BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 115
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 115 (Perea) - As Introduced: January 14, 2013
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill expands the eligibility for grants and loans from the
Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) administered
by the Department of Public Health (DPH) by allowing
consolidated applications. Specifically, this bill permits
multiple water systems to apply for funding in a single
application and allows a single agency to apply for funds to
treat water systems outside of their jurisdiction.
Consolidated applications must serve at least one disadvantaged
or severely disadvantaged community and assist at least one
community in meeting safe drinking water standards.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible cost. According to the DPH, workload associated with
processing applications and executing funding agreements is paid
for through an administrative set-aside.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill is designed to provide regional funding
solutions for communities with unsafe drinking water. The
consolidation of nearby water systems increases the economies
of scale by allowing members of multiple communities to
finance one treatment facility rather than multiple
facilities.
This bill also allows disadvantaged communities to access
SDWSRF grants or loans through the assistance of other public
or private water agencies.
AB 115
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2)Background . Drinking water contamination disproportionately
affects small, rural, and low-income communities that rely on
groundwater as their drinking water source. In 2008, the
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) draft report draft
report, Communities that Rely on Contaminated Groundwater,
identified 682 public water systems with contaminated
groundwater as their primary source of drinking water and 265
public water systems serving two million people with water
quality violations. The most impacted areas are the Inland
Empire, San Joaquin Valley, Salinas Valley and the Santa Maria
Valley.
The governor's 2012 drinking water stakeholder group
recommends fostering shared solutions consistent with this
bill.
3)Nitrate in Groundwater . In February 2013, the SWRCB released
"Recommendations for Addressing Nitrate in Groundwater."
One of the 15 recommendations in the report called for
regional entities to assume the regulatory responsibility and
determine alternatives for supplying drinking water to
disadvantaged communities. This bill provides a means for
larger public water systems to absorb the costs and provide
the technical assistance necessary to address groundwater
contamination in small or disadvantaged communities.
4) Safe Drinking Water Act . This federal program establishes the
SDWSRF and requires a 20% state-match to draw down federal
funds for safe drinking water programs.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081