ARTICLE 5. Delta Tributary Watershed Program [78647. - 78647.16.]

Cal. Water Code - WAT 5.

in effect

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647. Section 78647.

(a) (1) There is hereby created in the account the Delta Tributary Watershed Subaccount. (2) For the purposes of this article, “subaccount” means the Delta Tributary Watershed Subaccount created by paragraph (1). (3) The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) is hereby transferred from the account to the subaccount for the purposes of implementing this article. (b) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the money in the subaccount is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, to the board for grants for eligible projects in accordance with this article, and for the administration of this article.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.2. Section 78647.2.

(a) The board shall administer a program under which a county, or a joint powers authority in which a county is a participant, may submit an application to the board for an eligible project requesting financial or technical assistance for the purpose of developing a voluntary, incentive-based watershed rehabilitation project. The board shall consult with other federal and state resource agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in the administration of the program. The Resources Agency shall make a written recommendation to the board regarding each application. The board shall consider the recommendations of the Resources Agency and include, when appropriate, the recommendation in the board’s final decision. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a county, or a joint powers authority in which a county is a participant, after a request to do so by a local public agency, declines to submit an application for an eligible project for a watershed that is all or in part within the boundaries of the county, a local public agency other than the county or that joint powers agency may submit an application in accordance with subdivision (a).

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.4. Section 78647.4.

(a) “Eligible project” means a watershed rehabilitation project undertaken on lands owned or operated by the federal, state, or a local government, or a private person or entity within the delta tributary watershed. (b) For the purposes of this article, “delta tributary watershed” means a watershed which drains into the delta or the Trinity River.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.5. Section 78647.5.

An eligible project shall include one or more of the following purposes: (a) A reduction in the presence of contaminants in drinking water by addressing the origins of the contaminants, including, to the maximum extent practicable, the specific activities that affect the drinking water supply of a community or communities. A project with a purpose described in this subdivision shall address contaminants, including those that are pathogenic organisms, for which a national primary drinking water regulation has been established, and that are detected in the community water system for which the application is submitted at levels above the maximum contaminant level or that are detected by adequate monitoring methods at levels that are not reliably and consistently below the maximum contaminant level. (b) An increase in the yield of water available from, and water retention capabilities of, the watershed, including projects to reduce dense forest understory, restore upland meadows, and repair stream channels. (c) The improvement, restoration, or enhancement of fisheries habitat, including riparian habitat, in and along streams and watercourses in the watershed. Projects may address factors which increase sedimentation in streams and watercourses in the watershed. (d) The improvement of overall forest health, including the reduction of factors which may contribute to the severity of wildfires in the watershed.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.6. Section 78647.6.

(a) Every project funded under this article shall comply with state and federal law, regulations, and policies, and shall not degrade the quality of any waters of the state. (b) An application submitted to the board under this article shall include all of the following information: (1) An identification of any deficiencies in information that may impair the development or implementation of a project. (2) A discussion of the efforts undertaken to implement the project and to obtain the participation of both of the following: (A) Public agencies with relevant responsibilities in the watershed. (B) Persons and entities in the watershed who may be affected by recommendations of the project and whose participation is essential to the success of the project. (3) Evidence in the form of a statement from a private person or entity that that person or entity consents to the inclusion of private property in the project, as appropriate. (4) A monitoring plan to determine whether project purposes are satisfied. (5) An outline of the way in which project participants will, during the development and implementation of the project, identify and take into account any activities being undertaken by persons or entities in the watershed under federal or state law to rehabilitate the watershed. A project shall include voluntary and incentive-based strategies for the long-term rehabilitation of the watershed. (6) An identification of the technical, financial, or other assistance that the applicant will request to develop or implement the project. (7) When feasible, an identification of quantifiable, innovative, and cost-effective methods for achieving project purposes.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.7. Section 78647.7.

An application submitted to the board under Section 78647.6 shall also include the following information: (a) A delineation of the watershed area or areas critical for project purposes using available hydrogeologic or other pertinent information. If no information is available, the project shall conduct, to the extent practicable, vulnerability assessments in the watershed area, including identification of risks to drinking water, a project may use delineations and vulnerability assessments undertaken to identify groundwater sources under a wellhead protection program, surface or groundwater sources under a pesticide management plan, or surface water sources under a state or local watershed initiative, or undertaken in accordance with Subpart H (commencing with Section 141.70) of Part 141 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) An identification, to the maximum extent practicable, of the origins of drinking water contaminants that may be addressed by a project, including, to the maximum extent practicable, a description of the specific activities contributing to the presence of the contaminants in the watershed.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.8. Section 78647.8.

The board may approve a grant for an eligible project to develop or implement a project, not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per project. A grant shall not exceed 50 percent of the administrative costs incurred, or estimated to be incurred, by the applicant in connection with carrying out the project.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.10. Section 78647.10.

(a) After providing notice and an opportunity for public comment with regard to an application submitted under Section 78647.6, the board shall approve or disapprove the application, in whole or in part, not later than 120 days after the date of submission of the application. The board shall prepare, and transmit to the Resources Agency and the applicant, written findings with regard to the recommendations of the Resources Agency. (b) The board may approve an application if the application meets the requirements established under this article. The notice of approval shall include all of the following: (1) The identification of technical, financial, or other assistance that the board agrees to provide to assist in the development or implementation of a project. (2) Any necessary coordination that the board will perform. (3) A description of any funds available for the purpose of developing and implementing the project, including any funds in a water pollution control revolving fund established in connection with Subchapter VI (commencing with Section 1381) of the Clean Water Act. (4) A description of other technical or financial assistance that is available under state or federal law for the purpose of developing or implementing the project. (5) A description of activities that are undertaken, or will be undertaken, to coordinate federal and state programs which are relevant to the watershed that is the subject of the application. (c) If the board disapproves an application submitted under Section 78647.6, the board shall notify the entity submitting the application in writing of the reasons for disapproval. An application may be resubmitted under either of the following circumstances: (1) New information becomes available. (2) Conditions affecting the watershed that is the subject of the application change.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.12. Section 78647.12.

The board may adopt regulations to implement this article. The regulations shall include all of the following: (a) Criteria for the assessment of watershed areas. (b) Procedures for the submission of applications. (c) Procedures for the approval or disapproval of an application submitted under Section 78647.6.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.14. Section 78647.14.

Grant recipients shall submit a report on completion of the project to the board indicating whether the purposes of the project have been met. The board shall make the report available to interested federal, state, and local agencies.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 78647.16. Section 78647.16.

Not more than 3 percent of the total amount deposited in the subaccount may be used to pay the costs incurred in connection with the administration of this article.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026