Amended in Assembly April 16, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1043


Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

(Coauthor: Senator Hernandez)

February 22, 2013


An act to add Sections 75101.3 and 75101.4 to, and to repeal and add Section 75101 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to begin deletetheend deletegroundwater.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1043, as amended, Chau. Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006: groundwater contamination.

The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006begin delete (initiative bond act)end delete, an initiative statute approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, makes approximately $5.4 billion in bond funds available for safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. The initiative bond act makes $60,000,000 available to the State Department of Public Healthbegin delete (department)end delete for the purpose of loans and grants for projects to prevent or reduce contamination of groundwater that serves as a source of drinking water and requires the department to require repayment for costs that are subsequently recovered from parties responsible for the contamination. Existing law requires the department, in collaboration with the Department of Toxic Substances Controlbegin delete (DTSC)end deletebegin insert, or DTSC,end insert and the State Water Resources Control Board, to develop and adopt regulations governing the repayment of costs that are subsequently recovered from parties responsible for the contamination of groundwater.

This bill would eliminate the requirement to develop and adopt regulations and instead would require a grantee of certain initiative bond act funds to take specific actions to recover the costs of cleanup and to utilize those funds for certain groundwater contamination cleanup projects, as specified. The bill would require the grantee, before expending the funds recovered from a responsible party, as defined, to submit an expenditure plan tobegin delete theend delete DTSC for its review. The bill would require that funds recovered from a responsible party by a grantee and used by the grantee for the costs of the specified groundwater contamination cleanup projects be deemed to be repaid by the grantee to the state.

Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, creates in the General Fund the Site Remediation Account, and authorizes the money in that account to be expended bybegin delete theend delete DTSC, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for direct site remediation costs.

The bill would require any funds recovered from a responsible party in excess of the specified groundwater contamination cleanup projects costs to be remitted to DTSC and deposited into the Site Remediation Account, to be used for orphan groundwater contamination cleanup projects, as specified.

The bill would makebegin delete technicalend deletebegin insert technical,end insert nonsubstantive changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 75101 of the Public Resources Code is
2repealed.

3

SEC. 2.  

Section 75101 is added to the Public Resources Code,
4to read:

5

75101.  

For purposes of implementing Section 75025, all of the
6following shall apply:

begin delete

7(a) A grantee of funds awarded pursuant to Section 75025 shall,
8where appropriate and cost-effective, take reasonable actions
9pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
10Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Secs. 9601
11et seq.) or other federal or state law to recover the costs of cleanup
12from the parties responsible for the contamination.

end delete
begin delete

P3    1(b)

end delete

2begin insert(a)end insert To the extent that the following projects are available, a
3grantee of funds awarded pursuant to Section 75025 shall utilize
4funds recovered frombegin delete a responsible party under subdivision (a)end delete
5begin insert parties responsible for the contamination pursuant to the
6Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
7Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Secs. 9601, et seq.) or other federal
8or state law end insert
only for projects that meet both of the following
9conditions:

10(1) The total of the grant amount awarded to the grantee pursuant
11to Section 75025 and the funds recovered from a responsible party
12underbegin insert thisend insert subdivisionbegin delete (a)end delete do not exceed the grantee’s total cost of
13the project to clean up contaminated groundwater or prevent the
14contamination of groundwater.

15(2) The groundwater is a primary source of drinking water and
16the grantee will use the funds recovered from a responsible party
17for groundwater contamination cleanup activities, including, but
18not limited to, ongoing treatment and remediation activities in
19accordance with the purposes of Section 75025.

begin delete

20(c)

end delete

21begin insert(b)end insert Funds recovered from a responsible party shall be utilized
22by the grantee only for projects that meet the requirements of
23subdivisionbegin delete (b)end deletebegin insert (a)end insert and in the following priority order:

24(1) Projects to clean up areas of groundwater contamination
25within the grantee’s jurisdiction where the initial grant awarded
26pursuant to Section 75025 is insufficient to pay for the full costs
27of the cleanup.

28(2) Projects to clean up additional areas of groundwater
29contamination within the grantee’s jurisdiction.

begin delete

30(d)

end delete

31begin insert(c)end insert (1) Before expending funds recovered from a responsible
32party on projects specified in subdivisionbegin delete (c)end deletebegin insert (b)end insert, the grantee shall
33submit an expenditure plan to the Department of Toxic Substances
34Control for its review and concurrence that the proposed
35expenditures are consistent with subdivisionsbegin insert (a) andend insert (b)begin delete and (c)end delete.

36(2) Funds recovered from a responsible party by the grantee
37that are in excess of the costs to conduct a project or projects
38authorized under subdivisionbegin delete (c)end deletebegin insert (b)end insert shall be remitted to the
39Department of Toxic Substances Control for deposit into the Site
40Remediation Account, established pursuant to Section 25337 of
P4    1the Health and Safety Code. Recovered funds deposited into the
2account shall be used by the Department of Toxic Substances
3Control for orphan groundwater contamination cleanup projects
4at sites that are on the list maintained by the Department of Toxic
5Substances Control pursuant to Section 25356 of the Health and
6Safety Code or on the National Priorities List pursuant to the
7Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
8Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Secs. 9601 et seq.), as amended.

begin delete

9(e)

end delete

10begin insert(d)end insert Funds recovered from a responsible party by a grantee
11pursuant to subdivision (a) and used by the grantee for costs,
12includingbegin delete capitolend deletebegin insert capitalend insert costs and operation and maintenance
13costs, of a project that complies with subdivisionsbegin insert (a) andend insert (b)begin delete and
14(c)end delete
, are deemed to be repaid by the grantee to the state.

begin delete

15(f)

end delete

16begin insert(e)end insert Commencing no later than July 1, 2014, and annually
17thereafter until the grantee’s funds are expended, a grantee of funds
18awarded pursuant to Section 75025 shall provide public notice, by
19posting a list on the grantee’s Internet Web site, of projects that
20meet the requirements of subdivisionsbegin insert (a) andend insert (b)begin delete and (c)end delete and the
21amount of funds recovered from a responsible party to be expended
22for the projects.

begin delete

23(g)

end delete

24begin insert(f)end insert As used in this section, “funds recovered from a responsible
25party” means the amount of any judgment or settlement received
26by the grantee from a responsible party that is attributable to costs
27funded by the grant, less all reasonable and necessary fees and
28expenses incurred by the grantee to recover these funds.

29

SEC. 3.  

Section 75101.3 is added to the Public Resources Code,
30to read:

31

75101.3.  

For the purposes of implementing subdivision (a) of

32Section 75050, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when
33funding a natural community conservation plan, shall fund only
34the development of a natural community conservation plan that is
35consistent with the Natural Community Conservation Planning
36Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3
37of the Fish and Game Code).

38

SEC. 4.  

Section 75101.4 is added to the Public Resources Code,
39to read:

P5    1

75101.4.  

The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy may use
2the funds made available pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
375060 to restore the salt ponds in the south San Francisco Bay and
4to create trails and visitor facilities for public use in that area.



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