Central Coast Water Board Allocates $5.9 million from PG&E Settlement

Funds will support high priority water quality projects in the Central Coast

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board today approved a plan for allocating $5.9 million that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) paid as part of a settlement agreement reached with the regional board in May 2021.

The settlement resolved alleged violations of PG&E’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant that resulted from discharges of once-through cooling water, water used to keep the nuclear reactors cool, into the Pacific Ocean.

The approved fund allocation plan includes $1.2 million to establish a grant program to fund water quality projects that benefit the central coast region. The new Central Coast Community-Based Water Quality Grants Program will be administered by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. The board expects to begin public solicitation for project applications in 2023.

In addition, the Central Coast Water Board allocated $4.1 million to grow the existing Groundwater Assessment and Protection component of the Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program, and $600,000 to support the free Drinking Water Well Testing Program, which helps ensure that domestic well users and small water systems have safe drinking water.

“Funding the grants program and expanding the assessment and well testing programs will address our highest priorities for water quality in our region, such as the human right to water, environmental justice, and climate change,” said Gray. “We are confident that by investing in our community partners’ salient projects, we can advance equity for our region.”

More information about the Central Coast Water Board’s allocation of these settlement funds and the Central Coast Community-Based Water Quality Grants Program is available on the Central Coast Water Board’s website.

The Central Coast Water Board is a California state agency responsible for protecting and restoring water quality in a 300-mile-long coastal region, from southern San Mateo and Santa Clara counties to the northern part of Ventura County.