State Water Board to determine disadvantaged-community fee reductions; petition process to follow

State Water Resources Control Board staff proposed changing how disadvantaged-community (DAC) drinking water fee reductions are assigned, saying the board would make determinations using its annual needs-assessment report and provide a petition path for systems that disagree.

"The change is going to be that now the state board will be making the determination of whether a water system should be receiving a DAC fee reduction," said Gabriella Gutierrez of the Division of Drinking Water's data support unit. Gutierrez said the board will use the published needs-assessment report to identify systems that qualify.

Under the proposal, systems that disagree with the board's determination could file a petition; staff said guidance and petition criteria will be specified in forthcoming regulations and that the division will notify systems expected to lose a DAC reduction and walk them through options to petition.

Staff framed the policy as a way to capture systems that have not previously sought DAC reductions — for example, systems that are eligible but have not applied — and to streamline eligibility determinations. Chuckelli and program staff said expanding DAC eligibility is expected to reduce fee revenue by roughly $2 million in modeling, which staff said would need to be offset through adjustments across other fee payers if adopted.

Why it matters: automating determinations could increase participation in DAC reductions and shift the administrative burden away from systems that have not sought relief, but it will also change revenue assumptions for the fund and require clear petition rules and outreach to affected systems.

Next steps: staff said a more detailed proposal will be shared at a July stakeholder meeting, with the board process expected to begin in September.