Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012: groundwater contamination.

Existing law creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. The bond act, among other things, would make $1,000,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditures, grants, and loans for projects to prevent or reduce the contamination of groundwater that serves as a source of drinking water, and would require funds appropriated pursuant to that authority to be available to the State Department of Public Health for groundwater contamination projects. Of that amount, the bond act would require not less than $100,000,000 to be available for projects that meet prescribed requirements and criteria, including addressing contamination at a site on a specified list maintained by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or a site listed on the National Priorities List. This bill would instead require not less than $100,000,000 to be available for costs associated with projects, programs, or activities that meet those prescribed requirements and criteria. The bill would require the Secretary of State to include the changes made by this bill when submitting the bond act to the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.