On Monday, the California Department of Public Health Drinking Water Program submitted a corrective action plan to the US Environmental Protection Agency that addresses all 29 of the issues raised by the federal government in April.

“We have worked closely with our federal partners during this process and we appreciate their guidance,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state public health officer. “We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with US EPA to achieve our mutual goal of providing safe drinking water for the people of California.”

In an April 19 letter, the US EPA informed CDPH that it was not in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The US EPA reported that $1.5 billion has been provided to California to capitalize the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. However, as of October 2012, $455 million remains unspent.

The action plan CDPH submitted Monday reflects the distribution of $84 million by the end of this week to water projects across the state.

CDPH officials said the agency will disburse nearly $200 million in total funds in fiscal year 2013-14 and in the following two fiscal years, will disburse an additional $600 million, to help water systems deliver safe drinking water to their communities and put CDPH on track to meet the targets set by the US EPA.

Among CDPH's current list of executed funding agreements for water projects is one with the county of Lake for $1,809,760, which will fund construction of surface water treatment plant improvements for the community of Spring Valley.

“This administration is committed to ensuring safe drinking water for all Californians as evidenced by Gov. Brown’s signature on AB 685, which establishes a state policy that every Californian has a human right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water,” added Chapman.

During the two years since Gov. Jerry Brown took office, notable progress has been made in California’s Revolving Fund program, and CDPH remains committed to the work that needs to be done to reach the mutual federal and state goals and to maximize the use of the available dollars, Chapman reported.

Some recent changes to get money out to water projects faster, fund more projects and make the application for funding simpler include: offering funding for planning as well as construction, facilitating greater opportunity for grant funding for public water systems that serve disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged communities, and streamlining the application processes, according to CDPH.

The US EPA is expected to respond to the corrective action plan by July 1.

The plan is available on the CDPH Web site, http://cdph.ca.gov/programs/Documents/CDPHresponse_EPA06242013.pdf .