Each county Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) is required to perform a number of hazardous material programs to ensure local environmental health and safety. Under current law, many, but not all, rural counties receive State General Fund monies for the operation of their local CUPA, which is calculated based upon population thresholds and other criteria. The Governor’s 2017-18 proposed State Budget included $835,000 for the continued reimbursement of qualified CUPAs located in low-population counties.
This week, the Assembly Budget Resources and Transportation Subcommittee passed the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) budget change request of an additional $1.1 million for next year to fund the eleven rural county CUPAs that are not currently receiving grant funds from the Rural Reimbursement Account.
The funds are important for the feasible and functional operation of the low-population CUPAs. The cost to operate the program is disproportionately high in low population counties due to the low number of businesses and the high standard for implementation of the program. These rural CUPAs have been struggling to the point of considering allowing the state to assume the operation of the program. It would cost far more for the State to operate the program than to invest a modest amount to fund the rural CUPAs that currently do not receive state assistance.
Previous attempts to enact legislation to fund these additional low-population counties have been unsuccessful, primarily due to the past budget deficits. RCRC has consistently supported the rural CUPAs not receiving the reimbursement funds to receive the funding. While this one-time augmentation is only for the next fiscal year, a legislative proposal to make it permanent is expected to follow.