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State Water Board adopts Prop 4 border‑grant guidelines, sets $10 million project cap with limited flexibility
Summary
The State Water Resources Control Board on April 21 adopted guidelines for $46.1 million in Proposition 4 funds to address water quality in California‑Mexico border waters, establishing scoring priorities and a $10 million per‑project cap with limited deputy director discretion to increase the cap after review.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday adopted guidelines to administer $46.1 million in Proposition 4 grants for projects addressing water‑quality problems in U.S.–Mexico cross‑border rivers and coastal waters.
Division of Financial Assistance Deputy Director Jennifer Tony told the board the program will fund planning and implementation projects; planning grants will be capped at $750,000 (with no more than $3 million used for planning overall) while implementation grants will have a default $10 million maximum. The guidelines allow applicants to receive extra scoring points for projects that address corrective water‑quality violations, benefit disadvantaged communities, coordinate binationally, have identified operations and maintenance funding, and demonstrate greater design readiness.
County and local officials urged the board to allow larger awards for high‑cost projects. Jonathan Clay, speaking for the County of San Diego, said County projects such as the Saturn Boulevard treatment effort may cost $25 million and would be difficult to fund if the board strictly limited awards at $10 million. Clay said the county had already put local funds toward the Saturn Boulevard design and urged flexibility so large projects could be considered.
Board members debated whether to raise the cap and ultimately approved a compromise: the board kept the $10 million per‑project cap in the guidelines but added a footnote authorizing the deputy director to increase that cap for an individual project by up to an additional $10 million after reviewing the scored applications and briefing the board. Chair Joaquin Esquivel said the amendment was intended to preserve the fund’s ability to support projects with demonstrated, high public‑health value while ensuring the board retains oversight.
The board also adopted changes to scoring that staff proposed after public workshops and comment, including tiered points for disadvantaged versus severely disadvantaged communities, additional points for projects that directly mitigate public‑health threats, and adjustments to readiness criteria. Staff said they plan a single solicitation in summer 2026 and anticipate issuing funding agreements in early 2027 once projects are scored and ranked.
The board voted unanimously to adopt the guidelines.
