Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: project financing: severely disadvantaged communities.

Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997, establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to provide 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. Existing law authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board, to the extent permitted by federal law, to provide grant funding, and principal forgiveness and 0% financing on loans, from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to a project for a water system with a service area that qualifies as a severely disadvantaged community if the water system demonstrates that repaying a Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan with interest would result in unaffordable water rates, as defined. This bill would instead authorize the board, to the extent permitted by federal law, to provide up to 100% grant funding, and principal forgiveness and 0% financing on loans, from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to a project for a water system that serves a severely disadvantaged community.