Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1)
Purpose. The purpose of safe
drinking water action grants is to assist local governments, or a local
government applying on behalf of a purveyor, in providing safe drinking water
to areas contaminated by, or threatened by contamination from, hazardous waste
sites.
(2)
Project
eligibility. For the purposes of this grant, a project consists of safe
drinking water actions at a single hazardous waste site. A project may extend
over more than one biennium. To be eligible for a grant, a project must meet
all of the following requirements:
(a) The
applicant must be a local government;
(b) The applicant must be a purveyor or the
applicant must be applying on behalf of a purveyor;
(c) The applicant or purveyor must be in
substantial compliance, as determined by the department of health, with
applicable rules of the state board of health or the department of health,
including chapter 246-290 WAC (Group A public water supplies), chapter 246-292
WAC (Waterworks operator certification), chapter 246-293 WAC (Water System
Coordination Act), and chapter 246-294 WAC (Drinking water operating
permits);
(d) The drinking water
source must be affected or threatened by one or more hazardous substances
originating from a hazardous waste site;
(e) The department of ecology has determined
that the drinking water source:
(i) Exhibits
levels of hazardous substances that exceed the maximum contaminant levels
(MCLs) established by the state board of health and set forth in WAC
246-290-310;
(ii) Exhibits levels of hazardous substances
that exceed the cleanup levels established by the department of ecology under
Part VII of chapter 173-340 WAC; or
(iii) Is threatened to exceed the levels of
hazardous substances identified in (e)(i) or (ii) of this subsection;
(f) If the safe drinking water
action includes water line extensions, the extensions must be consistent with
the coordinated water system plan prepared under
chapter
70.116 RCW and any plans
for new development prepared under
chapter
36.70 or
36.70A RCW for the geographic area
containing the affected water supplies; and
(g) The applicant must not be required to
conduct the safe drinking water action under an order or decree.
(3)
Funding priority.
The department will prioritize eligible projects for funding or limit funding
for eligible projects based on the priorities in WAC
173-322A-210 and the following
factors:
(a) The threat posed by the hazardous
waste site to drinking water;
(b)
Whether the drinking water serves a highly impacted community;
(c) The per capita cost of providing safe
drinking water;
(d) The ability of
the grant to expedite the provision of safe drinking water;
(e) The ability of the grant to leverage
other public or private funding for the provision of safe drinking
water;
(f) The readiness of the
applicant to start and complete the work to be funded by the grant and the
performance of the applicant under prior grant agreements; and
(g) Other factors as determined and published
by the department.
(4)
Application process.
(a)
Project solicitation. Biennially, the department will solicit
project proposals from local governments to develop its budget and update its
ten-year financing plan for remedial action grants and loans. The department
may update its ten-year financing plan as needed during the biennium. Project
proposals must be submitted on forms provided by the department and include
sufficient information to make the determinations in (c) of this subsection. To
be considered for inclusion in the department's budget for remedial action
grants and loans, project proposals should be submitted by the dates published
by the department.
(b)
Application submittal. Applications must be submitted on forms
provided by the department and include sufficient information to make the
determinations in (c) and (d) of this subsection. Completed applications should
be submitted by the dates published by the department.
(c)
Project evaluation and
ranking. Project proposals and applications will be reviewed by the
department for completeness and evaluated to determine:
(i) Project eligibility under subsection (2)
of this section; and
(ii) Funding
priority under subsection (3) of this section.
(d)
Agreement development. The
department will make funding decisions only after funds have been appropriated.
After deciding to fund an eligible project, the department will negotiate with
the applicant the scope of work and budget for the grant and develop the
agreement. The department will consider:
(i)
Funding priority under subsection (3) of this section;
(ii) Cost eligibility under subsections (5)
and (6) of this section;
(iii)
Allowable funding under subsection (7) of this section; and
(iv) Availability of state funds and other
funding sources.
(e)
Fund management. The department may adjust funding levels or fund
additional eligible projects during a biennium if additional funds should
become available.
(5)
Cost eligibility. To be eligible for funding, a project cost must
be eligible under this subsection and the terms of the grant agreement and be
approved by the department.
(a)
Eligible
costs. Eligible costs for a safe drinking water action grant include,
but are not limited to, reasonable costs for the following, if needed:
(i) Water supply source development and
replacement, including pumping and storage facilities, source meters, and
reasonable appurtenances;
(ii)
Transmission lines between major system components, including interties with
other water systems;
(iii)
Treatment equipment and facilities;
(iv) Distribution lines from major system
components to system customers or service connections;
(v) Bottled water, as an interim
action;
(vi) Fire
hydrants;
(vii) Service
meters;
(viii) Project inspection,
engineering, and administration;
(ix) Individual service connections,
including any connection fees and charges;
(x) Drinking water well decommissioning under
WAC 173-160-381; and
(xi) Other costs identified by the department
of health as necessary to provide a system that operates in compliance with
federal and state standards.
(b)
Ineligible costs. Ineligible
costs for a safe drinking water action grant include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(i) The cost of developing the
grant application or negotiating the grant agreement;
(ii) The cost of dispute resolution under the
grant agreement;
(iii) Retroactive
costs, except as provided under subsection (6) of this section;
(iv) The cost of oversizing or extending a
water system for future development;
(v) The cost of individual service
connections for undeveloped lots;
(vi) Local improvement district
assessments;
(vii) Operation and
maintenance costs;
(viii) Natural
resource damage assessment and restoration costs and liability for natural
resource damages under
chapter
70.105D RCW or the
federal cleanup law;
(ix) Legal
costs including, but not limited to, the costs of seeking client advice,
pursuing cost recovery, contribution, or insurance claims, participating in
administrative hearings, pursuing penalties or civil or criminal actions
against persons, penalties incurred by the recipient, defending actions taken
against the recipient, and any attorney fees incurred by the recipient;
and
(x) In-kind
contributions.
(6)
Retroactive cost
eligibility. Retroactive costs are eligible for reimbursement if the
costs are incurred during the period of a prior grant agreement, the costs are
eligible under subsection (5) of this section, and the costs have not been
reimbursed by the department.
(7)
Funding of eligible costs.
(a)
Department share. The department may fund up to ninety percent of
the eligible costs.
(b)
Recipient share. The recipient shall fund the percentage of the
eligible costs not funded by the department under (a) of this subsection. The
recipient may not use in-kind contributions to meet this requirement.