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May Revision trims some environmental allocations, reverts Exide funds and adjusts water board and cleanup proposals
Summary
The Department of Finance outlined environmental and water-related adjustments in the May Revision, including a proposed $75 million reversion of prior Exide cleanup appropriations and statutory and funding changes affecting the Water Resources Control Board, CalEPA and CalRecycle.
The Department of Finance outlined a set of environmental and water-related adjustments in the May Revision that drew questions from Assembly members and stakeholders.
Andrew Arch, a Department of Finance witness, said the May Revision includes a proposed reversion of $75 million of the $132 million in general fund appropriations originally provided in the 2021 Budget Act for cleanup at the former Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon. Arch noted the state has provided roughly $573 million in general fund support overall for cleanup of more than 3,000 residential properties within 1.7 miles of the former facility.
Arch and other finance staff also described a proposal to change the frequency of the Department of Water Resources’ required groundwater bulletin postings from every 10 years to every five years, which the administration projects would produce about $750,000 in General Fund annual savings. The May Revision includes multiple smaller special fund and position requests across CalEPA, the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control for activities such as legal defense against federal challenges, technical assistance for the California Climate Investments program, small water system regulation in Monterey County, underground storage tank financing, and litigation support for the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
CalRecycle would receive one-time special fund infusions to continue an integrated information technology project, using funds from the used oil recycling fund, the beverage container recycling fund and the electronic waste recovery and recycling account.
The Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Water Resources would receive multi-year federal trust fund authority and general fund allocations for Salton Sea projects and urban flood risk reduction. Steven Benson of the Department of Finance summarized adjustments to the climate bond implementation timeline and the inclusion of 79.5 permanent positions across departments to support bond administration and project delivery.
Stakeholders did not oppose the broad contours of the Exide cleanup history described at the hearing but asked for more detail on which specific capital and program cuts were temporary versus permanent and how fee and special‑fund savings relieve general‑fund pressure.
Ending: The committee asked the administration to provide department-level details and to clarify which items are one‑time, temporary delays, or permanent reductions when the departments return at the next hearing.
