§ 143-215.73B.  Water resources development grants administration.

(a) Fund Creation. - There is established the Water Resources Development Grants Special Fund, a special fund within the Department of Environmental Quality to be used in accordance with this section.

(b) Fund Uses; Flexibility. - Funds within the Water Resources Development Grants Special Fund shall be used for water resources development projects as directed by an act of the General Assembly. Where the actual project costs are different from the authorized estimated project costs, the Department may adjust the allocations among projects as needed. If any funded projects are delayed and the budgeted State funds cannot be used during any given fiscal year, or if the projects are accomplished at a lower cost, the Department may use the resulting fund availability to fund any of the following:

(1) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project feasibility studies.

(2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects whose schedules have advanced and require State matching funds in the current fiscal year.

(3) State-local water resources development projects.

(4) NRCS-EQIP stream restoration projects.

(c) Reports. - The Department shall submit semiannual reports on the use of funds from the Water Resource Development Grant Special Fund to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Office of State Budget and Management on or before March 1 and September 1. Each report shall include all of the following:

(1) The project name.

(2) The estimated cost of each project.

(3) The date that work on each project began or is expected to begin.

(4) The date that work on each project was completed or is expected to be completed.

(5) The actual cost of the project.

The semiannual reports also shall show those projects advanced in schedule and those projects delayed in schedule. (2021-180, s. 40.3(b).)