§ 41-2-121 — Criteria for water development projects; disclosure of personal interests by commission

(a) The water development commission shall establish
criteria for evaluation and administration of water development
projects. Criteria shall include but not be limited to the
following:
(i) All water development proposals submitted to the
legislature shall be reviewed by and accompanied by the
recommendation of the water development commission;
(ii) The commission's recommendation shall:
(A) Emphasize projects developing unappropriated
water;
(B) Give preference wherever possible to
projects developing new storage capacity;
(C) Consider the potential for development of
hydroelectric power in any project through Level II;
(D) Include a summary of the commission's
findings under W.S. 41-2-112(b);
(E) Include financing methods subject to the
following:
(I) Any water development project may be
financed by grants not to exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of
the total cost of the project;
(II) Storage projects may be financed by
grants for the full cost of the storage capacity but not to
exceed public benefits as computed by the commission;
(III) Loans may be made for domestic,
municipal, agricultural, industrial, recreational or fish and
wildlife enhancement purposes;
(IV) The term of a loan shall not exceed
fifty (50) years after substantial completion of a project;
(V) Payment of interest and principal on
loans may be deferred for not more than five (5) years after
substantial completion of the project;
(VI) Loan contracts for project
construction shall include provisions to ensure [that] the
project shall be operated and maintained during the term of the
loan;
(VII) The state may elect to own all or a
part of a project and enter into water service repayment
contracts with project developers;
(VIII) A project involving a transbasin
diversion shall address the impact of the diversion and
recommend measures to mitigate any adverse impact identified in
the basin of origin;
(IX) Interest on a loan should provide a
reasonable return to the state but shall not be less than four
percent (4%) except when the commission recommends a lower
interest rate because of public benefits;
(X) Loan contracts for project construction
shall provide for payment of interest on defaulted payments at a
rate of ten percent (10%) per annum.
(iii) Repealed by Laws 1986, ch. 109, § 3.
(iv) The commission may disqualify from consideration
or give lower priority to a project proposed to correct problems
identified in a review performed by the department of
environmental quality under W.S. 18-5-306(c) where the board of
county commissioners approved a subdivision application
notwithstanding the department's recommendation that the
application be disapproved.
(b) Any member of the commission who has a personal or
private interest in any matter proposed or pending before the
commission shall publicly disclose this fact to the commission
and shall not vote thereon.
(c) Within sixty (60) days after the effective date of
this subsection or within sixty (60) days following appointment
and annually on or before January 1, each member of the
commission shall file written disclosures relative to all
interests held by the member or the member's spouse, including
interests in partnerships and corporations, with the secretary
of state, of:
(i) Any water rights, permits or applications held,
whether for direct flow, reservoirs or underground water;
(ii) Any interests in engineering or construction
firms which engage in designing or constructing water projects.
(d) The promulgation of operating procedures and program
criteria by the commission under this section and decisions of
the commission relating to the recommendation, prioritization or
disqualification of projects are specifically exempt from all
provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including
provisions for judicial review under W.S. 16-3-114 and 16-3-115.
(e) Prior to authorizing a water development project, the
commission shall require each project sponsor to demonstrate
that the entity has the authority to adequately assess fees or
collect funds to cover operation and maintenance expenses
related to the water development project. Any entity that does
not have the authority or ability to collect sufficient funds
for the operation and maintenance of the project may be required
by the commission to establish an operations and maintenance
account as provided in this section. The commission shall
develop criteria related to the establishment of an operations
and maintenance account which shall include:
(i) An operations and maintenance account shall only
be required for project sponsors that have taken out a loan for
any portion of the project expense and shall not be required
after the loan has been repaid;
(ii) The funds required in any operations and
maintenance account shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the
project cost.