Section 41-3-16.1 - ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Program; purpose; funding sources; grant application ranking; report(1)(a) The State Department of Health (department) shall establish a grant program to be known as the ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Program (program) to assist rural water associations and entities in the construction of eligible drinking water infrastructure projects as provided in the Final Rule for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds as established by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).(b) Rural water associations and any entity that received funding under the ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Program or the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program before April 14, 2023, shall be ineligible for additional grants under this section.(2) The program shall be funded from appropriations by the Legislature to the department from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, and the department shall expend all such funds for the purposes provided in subsection (1) of this section.(3) The department shall obligate the funds by the deadline set by the rules and guidelines of the United States Department of the Treasury and will adhere to the Treasury's rules and guidelines for reporting and monitoring projects funded through ARPA.(4)(a) The department shall develop a system for use in ranking the grant applications received. The ranking system shall include the following factors, at a minimum: (a) the environmental impact of the proposed project; (b) the proposed project's ability to address noncompliance with state/federal requirements; (c) the extent to which the project promotes economic development; (d) the number of people served by the project (both new and existing users); (e) impacts of the proposed project on disadvantaged/overburdened communities; (f) the grant applicant's prior efforts to secure funding to address the proposed project's objectives; (g) the grant applicant's proposed contribution of other funds or in-kind cost-sharing to the proposed project; (h) the grant applicant's long-term plans for the financial and physical operation and maintenance of the project; and (i) the grant applicant's capacity to initiate construction in a timely manner and complete the proposed project by the deadline specified by rules and guidelines of the United States Department of the Treasury for ARPA funds.(b) For the second round of grant awards, the department shall apply a greater weight to grant applications that promote consolidation of separate systems. In order to receive the additional weight, the systems that will consolidate shall be in a proximity of each other as determined by the department.(c) In addition to the points awarded under paragraph (b) of this subsection, an additional ten (10) points shall be added to any application with at least one (1) system that has consolidated after January 1, 2018, and before application to this program and is otherwise eligible under this section.(5) An application for a grant under this section shall be submitted at such time, be in such form, and contain such information as the department prescribes.(6)(a) Upon the approval of an application for a grant under this section, the department shall enter into a project grant agreement with each grantee to establish the terms of the grant for the project, including the amount of the grant.(b)(i) For the first award of grants, the maximum amount of funds that may be provided to any rural water association or entity from all grants under the program is Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00).(ii) For the second round of grant awards, the maximum amount of funds that may be provided to any eligible association or entity from all grants under the program is Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00).(c) Associations or entities that received funding under the first round of grant awards for this program or received funding in the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure Grant Program Act of 2022 are ineligible to receive funding under the second round.(7) With any funds appropriated to the department for the program after April 1, 2024, the department shall distribute the funds to projects from the second round of grant awards in the order in which the applications were ranked for grants as long as the department determines that the project can obligate the funds by October 1, 2024, and expend the funds by December 31, 2026. Where the department determines that a project cannot obligate or expend the funds by the required dates, the department shall not fund the project, and it shall continue from the second round of grant awards in the order in which the applications were ranked for grants.(8) The department shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program. Of the funds appropriated to the department for the program, not more than five percent (5%) may be used by the department to cover the department's costs of administering the program.(9)[Repealed effective 7/1/2026] In carrying out its responsibilities under the program, for any contract under the purview of the Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB), the department shall be exempt from any requirement that the PPRB approve any personal or professional services contracts or pre-approve any solicitation of such contracts. This subsection shall stand repealed on July 1, 2026.(10) The department shall submit an annual report regarding the program no later than December 31 of each year to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Chairmen of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.(11) For the purposes of this section, "entity" means: (a) Any entity operating as a rural water association, regardless of whether such entities were user created, were initially organized not for profit, or have been granted tax-exempt status under state or federal law.(b) Any nonprofit water or sewer provider not owned by the municipality or county and are not a Rural Water Association.(c) Any entity eligible under this program shall be currently operating as a not-for-profit entity.(d) "Entity" under this subsection does not include any state agency. No state agency shall be eligible under this program.Laws, 1995, ch. 521, §§ 1-3; Laws, 1996, ch. 542, § 1; Laws, 1998, ch. 375, § 1; Laws, 2000, ch. 595, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 2001, ch. 420, § 7; Laws, 2002, ch. 399, § 1; Laws, 2006, ch. 545, § 1; Laws, 2007, ch. 514, § 8; Laws, 2007, ch. 583, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 2007, ch. 514, § 9; reenacted without change, Laws, 2010, ch. 494, § 3; reenacted without change, Laws, 2010, ch. 505, § 7, eff. 5/1/2010.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 509, SB 2848,§ 3, eff. 5/13/2024.Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 469, SB 2444,§ 2, eff. 4/14/2023.Reenacted by Laws, 2021, ch. 399, HB 160,§ 8, eff. 3/25/2021.Reenacted by Laws, 2017, ch. 374, SB 2289, 6, eff. 7/1/2017.Reenacted by Laws, 2014, ch. 352, SB 2015, 7, eff. 7/1/2014.