Implementation Provisions - - CA Public Resources

Section § 75100

This section requires California state agencies that distribute competitive grants to develop guidelines for how those grants will be solicited and evaluated. The guidelines can include limits on grant sizes and may ask applicants to show they have ongoing financial support unless the grant is meant to help a disadvantaged community. Before finalizing these guidelines, agencies must hold at least one public meeting to get feedback and publish draft guidelines on their website 30 days before the meeting. The goal is to promote public access, especially for disadvantaged communities. Every new funding cycle needs fresh applications, based on that cycle's solicitation. However, agencies can also use guidelines that existed as of January 1, 2007, if they prefer.

(a)

(1) Each state agency disbursing a competitive grant pursuant to this division shall develop project solicitation and evaluation guidelines. The guidelines may include a limitation on the size of a competitive grant to be awarded.

(2) Prior to disbursing a competitive grant, each state agency shall conduct at least one public meeting to consider public comments prior to finalizing the guidelines. Each state agency shall publish the draft solicitation and evaluation guidelines on its Internet Web site at least 30 days before the public meetings. Meetings shall be held at geographically appropriate locations. Upon adoption, each state agency shall transmit copies of the guidelines to the fiscal committees and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. To the extent feasible, each state agency shall provide outreach to disadvantaged communities to promote access and participation in those meetings.

(3) The guidelines may include a requirement for the applicant to illustrate an ongoing commitment of financial resources, unless the purposes of awarding a grant financed by this division is to assist a disadvantaged community.

(4) The guidelines shall require a new grant solicitation for each funding cycle. Each funding cycle shall consider only those applications received as a part of the solicitation for that funding cycle.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a state agency, in lieu of adopting guidelines pursuant to subdivision (a), may use guidelines existing on January 1, 2007, and those guidelines as periodically amended thereafter.

competitive grants state agencies project solicitation evaluation guidelines public meeting public comments Internet publication draft guidelines geographically appropriate locations fiscal committee transmission disadvantaged communities outreach financial resources commitment grant size limitation funding cycle existing guidelines usage

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 729, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2008. Note: Pursuant to Stats. 2008, Ch. 729, Sec. 5, the provisions of Division 43 added on Nov. 7, 2006, by initiative Prop. 84 (Sections 75001 to 75090) prevail over any conflicting provision of Ch. 729.)

Section § 75101

This section outlines how recovered costs from parties responsible for groundwater contamination should be handled. Any money recovered goes into a special fund for groundwater cleanup. The fund is used for cleaning up contamination, with priority to areas where initial grants were insufficient. Any excess funds help clean up other areas or can go toward general cleanup projects. Grantees must submit spending plans and provide public updates on their usage of funds. The state board recovers costs from responsible parties and can use the fund for legal expenses related to these recoveries. The law also includes provisions for conservation planning and specific projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

(a)

(1) Costs subsequently recovered from a party responsible for the contamination pursuant to Section 75025 shall be repaid to the state board and deposited in the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. Costs recovered shall be separately accounted for within the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund.

(2) Moneys in the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the state board for the purpose of a grant to the grantee that received funds and subsequently recovered costs from a responsible party and repaid those costs to the state in the following priority order:

(A) Projects and activities to clean up areas of groundwater contamination within the grantee’s jurisdiction where the initial grant awarded pursuant to Section 75025 is insufficient to pay for the full costs of the cleanup.

(B) Projects and activities to clean up additional areas of groundwater contamination within the grantee’s jurisdiction.

(3)

(A) The total amount of the grant awarded pursuant to Section 75025 and the amount awarded pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed the grantee’s total costs to clean up contaminated groundwater or prevent the contamination of groundwater.

(B) If costs recovered by the grantee and deposited in the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund exceed the amount that may be awarded as a grant pursuant to the limit in subparagraph (A), the excess moneys shall be available to the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure on orphan groundwater contamination cleanup projects. The state board shall consult with the Department of Toxic Substances Control when considering expenditures on orphan groundwater contamination cleanup projects.

(4) The grantee shall use an amount awarded pursuant to this subdivision for groundwater contamination cleanup activities for groundwater that is a primary source of drinking water, including, but not limited to, ongoing treatment and remediation activities in accordance with the purposes of Section 75025.

(5) When seeking grant funds pursuant to paragraph (2), a grantee shall submit an expenditure plan to the state board for projects consistent with this subdivision. The state board shall review the submitted expenditure plan and consult with the Department of Toxic Substances Control for sites where the Department of Toxic Substances Control is the lead state agency. The state board shall notify the grantee if the expenditure plan is approved, and if approved, the state board shall disburse the funds.

(6) Grants awarded pursuant to this subdivision may be used for capital costs and treatment and remediation activities.

(7) Commencing no later than July 1, 2015, and annually thereafter until the grantee’s funds are expended, a grantee of funds awarded pursuant to this subdivision shall provide public notice, by posting a list on the grantee’s Internet Web site, of projects and activities that receive grant funds pursuant to this subdivision and the amount of those funds.

(8) As used in this subdivision, “costs subsequently recovered from a party responsible for the contamination” means the amount of any judgment or settlement received by a grantee of funds received pursuant to Section 75025 from a responsible party that is attributable to costs funded by the grant received pursuant to Section 75025, less all reasonable and necessary costs of response incurred by the grantee of funds received pursuant to Section 75025 to recover these funds. Attorney’s fees may be considered reasonable and necessary costs of response if the attorney’s efforts are for identifying potentially responsible parties, but not if incurred in pursuit of litigation, consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.), and Key Tronic Corp. v. U.S. (511 U.S. 809 (1994)).

(9) The state board may use moneys in the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the costs of administering this subdivision.

(b) The state board may directly recover moneys from a party responsible for contamination addressed by a loan or grant pursuant to Section 75025 in accordance with the procedures described in subdivision (c) of Section 13304 of the Water Code. The state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, may use moneys in the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund for this purpose. If moneys from the Groundwater Contamination Cleanup Project Fund are used for legal costs pursuant to this subdivision, moneys recovered by a judgment in favor of the state board shall be deposited in that fund.

(c) For the purposes of implementing subdivision (a) of Section 75050, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when funding a natural community conservation plan, shall fund only the development of a natural community conservation plan that is consistent with the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).

(d) The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy may use the funds made available pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 75060 to restore the salt ponds in the south San Francisco Bay and to create trails and visitor facilities for public use in that area.

groundwater contamination cleanup fund cost recovery grantee funding priority cleanup orphan projects expenditure plan public notice capital costs treatment activities San Francisco Bay Area salt pond restoration community conservation natural community conservation plan Department of Fish and Wildlife

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 349, Sec. 1. (AB 1043) Effective January 1, 2015. Note: This section was added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 729. Pursuant to Sec. 5 of Ch. 729, the provisions of Division 43 added on Nov. 7, 2006, by initiative Prop. 84 (Sections 75001 to 75090) prevail over any conflicting provision of Ch. 729.)

Section § 75102

Before a negative declaration or environmental impact report is adopted, a lead agency must inform any California Native American tribe on a specific contact list about the planned project if the tribe has traditional lands in the area.

Before the adoption of a negative declaration or environmental impact report required under Section 75070, the lead agency shall notify the proposed action to a California Native American tribe, which is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission, if that tribe has traditional lands located within the area of the proposed project.

negative declaration environmental impact report lead agency California Native American tribe tribal notification proposed project traditional lands Native American Heritage Commission tribal contact list environmental review project notification requirements

Section § 75103

This law states that when investor-owned utilities, which are overseen by the Public Utilities Commission, receive public funds, those funds should benefit the ratepayers or the general public, not the investors.

It is the intent of the Legislature that any public funds made available by this division to investor-owned utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission should be for the benefit of the ratepayers or the public and not the investors pursuant to oversight by the Public Utilities Commission.

public funds investor-owned utilities Public Utilities Commission ratepayers public benefit investors utility regulation oversight Legislature intent public funding usage

Section § 75104

State agencies in California that can give out loans or grants must help applicants, especially those from economically disadvantaged communities, with the application process.

State agencies that are authorized to award a loan or grant financed by this division shall provide technical assistance with regard to the preparation of an application for a loan or grant in a manner that, among other things, addresses the needs of economically disadvantaged communities.

state agencies loans grants technical assistance application preparation economically disadvantaged communities financial aid applications government funding community support financial assistance