2023 Wyoming Statutes › Title 41 - Water › Chapter 2 - Planning and Development › Article 1 - In General › Section 41-2-124 - Accounts Created; Unexpended Balance.

41-2-124. Accounts created; unexpended balance.
(a) The following accounts are created:
(i) Water development account I into which shall be deposited revenues pursuant to law;
(ii) Water development account II into which shall be deposited revenues pursuant to law;
(iii) Water development account III into which shall be deposited revenues pursuant to law.
(b) Any unexpended balance in water development accounts I, II and III as defined by subsection (a) of this section shall be invested by the state treasurer and the interest earned shall be credited to the account.
(c) The state treasurer shall transfer such sums of money from water development accounts I and II created by subsection (a) of this section to the state drinking water revolving loan account created by W.S. 16-1-302 to provide not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the twenty percent (20%) state matching funds for each federal capitalization grant to the drinking water state revolving fund program account. The transferred funds shall be proportioned between water development accounts I and II as directed by the water development commission.
(d) No new dam with storage capacity of less than two thousand (2,000) acre-feet of water or expansion of a dam with a storage capacity of less than one thousand (1,000) acre-feet of water shall be funded with funds from water development account III. Without the approval of the legislature, funds deposited into water development account III shall not be diverted from that account, other than for the purpose of financing projects related to dam construction or expansion.
(e) There is transferred to the water development account III created by paragraph (a)(iii) of this section effective July 1, 2005:
(i) Fifty-four million seventy thousand dollars ($54,070,000.00) from water development account I reserved for the Green River/Wind River project development fund established in W.S. 99-3-604. The transfer of money into water development account III shall not eliminate recognition of the water storage potential in the Green River/Wind River basins;
(ii) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00) from the budget reserve account.
(f) There is created the emergency water projects account. All funds in the account are continuously appropriated to the water development commission for the purpose of funding emergency water projects as authorized by this subsection and subsections (g) and (h) of this section. Funds within the account shall be invested in the pool A investment account by the state treasurer pursuant to W.S. 9-4-715(p). Earnings from funds in the account shall be deposited in the account. Notwithstanding W.S. 9-1-417, if the state loan and investment board determines that funds in the account are insufficient to make payment for the full cost of addressing emergency water projects which may occur in any year, the board is authorized to obtain a loan from the legislative stabilization reserve account of up to two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) which loan shall be repaid by interest earnings or loan repayments from the emergency water projects account.
(g) Emergency water projects funded from the emergency water projects account under subsection (f) of this section shall be limited as follows:
(i) Emergency water projects shall consist only of repair, replacement or maintenance that is required for irrigation infrastructure which is rendered or likely to be rendered permanently inoperable due to an act of God including fire, earthquake, hurricane, storm or other similar natural disaster or phenomena or an unforeseen or impending natural or man-made event that requires immediate action to prevent a threat to or loss of life or property;
(ii) Only political subdivisions that own or have the legal responsibility to operate or maintain irrigation infrastructure shall be eligible for emergency water project funding.
(h) The commission shall adopt rules providing for eligibility determination, procedures and criteria for the application and award of funds from the emergency water projects account. The total amount awarded under this subsection for each emergency project shall not exceed three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) per fiscal biennium. The maximum grant amount awarded for each emergency project shall not exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the total emergency project costs, the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) may be funded by the commission in the form of a loan. The term of a loan shall not exceed fifty (50) years and interest shall provide a reasonable return and shall not be less than four percent (4%). The commission shall include the total amount of all emergency water project grant or loan funds provided under this subsection and subtract that total from the maximum allowable grant under W.S. 41-2-121(a)(ii)(E)(I) for a subsequent water development project involving the same entity and project components. All emergency water projects account funds awarded under this subsection shall be approved by the state loan and investment board after review and recommendation by the water development commission prior to the release of funds.
(j) The water development commission shall adopt rules authorizing a voluntary pool program within the emergency water projects account. Participant contributions to the voluntary pool program shall be deposited in a subaccount and funds within the subaccount shall be expended only for emergency projects involving a participant in the voluntary pool program. For accounting and investment purposes only, all subaccounts shall be treated as separate accounts. Expenditures from the voluntary pool program may be credited in whole or in part to the twenty-five percent (25%) loan for funding an emergency project of a participant.
(k) As used in this section, "irrigation infrastructure" includes dams, canals, ditches, pipelines, aqueducts, tunnels, pumping stations, drainage and flow regulating structures.