|
|
Loan Programs
|
Clean Water Revolving FundDrinking
Water Revolving Fund
|
-
Eligible Borrowers
Eligible Projects/Expenditures
Ineligible Projects/Expenditures
How to Apply for CWRF Funding
Obtain Debt Authorization
Complete a Project Finance Application
Fiscal Sustainability Plan
Cost and Effectiveness Analysis
Eligible Borrowers
- Public jurisdictions (cities, towns, special districts, county improvement districts,
sanitary districts and Indian Tribes)
Note: Federally-owned systems are not eligible. State-owned and county-owned systems
are typically not eligible.
Eligible Projects/Expenditures
- Construction, expansion, upgrade of wastewater treatment plants
- Interceptors, collectors and lift stations
- Upgrade or replacement of failing decentralized wastewater systems
- Septic to sewer
-
Recharge facilities; water reclamation and reuse
-
Stormwater management - both pipes and green stormwater infrastructure,
for permitted MS4s and unregulated MS4s.
-
Nonpoint source - a water quality improvement project as described
in section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Nonpoint source pollution is polluted runoff
that is not regulated by an AZPDES permit and comes from sources such as agriculture,
forestry, grazing, septic systems, recreational boating, urban runoff, construction,
physical changes to stream channels and habitat degradation.
- Land acquisition - land must be integral to the treatment process,
such as infiltration basins or right of ways for stormwater BMPs.
Ineligible Projects/Expenditures
- Land for structures
- Laboratory fees for monitoring
- Operation and maintenance costs
- Privately-owned wastewater treatment systems
BACK TO TOP
How to Apply for CWRF Funding
Apply to Project Priority List
Eligible borrowers can submit an application to WIFA for inclusion on the Project
Priority List (PPL) at any time. Applications are added to the PPL at the next WIFA
Board of Directors meeting. Please use the Applicant Login link on the left side
of this screen to complete and submit an application. Once submitted, a project
manager and loan officer will be assigned to help guide you through the rest of
the application and financing process.
Contact Information
Sara Konrad, Environmental Program Supervisor
[email protected]
(602) 364-1319
WIFA offers its borrowers below-market interest rates. Projects on the PPL are scored
to determine the project's financial subsidy (used to calculate reduced combined
interest and fee rate). The scoring is based on:
- proposed project's water quality benefits;
- current condition of facilities;
- proposed water quality improvements, particularly those addressing compliance issues;
- water and energy efficiency (green) factors;
- local fiscal capacity which includes median household income, average monthly residential
fee and system indebtedness;
- prior planning and design grant or design loan from WIFA for the proposed project.
The PPL serves as a guide for funding decisions by the WIFA Board of Directors and
does not determine the order in which projects are funded.
BACK TO TOP
Obtain Debt Authorization
Once the project is placed on the Project Priority List, the next step is to obtain
debt authorization. The requirements for debt authorization depend on the system
size:
- For systems with a population of ≤ 150,000: obtain approval by resolution of the governing
body. (View sample debt authorization resolution)
- For systems with a population of > 150,000: obtain approval by bond election.
- Sanitary districts have special requirements; please contact WIFA at 602-364-1310
for more information.
For more information on debt authorization, please refer to the WIFA guidance document.
BACK TO TOP
Complete a Project Finance Application
After debt authorization for a project is obtained, WIFA will work with applicants
to complete a Project Finance Application (PFA), which asks for further information
about the project, the system and the borrower. After the PFA is submitted, WIFA
staff complete an analysis of the application and present the project to the Board
for approval. Board meetings are typically held every other month. Click here for WIFA's calendar of Board meetings.
WIFA Loan Application Process
Note:
WIFA funding originates from the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water
Act and the Clean Water Act and requires compliance with federal Davis-Bacon Act
prevailing wages. Further details on the Davis-Bacon Act and other requirements
are available on our
Contract Packet web page.
BACK TO TOP
Fiscal Sustainability Plan
With new changes to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), Clean Water
State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loans for treatment works projects require loan recipients
to have a Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP). A Fiscal Sustainability Plan describes
how a wastewater treatment facility owner will fund the creation, acquisition, operation,
maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement of assets to meet their established
level of service with the least overall cost from startup, operation, and end of
life. Furthermore, a Fiscal Sustainability Plan calls for ongoing energy and water
efficiency improvement efforts.
The FWPCA now includes section 603(d)(1)(E) taking effect October 1st, 2014
which details the requirement of a Fiscal Sustainability Plan for treatment works
projects:
- an inventory of critical assets that are part
of the treatment works;
- an evaluation of the condition and performance
of inventoried assets or asset groupings;
- a certification that the assistance recipient
has evaluated and will be implementing water and energy conservation efforts as
part of the plan; and
- a plan for maintaining, repairing, and, as necessary,
replacing the treatment works and a plan for funding such activities.
To comply with these recent amendments, a CWSRF Borrower must certify that it has
developed and is implementing a Fiscal Sustainability Plan. Some entities are already
using a written plan for sustaining operational and financial viability that meets
the requirements. Borrowers that have not developed a Plan prior to loan award may
include the cost of developing the Plan in the loan.
BACK TO TOP
Cost and Effectiveness Analysis
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan program provides low-cost loans
for the planning, design and construction of various water pollution control activities.
Recent amendments to the Clean Water Act require all loan recipients of projects
funded by a CWSRF loan to develop and implement a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis.
The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) administers the CWSRF loan program
for Arizona.
What is a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis?
The Cost and Effectiveness Analysis is a process for selecting a project or activity
that maximizes water and energy conservation and considers overall project costs
as well as important non-monetary factors. Analyzing the cost and effectiveness
of a proposed project or activity will usually involve comparing a set of alternatives
that achieve a given water quality objective or address a given need based on a
common set of monetary and nonmonetary factors.
At a minimum, a cost and effectiveness analysis must demonstrate that the recipient:
- 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 under this title; and
- 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—
- the cost of constructing the project or activity;
- the cost of operating and maintaining the project or activity over the life of the
project or activity; and
- the cost of replacing the project or activity.
There is no requirement that communities select the least-cost alternative. In theory,
the least-cost alternative should be selected unless non-monetary factors suggest
otherwise.
A Cost and Effectiveness Analysis is an eligible cost for CWSRF assistance.
Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification
Loan recipients must complete, sign and submit the CWSRF Cost and Effectiveness
Analysis Certification Form. The certification and analysis must be submitted before
WIFA assistance is provided for final design or construction. For design loans,
the loan recipient will complete and submit the certification and analysis as a
requirement prior to the final disbursements.
Cost and Effectiveness Analysis Certification Form
Resources for developing a Cost and Effectiveness Analysis:
BACK TO TOP
-
Eligible Borrowers
Eligible Projects/Expenditures
Ineligible Projects/Expenditures
How to Apply for DWRF Funding
Obtain Debt Authorization
Complete a Project Finance Application
Eligible Borrowers
- Publicly-owned community water systems (cities, towns, special districts)
- Privately-owned community water systems that are regulated by the Arizona Corporation
Commission (ACC). Click here for a list of ACC-regulated utilities - https://www.azcc.gov/divisions/utilities/UTILITYLIST.asp
- Non profit non-community water systems that are regulated by the ACC that meet all
other WIFA financial assistance requirements.
A community water system is defined as a water system that serves at least 25 people
or 15 service connections year round. This classification is determined by the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
Note: Federally-owned systems are not eligible. State-owned and county-owned systems
are typically not eligible.
Eligible Projects/Expenditures
- Treatment - for example, installation or upgrade of facilities
to improve the quality of drinking water to comply with standards.
- Transmission and distribution - for example, installation or replacement
of transmission and distribution pipes to improve water pressure to safe levels
or to prevent contamination caused by leaks or breaks in pipes. This category also
includes meters.
- Source - for example, rehabilitation of wells and development of
eligible sources to replace contaminated sources.
- Storage - for example, installation or upgrade of eligible storage
facilities, including finished water reservoirs, to prevent microbiological contaminants
from entering a public water system.
- Consolidation - projects needed to consolidate water supplies where,
for example, a supply has become contaminated or a system is unable to maintain
compliance for technical, financial or managerial reasons (may include water rights,
if the water rights are owned by a system that is being purchased through consolidation).
- Creation of new systems - projects that, upon completion, will
create a community water system to address existing public health problems.
- Land acquisition - only if it is integral to a project that is
needed to meet or maintain compliance and further public health protection (i.e.,
needed to locate eligible treatment or distribution projects, or to protect source
water).
- Refinancing debt obligations of publicly-owned systems.
Ineligible Projects/Expenditures
- Projects primarily intended to serve future growth (projects that accommodate
a reasonable amount of population growth expected to occur over the useful life
of the facility are eligible)
- Projects needed mainly for fire protection
- Laboratory fees for monitoring
- Operation and maintenance costs
- Refinancing debt obligations of privately-owned systems
- Water rights, except if the water rights are owned by a system that is being
purchased through consolidation
- Projects for systems that lack adequate technical, managerial and financial capability
unless funding will ensure compliance
- Projects for systems in significant non compliance unless funding will ensure compliance
- Dams or rehabilitation of dams
- Reservoirs, except for finished water reservoirs and those reservoirs that are
part of the treatment process and are located on the property where the treatment
facility is located
BACK TO TOP
How to Apply for DWRF Funding
Apply to Project Priority List
Eligible borrowers can submit an application to WIFA for inclusion on the Project
Priority List (PPL) at any time. Applications are added to the PPL at the next WIFA
Board of Directors meeting. Please use the Applicant Login link on the left side
of this screen to complete and submit an application. Once submitted, a project
manager and loan officer will be assigned to help guide you through the rest of
the application and financing process.
Contact Information
Sara Konrad, Environmental Program Supervisor
[email protected]
(602) 364-1319
WIFA offers its borrowers below-market interest rates. Projects on the PPL are scored
to determine the project's financial subsidy (used to calculate reduced combined
interest and fee rate). The scoring is based on:
- proposed project's public health benefits;
- current condition of facilities;
- proposed water system improvements, particularly those addressing compliance issues;
- consolidation and regionalization;
- water and energy efficiency (green) factors;
- local fiscal capacity which includes median household income, average monthly residential
fee, system indebtedness; and
- prior planning and design grant or design loan from WIFA for the proposed project.
The PPL serves as a guide for funding decisions by the WIFA Board of Directors and
does not determine the order in which projects are funded.
BACK TO TOP
Obtain Debt Authorization
Once the project is placed on the PPL, the next step is to obtain debt authorization.
The requirements for debt authorization depend on the system ownership:
- For private, ACC-regulated drinking water systems: obtain approval of a financing
application from ACC.
- For publicly-owned water systems with a population of ≤ 150,000: obtain approval by
resolution of the governing body. (View sample debt authorization resolution)
- For publicly-owned water systems with a population of > 150,000: obtain approval by
bond election.
For more information on debt authorization, please refer to the WIFA guidance document.
BACK TO TOP
Complete a Project Finance Application
After debt authorization for a project is obtained, WIFA will work with applicants
to complete a Project Finance Application (PFA), which asks for further information
about the project, the system and the borrower. After the PFA is submitted, WIFA
staff complete an analysis of the application and present the project to the Board
for approval. Board meetings are typically held every other month. Click here for WIFA's calendar of Board meetings.
WIFA Loan Application Process
Note:
WIFA funding originates from the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water
Act and the Clean Water Act and requires compliance with federal Davis-Bacon Act
prevailing wages. Further details on the Davis-Bacon Act and other requirements
are available on our
Contract Packet web page.
BACK TO TOP
|
|
|
|
|
What's New!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|