Amended in Senate January 4, 2016

Senate Bill No. 127

Introduced by begin delete Senators Vidak, Fuller, and Nielsen end delete begin insert Senator Vidak end insert

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Olsen)

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Mathis)

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January 20, 2015

begin delete An act to add Section 21168.6.7 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality. end delete begin insert An act to add Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 13486) to Division 7 of the Water Code, relating to water, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 127, as amended, Vidak. begin delete Environmental quality: Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. end delete begin insert Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Program. end insert

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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.

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This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a program to provide low-interest loans and grants to local agencies for low-interest loans and grants to eligible applicants for specified purposes relating to drinking water and wastewater treatment. This bill would create the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund and provide that the moneys in this fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the board for expenditure for the program. This bill would transfer to the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund $10,000,000 from the General Fund.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA and a procedure for the preparation and certification of the record of proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding challenging a lead agency’s action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA.

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The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, (Proposition 1), approved by the voters on the November 2, 2014 statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program.

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This bill would require the public agency, in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approvals for projects funded, in whole or in part, by Proposition 1, including the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings and the certification of the record of proceeding within 5 days of the filing of a specified notice, to comply with specified procedures. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2016, to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures applicable to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of a public agency’s action in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting project approval for those projects that require the actions or proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. The bill would prohibit a court from staying or enjoining those projects unless it makes specified findings.

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(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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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The Legislature hereby finds and declares as
follows:

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(a) Many areas of the state are disproportionately impacted by
drought because they are heavily dependent or completely reliant
on groundwater from basins that are in overdraft and in which
the water table declines year after year or from basins that are
contaminated.

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(b) There are a number of state grant and loan programs that
provide financial assistance to communities to address drinking
water and wastewater needs. Unfortunately, there is no program
in place to provide similar assistance to individual homeowners
who are reliant on their own groundwater wells and who may not
be able to afford conventional private loans to undertake vital
water supply, water quality, and wastewater improvements.

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(c) The program created by this act is intended to bridge that
gap by providing low-interest loans, grants, or both, to individual
homeowners to undertake actions necessary to provide safer,
cleaner, and more reliable drinking water and wastewater
treatment. These actions may include, but are not limited to,
digging deeper wells, improving existing wells and related
equipment, addressing drinking water contaminants in the
homeowner’s water, or connecting to a local water or wastewater
system.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 13486) is added
to Division 7 of the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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Chapter   begin insert 6.6. end insert Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant
Program

 

begin insert 13486. end insert   

(a) The board shall establish a program in accordance
with this chapter to provide low-interest loans and grants to local
agencies for low-interest loans and grants to eligible applicants
for any of the following purposes:

(1) Extending or connecting service lines from a water or
wastewater system to the applicant’s residence or plumbing.

(2) Paying reasonable charges or fees for connecting to a water
or wastewater system.

(3) Paying costs to close abandoned septic tanks and water
wells, as necessary, to protect health and safety as required by
local or state law.

(4) Deepening an existing groundwater well.

(5) Improving an existing groundwater well, including
associated equipment.

(6) Installing a water treatment system if the groundwater
exceeds a primary or secondary drinking standard, as defined in
Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b) The board may adopt any regulation it determines is
necessary to carry out the purposes of the chapter. A regulation
adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the
rulemaking requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

begin insert 13487. end insert   

(a) The Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund
is hereby created in the State Treasury. The moneys in the Water
and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund are available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to the board for expenditure in
accordance with this chapter.

(b) The following moneys shall be deposited in the Water and
Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund:

(1) Moneys repaid to the board pursuant to a grant or loan
made in accordance with this chapter, including interest payments.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code,
any interest earned upon the moneys in the Water and Wastewater
Loan and Grant Fund.

begin insert 13488. end insert   

(a) An eligible applicant for a loan shall meet all of
the following criteria:

(1) Have a household income below the statewide median
household income.

(2) Have an ownership interest in the residence.

(3) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal
resources to undertake these improvements.

(4) Demonstrate an ability to repay the loan. This requirement
may be satisfied by having another party join the application as
a cosigner.

(b) Any loan granted shall be secured by a mortgage on the
residence and repaid within 20 years in accordance with terms
established by the board. The interest rate on the loan shall not
exceed 1 percent. While any balance on the loan is outstanding,
a loan recipient shall furnish evidence of and continually maintain
homeowner’s insurance on the security residence to protect the
state’s interest in the residence.

(c) The board may enter into a contract with a private financial
institution to provide loans consistent with the purposes of this
chapter. If the board exercises this authority, the board may utilize
a portion of the moneys in the Water and Wastewater Loan and
Grant Fund to provide a loan guarantee or similar loss mitigation
mechanism.

begin insert 13489. end insert   

(a) An eligible applicant for a grant shall meet all of
the following criteria:

(1) Have a household income that is 60 percent or less of the
statewide median household income.

(2) Have an ownership interest in the residence.

(3) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal
resources to undertake these improvements.

(b) A grant recipient shall repay to the board the grant amount
in full if that recipient sells the residence less than five years from
the date that the grant agreement was signed.

(c) A grant recipient shall repay to the board any unused grant
funds.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) is hereby transferred
from the General Fund to the Water and Wastewater Loan and
Grant Fund.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

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This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

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In order to provide eligible households with access to safer,
cleaner, and more reliable drinking water and wastewater
treatment during California’s prolonged drought, it is necessary
that this act take effect immediately.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 21168.6.7 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:

21168.6.7.  

(a) For the purposes of this section “water project”
means a project funded, in whole or in part, with proceeds of bonds
sold pursuant to the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure
Improvement Act of 2014 (Division 26.7 (commencing with
Section 79700) of the Water Code).

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the procedures established
pursuant to subdivision (c) shall apply to an action or proceeding
brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification
of the environmental impact report for a water project or the
granting of any approvals for a water project.

(c) On or before July 1, 2016, the Judicial Council shall adopt
a rule of court to establish procedures applicable to actions or
proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the
certification of the environmental impact report for a water project
or the granting of any project approvals that require the actions or
proceedings, including any potential appeals therefrom, be
resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of certification of
the record of proceedings pursuant to subdivision (e).

(d) (1)   The draft and final environmental impact report for a
water project shall include a notice in not less than 12-point type
stating the following:

THIS EIR IS SUBJECT TO SECTION 21168.6.7 OF THE
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE, WHICH PROVIDES, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, THAT THE LEAD AGENCY NEED NOT
CONSIDER CERTAIN COMMENTS FILED AFTER THE
CLOSE OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE
DRAFT EIR. ANY JUDICIAL ACTION CHALLENGING THE
CERTIFICATION OF THE EIR OR THE APPROVAL OF THE
PROJECT DESCRIBED IN THE EIR IS SUBJECT TO THE
PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN SECTION 21168.6.7 OF THE
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE. A COPY OF SECTION 21168.6.7
OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS INCLUDED IN THE
APPENDIX TO THIS EIR.

(2) The draft environmental impact report and final
environmental impact report shall contain, as an appendix, the full
text of this section.

(3) Within 10 days after the release of the draft environmental
impact report, the lead agency shall conduct an informational
workshop to inform the public of the key analyses and conclusions
of that report.

(4) Within 10 days before the close of the public comment
period, the lead agency shall hold a public hearing to receive
testimony on the draft environmental impact report. A transcript
of the hearing shall be included as an appendix to the final
environmental impact report.

(5) (A)   Within five days following the close of the public
comment period, a commenter on the draft environmental impact
report may submit to the lead agency a written request for
nonbinding mediation. The lead agency and applicant shall
participate in nonbinding mediation with all commenters who
submitted timely comments on the draft environmental impact
report and who requested the mediation. Mediation conducted
pursuant to this paragraph shall end no later than 35 days after the
close of the public comment period.

(B) A request for mediation shall identify all areas of dispute
raised in the comment submitted by the commenter that are to be
mediated.

(C) The lead agency shall select one or more mediators who
shall be retired judges or recognized experts with at least five years
experience in land use and environmental law or science, or
mediation. The applicant shall bear the costs of mediation.

(D) A mediation session shall be conducted on each area of
dispute with the parties requesting mediation on that area of
dispute.

(E) The lead agency shall adopt, as a condition of approval, any
measures agreed upon by the lead agency, the applicant, and any
commenter who requested mediation. A commenter who agrees
to a measure pursuant to this subparagraph shall not raise the issue
addressed by that measure as a basis for an action or proceeding
challenging the lead agency’s decision to certify the environmental
impact report or to grant one or more initial project approvals.

(6) The lead agency need not consider written comments
submitted after the close of the public comment period, unless
those comments address any of the following:

(A) New issues raised in the response to comments by the lead
agency.

(B) New information released by the public agency subsequent
to the release of the draft environmental impact report, such as
new information set forth or embodied in a staff report, proposed
permit, proposed resolution, ordinance, or similar documents.

(C) Changes made to the project after the close of the public
comment period.

(D) Proposed conditions for approval, mitigation measures, or
proposed findings required by Section 21081 or a proposed
reporting and monitoring program required by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 21081.6, where the lead agency releases
those documents subsequent to the release of the draft
environmental impact report.

(E) New information that was not reasonably known and could
not have been reasonably known during the public comment period.

(7) The lead agency shall file the notice required by subdivision
(a) of Section 21108 or subdivision (a) of Section 21152 within
five days after the last initial project approval.

(e) (1)   The lead agency shall prepare and certify the record of
the proceedings in accordance with this subdivision and in
accordance with Rule 3.1365 of the California Rules of Court. The
applicant shall pay the lead agency for all costs of preparing and
certifying the record of proceedings.

(2) No later than three business days following the date of the
release of the draft environmental impact report, the lead agency
shall make available to the public in a readily accessible electronic
format the draft environmental impact report and all other
documents submitted to or relied on by the lead agency in the
preparation of the draft environmental impact report. A document
prepared by the lead agency or submitted by the applicant after
the date of the release of the draft environmental impact report
that is a part of the record of the proceedings shall be made
available to the public in a readily accessible electronic format
within five business days after the document is prepared or received
by the lead agency.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), documents submitted to or
relied on by the lead agency that were not prepared specifically
for the project and are copyright protected are not required to be
made readily accessible in an electronic format. For those copyright
protected documents, the lead agency shall make an index of these
documents available in an electronic format no later than the date
of the release of the draft environmental impact report, or within
five business days if the document is received or relied on by the
lead agency after the release of the draft environmental impact
report. The index must specify the libraries or lead agency offices
in which hardcopies of the copyrighted materials are available for
public review.

(4) The lead agency shall encourage written comments on the
project to be submitted in a readily accessible electronic format,
and shall make any such comment available to the public in a
readily accessible electronic format within five days of its receipt.

(5) Within seven business days after the receipt of any comment
that is not in an electronic format, the lead agency shall convert
that comment into a readily accessible electronic format and make
it available to the public in that format.

(6) The lead agency shall indicate in the record of the
proceedings comments received that were not considered by the
lead agency pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (d) and need
not include the content of the comments as a part of the record.

(7) Within five days after the filing of the notice required by
subdivision (a) of Section 21108 or subdivision (a) of Section
21152, the lead agency shall certify the record of the proceedings
for the approval or determination and shall provide an electronic
copy of the record to a party that has submitted a written request
for a copy. The lead agency may charge and collect a reasonable
fee from a party requesting a copy of the record for the electronic
copy, which shall not exceed the reasonable cost of reproducing
that copy.

(8) Within 10 days after being served with a complaint or a
petition for a writ of mandate, the lead agency shall lodge a copy
of the certified record of proceedings with the superior court.

(9) Any dispute over the content of the record of the proceedings
shall be resolved by the superior court. Unless the superior court
directs otherwise, a party disputing the content of the record shall
file a motion to augment the record at the time it files its initial
brief.

(10) The contents of the record of proceedings shall be as set
forth in subdivision (e) of Section 21167.6.

(f) (1)   (A)   In granting relief in an action or proceeding brought
pursuant to this division, the court shall not stay or enjoin the
construction or operation of a water project unless the court finds
either of the following:

(i) The continued construction or operation of the water project
presents an imminent threat to the public health and safety.

(ii) The water project site contains unforeseen important Native
American artifacts or unforeseen important historical,
archaeological, or ecological values that would be materially,
permanently, and adversely affected by the continued construction
or operation of the water project unless the court stays or enjoins
the construction or operation of the water project.

(B) If the court finds that clause (i) or (ii) is satisfied, the court
shall only enjoin those specific activities associated with the water
project that present an imminent threat to public health and safety
or that materially, permanently, and adversely affect unforeseen
important Native American artifacts or unforeseen important
historical, archaeological, or ecological values.

(2) An action or proceeding to attack, set aside, void, or annul
a determination, finding, or decision of the lead agency granting
a subsequent project approval shall be subject to the requirements
of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 21165).

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.

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