Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Department of Public Health to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adopting and enforcing regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies. Existing law establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the department for the provision of grants and revolving fund loans to provide for the design and construction of projects for public water systems that will enable suppliers to meet safe drinking water standards. Existing law requires the department to establish criteria for projects to be eligible for the grant and loan program, including that a legal entity exist that has the authority to enter into contracts and incur debt on behalf of the community to be served and owns the public water system or has the right to operate the public water system under a lease with a term of at least 20 years, unless otherwise authorized by the department. This bill would authorize a legal entity, as defined, to apply for grant funding on behalf of one or more public water systems serving disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities if specified requirements are met, including having a signed agreement with each public water system for which it is applying for funding. By authorizing the use of a continuously appropriated fund for new purposes, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would, if legislation is enacted in 2013 that transfers the statutory and regulatory authority for the California Safe Drinking Water Act from the State Department of Public Health, delay the implementation of the provisions of the act for one year after the effective date of the transfer of authority.