Section 44.12 - Project Approval and Regulation(1)Application.(a) A Local Governmental Unit whose project is on the Intended Use Plan Project Listing portion of the calendar year priority list must first apply to the Department to receive a loan from the Trust to finance costs of the project. The Local Governmental Unit must file a complete application with the Department containing the following information and documentation: 1.General Information which must include evidence of a funding authorization by the Local Governmental Unit sufficient to cover the project cost, and certification of the authority of the Local Governmental Unit to file the application.2.Financial Information pertinent to the Trust's evaluation of the applicant's ability to repay the loan.3.Project Information which demonstrates to the Department's satisfaction that the project is sufficiently advanced in its implementation, including, as applicable:a. approvable plans and specifications for the project;b. evidence that the Local Governmental Unit has, at a minimum, filed applications for any permits or environmental reviews applicable to the project;c. the project scope of work, project evaluation report or the comprehensive wastewater management planning for the project; andd. the project schedule that demonstrates to the Department's satisfaction that the project will commence no later than six months from the expected date of issuance of a project approval certificate, assuming the Department determines that the project is approvable.4.Supplemental Information such as title to project site or evidence of some other appropriate property interest in the project site, any necessary inter-municipal agreements, documentation related to the user charge system, etc.5.Applicant Certification as to the completeness of the application in accordance with the Department's application form and requirements, and as to the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by the applicant in its application.(b) The Department may deny any application which it determines to be incomplete. Prior to taking final action on an application, the Department may request the applicant to clarify and/or supplement information contained in its application, or to attend an informal conference(s) with the Department to discuss the application.(2)Project Approval Certificate.(a) The Department's approval of an applicant's project shall be contained in a Project Approval Certificate issued to the Trust. As provided in the Act, the Department's issuance of a Project Approval Certificate is a prior necessary condition to the award of a loan by the Trust to finance the costs of a project.(b) The Department shall not approve a project for a loan from the Trust unless the Local Governmental Unit: 1. demonstrates that its project is consistent with existing state, regional and local water resource and wastewater planning requirements as described in 310 CMR 44.09(2) ("Consistency of SRF Projects with Water Resource and Wastewater Planning Requirements"); and2. adopts a user charge system in accordance with the Department guidance which is designed to provide adequate revenues required for operation and maintenance, including replacement, of the project. The Department reserves the discretion to determine that the user charge system requirement does not apply to certain Nonpoint Source Projects (e.g., a stormwater control project that is not providing ongoing service to an identified set of users).
(c) In addition to approving the project, the Project Approval Certificate shall certify those costs of the project determined by the Department to be eligible for assistance from a loan, and those costs determined to be eligible for a subsidy or interest rate under the loan. The Project Approval Certificate shall also identify the level of subsidy applicable to the project in accordance with M.G.L. c. 29C and, as applicable, any additional subsidy applicable to the project authorized by special law. Subsidy is expressed as an interest rate in the Project Approval Certificate.(d) The Project Approval Certificate may also contain such other conditions and limitations as the Department deems necessary to ensure compliance by a Local Governmental Unit with 310 CMR 44.00 and with all other federal and state statutes and regulations applicable to the construction and operation of the project. Such conditions shall include, but are not limited to, a project completion schedule which shall require the Local Governmental Unit to initiate the project, as determined by the Department, no later than six months from the date of the Department's issuance of the Project Approval Certificate. The Department, at its sole discretion, may extend this six-month deadline based on evidence demonstrating to the Department's satisfaction that the delay is beyond the reasonable control of and without the fault of the Local Governmental Unit or its contractors or other agents.(e) The Department shall issue the Project Approval Certificate to the Trust for its action and forward a copy of such certificate to the Local Governmental Unit concurrently. The Trust shall thereafter enter into a loan commitment with a Local Governmental Unit consistent with the terms of the Project Approval Certificate. Following entry into a binding loan commitment, the Trust shall prepare and deliver a loan agreement for execution by the Local Governmental Unit, consistent with the terms of the Project Approval Certificate as incorporated into the Department's Project Regulatory Agreement.(3)Project Regulatory Agreement.(a) On or prior to the date of a loan from the Trust for a project approved by the Department, the Local Governmental Unit and the Department shall execute and deliver to the Trust a Project Regulatory Agreement relating to the Department's regulation and supervision of the project in accordance with 310 CMR 44.00. The Project Regulatory Agreement shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Department. The Project Regulatory Agreement shall be incorporated by reference in the Trust loan agreement and failure by the Local Governmental Unit to comply with the Project Regulatory Agreement shall constitute an event of default under the loan agreement.(b) The Project Regulatory Agreement shall contain provisions consistent with the Project Approval Certificate. In addition to incorporating pertinent conditions in the Project Approval Certificate, the Project Regulatory Agreement may also contain such other conditions and limitations as the Department deems necessary for its regulation and supervision of the project in accordance with 310 CMR 44.00, including but not limited to: 1. the schedule for disbursement of loan proceeds;2. the payment requisition requirements and procedures;3. the requirements and procedures for the Department's audit of payment requisitions;4. covenants by the Local Governmental Unit related to the project, including a covenant to comply with all federal and state statutes and regulations applicable to the Local Governmental Unit's construction and operation of the project;5. the measures available to the Department to remedy a default by the Local Governmental Unit under the Project Regulatory Agreement;6. any requirements regarding certification of a project's performance in accordance with the Department's approval;7. compliance with the Department's guidance on the use of and requirements for professional subagreements.Adopted by Mass Register Issue S1331, eff. 1/27/2017.