§ 113A-253. Clean Water Management Trust Fund. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 113A‑253.  Clean WaterManagement Trust Fund.

(a)        Fund Established. –The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is established as a special revenue fund.The Fund receives revenue from the following sources and may receive revenuefrom other sources:

(1)        Annualappropriations under G.S. 143‑15.3B.

(2)        Scenic River specialregistration plates under G.S. 20‑81.12.

(b)        Fund Earnings,Assets, and Balances. – The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separate andapart from all other moneys, funds, and accounts. Investment earnings creditedto the assets of the Fund shall become part of the Fund. Any balance remainingin the Fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the Fundfor the next succeeding fiscal year. Payments from the Fund shall be made onthe warrant of the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

(c)        Fund Purposes. – Moneysfrom the Fund are appropriated annually to finance projects to clean up orprevent surface water pollution in accordance with this Article. Revenue in theFund may be used for any of the following purposes:

(1)        To acquire land forriparian buffers for the purposes of providing environmental protection forsurface waters and urban drinking water supplies and establishing a network ofriparian greenways for environmental, educational, and recreational uses and toretire debt incurred for this purpose under Article 9 of Chapter 142 of theGeneral Statutes.

(2)        To acquireconservation easements or other interests in real property for the purpose ofprotecting and conserving surface waters and urban drinking water supplies andto retire debt incurred for this purpose under Article 9 of Chapter 142 of theGeneral Statutes.

(3)        To coordinate withother public programs involved with lands adjoining water bodies to gain themost public benefit while protecting and improving water quality and to retiredebt incurred for this purpose under Article 9 of Chapter 142 of the GeneralStatutes.

(4)        To restorepreviously degraded lands to reestablish their ability to protect water qualityand to retire debt incurred for this purpose under Article 9 of Chapter 142 ofthe General Statutes.

(5)        To repair failingwastewater collection systems and wastewater treatment works if the repair is areasonable remedy for resolving an existing waste treatment problem and therepair is not for the purpose of expanding the system to accommodate futureanticipated growth of a community.

(6)        To repair andeliminate failing septic tank systems, to eliminate illegal drainageconnections, and to expand a wastewater collection system or wastewatertreatment works if the expansion eliminates failing septic tank systems orillegal drainage connections.

(7)        To financestormwater quality projects.

(8)        To facilitateplanning that targets reductions in surface water pollution.

(8a)      To finance innovativeefforts, including pilot projects, to improve stormwater management, to reducepollutants entering the State's waterways, to improve water quality, and toresearch alternative solutions to the State's water quality problems.

(9)        To fund operatingexpenses of the Board of Trustees and its staff.

(d)        Limit on Operatingand Administrative Expenses. – No more than two percent (2%) of the annualbalance of the Fund on 1 July or a total sum of one million two hundred fiftythousand dollars ($1,250,000), whichever is greater, may be used each fiscalyear for administrative and operating expenses of the Board of Trustees and itsstaff. (1996,2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 27.6(a); 2001‑424, s. 32.17; 2003‑340, s.1.3; 2004‑179, s. 4.4; 2005‑454, s. 5; 2007‑549, s. 2.)