24. a. (1) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall for each fiscal year develop a priority system for water supply projects and shall establish the ranking criteria and funding policies for the water supply projects to be financed by the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program. The commissioner shall set forth an Interim Drinking Water Financing Program Project Priority List, hereinafter referred to as the “drinking 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 commissioner may include a water supply project on the drinking water project priority list if it is eligible for funding under the “Water Supply Bond Act of 1981,” P.L.1981, c.261, as amended, meets the eligibility requirements for funding pursuant to the federal “Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996,” Pub.L.104-182, or, in the case of a water supply project for the reduction of lead in a publicly owned facility, the project meets the eligibility requirements established by the Department of Environmental Protection for those projects or, in the case of a water supply 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 drinking water project priority list shall include a description of each project 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 drinking 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 drinking 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 drinking 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 drinking water project eligibility list shall consist of drinking 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 drinking 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 drinking 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 drinking 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 drinking 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 water supply 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 water supply 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 water supply 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.1997, c.224, s.24; amended 2001, c.223, s.6; 2002, c.69, s.3; 2009, c.59, s.4; 2015, c.106, s.10; 2016, c.30, s.4; 2017, c.144, s.9; 2018, c.75, s.5; 2021, c.74, s.11; 2022, c.14, s.2.