(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) There are ongoing discharges to the Los Osos Discharge Prohibition Zone established in the Water Quality Control Plan for the Central Coast Basin.

(2) The agency responsible for eliminating these discharges is the Los Osos Community Services District, which is a relatively new agency, formed in 1998.

(3) The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has imposed substantial fines on the Los Osos Community Services District for failing to make adequate progress toward eliminating these discharges.

(4) The Los Osos Community Services District has a relatively small staff that has no experience of successfully designing and constructing facilities of the size and type needed to eliminate these discharges.

(5) The County of San Luis Obispo has a larger staff that has experience in successfully designing large public works projects.

(6) There is an urgent need to protect the public health and safety by eliminating these discharges and the most feasible alternative is best accomplished by a temporary realignment of certain wastewater collection and treatment powers between the Los Osos Community Services District and the County of San Luis Obispo.

(7) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section and amending Section 61105 to authorize the County of San Luis Obispo to design, construct, and operate a wastewater collection and treatment project that will eliminate these discharges, particularly in the prohibition zone, to avoid a wasteful duplication of effort and funds, and to temporarily prohibit the Los Osos Community Services District from exercising those powers.

(b) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Board” means the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo.

(2) “County” means the County of San Luis Obispo.

(3) “District” means the Los Osos Community Services District, formed pursuant to the Community Services District Law (Division 3 (commencing with Section 61000) of Title 6) located in San Luis Obispo County.

(4) “Prohibition zone” means that territory within the Baywood Park-Los Osos area of the county that is subject to the wastewater discharge prohibition imposed by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board pursuant to Resolution 83-13.

(c) The county may undertake any efforts necessary to construct and operate a community wastewater collection and treatment system to meet the wastewater collection and treatment needs within the district. These efforts may include programs and projects for recharging aquifers, preventing saltwater intrusion, and managing groundwater resources to the extent that they are related to the construction and operation of the community wastewater collection and treatment system. These efforts shall include any services that the county deems necessary, including, but not limited to, any planning, design, engineering, financial analysis, pursuit of grants to mitigate affordability issues, administrative support, project management, and environmental review and compliance services. The county shall not exercise any powers authorized by this section outside the district.

(d) Nothing in this section shall affect the district’s power to do any of the following:

(1) Operate wastewater collection and treatment facilities within the district that the district was operating on January 1, 2006.

(2) Provide facilities and services, other than wastewater collection and treatment.

(e) To finance the construction and operation of a wastewater collection and treatment system, the county may levy benefit assessments consistent with the requirements of Article XIII D of the California Constitution, pursuant to any of the following:

(1) The Improvement Act of 1911 (Division 7 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Streets and Highways Code).

(2) The Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500) of the Streets and Highways Code).

(3) The Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (Division 12 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Streets and Highways Code).

(f) The county may charge standby charges for sewer services, consistent with the requirements of XIII D of the California Constitution, pursuant to the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act (Chapter 12.4 (commencing with Section 54984) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5).

(g) The county may develop a program to offset assessments, standby charges, or user fees and charges that are authorized pursuant to subdivisions (e), (f), and (h) for very low or low-income households with funding sources, including, but not limited to, grants, principal forgiveness, and noncounty funds from low-interest loans approved for the project by the State Water Resources Control Board or the United States Department of Agriculture. The county shall not include in an assessment or charge an amount to cover the costs to the county in carrying out this subdivision.

(h) The county may impose and collect user fees and charges and any other sources of revenue permitted by law sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of any wastewater collection or treatment services provided pursuant to this section.

(i) Promptly upon the adoption of a resolution by the board requesting this action, the board of directors of the district shall convey to the county any requested retained rights-of-way, licenses, funds, and permits previously acquired by the district in connection with construction projects for which the district awarded contracts in 2005. The county shall use those fee interests, rights-of-way, licenses, and funds for the purpose of furthering the construction and operation of a wastewater collection and treatment system pursuant to this section.

(j) After the approval of a benefit assessment, the board shall complete a due diligence review before deciding to proceed with the construction and operation of a wastewater collection and treatment system. The board shall consider any relevant factors, including, but not limited to, the prompt availability of reasonable and sufficient financing, the status of enforcement actions, the successful development of reasonable project technology and location options, the availability of any necessary permits and other approvals, and the absence of other significant impediments. At the completion of this due diligence review, the board shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to proceed or not proceed with the construction and operation of the wastewater collection and treatment system.

(k) Collection of assessments may not commence until the adoption of the resolution to proceed pursuant to subdivision (i).

(l) The county shall have no power or responsibility to construct and operate a wastewater collection and treatment system pursuant to this section and the district shall resume that power and responsibility when any of the following occurs:

(1) If the board adopts a resolution not to hold a benefit assessment election pursuant to subdivision (e).

(2) If there is a majority protest to a benefit assessment proposed by the county, on the date of the resolution adopted by the board determining that the majority protest exists.

(3) If there is not a majority protest, but the board adopts a resolution, pursuant to subdivision (i), which declares that the county will no longer exercise its powers pursuant to this section, on the date specified in the board’s resolution.

(4) If the county constructs and operates a wastewater collection and treatment system pursuant to this section, not less than three years after the operation of the system commences, the board and the board of directors of the district shall mutually apply to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for a modification of the waste discharge permit, requesting permission to transfer responsibility to operate the wastewater collection and treatment system from the county to the district. Consistent with that modification, the board shall adopt a resolution that specifies the date on which the county will no longer exercise its powers pursuant to this section.

(m) When the power and responsibility to construct and operate a wastewater collection and treatment system transfers from the county to the district pursuant to subdivision (k), the county shall do all of the following:

(1) Promptly convey to the district any remaining retained fee interests in any real property, rights-of-way, licenses, other interests in real property, funds, and other personal property that the county previously acquired pursuant to subdivision (h).

(2) Promptly convey to the district the wastewater collection and treatment system that the county constructed pursuant to this section.

(3) Continue to collect any necessary assessments and use them to repay any indebtedness incurred by the county to finance the construction of the wastewater collection and treatment system pursuant to this section.

(4) The county shall cease collecting any benefit assessments after repayment of any indebtedness incurred by the county to finance the construction of the wastewater collection and treatment system.

(n) Nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing upon the county any liability for any district decisions or actions, or failures to act, or imposing upon the county any liability for any decisions or actions, or failures to act, by any district officers, employees, or agents. In addition, nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing upon the county any liability for any prior or subsequent district liabilities, whether liquidated or contingent, or any prior or subsequent liabilities of district officers, employees, or agents, whether liquidated or contingent.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 162, Sec. 64. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2013.)