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. This bill would authorize the department to take specified actions to improve access to financial assistance for small community water systems and not-for-profit nontransient noncommunity water systems serving severely disadvantaged communities, as defined. Under existing law, not less than 15% of the fund is required to be expended for providing loans and grants to eligible projects by public water systems that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons. This bill would require small community water systems or nontransient noncommunity water systems, owned by a public agency or private not-for-profit water company, serving severely disadvantaged communities to be eligible to receive up to 100% of eligible project costs in the form of a grant, to the extent the system cannot afford a loan. By authorizing additional uses for moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 116761.23 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 938, which would become operative only if AB 938 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2012, and this bill is chaptered last.