20. a. (1) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall for each fiscal year develop a priority system for wastewater treatment systems and shall establish the ranking criteria and funding policies for the clean water projects to be financed by the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program. The commissioner shall set forth an Interim Clean Water Financing Program Project Priority List, hereinafter referred to as the “clean water project priority list,” for funding by the trust for each fiscal year and shall include the aggregate amount of funds of the trust to be authorized for these purposes. The clean water project priority list may include any stormwater management or combined sewer overflow abatement project identified in the stormwater management and combined sewer overflow abatement project priority list adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 28 of P.L.1989, c.181.

The clean water project priority list, which shall include for each wastewater treatment system the date each project is scheduled to be certified as ready for funding, shall be in conformance with applicable provisions of the “Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972,” Pub.L.92-500 (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et al.), and any amendatory or supplementary acts thereto, and State law, or in the case of a wastewater treatment system project for the reduction of lead in a publicly owned facility, conformance with requirements established by the Department of Environmental Protection for those projects or, in the case of a wastewater treatment system project financed through another source of funds, conformance with the requirements established by the department and the other source of funds for that project. The clean water project priority list shall include a description of each project and its purpose, impact, cost, and construction schedule, and an explanation of the manner in which priorities were established. The department shall, to the extent consistent with federal law, assign additional priority points to project applicants with an established program to employ at the project facility, or at related offices or facilities, persons who reside in the municipality in which the project is located, the service area of the project, or in surrounding municipalities that meet the criteria for State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C. 52:27D-178 et seq.). The priority system and clean water project priority list for the ensuing fiscal year shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the General Assembly on or before January 15 of each year. The Secretary and the Clerk shall cause the date of submission to be entered upon the Senate Journal and the Minutes of the General Assembly, respectively. Incremental revisions or supplements to the clean water project priority list may be submitted to the Legislature as provided in subsection d. of section 9 of P.L.1985, c.334 (C. 58:11B-9).

(2) The commissioner shall set forth a clean water project eligibility list for long-term funding by the trust and shall include the aggregate amount of funds to be authorized for these purposes. The clean water project eligibility list shall consist of clean water project priority list projects certified by the department that have commenced construction and demonstrated a high likelihood of construction completion on or before the end of the ensuing fiscal year. On or before May 15 of each year, the trust shall submit the clean water project eligibility list for the ensuing fiscal year, including any revision thereof or supplement thereto, to be introduced in each House in the form of legislative appropriations bills, which shall be referred to the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, or their successors, for their respective consideration. On or before October 15 of each year the trust may submit an additional clean water project eligibility list, to be introduced in each House in the form of legislative appropriations bills, which shall be referred to the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, or their successors, for their respective consideration.

b. The Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee shall, either individually or jointly, consider the legislation containing the clean water project eligibility list, and shall report the legislation, together with any modifications, out of committee for consideration by each House of the Legislature. On or before July 1 of each year, the Legislature shall approve an appropriations act containing the clean water project eligibility list, including any amendatory or supplementary provisions thereto, which act shall include the authorization of an aggregate amount of funds of the trust to be expended for long-term loans and guarantees for the specific projects, including the individual amounts therefor, on the list.

c. The trust shall not expend any money for a long-term loan or guarantee during a fiscal year for any wastewater treatment system project unless the expenditure is authorized pursuant to an appropriations act as provided in the provisions of this section, or as otherwise set forth in an appropriations act.

d. The trust shall submit to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the General Assembly on or before January 15 of each year a report which shall identify the wastewater treatment system projects financed during the prior fiscal year, including a project description, the amount of the loan provided for each project, and the duration of each loan.

L.1985, c.334, s.20; amended 1997, c.224, s.17; 2001, c.223, s.5; 2002, c.69, s.2; 2009, c.59, s.3; 2015, c.106, s.9; 2016, c.30, s.3; 2017, c.144, s.8; 2021, c.74, s.10; 2022, c.14, s.1.