Section 79532 Of Chapter 4. Safe Drinking Water From California Water Code >> Division 26.5. >> Chapter 4.
79532
. (a) Funds made available pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 79530 shall be administered in accordance with this section.
(b) (1) Grant funds appropriated for the purposes of subdivision
(b) of Section 79530 shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
(2) The department shall consolidate the application process
required to implement the grant program described in this section.
(c) For the purposes of this chapter, "southern California water
agencies" means water agencies with service areas entirely or partly
in one or more of the following counties: San Diego, Imperial,
Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, or
Ventura.
(d) Grants may be awarded to southern California water agencies
for eligible projects undertaken by one or more southern California
water agencies and other entities.
(e) A project funded by a grant made pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 79530 shall meet both of the following requirements:
(1) The project will assist the grantee to meet safe drinking
water standards.
(2) The project will assist in meeting the state's commitment to
reduce Colorado River water use to 4.4 million acre-feet per year.
(f) In the development of criteria for the grants awarded pursuant
to this section, the State Department of Health Services shall
consult with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for
the purposes of developing a program that gives priority to projects
that reduce public and environmental exposure to contaminants that
pose the most significant health risks, and that will bring water
systems into compliance with safe drinking water standards. These
include, but are not limited to, projects that address public
exposure to contaminants for which safe drinking water standards have
been established, including arsenic, disinfection byproducts and
uranium. Projects to address emerging contaminants, including
perchlorate, chromium 6, and endocrine disrupters shall also be given
priority.