7/31/23, 8:50 AM Bill Text - SB-470 Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief program: high fire ha… https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB470 1/3 SHARE THIS:
Date Published: 07/12/2023 09:00 PM
SENATE BILL NO. 470
SB-470 Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief prog AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 12, 2023
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2023
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2023
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced by Senator Alvarado-Gil
February 13, 2023
An act to amend Section 13198.8 of, and to add Sections 13198.5 and 13198.51 to, to the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 470, as amended, Alvarado-Gil. Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Reliefprogram: high fire hazard and very high fire hazard severity zones.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severityzones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas.Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in itsjurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal, as provided.
Existing law authorizes specified state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, subject to an appropriation, tomake grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from a drought scenario toaddress immediate impacts on human health and safety or on fish and wildlife resources or to provide water to persons orcommunities that lose or are threatened with the loss of water supplies. Existing law repeals this authorization on January 1,2024.
This bill would extend the authorization to January 1, 2026. The bill would, until January 1, 2026, establish in the departmentthe Urban Water Community Drought Relief program and the Small Community Drought Relief program to provide grants forsimilar interim or immediate drought relief. These programs, upon a specified appropriation, would authorize funding forbenefits in addition to drought relief, including including, among other projects, projects that reduce the risk of wildfire forentire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes in high firehazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshalor by a local agency.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal Committee: yes Local Program: no THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
HomeBill Information California LawPublicationsOther ResourcesMy SubscriptionsMy Favorites 7/31/23, 8:50 AM Bill Text - SB-470 Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief program: high fire ha… https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB470 2/3 (a) California’s rural landscapes and communities have been ground zero for large-scale environmental and economicdevastation during the past decades by virtue of the Angora, Caldor, Camp, August Complex, and Dixie Fires. (b) Aging infrastructures combined with insufficient resources to prepare for adequate wildfire response has left many ruralcommunities at high risk for future unchecked fire activity. (c) Postfire costs associated with the destruction inflicted upon communities, such as Grizzly Flats, Paradise, and Greenville,have been in the tens of billions of dollars. (d) Congress has taken affirmative fiscal action by budgeting for funding last year and is poised to repeat that action this yearas witnessed in House Report 117-400 to invest in fire prevention activities in the Tahoe Basin and elsewhere through projectssuch as water delivery system improvements for expanded water flow and fire hydrant installation. (e) While California is taking the necessary actions to mitigate the intensity and frequency of fire in the rural parts of the state,local governments need state support for necessary investments to prepare for fire.SEC. 2. Section 13198.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13198.5. (a) There is hereby established in the department the Urban Water Community Drought Relief program to providegrants for interim or immediate drought relief to secure the future of California’s water supply to address immediate impacts onhuman health and safety and on safety, to protect fish and wildlife resources resources, and to provide water to persons orsmall or rural urban communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies. (b) A project funded by this program shall benefit a community supplied by an urban water supplier as defined in Section10617. (c) The program, upon appropriation for these purposes after the operative date of this section, may fund projects that providebenefits in addition to drought relief, including projects including, but not limited to, all of the following projects:
(1) Projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery systemimprovements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severityzone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code. (2) Projects that provide water deliveries such as hauled water, temporary community water tanks, bottled water, or watervending machines. (3) Projects that construct infrastructure such as emergency water interties, drilling or rehabilitating new wells, or theinstallation of permanent water infrastructure. (4) Projects that rescue, protect, and relocate fish and wildlife. (5) Projects that support water conservation activities, including, but not limited to, education, fixture replacement incentivesand rebate programs, and turf replacement with drought tolerant landscaping.
SEC. 3. Section 13198.51 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13198.51. (a) There is hereby established in the department the Small Community Drought Relief program to provide grants forinterim or immediate drought relief to address immediate impacts on human health and safety and on safety and impacts onfish and wildlife resources resources, and to provide water to persons or small or rural communities that lose or are threatenedwith the loss or contamination of water supplies. (b) A project funded by this program shall benefit a community not supplied by an urban water supplier as defined in Section10617. (c) The program, upon appropriation for its purposes after the operative date of this section, may fund projects that providebenefits in addition to drought relief, including projects including, but not limited to, all of the following projects:
(1) Projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery systemimprovements for fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severityzone communities, as designated by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code. (2) Projects that provide water deliveries such as hauled water, temporary community water tanks, bottled water, or watervending machines. (3) Projects that construct infrastructure such as emergency water interties, drilling or rehabilitating new wells, or theinstallation of permanent water infrastructure. (4) Projects that rescue, protect, and relocate fish and wildlife. 7/31/23, 8:50 AM Bill Text - SB-470 Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief program: high fire ha… https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB470 3/3 SEC. 4.Section 13198.8 of the Water Code is amended to read:
13198.8.This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.SEC. 5.SEC. 4. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would, in the event appropriations aremade for the programs described in subdivision (f) of Section 19.55 of the Budget Act of 2021, ensure funding eligibility forprojects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities through water delivery system improvementsfor fire suppression purposes in high fire hazard severity zone communities or very high fire hazard severity zone communities,as designated by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 4201) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division4 of the Public Resources Code or by a local agency pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 51175) of Part 1 ofDivision 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code.