AB 243

This bill requires the governor to allocate funds accepted under the federal

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for certain environmental purposes.

Lead service line replacement

Under current law, the Department of Administration and the Department of

Natural Resources administer the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP),

which provides low-interest loans and grants in the form of principal forgiveness to

municipalities for drinking water infrastructure projects to help them comply with

federal drinking water standards. DNR establishes a funding list for SDWLP

projects, and DOA allocates funding for those projects. The current program does not

provide financial assistance to private users of public water systems.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $40,000,000 of the ARPA funds

received by the state to provide, under SDWLP, principal forgiveness to

municipalities to 1) cover up to 50 percent of the costs of lead service line replacement

on private property or 2) provide grants to private users of public water systems to

cover up to 50 percent of the costs of lead service line replacement on private property.

Urban nonpoint source program

Under current law, DNR administers a program to provide financial assistance

for projects that manage urban storm water and runoff. The bill requires the

governor to allocate $12,000,000 of the ARPA funds received by the state to this

program.

Rural nonpoint source program

Under current law, DNR administers a program to provide financial assistance

for projects that control pollution that comes from diffuse sources, rather than from

a single concentrated discharge of pollution, in areas that qualify as high priority due

to water quality problems. The bill requires the governor to allocate $6,500,000 of

the ARPA funds received by the state to this program.

Well compensation grant program

Under the well compensation grant program under current law, certain

individual owners or renters of certain contaminated private wells may apply for a

grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water, reconstruct the well,

construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and seal the well. The

bill requires the governor to allocate $2,000,000 of the ARPA funds received by the

state to this program.

Grants for well testing and public education

The bill requires DNR to create and administer a program to provide grants to

counties to either 1) test and map privately owned wells to assess groundwater

quality and to determine the extent and type of any contamination and study and

map geologic characteristics and well construction practices in the county to

determine any correlation between water quality, geology, and well construction; or

2) if a county has completed this type of study, to notify the public of the results of