Sewer service: disadvantaged communities.

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the federal Clean Water Act. Existing law authorizes a regional board to order the provision of sewer service by a receiving sewer system, as defined, to a disadvantaged community served by an inadequate onsite sewage treatment system, as defined. This bill would authorize the state board, until January 1, 2029, and after it makes a specified finding or findings by resolution, to require a designated sewer system to contract with an administrator designated or approved by the state board for administrative, technical, operational, legal, or managerial services to assist a designated sewer system with the delivery of adequate sewer service, as defined. The bill would also authorize the state board to order a designated sewer system to accept those services, including full management and control of all aspects of the designated sewer system, from an administrator. The bill would define "designated sewer system" for these purposes as a sewer service provider that serves a disadvantaged community that is either an inadequate sewer service or a sewer system that has a demonstrated failure to maintain technical, managerial, or financial capacity to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. The bill would require the state board to take specified actions before determining that a sewer service provider is a designated sewer system, including providing the sewer service provider an opportunity to show that it has taken steps to timely address its failure to be an adequate sewer system or to timely address its failure to maintain technical, managerial, and financial capacity, conducting a public meeting, and providing an opportunity for public comment. The bill would authorize the state board to grant specified authority over the designated sewer system to the administrator, including the authority to expend money for various purposes and to set and collect sewer rates and fees. The bill would require the state board to work with the administrator and the communities served by the designated sewer system to develop, within the shortest practicable time, adequate technical, managerial, and financial capacity to deliver adequate sewer service so that the services of the administrator are no longer necessary. Existing law creates the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account in the State Water Quality Control Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the account to the state board for specified purposes, including providing grants for cleaning up a waste, abating the effects of a waste on waters of the state, or addressing an urgent drinking water need, as provided. This bill would authorize the state board to also use moneys in the account to provide grants to administrators for specified purposes, including, among others, to provide administrative, technical, operational, legal, or managerial services to a sewer service provider, until December 31, 2029, as provided. By expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated account may be spent, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.