immediate drought relief. These programs, upon a specified appropriation, would authorize funding for benefits in addition to drought relief, including, among other projects, projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal or by a local agency.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California’s rural landscapes and communities have been ground zero for large-scale environmental and economic devastation during the past decades by virtue of the Angora, Caldor, Camp, August Complex, and Dixie Fires.
(b) Aging infrastructures combined with insufficient resources to prepare for adequate wildfire response has left many rural communities at high risk for future unchecked fire activity.
(c) Postfire costs associated with the destruction inflicted upon communities, such as Grizzly Flats, Paradise, and Greenville, have been in the tens of billions of dollars.
(d) Congress has taken affirmative fiscal action by budgeting for funding last year and is poised to repeat that action this year as witnessed in House Report 117-400 to invest in fire prevention activities in the Tahoe Basin and elsewhere through projects such as water delivery system improvements for expanded water flow and fire hydrant installation.
(e) While California is taking the necessary actions to mitigate the intensity and frequency of fire in the rural parts of the state, local governments need state support for necessary investments to prepare for fire.

SEC. 2.

 Section 13198.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

13198.5.
 (a) There is hereby established in the department the Urban Water Community Drought Relief program to provide grants for interim or immediate drought relief to secure the future of California’s water supply to address immediate impacts on human health and safety, to protect fish and wildlife resources, and to provide water to urban communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies.
(b) A project funded by this program shall benefit a community supplied by an urban water supplier as defined in Section 10617.
(c) The program, upon appropriation for these purposes after the operative date of this section, may fund projects that provide benefits in addition to drought relief, including, but not limited to, all of the following projects:
(1) Projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code.
(2) Projects that provide water deliveries such as hauled water, temporary community water tanks, bottled water, or water vending machines.
(3) Projects that construct infrastructure such as emergency water interties, drilling or rehabilitating new wells, or the installation of permanent water infrastructure.
(4) Projects that rescue, protect, and relocate fish and wildlife.
(5) Projects that support water conservation activities, including, but not limited to, education, fixture replacement incentives and rebate programs, and turf replacement with drought tolerant landscaping.

SEC. 3.

 Section 13198.51 is added to the Water Code, to read:

13198.51.
 (a) There is hereby established in the department the Small Community Drought Relief program to provide grants for interim or immediate drought relief to address impacts on human health and safety and impacts on fish and wildlife resources, and to provide water to persons or small or rural communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies.
(b) A project funded by this program shall benefit a community not supplied by an urban water supplier as defined in Section 10617.
(c) The program, upon appropriation for its purposes after the operative date of this section, may fund projects that provide benefits in addition to drought relief, including, but not limited to, all of the following projects:
(1) Projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code.
(2) Projects that provide water deliveries such as hauled water, temporary community water tanks, bottled water, or water vending machines.
(3) Projects that construct infrastructure such as emergency water interties, drilling or rehabilitating new wells, or the installation of permanent water infrastructure.
(4) Projects that rescue, protect, and relocate fish and wildlife.