Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024
(1)
Dedicated Projects and the maximum funds to be distributed to those Dedicated
Projects are:
(a) Mid-Willamette Valley
Intermodal Facility, $25 million;
(b) Treasure Valley Intermodal Facility, $26
million;
(c) Rail expansion in East
Beach Industrial Park at the Port of Morrow, $6.55 million;
(d) Extend rail siding along the Amtrak
Cascade line in Oregon south of the City of Portland, $2.6 million.
(2) The Department will enter into
an Agreement with Project Sponsors for Dedicated Projects (1)(c) and (1)(d)
prior to the Project Sponsor beginning work on the project plan. The Agreement
shall identify the terms, expectations, schedule and maximum funding available
to complete the project plan.
(3)
Project Sponsors must prepare and submit a project plan to the Department in
order to be considered for funding to develop a Dedicated Project.
(a) A project plan for Dedicated Projects
(1)(a) and (1)(b) shall include:
(A) Detailed
site location selection analysis;
(B) Project scope of work, purpose and
need;
(C) Evidence of necessary
site ownership or control;
(D)
Feasibility Analysis which includes at a minimum:
(i) An assessment of commodities and products
likely to be served and their typical market destinations;
(ii) An assessment of the anticipated market
area the facility would serve;
(iii) An assessment of the market share in
the area that would use the facility;
(iv) An assessment of the anticipated
transportation cost savings that use of the proposed facility may generate,
such as project savings realized by shipping freight via rail in lieu of
trucking;
(v) An assessment of the
size and scale of the buildings, equipment, and storage areas, etc. necessary
to support operation of the facility;
(vi) Documentation sufficient to perform a
financial review of the Project Sponsor's ability to deliver project, cover
project construction costs until reimbursements are made, and ability to
support continuous operation of the facility. Documentation necessary to
conduct a financial review includes, but not limited to:
(II) CPA compiled or reviewed financial
statements;
(III) Interim financial
statements;
(V) Pro formas with
assumptions;
(VI) Sources and uses
of capital sufficient to fund the project.
(E) An estimate of the design and capital
construction costs necessary to build the facility necessary to support its
operation;
(F) A Return on
Investment Analysis which must include the following:
(i) Anticipated annual revenue from operating
the facility;
(ii) Number of jobs
anticipated to operate the facility;
(iii) Anticipated indirect job and economic
growth in the area supported by facility construction and operation.
(G) Written concurrence from an
authorized agent from the relevant rail entity(s) indicating agreement with the
project plan and proposal associated with its concurrence;
(H) Identify anticipated and/or potential
impacts the proposed project may have to nearby transportation facilities and
any anticipated needed transportation investments required to support its
successful operation;
(I) Expected
useful life of the project;
(J)
Project schedule including design and construction, acquisition of necessary
permits and other key milestones, including how the Project Sponsor will be
able to begin construction no later than January 1, 2020.
(K) Written demonstration of project support
from public agencies that must approve the project.
(b) A project plan for Dedicated Projects
(1)(c) and (1)(d) shall include:
(A) Project
scope of work, purpose and need;
(B) Anticipated project benefits including
transportation connections;
(C)
Description of area and entities expected to be served by the
facility;
(D) Project schedule
including design and construction, acquisition of necessary permits and other
key milestones, including how the Project Sponsor will be able to begin
construction no later than January 1, 2020;
(E) Expected useful life of the
project;
(F) An estimate of the
design and capital construction costs necessary to build the facility necessary
to support its operation;
(G)
Written concurrence from an authorized agent from the relevant rail entity(s)
indicating agreement with the project plan and Proposal associated with its
concurrence;
(H) Evidence of
necessary site ownership or control.
(4) The Department will reimburse Project
Sponsors of Dedicated Projects for the eligible costs for preparing a project
plan upon receipt of invoices documented in the manner agreed to in the
Agreement.
(5) The Department will
begin the review of project plans once all Project Sponsors who have signed
Agreements to prepare project plans for one of the Dedicated Projects, or who
have notified the Department of their intent to submit a project plan not
eligible for reimbursement have submitted complete project plans. Review will
begin no later than 60 calendar days from the receipt of the first complete
Plan with total review period not to exceed 120 calendar days from the receipt
of the last Plan. Project plans shall be reviewed by the Department in the
following manner:
(a) The Department shall
review each project plan for completeness within 30 calendar days of initial
submission. If Department determines Plan materials are not complete,
Department may request additional information from Project Sponsor.
(b) The Department shall forward the project
plans and neutral third party entity(s) summary report(s) (if applicable) to a
Dedicated Project Review Committee of individuals with freight and economic
development expertise and no direct or indirect conflicts of interest in any of
the Dedicated Projects. The Dedicated Project Review Committee shall review and
evaluate the project plans. Where more than one project plan is submitted for a
Dedicated Project, the Dedicated Project Review Committee will rank the Plan
proposals.
(c) The Department shall
forward the project plans, neutral third party entity(s) summary report(s),
rankings, and recommendations (if applicable), and Dedicated Project Review
Committee rankings to the director of OBDD. The director of OBDD shall review
and evaluate the project plans. Where there is more than one project plan for
an individual Dedicated Project, the director of OBDD will rank the project
plans. The director of OBDD shall provide a letter to the Commission
recommending which Project Sponsor the Commission should enter into an
Agreement, if any.
(d) The
Department shall forward the project plans and neutral third party entity(s)
summary report(s), rankings, and recommendations (if applicable), and Dedicated
Project Review Committee rankings to the Director. The Director shall review
and evaluate the project plans. Where there is more than one project plan for
an individual Dedicated Project, the Director will rank the project plans. The
Director shall provide a letter to the Commission recommending which Project
Sponsor the Commission should enter into an Agreement, if any.
(e) The Department shall present the project
plans, products from neutral third party entity(s) (if applicable),
recommendations and ranking of Dedicated Project Review Committee, and letters
of recommendation from Department and OBDD director to the Commission for
consideration.
(6) For
project plans approved by the Commission, the Department shall enter into an
Agreement with the Project Sponsor prior to the disbursal of Connect Oregon
Funds and shall include change management expectations related to the Dedicated
project scope, schedule and budget. Entering into this Agreement does not
preclude Project Sponsor from complying with any required federal, state and
local permits, requirements or approvals. The Project Sponsor will not be
reimbursed for any project costs expended prior to the execution of the
Agreement. Reimbursement of project costs will occur only when there are
sufficient funds available in the Connect Oregon Fund to cover the project
costs. Total reimbursable project costs for each Dedicated Project shall not
exceed amount included in the Agreement unless Agreement is revised by the
Department. At no time will the total reimbursable project costs including Plan
reimbursement costs exceed the amount identified in section (1).
(7) The Department shall administer each
Dedicated Project consistent with OAR 731-035-0080. Dedicated Projects are
expressly exempt from all match requirements in OAR 731-035-0070.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
184.619,
367.082 & Ch. 816 OL 2005
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
367.080 - 367.086, Ch. 816 OL 2005 & Ch. 750 OL
2017
