1. (1) Eligibility and Availability.

   1. (a) To be eligible for funding under this chapter, the project sponsor must be a “financially disadvantaged small community” as defined in Section 403.1838(2), F.S.
   2. (b) Funding under this chapter is available in the form of grants at the planning, design, and construction phases of a project as well as for inflow/infiltration projects. Projects shall compete separately for grant funding at each project phase; a project that obtains grant funding at one project phase is not guaranteed funding at any other project phase.
   3. (c) Grants under this chapter are available only for project phases that have received a State Revolving Fund loan under Chapter 62-503, F.A.C. The planning, design, construction, and procurement requirements of subsections 62-503.700(2) through (6), F.A.C., and the environmental review requirements of Rule 62-503.751, F.A.C., shall be met for all projects funded under this chapter.
   4. (d) Grants under this chapter are available at the construction phase of a project only if the project sponsor adopts and implements, prior to the final disbursement of the associated State Revolving Fund construction loan, an asset management plan that meets all requirements of subsection 62-503.700(7), F.A.C.
   5. (e) A project sponsor may have only one active grant under this chapter or one active State Revolving Fund loan with principal forgiveness under Chapter 62-503, F.A.C. A project sponsor may not have both an active grant under this chapter and an active State Revolving Fund loan with principal forgiveness under Chapter 62-503, F.A.C. A grant or loan shall be considered active until the final disbursement has been paid by the Department. The Department shall consider a request for an exception to the requirements of this paragraph when the request meets the requirements of Rule 62-503.850, F.A.C.

2. (2) Steps involved in obtaining a Small Community Wastewater Facility Grant:

   1. (a) Request for Inclusion. The project sponsor shall submit to the Department a completed Request for Inclusion form as provided for under subsection 62-503.200(30), F.A.C., for a State Revolving Fund loan to establish project ranking as outlined in Rule 62-503.300, F.A.C., and to determine if grant assistance is available for the project. A Request for Inclusion form shall be submitted separately for the planning, design, and construction phases of a project.

      1. The Department shall review each Request for Inclusion to verify eligibility and the accuracy of the information provided.

      2. Additional information shall be requested by the Department when the data provided by the project sponsor are incomplete or unclear.

   2. (b) Documentation required for consideration at a priority list public meeting. To be considered at a priority list public meeting, the project sponsor shall have postmarked or delivered to the Department all required documentation no later than 45 days prior to the priority list public meeting and shall have responded to all Department comments related to the required documentation by submitting complete responses to the Department at least 15 days prior to the priority list public meeting. The required documentation for grants is the same as the required documentation from paragraph 62-503.300(1)(b), F.A.C., for State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans under Chapter 62-503, F.A.C. In addition the following also shall apply:

      1. The project sponsor shall notify the Department that a grant is being requested.

      2. The Department shall notify the project sponsor if the project qualifies for grant assistance, and if so, what the estimated grant percentage will be.

      3. The project sponsor shall notify the Department of its intentions with regards to proceeding with the project.

      4. If the project sponsor elects to proceed with the project, the project shall compete for funding at the next priority list public meeting based on priority score.

   3. (c) Priority system. Timely submitted projects shall be given a final priority score as follows:

      1. Base priority score. Each grant project shall receive a base priority score (BPS). The BPS shall be determined by the scoring method established in subparagraphs 62-503.300(1)(e)1. through 62-503.300(1)(e)4., F.A.C.

      2. Negative population trend. If the population of the sponsor of the project has decreased by more than 20% between the most recent and the previous decennial census, then an additional 25 points shall be added to the BPS.

      3. End of useful life. The BPS shall be increased by 25 points if the project replaces any component that has exceeded its maximum expected useful life as determined using the upper end of the useful life ranges listed in subsection 62-503.200(36), F.A.C.

   4. (d) Development of Priority List. The Department shall rank projects in final priority score order with the highest score at the top of the priority list. Once the available grant funds have been determined for the fiscal year, grant funding is assigned to projects, moving down the priority list, until all projects have been assigned grant funds or until the available grant funds are exhausted. Projects that have the same final priority score shall be further ranked by the project’s affordability index, where projects with a lower affordability index will be ranked above those projects with a higher affordability index. After the ranking of projects, the proposed priority list shall be posted on the Department’s website not later than 14 days before the priority list public meeting.

   5. (e) Priority List Public Meeting.

      1. The Department shall identify the amount of grant funds available.

      2. The priority list shall be adopted at a public meeting conducted in accordance with paragraph 62-503.300(1)(c), F.A.C.

   6. (f) Grant Application and Agreement. The failure to submit a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan application or execute an SRF loan agreement within the timeframes listed in paragraphs 62-503.430(1)(a) and (c), F.A.C., will result in the project being removed from the priority list. After removal, the project sponsor must successfully compete for funding at a subsequent priority list public meeting in order to retain the grant funding.

Rulemaking Authority 403.1835(10) FS. Law Implemented 403.1835, 403.1838 FS. History–New 11-30-98, Amended 7-22-99, 1-25-07, 8-30-07, 10-27-16.