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State Water Board share of budget change proposal would add staff to respond to federal legal actions
Summary
Staff said a multi‑agency Budget Change Proposal would provide $2.9 million and 12 positions across CalEPA, CARB, and the State Water Boards to defend California environmental laws; the board’s share is $800,000 and three permanent positions, paid from special funds.
State Water Resources Control Board staff told stakeholders that a multi‑agency Budget Change Proposal (BCP) would add legal resources to respond to federal actions challenging state environmental programs. Cassandra White, a member of the fee revenue branch, summarized the BCP and the water board’s share: the BCP requests $2,900,000 and 12 permanent positions across California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board; the water board’s portion is $800,000 and three permanent positions, funded from special funds.
Why this matters: staff said the BCP would fund legal defense and related program work linked to recent federal legal challenges; those added costs are part of the fee‑setting budget staff used to project fee needs for FY25–26.
Details staff provided: - Cassandra White: “The BCP is for legal resources to respond to federal actions.” - She said the $2.9 million is expected to come from various special funds and that the water board’s share is $800,000 and three positions. Staff noted that $200,000 of the requested funding will be equally assessed to the WDPF and other fee funds (transcript: ‘‘The waste discharge permit fund is 1 of 4 water board funds that $200,000 will be equally assessed to…’’).
Staff directed stakeholders to Department of Finance materials for additional BCP detail and included a link in the stakeholder handouts. Stakeholders asked whether BCP costs should be funded from the General Fund; one stakeholder objected to using fee funds for the BCP and urged that the Legislature provide General Fund support.
No formal action was taken at the stakeholder meeting on the BCP; staff said the BCP is included in the enacted budget materials and will be reflected in fee proposals taken to the board on Sept. 16 if the enacted budget remains unchanged.
Stakeholders seeking more detail were invited to follow up with staff to review the BCP materials and the Department of Finance links provided in the handouts.
