§ 143-215.94P.  Groundwater Protection Loan Fund.

(a) There is established under the control and direction of the Department the Groundwater Protection Loan Fund. This Loan Fund shall be a nonreverting revolving fund consisting of any monies appropriated to it by the General Assembly or available to it from grants, and other monies paid to it or recovered on behalf of the Loan Fund. The Loan Fund shall be credited with interest on the Loan Fund by the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147-69.2 and G.S. 147-69.3.

(b) The Loan Fund shall be used to provide loans to the owners of commercial petroleum underground storage tanks who are creditworthy but may be unable to secure conventional loans to upgrade or replace commercial underground storage tanks in use on 1 July 1991 so as to meet the performance standards applicable to tanks installed after 22 December 1988 or the requirements that existing underground storage tanks must meet by 22 December 1998. All applications for loans under this section must be received by the Department prior to 1 January 1995.

(c) The Department shall adopt rules for use in managing the Loan Fund. Rules for managing the Loan Fund shall be based on generally accepted standards prevailing among commercial lending institutions with such modifications as may be necessary to achieve the purpose of this section to make loans available to creditworthy applicants. The Department shall administer the loan program through existing commercial lending institutions. In the event that the Department is unable to arrange for the administration of the loan program through existing commercial institutions in all or any part of the State, the Department may administer the loan program through the Office of State Budget  and Management. Each commercial institution or agency that administers any part of the loan program shall collect all charges for securing and administering each loan, including but not limited to application fees, recording costs, collection costs, and attorneys' fees from the borrower. Receipt of a loan from the Loan Fund is not a right, duty, or privilege; therefore, Article 3 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes does not apply to the grant or denial of a loan from the Loan Fund.

(d) Funds received in repayment of loans made from the Loan Fund shall be deposited into the Loan Fund until the proceeds of all approved loans are disbursed to the borrowers. Thereafter, funds received in repayment of loans made from the Loan Fund and any other funds remaining in the Loan Fund shall be deposited in the Commercial Fund.

(e) In the event of a default on a loan from the Loan Fund or a violation of a loan agreement, the Secretary may request the Attorney General to bring a civil action for collection of the amount owed or other appropriate relief. An action shall be filed in the superior court of the county where the loan recipient resides, where the loan recipient does business, or where the tanks replaced or upgraded by the loan are located. In an action, the Attorney General may recover all costs of litigation, including attorneys' fees.

(f) If the State incurs liability in extending credit from the Loan Fund and, as a result of the liability, the State is ordered to pay or, as part of a settlement agreement, agrees to pay damages or other costs, the State shall seek reimbursement for the amount of the damages or other costs from the following sources in the order listed:

(1) Any funds to which the State is entitled under any federal program providing for the cleanup of petroleum discharges or releases from underground storage tanks, including but not limited to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund established pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 4081 and 42 U.S.C. § 6991b(h).

(2) The Noncommercial Fund.

(3) The Commercial Fund. (1989, c. 652, s. 16; 1991, c. 538, ss. 13, 21; 1993, c. 400, s. 15; c. 402, s. 7; 2000-140, s. 93.1(a); 2001-424, s. 12.2(b).)