Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Loan
applicants shall submit to the Agency a Project Plan, with its initial Funding
Nomination Form, that shall consist of plans and studies that are directly
related to the construction or implementation of the proposed project. The
Project Plan shall provide documentation on the need for the project for which
loan assistance is being requested.
b) Planning previously or collaterally
accomplished under local, State or federal programs may be utilized to the
extent applicable. If any information required to be furnished as part of a
Project Plan has been developed separately, it shall be furnished and
incorporated by reference in the Project Plan.
c) When applicable, the loan applicant shall
also submit drafts of any intergovernmental agreements or demonstrations of
legal authority necessary for project implementation.
d) The Project Plan may include more than one
construction project.
e) The
Project Plan shall include the following supporting data:
1) A complete description of the selected
wastewater treatment system or other systems, identification of any existing
violations of federal or State regulations, and identification of the needs to
be addressed by the proposed project;
2) A discussion of the technical, financial,
managerial, and environmental considerations that form the basis for the loan
applicant's selection of the recommended project, including an evaluation
regarding the elimination of infiltration and inflow if applicable. When
appropriate to the project scope, the following issues shall be addressed:
A) The relationship of the capacity of the
selected alternative to the needs to be served, including reserve
capacity;
B) Identification of
current and proposed effluent discharge limitations and water quality standards
for the proposed treatment works or facilities, as required by Title IV of the
CWA and 35 Ill. Adm. Code: Subtitle C;
C) A discussion of the operational
requirements for the selected alternative and provisions for the ultimate
disposal of sludge materials from the wastewater treatment process;
D) An inventory of the relative environmental
impacts of the selected alternative and a discussion of the measures that would
be required during design and construction to mitigate or minimize negative
environmental impacts; and
E)
Adequate basis of design information for the selected alternative to confirm
the reasonability of cost estimates;
3) A detailed description of the alternative
selected for loan assistance, including preliminary engineering data, complete
cost estimates for design and construction, one or more
8.5 by 11 inch
site map or maps locating areas of construction and indirect impacts, and a
projected schedule for completion. The engineering data shall include, to the
extent appropriate, flow diagrams, unit process descriptions, detention times,
flow rates, unit capacities, etc., sufficient to demonstrate that the project
proposed will be designed in accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 370;
4) Any required comments or approvals from
relevant federal, State, interstate, regional or local agencies;
5) An implementation plan for the proposed
recommendations, including necessary financial arrangements for the operation
and maintenance of the project and repayment of the proposed loan amount, as
well as the impact of these costs on the system users; and
6) Information sufficient to support a
determination as to whether any portion of the project addresses green
infrastructure, energy efficient improvements, or other environmentally
innovative activities.
f) Planning for Individual Systems
1) Construction involving privately owned
residential wastewater treatment works must be part of the cost-effective
solution in the approved Project Plan.
2) Loan applicants must have legal authority
to access all such privately owned systems at all reasonable times for such
purposes as inspections, monitoring, building, operation, maintenance,
rehabilitation, and replacement.
g) The Project Plan will be reviewed by the
Agency under the State environmental review process specified in Section
365.330.
If substantial changes are made to the project scope following submittal to the
Agency, the Project Plan shall be revised or amended and resubmitted for review
and approval.
h) In the Project
Plan, a public loan applicant must certify:
1)
it has studied and evaluated the cost and effectiveness of the processes,
materials, techniques, and technologies for carrying out the proposed project
or activity for which assistance is sought; and
2) it has selected, to the maximum extent
practicable, a project or activity that maximizes the potential for efficient
water use, reuse, recapture, and conservation, and energy conservation, taking
into account:
A) the cost of constructing the
project or activity;
B) the cost of
operating and maintaining the project or activity over the life of the project
or activity; and
C) the cost of
replacing the project or activity.
