CWSRF/ARRA Summary

 

• Florida’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program will receive approximately $132 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for wastewater, stormwater, and non-point source infrastructure construction projects.

• To be eligible under ARRA, projects must secure a place on the CWSRF priority list, meet the CWSRF program’s basic funding criteria, and be “shovel-ready” such that they can be under construction before February 17, 2010.

• Wastewater and stormwater projects must be sponsored by local governments; non-point source projects may be sponsored by private entities.

• The first step in applying for funds is to submit a Request for Inclusion (RFI) on the CWSRF priority list form.

• Under ARRA, all CWSRF program requirements remain in effect, but we will expedite the process to the maximum extent possible. All Planning Requirements and Readiness to Proceed Requirements must be met before a project can be placed on the priority list for funding.

• Projects will be ranked in priority score order and funds will be allocated up to the “segment cap” of $10 million per project sponsor until the funds are exhausted. (The segment cap is the maximum amount of money any project sponsor can receive in a given year in order to give all sponsors of ready projects a fair opportunity to secure financing.) See Section 62 503.600(6) of the CWSRF rule for information on the priority system.

• A priority list adoption hearing has been scheduled for May 13, 2009. All readiness to proceed requirements must be met by April 29, 2009 to qualify for the priority list at that hearing.

• If all ARRA funds are not obligated at that hearing, additional hearings will be scheduled as needed to obligate the remaining funds.

• Under ARRA, 50% of the funds, or about $66 million, must be subsidized more than the SRF’s normal low interest rates in order to target disadvantaged communities. The Congressional record states, “… the Conferees expect the States to target, as much as possible, the additional subsidized monies to communities that could not otherwise afford an SRF loan.” DEP will award “principal forgiveness” loans to qualifying projects meeting the criteria defining disadvantaged status for the CWSRF program in existing Florida law, section 403.1838(2), Florida Statutes:

The department shall use funds specifically appropriated to award grants under this section to assist financially disadvantaged small communities with their needs for adequate sewer facilities. For purposes of this section, the term "financially disadvantaged small community" means a municipality with a population of 7,500 or less, according to the latest decennial census and a per capita annual income less than the state per capita annual income as determined by the United States Department of Commerce.

Forgiving the repayment of the principal amount of a loan is the equivalent of a grant and has the benefit of not imposing additional federal requirements on the loan recipient that would be associated with a formal “grant.”

• All projects funded under ARRA must comply with the following additional federal requirements:

• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise requirements must be met for all ARRA projects. The standard DEP supplementary conditions for construction and equipment include these requirements and must be incorporated into the bid documents. Also see the Six Good Faith Efforts.

• Davis Bacon wage rate provisions: Additional supplementary conditions must be incorporated into all bid documents. These conditions require the submission of certified payrolls documenting that the weekly payrolls meet the prevailing wage rate requirements.

• Buy American procurement: Contractors must certify that all manufactured goods meet the Buy American requirements or a waiver must be obtained. We have created a sample certification form that may be used as a guide.

• The ARRA also has strict guidelines for timely construction: 100% of the funds allocated to Florida must effectively be under construction by February 17, 2010. Loan agreements awarded with ARRA money (resulting from the May 13, 2009 hearing) will include a deadline of October 1, 2009 for awarding construction contracts. Loan amounts will be adjusted to the amount under contract as of October 1, 2009. If no construction contracts have been awarded, the loan agreement will be annulled so the funds may be made available to other project sponsors that can move forward.

• Funds recaptured as a result of the October 1st deadline will be allocated to the first qualifying project(s) that were not previously funded. If no such projects are available, loans for projects that have been incompletely funded will be increased.

• If you have questions, please contact Tim Banks (Timothy.Banks@dep.state.fl.us) or his staff at (850) 245-8358. DEP staff stands ready to help you understand everything you need to know about pursuing SRF funding.