Existing law designates the State Water Resources Control Board as the agency responsible for administering specific programs related to drinking water, including, among others, the California Safe Drinking Water Act and the Emerging Contaminants for Small or Disadvantaged Communities Funding Program.
This bill would create the PFAS Mitigation Fund in the General Fund and would authorize the fund to be expended by the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of these provisions. The bill would authorize the state board to seek out and accept nonstate, federal, and private funds, require those funds to be deposited into the PFAS Reduction Account within the PFAS Mitigation Fund, and continuously appropriate the moneys in the account to the state board for purposes of these provisions, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would authorize the state board to expend moneys from the fund and account in the form of a grant, loan, or contract, or to provide assistance services to water suppliers and wastewater operators, as those terms are defined, for multiple purposes, including, among other things, to cover or reduce the costs for water suppliers associated with treating drinking water to meet the applicable state and federal maximum PFAS contaminant levels. The bill would require a water supplier or wastewater operator to include a clear and definite purpose for how the funds will be used to provide a public benefit related to safe drinking water or treated wastewater in order to be eligible to receive funds. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt guidelines to implement these provisions.