State Water Resources Control Board.

(1) Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act (state act) , requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. The state board's duties include, but are 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 (federal act) , and adopting and enforcing regulations. Existing law requires the state board to appoint a deputy director to oversee the issuance and enforcement of public water system permits and delegates certain authorities of the state board to the deputy director. This bill would authorize the state board to adopt as an emergency regulation, a regulation that is not more stringent than, and is not materially different in substance and effect than, the requirements of a regulation promulgated under the federal act, with a specified exception. The bill would require that these emergency regulations not be subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law and remain in effect until revised by the state board. The state act authorizes the deputy director to issue an order directing certain actions whenever the deputy director determines that a person has violated or is violating the act, or any permit, regulation, or standard issued or adopted pursuant to the act. The act authorizes an aggrieved party 30 days after service of a copy of the order or decision to file with the superior court a petition for a writ of mandate for review of the order or decision. The bill would authorize, within 30 days of issuance of a certain order or decision issued by the deputy director, an aggrieved person to petition the state board for reconsideration and would authorize the state board to refuse to reconsider the order or decision, to deny the petition, or to set aside or modify the order or decision, as specified. The bill would provide that the filing of a petition for reconsideration is an administrative remedy that must be exhausted before filing a petition for writ of mandate. The state act authorizes the state board to take certain actions relating to the inspection of public water systems, including inspecting and copying any records, reports, test results, or other information required to carry out the provisions of the act. Existing law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly commit certain acts, including making a false statement or representation in any application, record, report, or other document submitted, maintained, or used for the purposes of compliance with the act or withholding information requested by the state board regarding imminent and substantial danger to the public health or safety, as specified. This bill would require an owner of a public water system to provide to the state board reports, test results, and certain other information within 15 business days of receiving a request for those records from a duly authorized representative of the state board. To the extent that a person knowingly makes a false statement or representation when providing these reports, results, or information to the state board, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the state act be construed to ensure consistency with the requirements for states to obtain and maintain primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems under the federal act. (2) Existing law generally grants various powers to cities, counties, and certain special districts, including the power to issue bonds and incur indebtedness for certain purposes and subject to certain restrictions. Existing law authorizes counties, cities, and special districts that provide or intend to provide wastewater treatment facilities or services, subject to applicable constitutional restrictions, to borrow money and incur indebtedness for purposes of the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997, continuously appropriates state and federal funds in the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board for grants or revolving fund loans for the design and construction of projects for public water systems that will enable those systems to meet safe drinking water standards. The revolving fund law defines "public agency," for purposes of the act, to mean a city, county, city and county, joint powers authority, or other political subdivision of the state, that owns or operates a public water system. This bill would expand the definition of "public agency" to include a municipality, as defined in the federal act. The bill would extend the authorization to borrow money and incur indebtedness to cities, counties, and special districts that provide or intend to provide water treatment facilities or services and for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund or the California Safe Drinking Water Act. This bill would require certain funds, appropriated and available for grants and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements and related actions, as specified, to be available for deposit in the revolving fund for the purpose of providing the state share needed to leverage federal funds to assist communities in providing safe drinking water. The revolving fund law requires the state board to annually establish the interest rate for repayable financing made pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The revolving fund law authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to undertake certain actions to implement the revolving fund law, including engaging in the transfer of capitalization grant funds, as specified. Existing law prohibits more than 4% of the capitalization grant from being used by the state board for administering the revolving fund law and authorizes the state board to establish a reasonable schedule for administrative fees to be paid by the grant applicant to reimburse the state for the costs of the administration of these provisions. The bill would delete the requirement that the state board establish the interest rate annually and would instead authorize the state board to adjust the interest rate periodically. The bill would delete the prohibition against using more than 4% of the capitalization grant for administrating the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Fund Law and would delete the authorization permitting the state board to establish a reasonable schedule for administrative fees. The bill would instead create the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Administrative Fund and would require moneys transferred to pay for the costs incurred by the state board for administering the act, moneys collected for financial assistance services, and interest earned upon these moneys to be deposited into the fund. The bill would authorize, where financial assistance is made and is to be repaid to the state board, the state board to assess an annual charge for financial assistance services, not to exceed 1% of the financial assistance balance. The bill would make moneys in the administration fund available to the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislation, for payment of reasonable costs of administering the fund. The bill would require the state board to set the total amount of revenue that is collected each year though the annual charge for financial assistance services at an amount that is equal as practicable to the appropriation amount set forth in the annual Budget Act. The bill would require, at least once each fiscal year, the state board to adjust the financial assistance service charge to conform with the annual Budget Act. Existing law requires the state board to determine what portion of the full costs a public agency or private not-for-profit water company is capable of repaying, and authorizes the state board, to the extent the state board finds that the public agency or not-for-profit water company is able to repay the full costs of the financing, to authorize a grant or principal forgiveness. Notwithstanding those and other specified provisions, existing law deems a small community water system or nontransient noncommunity water system that is owned by a public agency or a private not-for-profit water company and serving a severely disadvantaged community to have no ability to repay any financing. This bill would, notwithstanding those same provisions, instead deem a public agency or private not-for-profit water company that serves a severely disadvantaged community with fewer than 200 service connections and that owns a small community water system or nontransient noncommunity water system to have no ability to repay any financing, as specified. Existing law creates the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund in the State Treasury, and requires moneys from specified sources to be deposited in the grant fund. Existing law requires a specified amount of money to be available for deposit in the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund for grants for wastewater treatment projects. This bill would specifically require those moneys to be deposited in the grant fund, and would authorize those moneys to be expended for technical assistance, as specified, in addition to other specified uses. (3) Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, establishes the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund program pursuant to which state and federal funds are continuously appropriated from the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund to the state board for permissible purposes authorized by the federal Clean Water Act or a federal capitalization grant deposited into the fund, including loans and other financial assistance for the construction of publicly owned treatment works by a municipality, the implementation of a management program, the development and implementation of a conservation and management plan, and other related purposes in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. This bill would instead require that moneys in the fund be used only for purposes allowed by the federal Clean Water Act or a federal grant, and would delete the specifications of the types of projects and programs eligible for this financial assistance. By allowing moneys in the fund to be used for purposes allowed by a federal grant, thereby expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated revolving fund may be expended, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires the loans to meet certain criteria, including full amortization not later than 20 years after project completion, unless otherwise authorized by a federal capitalization grant deposited into the fund. Existing law also authorizes loan forgiveness to the extent it is authorized by a federal capitalization grant deposited into the fund. The bill would extend the loan amortization requirement to not later than 30 years after project completion unless otherwise authorized by a federal grant deposited in the fund and would authorize loan forgiveness to the extent it is authorized by a federal grant deposited into the fund without regard to whether it is a capitalization grant. Existing law also authorizes moneys in the fund to be used for payment of the reasonable cost of administering the fund and conducting certain activities relating to the federal Clean Water Act. Existing law prohibits those costs from exceeding 4% of all federal contributions into the fund except, if permitted by federal and state law, interest payments into the fund and other moneys into the fund are authorized to be used to defray additional administrative and activity costs. The bill would instead prohibit the costs used for administering the fund and conducting the federal Clean Water Act activities from exceeding 4% of all federal contributions in the fund, $400,000 per year, or 15 of 1% per year of the current valuation of the fund, whichever is greater, plus the amount of fees collected by the state for these purposes, regardless of source. (4) This bill would make various nonsubstantive changes, including repealing obsolete provisions and updating cross-references. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.