75-6-221. General loan and assistance program. (1) The program may, subject to the requirements in 75-6-222 through 75-6-224, make loans to community water systems and nonprofit noncommunity water systems that:
     (a) will facilitate compliance with national primary drinking water regulations pursuant to the federal act; or
     (b) will further the health protection objectives of the federal act, including but not limited to projects that involve:
     (i) upgrading and replacing infrastructure;
     (ii) addressing exceedances of the federal act or preventing future violations;
     (iii) consolidating water supplies;
     (iv) the acquisition of land, at fair market value, that is integral to the project;
     (v) planning and designing of a project; or
     (vi) other activities allowed under the federal act.
     (2) In addition to loans authorized under subsection (1), the program may make loans to public water systems for one or more of the following purposes:
     (a) to a community water system or nonprofit noncommunity water system to acquire land or a conservation easement from a willing party if the land is necessary to ensure compliance with the national primary drinking water regulations or to protect the source of water from contamination;
     (b) to a community water system to implement local, voluntary source water protection measures in order to protect source water in areas delineated under a source water assessment program in order to facilitate compliance with the national primary drinking water regulations or otherwise significantly further the health protection objectives of the federal act;
     (c) to a community water system to provide funding for the development and implementation of a source water quality assessment, contingency plans, and demonstration projects for partners within a delineated source water area.
     (3) The department may:
     (a) provide financial and technical assistance to any public water system as part of a capacity development strategy developed and implemented in accordance with the federal act;
     (b) make expenditures from the capitalization grant to delineate and assess source water protection areas, provided that funds set aside for such expenditures must be obligated within 4 fiscal years; and
     (c) make expenditures from the fund for the establishment and implementation of wellhead protection programs.
     (4) The program may provide financial assistance to a public water system according to priorities established by the department in the department's intended use plan adopted pursuant to 75-6-231. Prior to making a loan to a public water system, the department of natural resources and conservation shall determine that the system has the ability to repay the loan according to its terms and conditions and may require a dedicated source of repayment and impose additional requirements.
     (5) The total amount of assistance provided and expenditures made by the program under subsections (2) and (3) may not exceed 15% of the amount of the capitalization grant received by the department for that year and may not exceed 10% of that amount for any one of the activities listed under subsection (2) or (3).

     History: En. Sec. 11, Ch. 553, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 23, Ch. 538, L. 1997.