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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Stimulus Funding Available
The Utah Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Loan Program received approximately $19 million dollars as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to fund drinking water infrastructure projects in Utah. A portion of the funding (20%) was to be targeted toward green projects (including green infrastructure, energy or water efficiency, and environmentally innovative activities). 50% of the total funds was to be awarded as grants, while the remainder was to be authorized as loans with terms determined by the Utah Drinking Water Board (DWB).
Projects eligible for ARRA funding must be under contract or construction by February 17, 2010 or the funds will be reallocated to other states. The Division of Drinking Water solicited applications for this funding. Interested parties were invited to apply as soon as possible given the tight timeline for obligating these funds.
Requirements for ARRA funding include:
- All projects will be prioritized by the DWB based on public health and environmental factors, in addition to readiness to proceed to construction
- Projects must be under contract or construction before February 17, 2010
- Projects must meet the Davis-Bacon wage rules issued by the Department of Labor
- Projects must comply with the Buy American provisions of the ARRA (e.g., all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in a project must be produced in the United States)
- Projects must have completed an environmental review in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- All other usual requirements of the DWSRF program apply; such as DBE rules.
Eligible Projects
Funds were only available for publicly owned community water systems.
Prioritizing Projects
All applications will be evaluated, assigned priority points, and placed on a "Project Priority List" by DDW staff. Systems whose projects have a high priority score, are "green" projects, and/or are "shovel ready" (construction can be started soon) will be given the opportunity to be considered for financial assistance ahead of other projects.
Intended Use Plan
The state is required to submit an annual Intended Use Plan (2009 IUP and 2010 IUP v2) to EPA as long as the Utah Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) or set-aside accounts remain in operation. This plan is available for the public to review. For more information about the Federal SRF program, click here.
Recovery Act Requirements
Please click here to reference the detailed guidance EPA has issued outlining how they will award and administer State Revolving Fund Capitalization Grants appropriated to the State and Tribal Assistance Grants under the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”.
A brief summary of several of the key requirements follow:
Green Project Reserve
The ARRA states: “Provided further, That to the extent there are sufficient eligible project applications, not less than 20 percent of the funds shall be for projects, or portions of projects, that include green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative activities.” Please refer to Attachment 7 in EPA’s Guidance for detailed project descriptions and examples for Green Reserve Projects.
Additional Subsidization Reserve
The ARRA contains the following requirement: “Provided further, That notwithstanding the requirements of section 1452(f) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, for the funds appropriated herein, each State shall use not less than 50 percent of the amount of its capitalization grants to provide additional subsidization to eligible recipients in the form of forgiveness of principal, negative interest loans, or grants, or any combination of these:”
Davis Bacon
Section 1606 of the ARRA contains the following language: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law and in a manner consistent with other provisions in this Act, all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and sub contractors on projects funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part by and through the Federal Government pursuant to this Act shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. With respect to the labor standards specified in this section, the Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C.App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code.” The purpose of this language is to apply Davis-Bacon Act wage rules to all assistance agreements made in whole or in part with funds appropriated under the ARRA. The Department of Labor provides all pertinent information related to compliance with labor standards, including prevailing wage rates and instructions for reporting.
American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods
Section 1605 of the ARRA requires that none of the appropriated funds may be used for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project is produced in the United States unless (a) a waiver is provided to the recipient by EPA or (b) compliance would be inconsistent with United States obligations under international agreements.
SRF Application Process
To initiate the process, complete and submit an application form (zip) v2.13 in Microsoft Excel. This version will allow data to be directly imported into our internal database. Please fill out the application and eMail it to DDW in an Excel 2003 file format.
A brief overview of the process follows:
- Application Submitted
- Application reviewed by DDW staff
- DDW staff meets with applicant
- Funding request sent to the DWB for action
- Project is designed
- DDW design review
- NEPA review
- Public Hearings
- Construction Permit
- Advertise Bids
- Bid Opening
- Loan Closing
- Contract Award
Certification under Section 1511
The following certification is available to view, which includes all projects potentially receiving ARRA funds.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources:
- DEQ Stimulus page
- EPA ARRA site
- EPA FAQ for SRF Recovery Act Funding
- ARRA Recovery.Gov Site
- EPA Water and Energy Efficiency
- EPA Guidance
- Utah SRF Program Rules (R309-705)
For further information, please contact Michael Grange or Julie Cobleigh at (801) 538-4200.
