§ 99-99-218 — Project financing; terms; conditions; restrictions on sale of water; loan acceleration

(a) Subject to the conditions in subsection (b) of this
section, the construction of the project shall be financed as
follows:
(i) A grant to the district through the department
not to exceed four million five hundred fifteen thousand dollars
($4,515,000.00), of which two million three hundred thirty
thousand dollars ($2,330,000.00) shall be expended only for dam
repair and outlet works and two million one hundred eighty-five
thousand dollars ($2,185,000.00) for canal repairs. The
department shall release grant funds as it deems necessary;
(ii) A loan to the district through the department as
authorized in W.S. 9-2-206 [repealed] in an amount not to exceed
one million nine hundred seventy-five thousand dollars
($1,975,000.00) to construct the project for a term of fifty
(50) years to commence as provided in subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph at an annual interest rate of four percent (4%)
provided:
(A) No principal or interest is due and payable
during the first five (5) years of the term of the loan;
(B) Interest shall not accrue on the principal
during the first five (5) years of the term of the loan;
(C) The department shall establish a repayment
schedule amortized over the remaining forty-five (45) years of
the loan term in accordance with the conditions in this act; and
(D) The loan funds shall be released to the
district upon execution of the loan agreement, but the term of
the loan for purposes of repayment shall not commence until the
project is substantially completed as determined by the
department.
(iii) Authorization to the game and fish commission
to expend not more than one hundred seventy thousand dollars
($170,000.00) for necessary public facilities for the public
recreation area in consultation with the department and the
recreation commission [parks and cultural resources commission];
(iv) Authorization to the department to expend not
more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) for a geological
and hydrological review of the project under W.S.
41-2-217(a)(iv).
(b) The department shall not release any funds to the
district authorized under paragraphs (a)(i) and (ii) of this
section until:
(i) An independent geological and hydrological review
under W.S. 41-2-217(a)(iv) has been completed;
(ii) The department and the district have entered
into a project agreement providing the district shall undertake
construction of all project components concurrently containing
the following provisions and terms:
(A) The department shall review and approve all
design and construction plans prior to construction;
(B) The district shall supervise design and
construction and submit all requests for payment to the
department;
(C) The department shall directly make necessary
payments in response to requests for payment;
(D) The district shall provide security to the
department as deemed sufficient by the attorney general to
include a mortgage on the dam and canals and an assignment of
water rights;
(E) The district shall grant to the department
for the state, ownership of the storage in Hawk Springs
Reservoir from elevation 4,446.9 feet to elevation 4,461.9 feet
according to the 1982 United States soil conservation service
survey, approximately one thousand seven hundred seventy-nine
(1,779) acre-feet of water;
(F) The district shall operate the reservoir to
provide a pool depth of twenty (20) feet by January 1 in those
years when sufficient water is available;
(G) The district shall grant public access in
perpetuity to the Hawk Springs Reservoir proper and to all
adjacent lands owned by the district or the state for the
purposes of hunting, fishing and general recreation including
the construction of such facilities as deemed necessary by the
game and fish commission to maximize the public enjoyment;
(H) The district shall pay all the costs
including manpower for all operation, maintenance and repairs to
the dam and water delivery system after the project is
completed;
(J) The department shall determine an amount to
be assessed annually by the district against district members
and the district shall place the funds so collected into a
separate account as a sinking fund adequate to meet future
maintenance costs for the project;
(K) The department may contract with the
district for maintenance of public facilities constructed under
this project.
(c) There shall be no sale or transfer of ownership of
water by the district to other than agricultural users without
prior approval of the state board of control. In the event that
such a sale or transfer is approved, the balance of the loan
associated with the sale is immediately due and payable.
(Laws 1983, Ch. 70, § 1; 1993, Ch. 89, § 8; Renumbered from
41-2-218 by Laws 2009, Ch. 168, § 401.)