CAA Cleanup or Abatement Projects

Background/Overview

The Cleanup and Abatement Account (CAA) was created by Water Code Sections 13440-13443 to provide grants for the cleanup or abatement of a condition of pollution when there are no viable responsible parties available to undertake the work. The CAA is supported by court judgments and administrative civil liabilities assessed by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Boards).

Eligibility

Eligible entities include:

A public agency, including Regional Boards.
A tribal government that is on the California Tribal Consultation List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission and is a DAC.
A not-for-profit organization serving a DAC; or
A community water system that serves a DAC.

We are currently only accepting projects that are Tier 1 - Primary Urgency per our Guidelines:

Emergency projects that require immediate action to mitigate a significant threat to the environment or a threat to public health and safety where there has been no viable responsible party (RP) identified, or where the viable RP is unwilling or unable to adequately respond to the emergency.

How to Apply

To apply for funding, complete the funding application online via the Financial Assistance Application Submittal Tool (FAAST). Select the RFP titled “Cleanup and Abatement Account - 2015 onwards.

FAAST training presentation is available here.

Funding Process Overview

Once a complete application is submitted, the Division of Financial Assistance (DFA) staff will review and follow up with the applicant regarding any questions. Once all questions have been addressed, a funding recommendation will be prepared and submitted to management. The DFA Deputy Director and the Executive Director of the State Water Board are delegated authority to approve up to $500,000 in CAA funds per project, for routine or non-controversial projects. Any non-routine or controversial projects, or CAA approvals exceeding $500,000 per project, will require State Water Board approval.

If funding is approved, DFA staff will notify the Recipient and provide the start date for costs to be incurred. DFA staff will also work with the Recipient to develop a scope of work for the grant agreement.

Funding is through a reimbursement process. It typically takes several months to develop a grant agreement and reimbursements can only be paid out once a funding agreement has been executed. Once the agreement is executed, the Recipient will submit reimbursement requests and progress reports as the project is implemented.