HOUSE BILL NO. 6

INTRODUCED BY MCCANN M

BY REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION AND THE OFFICE OF BUDGET AND PROGRAM PLANNING

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT APPROPRIATING MONEY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION FOR GRANTS UNDER THE RENEWABLE RESOURCE GRANT AND LOAN PROGRAM; PRIORITIZING GRANTS AND AMOUNTS; ESTABLISHING CONDITIONS FOR GRANTS; PROVIDING FOR CONTINGENT APPROPRIATIONS; AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Appropriations from renewable resource grant and loan state special revenue account. (1) There is appropriated to the department of natural resources and conservation up to $125,000 to be used for emergency projects and $100,000 to be used for private grants from the money available in the renewable resource account administered by the department.

(2) There is appropriated to the department of natural resources and conservation $2 million that is available in the renewable resource grant and loan state special revenue account for grants to political subdivisions and local government entities during the 2001 biennium. The funds appropriated in this section must be awarded by the department to the named entities for the described purposes and in the described grant amounts set out in subsection (3), subject to the conditions set forth in [sections 1 through 4] and the contingencies described in the renewable resource grant and loan program January 1999 report to the 56th legislature. The legislature, pursuant to 85-1-605, approves the grants listed in subsection (3), with grants to be made in the order indicated in the prioritized list of projects and activities. Funds must be awarded up to the amounts approved in this section in order of priority until available funds are expended. Funds not accepted or used by higher-ranked projects must be provided for projects further down the priority list that would not otherwise receive funding. Any projects that are funded by the reclamation and development grants programs may not be funded under [sections 1 through 4].

(3) The following are the prioritized grant projects:

RENEWABLE RESOURCE GRANT	Recommended Funding

AND LOAN PROGRAM

Applicant/Project	Grant Amount

Milk River Project Water Users	$100,000

(St. Mary Siphon Repair)

Malta Irrigation District	100,000

(Repair and Modification of Dodson Diversion Dam)

Cascade County Conservation District*	77,000

(Muddy Creek Restoration and Water Quality Improvements)

Broadwater Conservation District	7,522

(Slim Sam Riparian Area)

Madison County*	100,000

(Harrison Wastewater System Improvements)

Glasgow Irrigation District	56,000

(Phase 1 – Vandalia Diversion Dam Rehabilitation)

Petroleum County Conservation District*	50,150

(Musselshell River Assessment and Monitoring Plan)

Mt. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation*	100,000

(Deadman's Basin Water Quality Improvement)

Fort Shaw Irrigation District*	50,000

(Water Quality and Quantity Improvement)

Sheridan County Conservation District*	99,700

(Sheridan County Ground Water Management Program)

Cut Bank, City of	100,000

(Water System Improvements)

Buffalo Rapids Project*	91,622

(Improving Pump Discharge Line Efficiency)

Mt. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation	100,000

(Seepage Monitoring Program)

Sanders County*	100,000

(Floodplain Delineation of the Clark Fork River)

Missoula Sewer System, City of	100,000

(East Reserve Street Phases II & III)

Park County*	95,000

(Hydrogeological Reconnaissance of the Paradise Valley)

Glen Lake Irrigation District	100,000

(Costich Dam Improvements Project)

Denton, Town of	100,000

(Wastewater Treatment Project)

Bitterroot Irrigation District*	99,650

(Water Conservation and Improvement)

Frenchtown Irrigation District*	32,900

(Irrigation System Water Use and Water Quality Improvements)

Boulder, Town of	100,000

(Water Systems Improvement)

Daly Ditches Irrigation District*	100,000

(Republican Canal Diversion Dam Replacement)

West Crane Sprinkler Irrigation Project	100,000

(West Crane Irrigation Project)

Hebgen Basin/West Yellowstone Refuse District	99,425

(Composting Facility for Municipal Solid Waste)

Teton County Conservation District*	100,000

(Irrigation Methods and Pesticide Transport to Ground Water)

Elk Meadow Ranchettes	100,000

(County Water District Water System Improvements)

Glasgow, City of	100,000

(Combined Sewer Separation Project)

Columbia Falls, City of	100,000

(Sewer Treatment Plant Upgrade)

Mt. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation	67,000

(Precipitation Relationships for Montana Design Guidelines)

Sweetgrass Community County Water/Sewer District Wastewater	100,000

(Treatment Facility Rehabilitation/Upgrade)

Sheridan, Town of*	30,000

(Water Supply Improvements)

Corvallis County Sewer District	100,000

(Upgrade and Expansion of Wastewater Treatment Facility)

Geraldine, Town of	50,000

(Wastewater Improvements)

Roosevelt County Conservation District	82,109

(Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Supply Project)

Brockton, Town of	100,000

(Water and Wastewater Systems Improvements)

Neihart, Town of	76,770

(Water Distribution Improvements)

Lewis and Clark County Water Quality Protection District Helena*	100,000

(Area Ground Water Quality Monitoring Network)

Eureka, Town of	100,000

(Wastewater Collection, Treatment, and Disposal Improvements)

Ekalaka, Town of	100,000

(Ekalaka Water Source Improvement)

Garfield County Conservation District	100,000

(Rehabilitation of Irrigation Diversion Dam and Outlet Works)

Drummond, Town of	100,000

(Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project)

Lake County Conservation District*	100,000

(Forestry Implementation Project)

Rae Water and Sewer District	100,000

(Wastewater Treatment System Improvements)

Canyon Creek Irrigation District	100,000

(Canyon Lake and Wyant Lake Restoration Project)

Mt. Department of Environmental Quality	100,000

(Direct Planning Grants to Small Communities in Need)

Chinook Division Irrigation Association*	100,000

(Rehabilitation and Betterment of Water Conveyance Systems)

Mt. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation	100,000

(Missouri Pipe Span Rehabilitation Project)

Big Timber, City of	100,000

(Lagoon Reconstruction and Lining)

LaCasa Grande Estates Water and Sewer District	100,000

(New Water Supply System)

Missoula, City of*	74,000

(Rattlesnake Creek Flood Plain Restoration and Control)

Eureka, Town of	25,000

(Water System Facility Plan)

Havre, City of	20,000

(Source-Water Delineation for Havre and Seeley Lake)

Troy, City of	23,646

(Water System Master Plan)

(4) For grant projects for which the department of natural resources and conservation also has recommended a loan, the authorization for the loan is contained in House Bill No. 8.

(5) The funding provided to the projects approved in this section and identified with an asterisk (*) following the applicant's name is eligible for and may be designated for use as a nonfederal match for the federal funding acquired for the nonpoint source pollution control program administered by the department of environmental quality.

(6) To the entities listed in this section, this appropriation constitutes a valid obligation of these funds for purposes of encumbering the funds within the 2001 biennium pursuant to 17-7-302.

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Conditions of grants. Disbursement of funds under [sections 1 through 4] for grants is subject to the following conditions that must be met by project sponsors:

(1) approval of a scope of work and budget for the project by the department of natural resources and conservation. Changes in the project scope of work or budget that reduce the public or natural resource benefits as presented in department reports and applicant testimony to the 56th legislature will result in the proportional reduction in grant amount.

(2) documented commitment of other funds required for project completion;

(3) satisfactory completion of conditions described in the recommendation section of the project narrative in the renewable resource grant and loan program project recommendations and biennium report submitted to the 56th legislature for the 2001 biennium or, in the case of emergency applications, conditions specified at the time of written notification of approved grant authority;

(4) execution of a grant agreement with the department; and

(5) accomplishment of other specific requirements considered necessary by the department to accomplish the purpose of the grant as evidenced from the application to the department or from the proposal to the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Conditions for grants. Notwithstanding the conditions described in [section 2], grant funds are disbursed in the order of priority listed in [section 1] as resource indemnity trust account interest income revenue is received. A project approved by [section 1] is not entitled to receive grant funds that are not collected and allocated to the renewable resource grant and loan program state special revenue account.

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Appropriations established. (1) For any entity of state government that receives a grant under [sections 1 through 3], an appropriation is established for the amount of the grant listed in [section 1(3)]. Grants to state entities from prior biennia are reauthorized for completion of contract work.

(2) Any funds in excess of the amount appropriated for grants under [sections 1 through 3] are available for appropriation for authorized purposes from the renewable resource grant and loan state special revenue account.

NEW SECTION. Section 5. Contingent appropriations. If [LC 327] is passed and approved and it includes a provision allocating $2 million a year to be deposited into the renewable resource grant and loan program state special revenue account created by 85-1-604, for the purpose of making grants, then [section 1(2) of this act] must provide:

"(2) There is appropriated to the department of natural resources and conservation $4 million that is available in the renewable resource grant and loan state special revenue account for grants to political subdivisions and local government entities during the 2001 biennium. The department shall allocate $500,000 of these funds for planning grants to be awarded over the course of the biennium. The remaining funds appropriated in this section must be awarded by the department to the named entities for the described purposes and in the described grant amounts set out in subsection (3), subject to the grant and loan program January 1999 report to the 56th legislature. The legislature, pursuant to 85-1-605, approves the grants listed in subsection (3), with grants to be made in the order indicated in the prioritized list of projects and activities. Funds must be awarded up to the amounts approved in this section in order of priority until available funds are expended. Funds not accepted or used by higher-ranked projects must be provided for projects further down the priority list that would not otherwise receive funding. Any projects that are funded by the reclamation and development grants programs may not be funded under [sections 1 through 4]."

NEW SECTION. Section 6. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.

NEW SECTION. Section 7. Effective dates. (1) [Sections 2 through 6 and this section] are effective on passage and approval.

(2) [Section 1] is effective July 1, 1999.

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