A. There is created in the state treasury a revolving loan fund to be known as the "wastewater facility construction loan fund", which shall be administered by the division as agent for the commission and operated as a separate account. The commission is authorized to establish procedures and adopt regulations as required to administer the fund in accordance with the Clean Water Act and state law. Any regulations relating to the issuance of bonds and the expenditure of proceeds of bond issues shall be approved by the board. The commission shall, whenever possible, coordinate application procedures and funding cycles with the New Mexico Community Assistance Act [11-6-1 NMSA 1978].

B. The following shall be deposited directly in the fund:

(1) grants from the federal government or its agencies allotted to the state for capitalization of the fund;

(2) funds as appropriated by the legislature to implement the provisions of the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act or to provide state matching funds that are required by the terms of any federal grant under the Clean Water Act;

(3) loan principal, interest and penalty payments if required by the terms of any federal grant under the Clean Water Act;

(4) money transferred from the account as needed to fulfill requirements of the Clean Water Act; and

(5) any other public or private money dedicated to the fund.

C. Money in the fund is appropriated for expenditure by the commission in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the federal capitalization grants and the Clean Water Act and may be used:

(1) to provide funding for eligible projects;

(2) to purchase, refund or refinance obligations incurred by local authorities in the state for eligible projects where the obligations were incurred and construction commenced after March 7, 1985;

(3) to guarantee, or purchase insurance for, obligations of local authorities to improve credit market access or reduce interest rates;

(4) to provide a source of revenue or security for the payments of principal and interest on bonds recommended by the commission and issued by the board if the proceeds of the bonds are deposited in the fund to the extent provided in the terms of the federal grant;

(5) to provide loan guarantees for similar revolving funds established by local authorities;

(6) to fund the administrative expenses of the board, the commission and the division necessary to implement the provisions of the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act, including costs of servicing loans and issuing bonds, fund start-up costs, financial management and legal consulting fees and reimbursement costs for support services from other state agencies; and

(7) to fund other programs for which the federal government authorizes use of wastewater grants or to provide for any other expenditure consistent with the Clean Water Act grant program and state law.

D. Pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission, the division may impose and collect an administrative fee from each qualified borrower that receives financial assistance from the fund, which fee shall not exceed five percent of the total loan amount and which shall be deposited in the clean water administrative fund.

E. Money not currently needed for the operation of the fund or otherwise dedicated may be invested according to the provisions of Chapter 6, Article 10 NMSA 1978, and all interest earned on such investments shall be credited to the fund. Money remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall accrue to the credit of the fund.

F. Acting as agent for the commission, the division shall maintain full authority for the operation of the fund in accordance with applicable federal and state law, including preparing the annual intended use plan and ensuring that loan recipients are on the state priority list or otherwise satisfy Clean Water Act requirements.

G. The division shall establish fiscal controls and accounting procedures that are sufficient to ensure proper accounting for fund payments, disbursements and balances and shall provide an annual report and an annual independent audit on the fund to the governor and to the United States environmental protection agency as required by the Clean Water Act.

History: 1978 Comp., § 74-6A-4, enacted by Laws 1991, ch. 172, § 4; 2007, ch. 344, § 3; 2018, ch. 19, § 3.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1991, ch. 172, § 4 repealed former 74-6A-4 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1989, ch. 324, § 39, relating to creation and administration of the wastewater facility construction loan fund, and enacted a new section, effective April 4, 1991.

Cross references. — For the general fund, see 6-4-2 NMSA 1978.

For public project revolving fund, see 6-21-6, 6-21-6.1 NMSA 1978.

For distribution to public project revolving fund from governmental gross receipts tax, see 7-1-6.38 NMSA 1978.

For the federal Clean Water Act of 1977, see 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

For the New Mexico Community Assistance Act, see 11-6-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

The 2018 amendment, effective May 16, 2018, clarified that funding assistance is available for eligible projects as provided by the federal Clean Water Act; in the catchline, added "Wastewater facility construction loan"; in Subsection C, Paragraph C(1), after "to provide", deleted "loans" and added "funding", and after "for", deleted "the construction or rehabilitation of wastewater facilities" and added "eligible projects", and in Paragraph C(2), after "in the state for", deleted "wastewater facilities" and added "eligible projects"; and in Subsection D, after "fee from each", deleted "local authority" and added "qualified borrower".

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, in Subsection D, provided that the administrative fee shall not exceed five percent of the total loan amount to each local authority and required that the fee be deposited in the clean water administrative fund.