§ 159G‑31.  Entities eligible to apply for loan or grant.
(a)	A local government unit or a nonprofit water corporation is eligible to apply for a loan or grant from the CWSRF, the DWSRF, the Wastewater Reserve, or the Drinking Water Reserve. An investor‑owned drinking water corporation is also eligible to apply for a loan or grant from the DWSRF. Other entities are not eligible for a loan or grant from these accounts.
(b)	Entities eligible in subsection (a) of this section for grants from the Wastewater Reserve and the Drinking Water Reserve may be limited, based on affordability, to a portion of the total construction costs for the project types defined in G.S. 159G‑33(a)(2) and G.S. 159G‑34(a)(2).
(c)	To the extent that funds are available, loans shall be considered for the portion of construction costs not eligible for grant funding.
(d)	A local government unit is eligible to apply for a grant from the Viable Utility Reserve.
(e)	The Local Government Commission may submit an application on behalf of a distressed unit for an emergency grant from the Viable Utility Reserve to cover operating deficits of that local government unit's public water system or wastewater system, and any such application shall be deemed approved by the Local Government Commission upon submission.  (2005‑454, s. 3; 2011‑145, s. 13.11A(b); 2015‑241, s. 14.13(c2); 2019‑241, s. 11(h); 2020‑79, ss. 1(d), 6(a).)