Section 116330.

(a)  The department may delegate primary responsibility for the administration and enforcement of this chapter within a county to a local health officer authorized by the board of supervisors to assume these duties, by means of a local primacy delegation agreement if the local health officer demonstrates that it has the capability to meet the local primacy program requirements established by the department pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 116375. This delegation shall not include the regulation of community water systems serving 200 or more service connections. The local primacy agreement may contain terms and conditions that the department deems necessary to carry out this chapter. The local primacy agreement shall provide that, although the local primacy agency shall be primarily responsible for administration and enforcement of this chapter for the designated water systems, the department does not thereby relinquish its authority, but rather shall retain jurisdiction to administer and enforce this chapter for the designated water systems to the extent determined necessary by the department.

(b)  Any local health officer seeking a local primacy delegation shall submit an application to the department. The application shall be submitted by March 1, 1993, for local health officers seeking local primacy agreements for the 1993–94 fiscal year. Thereafter, the application shall be submitted by January 1, of the fiscal year immediately preceding the commencement of the fiscal year for which the local primacy delegation is sought. The application shall be in the format, and shall contain information, required by the department. The department shall approve the application for primacy if the department determines that the local health officer is capable of meeting the primacy program requirements established by the department.

(c)  A local primacy delegation approved by the department shall remain in effect until any of the following conditions occur:

(1)  The delegation is withdrawn by mutual agreement.

(2)  The local primacy agency provides 120-day advance written notice to the department that it no longer wishes to retain local primacy.

(3)  The department determines that the local primacy agency no longer complies with the department's local primacy program requirements. The department shall provide written notice to the local primacy agency and the board of supervisors and shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing prior to initiation of any local primacy revocation action by the department.

(d)  The department shall evaluate the drinking water program of each local primacy agency at least annually. The department shall prepare a report of the evaluation and list any program improvements needed to conform to the department's local primacy program requirements. A copy of the evaluation report shall be provided to the local primacy agency and the board of supervisors. The local primacy agency shall be granted a reasonable amount of time to make any needed program improvements prior to the initiation of any local primacy revocation actions.

(e)  To the extent funds are available in the Safe Drinking Water Account, the department shall provide the local primacy agency with an annual drinking water surveillance program grant to cover the cost of conducting the inspection, monitoring, surveillance, and water quality evaluation activities specified in the local primacy agreement. The annual program grant pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed the amount that the department determines would be necessary for the department to conduct inspection, monitoring, surveillance, and water quality evaluation activities in the absence of a local primacy agreement for those systems in that county.

(f)  The local primacy agency shall act for the department as the primary agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter for the specified public water systems and shall be empowered with all of the authority granted to the department by this chapter over those water systems.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)