79731.
The sum of three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000) shall be available, upon appropriation from the fund, for grants and direct expenditures, as follows:(a) (1) One billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) for projects, including grants to Delta counties and cities within the Delta, that provide public benefits and support Delta sustainability options, including projects and supporting scientific studies and assessments that do any of the following:
(A) Ensure that urban and agricultural water supplies derived from the Delta, including water supplies used within the Delta, are not disrupted because of catastrophic failures of Delta levees resulting from earthquakes, floods, land sinking, rising ocean levels, or other forces.
(B) Assist in preserving economically viable and sustainable agriculture and other economic activities in the Delta.
(C) Improve the quality of drinking water derived from the Delta.
(D) Improve levee and flood control facilities and other vital infrastructure necessary to protect Delta communities affected by the implementation of this chapter.
(E) Provide physical improvements or other actions to create water flow and water quality conditions within the Delta to provide adequate habitat for native fish and wildlife.
(F) Facilitate other projects that provide public benefits and support Delta sustainability options approved by the Legislature, including costs associated with planning, monitoring, and design of alternatives, and project modifications and adaptations necessary to achieve the goals of this chapter.
(G) Mitigate other impacts of water conveyance and ecosystem restoration.
(H) Provide or improve water quality facilities and other infrastructure.
(2) Of the funds provided in this subdivision, not less than two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be available for matching grants for improvements to wastewater treatment facilities upstream of the Delta to improve Delta water quality and not less than six million dollars ($6,000,000) shall be available for the design, permitting, and construction of wastewater facilities to promote tourism and sustainable agriculture in the north Delta.
(b) Two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) for projects to protect and enhance the sustainability of the Delta ecosystem, including any of the following:
(1) Projects for the development and implementation of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, consistent with Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code. The projects shall be implemented through a cooperative effort among regulatory agencies, regulated and potentially regulated entities, and affected parties, including state and federal water contractors. These funds may be expended for the preparation of environmental documentation and environmental compliance.
(2) Other projects to protect and restore native fish and wildlife dependent on the Delta ecosystem, including the acquisition of water rights and the removal or reduction of undesirable invasive species.
(3) Projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from exposed Delta soils.
(4) Projects that reduce impacts of mercury contamination of the Delta and its watersheds, and remediation and elimination of continuing sources of mercury contamination.
(5) Scientific studies and assessments that support the projects authorized under this section.
(c) Funds provided by this chapter shall be available for appropriation to, among other entities, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy for implementation consistent with the Delta Plan.