H. B. 4626


(By Delegate Michael)

[Introduced February 27, 1998; referred to the

Committee on Finance.]





A BILL to amend and reenact sections one and three, article thirteen-c, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the drinking water treatment revolving fund; requiring that set-aside accounts be created for activities required by the federal safe drinking water act; authorizing the division of health to draw federal capitalization awards and deposit the moneys in the fund and the set-aside accounts; authorizing the division of health to administer the set- aside accounts; and eliminating certain deposit requirements for fund moneys.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one and three, article thirteen-c, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13C. DRINKING WATER TREATMENT REVOLVING FUND ACT.
§16-13C-1. Definitions.
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article:
(1) "Authority" means the water development authority provided for in section four, article one, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.
(2) "Capacity development" means the technical, managerial and financial capability of a public water system.
(3) "Cost" means the cost of all labor, materials, machinery, equipment, lands, property, rights and easements, plans and specifications and all other expenses necessary or incident to the acquisition, construction, improvement, expansion, extension, repair or rehabilitation of all or part of a project.
(4) "Disadvantaged community" means the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria established after public review and comment by the state.
(5) "Federal safe drinking water act" means the federal statute commonly known as the "Safe Drinking Water Act", 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq., as enacted, amended, and as may be subsequently amended.
(6) "Fund" means the West Virginia drinking water treatment revolving fund created in this article.
(7) "Instrumentality" means the division of health which shall have the primary responsibility for administering the fund and this article pursuant to requirements of the federal safe drinking water act.
(8) "Local entity" means any municipality, public utility, or person, including any individual, firm, partnership, association, not-for-profit corporation or other corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state which is empowered to construct and operate an eligible project.
(9) "Public water system" means that term as defined in section nine-a, article one, chapter sixteen of the code.
(10) "Project" means a project for improving a drinking water system for the purpose of achieving or maintaining compliance with applicable state and federal drinking water regulations.
(11) "Set-aside accounts" means those accounts that may shall be set up for activities required by the federal safe drinking water act and the moneys for these accounts may be taken from the federal capitalization grant for these nonproject activities before the capitalization grant is deposited into the fund.
(12) "Small system" means a public water system serving 10,000 or fewer persons.
§16-13C-3. Drinking water treatment revolving fund; duties of division of health and water development authority; set-aside accounts.
(a) There is hereby created in the office of the state treasurer a permanent and perpetual special fund to be known as the "West Virginia drinking water treatment revolving fund". The fund shall be administered and managed in accordance with the provisions of the federal safe drinking water act. The division of health is authorized to draw all or a portion of those moneys available under capitalization agreements and with the capitalization grant awards from the United States environmental protection agency under the federal safe water drinking act and to deposit such moneys into the fund and the set-aside accounts.
(b) The fund, less the set-aside account moneys, shall be administered and managed by the water development authority under the direction of the division of health. The fund shall be comprised of moneys appropriated to the fund by the Legislature, moneys allocated to the state by the federal government expressly for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a drinking water treatment revolving fund and set-aside accounts, all receipts from loans made from the fund, all income from the investment of moneys held in the fund, and all other sums designated for deposits to the fund from any source, public or private. Moneys in the fund shall be used solely to make loans or provide other allowable financial assistance to eligible projects for public water systems, as described in the federal safe drinking water act.
(c) In order to carry out the administration and management of the fund, the authority is and the division of health are authorized to employ officers, employees, agents, advisors and consultants, including attorneys, financial advisors, engineers, other technical advisors and public accountants, and notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, to determine their duties and compensation without the approval of any other agency or instrumentality.
(d) The authority shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to govern the pledge of loans to secure bonds of the authority.
(e) All moneys belonging to the fund shall be kept in appropriate depositories and secured in conformance with the provisions of this code. Disbursements from the fund shall be authorized for payment by the director of the authority or the director's designee. Any depository or officer of the depository to which moneys of the fund are paid shall act as trustee of the moneys and shall hold and apply them solely for the purposes for which the moneys are provided under this article. Moneys in the fund shall not be commingled with other money of the authority. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, amounts in the fund shall be deposited by the authority in one or more banking institutions: Provided, That any moneys so deposited shall be deposited in a banking institution located in this state. The banking institution shall be selected by the authority by competitive bid. If not needed for immediate use or disbursement, moneys in the fund may be invested or reinvested by the authority in obligations or securities which are considered lawful investments for public funds under this code.
(f) Pursuant to the provisions of the federal safe drinking water act, set-aside accounts may shall be set up in accounts separate from the drinking water treatment revolving fund. These set-aside accounts shall include, but not be limited to, administration costs, source water protection, operator training and certification, technical assistance to systems, local assistance, and other state activities permitted by the federal safe drinking water act. The division of health shall direct the authority to establish and administer the set-aside accounts as permitted by the federal safe drinking water act. An application fee may be charged and deposited into the administrative account to defray the cost of administering the program.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to bring state law into conformity with the federal safe water act; to permit the Division of Health to draw the federal capitalization awards and deposit the money in the fund and set-aside accounts; to authorize the Division of Health to administer the set-aside accounts; and to reduce administrative costs and streamline the process of making funds available to communities for public drinking water construction projects.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.