A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish a task force to develop a plan for the establishment and maintenance of a statewide water and wastewater infrastructure resource and funding database as recommended by the legislative study commission on water and wastewater infrastructure.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasurer, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the State Water Infrastructure Commission, the Office of Information Technology Services, and the Environmental Finance Center at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shall establish a task force to work together to design a plan for the establishment and maintenance of a statewide water and wastewater infrastructure resource and funding database.  The North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the Rural Economic Development Center, and the United States Department of Agriculture also shall be included as joint members of the task force if they choose to participate in the study.  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall be the lead agency for the task force.  The task force may also work with other interested stakeholders in its discretion.
SECTION 1.(b)  The purpose of the water and wastewater resource funding database is to provide one source of information that has the ability to track and locate all of the current water and wastewater infrastructure project needs and funding patterns in this State, thus reducing the resources spent by federal and State agencies (e.g. EPA), funding groups, and nonprofit organizations determining water infrastructure needs in North Carolina.
In developing the plan, the task force shall consider the consolidation and integration of information that is relevant to water and wastewater infrastructure and water use and currently is being collected by State agencies, nonprofit corporations, institutions of higher education, and other entities. 
The task force shall consider a system design that is capable of compiling and indexing all of the items listed in subdivisions (1) through (11) of this subsection and shall identify which of those items should be included in the database compiled by the system. The task force shall also indicate in its findings the merits of including or excluding each item. The items for consideration are as follows:
(1)	Current and proposed infrastructure projects.
(2)	Funding patterns and the status of each infrastructure project.
(3)	System information (interconnections, fiscal).
(4)	Strategic plans.
(5)	Local water supply plans.
(6)	Water resource maps and publications.
(7)	Systems management information.
(8)	Reporting and regulatory requirements.
(9)	Guidance and training documents.
(10)	Procedural guidance and forms for project implementation and funding.
(11)	Internet links to support services.
SECTION 1.(c)  In addition to the items set out in subsection (b) of this section, the task force may also consider the following:
(1)	In developing the plan, the task force shall consider the consolidation and integration of information that is relevant to water and wastewater infrastructure and water use and currently is being collected by State agencies, nonprofit corporations, institutions of higher education, and other entities.
(2)	The possibility of digitizing common application forms currently being utilized by certain funding agencies, as well as digitizing past funding documents and records.
(3)	Information streamlining processes that can be implemented in the system design.
(4)	The preliminary design and structural options for developing a database of water and wastewater needs.
(5)	How current resources and existing efforts can be leveraged to maximize funding for local water systems.
(6)	Determination of what low- and no-incremental-cost data integration or implementation methods for assessment of water system needs exist.
(7)	Implementing methods and data that enhance the sharing of infrastructure development plans and documents.
(8)	The design for a more comprehensive and robust database to be built and constructed if more funds become available for the database in the future.
(9)	Any other information relevant to the design of the database system described in this section.
SECTION 1.(d)  The task force shall present its proposed plan and report its findings and recommendations to the Legislative Study Commission on Water and Wastewater Infrastructure by November 1, 2010.  The report shall include the estimated cost to create the database and the estimated cost to maintain such a system.  The report shall also include any legislative changes that may be needed to implement the proposed plan.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.