(a) Applicants. Publicly Owned Water Systems in Wyoming shall be eligible for loans and principal forgiveness under this Chapter. If the applicant is a special district or a 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 their application being considered by the Board.
(b) Purposes. Loans and principal forgiveness shall be awarded only for 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.
(c) Project Eligibility. Only priority list projects on the 2010 Drinking Water Intended Use Plan are eligible for loans and principal forgiveness under this Chapter. - (i) To the extent that there are sufficient eligible project applications, not less than twenty percent (20%) of the funds appropriated under this Chapter shall be reserved for safe drinking water projects comprised of green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative activities.
- (ii) The remaining funds appropriated under this Chapter shall be reserved for conventional safe drinking water projects. Preference will be given to those conventional projects that can be under contract or construction no later than January 1, 2010. The Board will not consider conventional projects that cannot be either under contract or commence construction by February 16, 2010.
- (iii) Applications for eligible projects as set forth in the special funding reservation in subsection (c)(i) will be accepted for review by the Office only through August 17, 2009. Subsection (c)(i) projects are also further subject to the deadlines set forth in subsection (c)(ii) of this section. Thereafter, following Board action on all such subsection (c)(i) applications received, the Office will seek approval from USEPA to move any unobligated reserve funds in subsection (c)(i) to subsection (c)(ii) conventional safe drinking water projects. Upon USEPA approval, funds moved to subsection (c)(ii) become available for award by the Board for both green and conventional infrastructure projects.
- (iv) To maximize loan funding utilization under this Chapter, and under Chapter 16 rules as established by the Board, the Board may require applicants to secure a portion of project funding from either Chapter 16 or other sources. All eligible applicants are eligible to receive a loan under this Chapter up to fifty percent (50%) of eligible project costs. All loans awarded under this subsection shall receive one hundred percent (100%) principal forgiveness up to fifty (50%) of eligible project costs.
- (v) To maximize loan funding utilization under this Chapter only, the Board may award loans up to one hundred percent (100%) of eligible project costs. In addition, the Board may also award principal forgiveness up to one hundred percent (100%) for loans awarded under this subsection. The Board will use the following guidelines to determine appropriate loan and principal forgiveness percentages:
- (A) the municipality either levied at least seven (7) mills for operating expenses including special districts levies chargeable against the general city or town levy during the current state fiscal year or is imposing the optional tax permitted by W. S. 39-15-204(a)(i) or (iii) at the time of application and is utilizing all other local revenue sources reasonably and legally available to finance the project; or
- (B) The county or special district either levied at least eleven (11) mills for operating expenses during the current fiscal year or is imposing the optional tax permitted by W. S. 39-15-204(a)(i) or (iii) at the time of the application and is utilizing all other local revenue sources reasonably and legally available to finance the project.
- (C) Additional factors that the Board may consider include, but are not limited to, an entity's Annual Median Household Income (AMHI) per the 2000 U.S. Decennial Census and the entity's water and sewer rates as compared to state wide averages.
(d) 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;
- (ii) Costs for tap fees, sewer and water fees, and plant investment fees;
- (iii) For projects less than $500,000, engineering fees, including design, inspection and contract administration costs exceeding thirty percent (30%) of project costs;
- (iv) For projects $500,000 or more, engineering fees, including design, inspection and contract administration costs exceeding twenty percent (20%) of project costs;
- (v) All non-cash costs except land which is integral to the treatment process and if allowable under federal law;
- (vi) Costs for preparation or presentation of grant or loan applications for any source of funding;
- (vii) Costs for transportation, meals and lodging incurred anywhere away from the site of the project;
- (viii) Costs of tools and furnishings for capital projects, including but not limited to, capital equipment, hammers, tanks, tools, furniture, drapes and blinds not integral to and necessary for the project;
- (x) Costs related to the issuance of bonds;
- (xi) Costs for real property in excess of current fair market value and/or costs for an amount of real property in excess of that needed for project purposes;
- (xii) Costs to establish and form special districts or joint powers boards;
- (xiii) Costs incurred prior to loan award, except costs incurred for architectural and engineering design, surveying, state environmental review process (SERP) requirements or in emergency circumstances;
- (xiv) Costs for a contingency or extra work allowance in excess of ten percent (10%) of estimated construction costs.
060-31 Wyo. Code R. § 31-4