GA Code § 12-5-38.1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 12 - Conservation and Natural Resources|Chapter 5 - Water Resources|Article 2 - Control of Water Pollution and Surface-Water Use|§ 12-5-38.1. Administration of Funds; Water Pollution Control and Drinking Water Revolving Funds

  The director is authorized to administer funds granted to the state by the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, for the purpose of providing assistance to municipalities or counties or any combination thereof or to any public authority, agency, commission, or institution for construction of treatment works as that term is defined in Section 212 of the federal Clean Water Act of 1977, P.L. 95-217, which are publicly owned.The director is further authorized to administer funds granted to the state by the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Title XIV of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as now or hereafter amended, for the purpose of providing assistance to municipalities or counties or any combination thereof or any public or, if authorized by law, any private authority, agency, commission, or institution for the construction of public drinking water works as such term is defined in Section 1401 of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986, P.L. 99-339.The director shall administer all funds as provided in this Code section granted to the division prior to federal fiscal year 1994 until such grants are final and complete. All such grants made in or after federal fiscal year 1994 shall be administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority.At the end of federal fiscal year 1994, the administration of the water pollution control revolving fund provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section, and the fund balance, assets, liabilities, and retained earnings shall be transferred to the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority.   Any such funds received from the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency shall be deposited in one or more water pollution control and drinking water revolving funds established by the director.In addition to such federal funds, other nonfederal funds may be deposited in such revolving funds as they become available to the authority. The forms of revolving fund assistance and the manner of administering such funds shall be determined in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Natural Resources.Such funds shall be transferred to the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section.   The director is authorized to contract with any other state agency, authority, board, or commission for the purpose of providing for the management, investment, and disbursement of all funds deposited in the water pollution control and drinking water revolving funds.     (Code 1981, §12-5-38.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1986, p. 350, § 3; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 12; Ga. L. 1994, p. 555, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 949, § 1/HB 244.)   Cross references.   - Administration of grants by state, § 12-5-35.   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1986, "federal" preceding "Water Pollution Control Act" was capitalized in subsection (a).   U.S. Code.   - The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and the federal Clean Water Act of 1977, as amended, referred to in this Code section, are codified as 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.   The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, referred to in this Code section, is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq.   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Constitutionality of loans.    - Loans by the Department of Natural Resources pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-5-38.1 and loans by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-23-1 et seq. do not cause a city or county to incur debt in accordance with Ga. Const. 1983, Art. IX, Sec. V, Para. I. The constitutional underpinning of these programs is in the intergovernmental contract clause, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. IX, Sec. III, Para. I(a). Thus, the procedural requirements in O.C.G.A. § 48-8-111 for submitting a debt question are not triggered when proceeds derived from the sales tax are to be applied to repayment of the loans by the Department of Natural Resources or the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U90-7.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   ALR.   - Validity, construction, and application of lead limitations and "lead and copper" rule of Safe Drinking Water Act, 16 A.L.R. Fed. 3d 3.   Citizen's cause of action under Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 300j-8, 16 A.L.R. Fed. 3d 4.