Chapter 4. General Provisions of California Water Code >> Division 26.7. >> Chapter 4.
An amount that equals not more than 5 percent of the funds
allocated for a grant program pursuant to this division may be used
to pay the administrative costs of that program.
Unless otherwise specified, up to 10 percent of funds
allocated for each program funded by this division may be expended
for planning and monitoring necessary for the successful design,
selection, and implementation of the projects authorized under that
program. This section shall not otherwise restrict funds ordinarily
used by an agency for "preliminary plans," "working drawings," and
"construction" as defined in the annual Budget Act for a capital
outlay project or grant project. Water quality monitoring data shall
be collected and reported to the state board in a manner that is
compatible and consistent with surface water monitoring data systems
or groundwater monitoring data systems administered by the state
board. Watershed monitoring data shall be collected and reported to
the Department of Conservation in a manner that is compatible and
consistent with the statewide watershed program administered by the
Department of Conservation.
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
development or implementation of programs or projects authorized or
funded under this division other than Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 79750).
(a) Prior to disbursing grants or loans pursuant to this
division, each state agency that receives an appropriation from the
funding made available by this division to administer a competitive
grant or loan program under this division shall develop and adopt
project solicitation and evaluation guidelines. The guidelines shall
include monitoring and reporting requirements and may include a
limitation on the dollar amount of grants or loans to be awarded. If
the state agency has previously developed and adopted project
solicitation and evaluation guidelines that comply with the
requirements of this subdivision, it may use those guidelines.
(b) Prior to disbursing grants or loans, the state agency shall
conduct three public meetings to consider public comments prior to
finalizing the guidelines. The state agency shall publish the draft
solicitation and evaluation guidelines on its Internet Web site at
least 30 days before the public meetings. One meeting shall be
conducted at a location in northern California, one meeting shall be
conducted at a location in the central valley of California, and one
meeting shall be conducted at a location in southern California. Upon
adoption, the state agency shall transmit copies of the guidelines
to the fiscal committees and the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature.
It is the intent of the people that:
(a) The investment of public funds pursuant to this division will
result in public benefits that address the most critical statewide
needs and priorities for public funding.
(b) In the appropriation and expenditure of funding authorized by
this division, priority will be given to projects that leverage
private, federal, or local funding or produce the greatest public
benefit.
(c) A funded project advances the purposes of the chapter from
which the project received funding.
(d) In making decisions regarding water resources, state and local
water agencies will use the best available science to inform those
decisions.
(e) Special consideration will be given to projects that employ
new or innovative technology or practices, including decision support
tools that support the integration of multiple jurisdictions,
including, but not limited to, water supply, flood control, land use,
and sanitation.
(f) Evaluation of projects considered for funding pursuant to this
division will include review by professionals in the fields relevant
to the proposed project.
(g) To the extent practicable, a project supported by funds made
available by this division will include signage informing the public
that the project received funds from the Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014.
(h) Projects funded with proceeds from this division will be
consistent with Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of this
code and Section 13100 of the Government Code.
(i) Projects funded with proceeds from this division will promote
state planning priorities consistent with the provisions of Section
65041.1 of the Government Code and sustainable communities strategies
consistent with the provisions of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2)
of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, to the
extent feasible.
(j) California's working agricultural and forested landscapes will
be preserved wherever possible. To the extent feasible, watershed
objectives included in this division should be achieved through use
of conservation easements and voluntary landowner participation,
including, but not limited to, the use of easements pursuant to
Division 10.2 (commencing with Section 10200) and Division 10.4
(commencing with Section 10330) of the Public Resources Code and
voluntary habitat credit exchange mechanisms.
(a) The Department of Finance shall provide for an
independent audit of expenditures pursuant to this division. The
secretary shall publish a list of all program and project
expenditures pursuant to this division not less than annually, in
written form, and shall post an electronic form of the list on the
Natural Resources Agency's Internet Web site.
(b) If an audit, required by statute, of any entity that receives
funding authorized by this division is conducted pursuant to state
law and reveals any impropriety, the California State Auditor or the
Controller may conduct a full audit of any or all of the activities
of that entity.
(c) The state agency issuing any grant or loan with funding
authorized by this division shall require adequate reporting of the
expenditures of the funding from the grant or loan.
(d) Prior to soliciting projects pursuant to this division, state
agencies shall submit guidelines to the secretary. The secretary
shall verify that the guidelines are consistent with applicable
statutes and for all the purposes enumerated in this division. The
secretary shall post an electronic form of the guidelines submitted
by state agencies and the subsequent verifications on the Natural
Resources Agency's Internet Web site.
In addition to the information required pursuant to
Section 79708, in order to facilitate oversight of funding and
projects, the secretary shall post on the Natural Resources Agency's
Internet Web site information on changes to project timelines and
project spending.
(a) Funds expended pursuant to this division for the
acquisition of a permanent dedication of water shall be in accordance
with Section 1707 where the state board specifies that the water is
in addition to water that is required for regulatory requirements as
provided in subdivision (c) of Section 1707. The expenditure of funds
provided by this division may include the initiation of the
dedication as a short term or temporary urgency change, that is
approved in accordance with Section 1707 and either Chapter 6.6
(commencing with Section 1435) of, or Chapter 10.5 (commencing with
Section 1725) of, Part 2 of Division 2, during the period required to
prepare any environmental documentation and for approval of
permanent dedication.
(b) Funds expended pursuant to this division for the acquisition
of long-term transfers of water shall be transfers in accordance with
Sections 1735, 1736, and 1737 if the state board, after providing
notice and opportunity for a hearing, approves such a petition. Funds
expended pursuant to this division shall prioritize permanent
transfers. Long-term transfers shall be for a period of not less than
20 years, except for any water transfers for the benefit of
subsection (d) of Section 3406 of the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (Title 34 of Public Law 102-575).
(c) Funds expended pursuant to this division for any acquisition
of water shall only be done pursuant to this section and shall only
be used for projects that will provide fisheries or ecosystem
benefits or improvements that are greater than required applicable
environmental mitigation measures or compliance obligations in effect
at the time the funds from this division are made available for the
project and funds shall not be credited to any measures or
obligations, except for any water transfers for the benefit of
subsection (d) of Section 3406 of the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (Title 34 of Public Law 102-575).
(a) Funds provided by this division shall not be expended to
pay the costs of the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or
maintenance of Delta conveyance facilities. Those costs shall be the
responsibility of the water agencies that benefit from the design,
construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of those
facilities.
(b) To the extent feasible, in implementing subdivision (k) of
Section 79731, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy shall
seek to achieve wildlife conservation objectives through projects on
public lands or voluntary projects on private lands. Funds available
to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy pursuant to
subdivision (k) of Section 79731 may be used, in consultation with
the Department of Fish and Wildlife, for payments to landowners for
the creation of measurable habitat improvements or other improvements
to the condition of endangered or threatened species. The
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy may develop and implement a
competitive program for habitat enhancements that maximizes voluntary
landowner participation in projects that provide measurable and
long-lasting habitat or species improvements in the Delta. These
funds shall not be used to subsidize or decrease the mitigation
obligations of any party.
(c) In implementing subdivision (k) of Section 79731, the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy shall coordinate and consult
with the city or county in which a grant is proposed to be expended
or an interest in real property is proposed to be acquired and with
the Delta Protection Commission. Acquisitions by the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section
79731 shall be from willing sellers only.
(a) This division does not diminish, impair, or otherwise
affect in any manner whatsoever any area of origin, watershed of
origin, county of origin, or any other water rights protections,
including, but not limited to, rights to water appropriated prior to
December 19, 1914, provided under the law. This division does not
limit or affect the application of Article 1.7 (commencing with
Section 1215) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2, Sections 10505,
10505.5, 11128, 11460, 11461, 11462, and 11463, and Sections 12200 to
12220, inclusive.
(b) For the purposes of this division, an area that utilizes water
that has been diverted and conveyed from the Sacramento River
hydrologic region, for use outside the Sacramento River hydrologic
region or the Delta, shall not be deemed to be immediately adjacent
thereto or capable of being conveniently supplied with water
therefrom by virtue or on account of the diversion and conveyance of
that water through facilities that may be constructed for that
purpose after January 1, 2014.
(c) Nothing in this division supersedes, limits, or otherwise
modifies the applicability of Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
1700) of Part 2 of Division 2, including petitions related to any new
conveyance constructed or operated in accordance with Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 85320) of Part 4 of Division 35.
(d) Unless otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this division
supersedes, reduces, or otherwise affects existing legal protections,
both procedural and substantive, relating to the state board's
regulation of diversion and use of water, including, but not limited
to, water right priorities, the protection provided to municipal
interests by Sections 106 and 106.5, and changes in water rights.
Nothing in this division expands or otherwise alters the state board'
s existing authority to regulate the diversion and use of water or
the courts' existing concurrent jurisdiction over California water
rights.
(e) Nothing in this division shall be construed to affect the
California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (Chapter 1.4 (commencing with
Section 5093.50) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code) or the
federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1271 et seq.) and
funds authorized pursuant to this division shall not be available for
any project that could have an adverse effect on the values upon
which a wild and scenic river or any other river is afforded
protections pursuant to the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act or
the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
(f) Nothing in this division supersedes, limits, or otherwise
modifies the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009
(Division 35 (commencing with Section 85000)) or any other applicable
law, including, but not limited to, Division 22.3 (commencing with
Section 32300) of the Public Resources Code.
(g) Funds provided by this division shall not be used to acquire
land via eminent domain.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, any agency acquiring land
pursuant to this division may use the Natural Heritage Preservation
Tax Credit Act of 2000 (Division 28 (commencing with Section 37000)
of the Public Resources Code).
(a) Eligible applicants under this division are public
agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, federally
recognized Indian tribes, state Indian tribes listed on the Native
American Heritage Commission's California Tribal Consultation List,
and mutual water companies.
(b) (1) To be eligible for funding under this division, a project
proposed by a public utility that is regulated by the Public
Utilities Commission or a mutual water company shall have a clear and
definite public purpose and shall benefit the customers of the water
system and not the investors.
(2) To be eligible for funding under this division, an urban water
supplier shall adopt and submit an urban water management plan in
accordance with the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Part 2.6
(commencing with Section 10610) of Division 6).
(3) To be eligible for funding under this division, an
agricultural water supplier shall adopt and submit an agricultural
water management plan in accordance with the Agricultural Water
Management Planning Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 10800) of
Division 6).
(4) In accordance with Section 10608.56, an agricultural water
supplier or an urban water supplier is ineligible for funding under
this division unless it complies with the requirements of Part 2.55
(commencing with Section 10608) of Division 6.
The Legislature may enact legislation necessary to implement
programs funded by this division, except as otherwise provided in
Section 79760.
(a) Unless otherwise specified, any state agency that has
the statutory authority to implement one or more of the purposes
specified in this bond may be eligible for appropriations from the
funding made available by this division.
(b) Funding made available by this division shall not be
appropriated by the Legislature to a specific project.
(c) Projects funded pursuant to this division may use the services
of the California Conservation Corps or certified community
conservation corps, as defined in Section 14507.5 of the Public
Resources Code.
The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this
division shall be deposited in the Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Fund of 2014, which is hereby created in
the State Treasury.
Each state agency that receives an appropriation of funding
made available by this division shall be responsible for establishing
metrics of success and reporting the status of projects and all uses
of the funding on the state's bond accountability Internet Web site,
as provided by statute.
Each state agency that receives an appropriation of
funding made available by this division shall do the following:
(a) Evaluate the outcomes of projects funded by this division.
(b) Include in the agency's reporting pursuant to Section 79716
the evaluation described in subdivision (a).
(c) Hold a grantee of funds accountable for completing projects
funded by this division on time and within scope.