Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 615

Introduced by Assembly Member Rendon

February 24, 2015

An act to begin delete add Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 12949.70) to Part 6 of Division 6 of end delete begin insert amend Section 189 of, and to add Section 79713.5 to, end insert the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 615, as amended, Rendon. begin delete The Center for Community Water Projects. end delete begin insert Drinking water and wastewater treatment: technical assistance. end insert

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Existing law, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $7,545,000,000 to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. Proposition 1 makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, specified amounts of bond proceeds for grants and loans for projects that improve water quality or safe drinking water, for water recycling and advanced treatment technology projects, and for projects that prevent or clean up the contamination of groundwater, including providing technical assistance services to disadvantaged communities.

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Existing law establishes the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions within the State Water Resources Control Board with the purpose of promoting permanent and sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment services. Existing law authorizes the office to take certain actions to further this purpose, including providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities and small drinking water systems and wastewater systems.

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This bill would specify the types of technical assistance services that may be provided for the purposes of these provisions. The bill would authorize the office, in collaboration with the California State University, to establish and administer at least one “Center for Excellence” for the purpose of providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities in the region of the campus. The bill would require the state board to determine the number and location of centers, if any, that are necessary to adequately provide technical assistance to disadvantaged communities throughout the state. The bill would specify that a center may be funded by both public and private sources, including Proposition 1, but would require, if bond proceeds from that proposition or any other bond act are used, the office to separately account for those moneys. The bill would prohibit moneys from Proposition 1 to be used for the administration of a center.

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Existing law provides various technical assistance opportunities to disadvantaged communities for projects relating to groundwater sustainability, clean drinking water, and water recycling and advanced treatment water technology projects.

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This bill would establish The Center for Community Water Projects, to be administered by the Division of Financial Assistance within the State Water Resources Control Board. The bill would declare the purpose of the center is to provide a centralized, multidisciplinary technical assistance program for disadvantaged communities and to assist those communities in designing and building clean and sustainable water projects. The bill would require the Division of Financial Assistance to provide a broad range of technical assistance to disadvantaged communities, as specified, to coordinate with other entities, and to contract with third party technical assistance provides, as necessary. The bill would authorize the center to receive funding from both public and private sources.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 189 of the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

189.  

(a) There is hereby established the Office of Sustainable
Water Solutions within the state board, which may be administered
by the state board as a separate organizational unit or within the
state board’s divisions or offices.

(b) The purpose of the office is to promote permanent and
sustainable drinking water and wastewater treatment solutions to
ensure the effective and efficient provision of safe, clean,
affordable, and reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment
services. In furtherance of this purpose, the office may take, but
is not limited to, all of the following actions:

(1) Coordinating with and providing assistance to small drinking
water systems, wastewater treatment systems, and disadvantaged
communities without drinking water or wastewater treatment
systems.

(2) Promoting and facilitating regional drinking water and
wastewater projects.

(3) Promoting and facilitating regional solutions, including
consolidation of existing water districts, expansion of existing
water districts to serve communities unserved by public water
systems and wastewater treatment systems, and extension of
services to underserved communities and disadvantaged
communities.

(4) Advancing the delivery of affordable, safe drinking water
to disadvantaged communities throughout the state.

(5) Providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities
and small drinking water systems and wastewater begin delete systems,
including grant application assistance, outreach and education in
vulnerable communities, financial management support, and
facilitation of discussions within and between communities. end delete
begin insert systems. Technical assistance services include, but are not limited
to, the following: end insert

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(A) Grant application assistance.

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(B) Project development and management support.

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(C) Engineering services.

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(D) Financial management review and support.

end insert begin insert

(E) Environmental review.

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(F) Operations and management review and support.

end insert begin insert

(G) Legal assistance.

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(H) Certification and training of wastewater treatment plant
operators.

end insert begin insert

(I) Facilitation of discussions within and between communities.

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(J) Outreach and education in vulnerable communities.

end insert begin insert

(K) Income surveys and other assessments needed to qualify
for funding programs.

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(c) (1) The office, in collaboration with the California State
University, may establish and administer at least one “Center For
Excellence” at a California State University campus with the
purpose of providing, through collaboration between California
State University faculty and students of that campus, the
engineering and other types of technical assistance described in
subdivision (b) in the region of the campus.

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(2) The state board shall determine the number and the location
of centers, if any, that are necessary to adequately provide
technical assistance to disadvantaged communities throughout the
state.

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(3) A center may be funded by both public and private sources,
including, but not limited to, bond proceeds from the Water
Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014
(Division 26.7 (commencing with Section 79700)). If bond proceeds
from that act are used, or from any other bond act, the office shall
separately account for those moneys to ensure the bond moneys
are properly utilized for their intended purposes. Bond proceeds
from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement
Act of 2014 shall not be used for the administration of a center
but may be used to provide technical assistance to disadvantaged
communities.

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(4) The University of California is encouraged to develop, in
collaboration with the office, a program similar to the one
described in this subdivision.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 79713.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 79713.5. end insert   

For the purpose of providing technical assistance to
disadvantaged communities pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 79720), 9 (commencing with Section 79765), or 10
(commencing with Section 79770), technical assistance services
include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Grant application assistance.

(b) Project development and management support.

(c) Engineering services.

(d) Financial management review and support.

(e) Environmental review.

(f) Operations and management review and support.

(g) Legal assistance.

(h) Certification and training of wastewater treatment plant
operators.

(i) Facilitation of discussions within and between communities.

(j) Outreach and education in vulnerable communities.

(k) Income surveys and other assessments needed to qualify for
funding programs.

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begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 12949.70) is
added to Part 6 of Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:

 

Chapter  10. The Center for Community Water Projects

 

12949.70.  

There is hereby established The Center for
Community Water Projects, which shall be administered by the
Division of Financial Assistance within the State Water Resources
Control Board, and whose purpose is to provide a centralized,
multidisciplinary technical assistance program for disadvantaged
communities and to assist those communities in designing and
building clean and sustainable water projects.

12949.71.  

For purposes of this chapter, “disadvantaged
community” has the meaning set forth in subdivision (a) of Section
79505.5, as it may be amended.

12949.72.  

In administering the program, the division shall do
all of the following:

(a) Provide a broad range of technical assistance to
disadvantaged communities, including, but not limited to,
engineering, operations, ecological, public finance, and economic
assistance, that would help those communities achieve the goals
described in Section 12949.70. The division shall also take into
account cultural and sociological considerations when providing
technical assistance to disadvantaged communities.

(b) Coordinate, to the extent possible and applicable, with other
entities, including, but not limited to, the California State
University and any of its institutions, the University of California
and any of its campuses, the Department of Water Resources, and
the State Department of Public Health.

(c) Contract with third party technical assistance providers as
necessary.

12949.73.  

The Center for Community Water Projects may
receive funding from public and private sources, including, but
not limited to, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure
Improvement Act of 2014 (Division 26.7 (commencing with
Section 79700)).

end delete