10631.5
. (a) (1) Beginning January 1, 2009, the terms of, and
eligibility for, a water management grant or loan made to an urban
water supplier and awarded or administered by the department, state
board, or California Bay-Delta Authority or its successor agency
shall be conditioned on the implementation of the water demand
management measures described in Section 10631, as determined by the
department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(2) For the purposes of this section, water management grants and
loans include funding for programs and projects for surface water or
groundwater storage, recycling, desalination, water conservation,
water supply reliability, and water supply augmentation. This section
does not apply to water management projects funded by the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department shall determine
that an urban water supplier is eligible for a water management grant
or loan even though the supplier is not implementing all of the
water demand management measures described in Section 10631, if the
urban water supplier has submitted to the department for approval a
schedule, financing plan, and budget, to be included in the grant or
loan agreement, for implementation of the water demand management
measures. The supplier may request grant or loan funds to implement
the water demand management measures to the extent the request is
consistent with the eligibility requirements applicable to the water
management funds.
(4) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department shall
determine that an urban water supplier is eligible for a water
management grant or loan even though the supplier is not implementing
all of the water demand management measures described in Section
10631, if an urban water supplier submits to the department for
approval documentation demonstrating that a water demand management
measure is not locally cost effective. If the department determines
that the documentation submitted by the urban water supplier fails to
demonstrate that a water demand management measure is not locally
cost effective, the department shall notify the urban water supplier
and the agency administering the grant or loan program within 120
days that the documentation does not satisfy the requirements for an
exemption, and include in that notification a detailed statement to
support the determination.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "not locally cost effective"
means that the present value of the local benefits of implementing a
water demand management measure is less than the present value of the
local costs of implementing that measure.
(b) (1) The department, in consultation with the state board and
the California Bay-Delta Authority or its successor agency, and after
soliciting public comment regarding eligibility requirements, shall
develop eligibility requirements to implement the requirement of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). In establishing these eligibility
requirements, the department shall do both of the following:
(A) Consider the conservation measures described in the Memorandum
of Understanding Regarding Urban Water Conservation in California,
and alternative conservation approaches that provide equal or greater
water savings.
(B) Recognize the different legal, technical, fiscal, and
practical roles and responsibilities of wholesale water suppliers and
retail water suppliers.
(2) (A) For the purposes of this section, the department shall
determine whether an urban water supplier is implementing all of the
water demand management measures described in Section 10631 based on
either, or a combination, of the following:
(i) Compliance on an individual basis.
(ii) Compliance on a regional basis. Regional compliance shall
require participation in a regional conservation program consisting
of two or more urban water suppliers that achieves the level of
conservation or water efficiency savings equivalent to the amount of
conservation or savings achieved if each of the participating urban
water suppliers implemented the water demand management measures. The
urban water supplier administering the regional program shall
provide participating urban water suppliers and the department with
data to demonstrate that the regional program is consistent with this
clause. The department shall review the data to determine whether
the urban water suppliers in the regional program are meeting the
eligibility requirements.
(B) The department may require additional information for any
determination pursuant to this section.
(3) The department shall not deny eligibility to an urban water
supplier in compliance with the requirements of this section that is
participating in a multiagency water project, or an integrated
regional water management plan, developed pursuant to Section 75026
of the Public Resources Code, solely on the basis that one or more of
the agencies participating in the project or plan is not
implementing all of the water demand management measures described in
Section 10631.
(c) In establishing guidelines pursuant to the specific funding
authorization for any water management grant or loan program subject
to this section, the agency administering the grant or loan program
shall include in the guidelines the eligibility requirements
developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(d) Upon receipt of a water management grant or loan application
by an agency administering a grant and loan program subject to this
section, the agency shall request an eligibility determination from
the department with respect to the requirements of this section. The
department shall respond to the request within 60 days of the
request.
(e) The urban water supplier may submit to the department copies
of its annual reports and other relevant documents to assist the
department in determining whether the urban water supplier is
implementing or scheduling the implementation of water demand
management activities. In addition, for urban water suppliers that
are signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Urban
Water Conservation in California and submit biennial reports to the
California Urban Water Conservation Council in accordance with the
memorandum, the department may use these reports to assist in
tracking the implementation of water demand management measures.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2016,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before July 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date.