(a)
The sum of seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) of the money in the fund shall be deposited in the Agricultural Drainage Water Account is appropriated for expenditure in the 1986–87 fiscal year for loans to agencies to aid in the construction of drainage water management units for the treatment, storage, or disposal of agricultural drainage water and the purposes set forth in this section. The board may loan an agency up to 100 percent of the total eligible costs of design and construction of an eligible project. Loans made in the 1986–87 fiscal year may not be authorized sooner than 30 days after notification in writing of the necessity therefor to the chairperson of the committee in each house which considers appropriations, to the policy committee of the Assembly as designated by the Speaker of the Assembly and the policy committee of the Senate designated by the Senate Rules Committee, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(b)
Any contract for an eligible project entered into pursuant to this section may include such provisions as determined by the board and shall include, in substance, all of the following provisions:
(1)
An estimate of the reasonable cost of the eligible project.
(2)
An agreement by the agency to proceed expeditiously with, and complete, the eligible project; commence operation of the containment structures or treatment works upon completion and to properly operate and maintain the works in accordance with applicable provisions of law; provide for payment of the agency’s share of the cost of the project, including principal and interest on any state loan made pursuant to this section; and, if appropriate, apply for and make reasonable efforts to secure federal assistance for the state-assisted project.
(c)
All loans pursuant to this section are subject to all of the following provisions:
(1)
Agencies seeking a loan shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the board, that an adequate opportunity for public participation regarding the loan has been provided.
(2)
Any election held with respect to the loan shall include the entire agency except where the agency proposes to accept the loan on behalf of a specified portion, or portions, of the agency, in which case the referendum shall be held in that portion or portions of the agency only.
(3)
Loan contracts may not provide a moratorium on payment of principal or interest.
(4)
Loans shall be for a period of up to 20 years. The interest rate for the loans shall be set at a rate equal to 50 percent of the interest rate paid by the state on the most recent sale of state general obligation bonds, with that rate to be computed according to the true interest cost method. When the interest rate so determined is not a multiple of one-tenth of 1 percent, the interest rate shall be set at the next higher multiple of one-tenth of 1 percent. The interest rate set for each contract shall be applied throughout the contract’s repayment period. There shall be a level annual repayment of principal and interest on loans.
(5)
The board in considering eligible projects shall give preference to technologies which treat drainage water where the board finds that the technology is readily available and economically feasible for the agency.
(6)
No single project may receive more than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) in loan proceeds from the board.
(d)
The board may make loans to local agencies, at the interest rates authorized under this section and under any terms and conditions as may be determined necessary by the board, for purposes of financing feasibility studies of projects potentially eligible for funding under this section. No single potential project shall be eligible to receive more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), and not more than 3 percent of the total amount of bonds authorized to be expended for purposes of this section may be expended for this purpose. A loan for a feasibility study shall not decrease the maximum amount of any other loan which may be made under this section.