A. In administering the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act, the commission shall have the following powers, which may be implemented by the division, in addition to those specified in the Water Quality Act [Chapter 74, Article 6 NMSA 1978]:

(1) to provide financial assistance to qualified borrowers to finance all or part of an eligible project, including all forms of assistance for which the fund may be used pursuant to the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act;

(2) to adopt resolutions recommending that the board issue bonds or refunding bonds pursuant to the provisions of the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act;

(3) to execute agreements concerning state contributions to the fund made pursuant to the Clean Water Act, including obligating the commission to pay a portion of the estimated reasonable cost of an eligible project of a local authority as may be required to meet the water quality goals of the Clean Water Act and the state;

(4) to foreclose upon, attach or condemn any eligible project facility, property or interest in the project pledged, mortgaged or otherwise available as security for a project financed in whole or in part pursuant to the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act in the event of a default by a qualified borrower;

(5) to acquire and hold title to or leasehold interest in real and personal property and to sell, convey or lease that property for the purpose of satisfying a default or enforcing the provisions of a loan agreement;

(6) through its agent the division, to manage the fund, to grant and administer financial assistance to qualified borrowers and to apply for and accept grants, including capitalization grant awards made to the state in accordance with the Clean Water Act and the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act;

(7) to appoint and employ attorneys, financial advisors, underwriters and other experts and agents and employees as the business of the commission may require;

(8) to sue or be sued and to prosecute and defend, at law or in equity, in any court having jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties to the matter;

(9) to collect application, origination and administrative fees from qualified borrowers, the total of which for any loan shall not exceed four percent of the value of the loan requested or authorized;

(10) to adopt regulations necessary and appropriate to implement the provisions of the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act; and

(11) to have and exercise all the rights and powers necessary, incidental to or implied from the specific powers enumerated in this section.

B. Specific powers enumerated in this section shall not limit any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act.

C. The commission shall use accounting, audit and fiscal procedures conforming to generally accepted government accounting standards and shall otherwise prepare audits and budgets in accordance with state law. The fiscal year of the commission shall coincide with the fiscal year of the state.

D. The commission shall deliver an annual report during the first week of each regular session of the legislature on the status of the wastewater facility construction loan program and the fund to the governor and legislature.

History: Laws 1991, ch. 172, § 7; 2017, ch. 114, § 4; 2018, ch. 19, § 6.

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

The 2018 amendment, effective May 16, 2018, authorized the water quality control commission to provide financial assistance to qualified borrowers for eligible projects as provided by the federal Clean Water Act; and replaced "state agencies or local authorities" with "qualified borrowers" throughout the section, and replaced "wastewater facility" with "eligible project" throughout the section.

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, authorized the water quality control commission to provide financial assistance to state agencies to finance all or part of a wastewater facility, to collect certain fees from state agencies that have received financial assistance for wastewater projects pursuant to the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act, and, in the event of a default by a state agency, to foreclose upon, attach or condemn any wastewater facility or security for a project financed in whole or in part pursuant to the Wastewater Facility Construction Loan Act; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), after "assistance to", added "state agencies or", in Paragraph A(2), after "to adopt", deleted "recommending", in Paragraph A(4), after "default by a", added "state agency or", and in Paragraph A(9), after "administrative fees from the", added "state agency or".