Wyo. Code R. 060-0003-16
Loan and Investment Board
Chapter 16: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loans
Effective Date: 05/12/2015 to 01/06/2017
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 060.0003.16.05122015
STATE LOAN AND INVESTMENT BOARD
This Chapter is adopted pursuant to W.S. 16-1-303(b).
As used in this Chapter:
(a) “Account” means the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Account created by W.S. 16-1-302.
(b) “Board” means the State Loan and Investment Board.
(c) “Capacity Development” means that a community water system or nontransient noncommunity water system can adequately demonstrate that it has technical, managerial and financial capabilities to ensure current and future operations of the water system in accordance with all drinking water regulations in effect.
(d) “Community Water System” means a public water supply which has at least fifteen (15) service connections used year-round by residents, or that regularly provides water to at least twenty-five (25) residents year-round, including but not limited to, municipalities and water districts.
(e) “County” means a political subdivision of the State of Wyoming pursuant to W.S. 18-1-101(a)-(y).
(f) “DEQ” means the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
(g) “Director” means the Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.
(h) “Emergency” means a direct threat to the continued operation of a community water system.
(i) “Initiating Operations” means the earliest point in time when a capital infrastructure project is ready for use even if only for system testing purposes.
(j) “Intended Use Plan (IUP)” means the annual plan adopted by the State Loan and Investment Board and submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) that describes how the state intends to use the money in the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Account.
(k) “Joint Powers Board(s)” means legally organized Wyoming entities authorized to engage in joint or cooperative action by the Wyoming Joint Powers Act pursuant to W.S. 16-1-101 et. seq.
(l) “Municipalities” means incorporated towns and cities in Wyoming.
(m) “Noncommunity Water System” means a public water supply which is not a community water system, including but not limited to, public schools, state park recreational areas and state highway public rest areas.
(n) “Operator” means the person who is directly responsible for and in charge of the operation of a water treatment plant or water distribution system.
(o) “OSLI” means the Office of State Lands and Investments which provides administrative and operational management of the State Loan and Investment Board’s programs.
(p) “Priority List” means the list of projects found in the Intended Use Plan (IUP) expected to receive financial assistance under the Program, ranked in accordance with a priority system developed under Section 1452(b)(2)(A) of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
(q) “Program” means the drinking water state revolving fund program pursuant to Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. § 300j-12).
(r) “Publicly Owned Water System” means a water system which is owned, operated, managed and maintained by an entity of the state, county, city, township, town, school district, water district, improvement district, joint powers board or any other entity constituting a political subdivision under the laws of this state which provides water for use and consumption of the general public through pipes and other constructed conveyances, and which is not owned, operated, managed or maintained by a private individual, association or corporation.
(s) “Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)” means the federal Safe Drinking Water Act including the 1996 amendments (Public Law 104-182, 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq.).
(t) “Select Water Committee” means a state legislative committee comprised of six (6) members from the Wyoming State Senate and six (6) members from the Wyoming House of Representatives (W.S. 21-11-101).
(u) “Special District” means any legally formed special district in Wyoming that is eligible for program funding.
(v) “Special Program Incentives” include, but are not limited to, grants, principal forgiveness and negative interest rates authorized by state or federal legislation and as adopted by the Board.
(w) “Special Program Requirements” include, but are not limited to, restrictions on the types of project materials that may be used, required funding reserves and minimum wage requirements as set forth in state or federal legislation and as adopted by the Board.
(x) “State Environmental Review Process (SERP)” means the review conducted by DEQ, pursuant to W.S. 16-1-304(a), of potential environmental impacts of projects receiving assistance from the Account.
(y) “Substantial Completion” means that stage in a project when the capital infrastructure constructed is capable of initiating operations or can be used for its intended purpose.
(z) “Water Supply System” means a system from the water source to the consumer premises consisting of pipes, structures and facilities through which water is obtained, treated, stored, distributed or otherwise offered to the public for household use or use by humans and which is part of a community water system or a noncommunity water system.
(aa) “WWDO” means the Wyoming Water Development Office which provides administrative and operational management of the programs administered by the Wyoming Water Development Commission.
(bb) “USEPA” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(a) The Board shall approve loans and Special Program incentives under the provisions of this Chapter, subject to the Select Water Committee’s review and recommendation of projects, in such a manner and to such applicants as shall, in the judgment of the Board, inure to the greatest benefit of the citizens of the State of Wyoming and represent a prudent use of loan funds.
(a) OSLI, DEQ and WWDO will assess, at least annually, the impacts of state and federal legislation on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan program administered under this Chapter. OSLI will provide timely notice to eligible applicants of changes in Special Program incentives and Special Program requirements. Said notice will be not less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to any application deadline. Methods of notice include, but are not limited to, electronic, telephonic, written, website postings, video conferences or combinations of the same.
(a) Applicants. Publicly Owned Water Systems in Wyoming shall be eligible for loans under this Chapter. This includes eligibility for Special Program incentives when available.
(i) Applicants whose annual median household income (AMHI) is less than seventy percent (70%) of Wyoming's AMHI are eligible for Special Program incentives of up to seventy-five percent (75%) of their loan amount.
(ii) Applicants whose AMHI is seventy percent (70%) or greater, but less than ninety percent (90%) of Wyoming's AMHI, are eligible for Special Program incentives of up to fifty percent (50%) of their loan amount.
(iii) Applicants whose AMHI is over ninety percent (90%) of Wyoming's AMHI are eligible for Special Program incentives of up to twenty-five percent (25%) of their loan amount.
(b) Annual median household income data is based on information obtained from the most recent American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau. Median household income data for special districts must be established by an income survey at district expense or other financial data acceptable to OSLI and the Board. If the applicant is a special district or joint powers board, it must be legally formed and approved prior to submitting its loan application. Applicants must be in compliance with all applicable reporting requirements of both the Wyoming Department of Revenue and the Wyoming Department of Audit prior to its application being considered by the Board. For consideration at the October Board meeting, applicants must file their current financial reports by September 10th with the Department of Audit and notify the OSLI in writing that the filing was done.
(c) Purposes. Loans and Special Program incentives may be awarded by the Board to eligible Publicly Owned Water Systems as authorized in W.S. 16-1-305. Eligible projects may be comprised of improvements to all components of a Water Supply System as appropriate and permitted by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Board may also award loans and Special Program incentives consistent with changes in state or federal law.
(d) Project Eligibility. Only projects on the current Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan are eligible for loans and Special Program incentives under this Chapter. Eligible applicants are responsible for ensuring that their project(s) are listed on the current Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan.
(e) Ineligible Project Costs. The following project costs shall be ineligible for reimbursement:
(i) Costs for any asset that is owned by a private property owner;
(a) Applications. There are two (2) types of applications under this Chapter,
(b) Special Program loan applications are a pared down version of a Core loan application and these applications are the initial application for a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan involving Special Program incentives and/or requirements only. Separate Special Program loan applications shall be prepared for each eligible project involving Special Program incentives and/or requirements. Applicants shall submit a Special Program loan application Part I on a form provided by the Director. Special Program loan applications must be timely submitted by applicants in advance of scheduled meetings of the Board. A Special Program loan application must be received by OSLI by close of business on the day of an application deadline to be considered timely submitted. Special Program loan applicants who are conditionally approved for project funding by the Board must complete Special Program loan application Part II within sixty (60) days of the Board's conditional approval. If applicants fail to timely complete their applications, the Board will be informed by the Director at the Board's next scheduled meeting. The Board reserves the right to revoke any conditional approval for lack of post award due diligence to timely completing a Part II application
(c) Core Loan Applications. The second type of application for a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan is a Core loan application for a Core program loan. Separate Core loan applications shall be prepared for each eligible project. Applicants shall submit a Core loan application on a form provided by the Director. Applicants must timely submit Core loan applications on or before the established deadline in advance of scheduled meetings of the Board. An application must be received by OSLI by close of business on the day of an application deadline to be considered timely submitted.
(d) Public Meeting Requirement. All eligible applicants must hold a minimum of one public meeting in advance of submitting a Special Program or Core loan application for Board consideration. Notice of the public meeting is to be published in a local or regional newspaper fifteen (15) days prior to the same. The public meeting must provide the public an overview of the proposed project, financing and sustainability. The overview aspect of the public meeting must, at a minimum, address project scope, milestones and costs. The financing aspect of the public meeting must, at a minimum, address the financial impact of project costs upon the public. The sustainability aspect of the public meeting must, at a minimum, address revenue streams, adjustments of water and sewer rates or other sources required to sustain the proposed project. Eligible applicants must verify compliance with the public meeting requirement through documentation submitted with their Special Program or Core loan applications.
(e) Timing of Board Consideration. Special Program or Core loan applications must be received by the Director at least eighty (80) days prior to any scheduled meeting of the Board. Applicants must cure any defects in their applications no later than forty-five (45) calendar days before any scheduled meeting of the Board. The Board may consider Special Program or Core loan applications for loans under this Chapter at any scheduled meeting.
(f) Incomplete Loan Applications. Incomplete loan applications, those missing one or more of the information items requested and/or failing to meet established deadlines, shall not be presented to the Board for consideration.
(a) Criteria. The Board shall evaluate applications utilizing the following criteria:
(i) Whether the applicant has an appropriate project Priority List ranking as required in Section 1452(b)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act and is listed on the fundable portion of the Intended Use Plan;
(ii) Whether the applicant can demonstrate Capacity Development capabilities in compliance with Section 1420 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the applicable requirements of DEQ;
(iii) Whether the applicant can obtain or ensure the certification of the Operators of the Publicly Owned Water System in accordance with DEQ rules and regulations prior to obtaining financial assistance approval;
(iv) Whether the applicant is current on all its repayment obligations to the Board;
(v) Whether the applicant’s dedicated source of revenue is acceptable to the Board and will be sufficient to provide security to repay its requested loan;
(vi) Whether the applicant is ready to proceed with construction or implementation of the project;
(vii) Whether the applicant has established an adequate operations and maintenance costs fund for the project for which applicant seeks funding.
(viii) Whether the applicant has made a significant commitment of funding resources for the project for which it seeks funding;
(ix) The percentage of the applicant’s population directly served by the project;
(x) The project’s priority rank on the current intended use plan (IUP); and
(xi) Whether the project is appropriately sized for the population to be served by the project.
(ix) If assessments are included as part of the dedicated source of repayment, applicant shall establish an annual assessment equal to, or greater than, the amount of the annual debt service payment on the loan. This assessment schedule will be filed with the County Assessor’s Office on or before February 15th of each year for the full term of the loan, a copy of which will be sent to the OSLI annually.
(b) Interagency Consultation. The OSLI shall facilitate interagency consultation with DEQ and WWDO through the review of applications for loans and Special Program incentives and provide comments to the Director for Board consideration. The Board shall request the DEQ and the WWDO to provide the services required under W.S. 16-1-301 through W.S. 16-1-308.
(a) The Board shall consider each complete application and allow for comments from the applicant, the Director, DEQ and WWDO. The Board shall also establish loan amounts and terms. Loan terms shall not exceed twenty (20) years.
(a) The interest rate for eligible applicants that qualify for the funding reserves Special Program requirement, when available, shall be pursuant to Chapter 14 of these rules.
(b) The interest rate for all other Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loans shall be pursuant to Chapter 14 of these rules.
(a) Annual payments for all loans shall begin one (1) year after substantial completion of the project as indicated in the final project contract.
(a) Loan proceeds shall be disbursed in minimum draws of $1,300. Requests for disbursements shall be submitted on a form provided by the Director and include supporting invoices establishing the eligibility of costs submitted for disbursement. Loan proceeds will only be disbursed for eligible project costs as set forth in this Chapter and within federal guidelines following review by the OSLI, DEQ and WWDO.
(a) The Board shall ensure compliance with the provisions of the Federal Single Audit Act, 1966 Amendments and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133. On an annual basis records of loan recipients shall be, at a minimum, compiled by an independent accounting firm. Notification of compliance shall be made to the Board in the form of a Compilation, Review, or Audited Financial Statement prepared by an independent accounting firm. On an annual basis, recipients receiving five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or more in federal funds in any fiscal year shall have their records audited by an independent accounting firm. Notification of compliance shall be made to the Board in the form of an Audited Financial Statement. The Board may, at its expense, conduct an independent audit of the loan recipient's records and inspect the construction and operation of the project. Loan recipients shall maintain project accounts in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Accounting Standards (GAAP).
(a) The Director, or the Director's designee, shall review all reports prepared by the OSLI, DEQ and WWDO for submission to the USEPA.
(a) Four percent (4%) of the federal capitalization grants shall be reserved to pay administrative costs of this program incurred by the OSLI, DEQ and WWDO.
(a) The Board shall administer the state drinking water revolving loan account program in accordance with all applicable federal laws and regulations. The Board shall enter into, and periodically update, Memorandums of Understanding with DEQ and WWDO to implement the program and facilitate program compliance.
(a) A loan origination fee of one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the amount of the loan will be collected at loan closing. The fees will be deposited to the Administrative Account as authorized by W. S. 16-1-303(d).