Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Summary of Interim Final Rule and Final Rule Structure Background: In the interim final rule, Treasury aligned eligible uses of the SLFRF with the wide range of types or categories of projects that would be eligible to receive financial assistance through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) or Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). By referring to these existing programs, with which many recipients are already familiar, Treasury intended to provide flexibility to recipients to respond to the needs of their communities while facilitating recipients' identification of eligible projects. Furthermore, by aligning SLFRF eligible uses with these existing programs, Treasury could ensure that projects using the SLFRF are limited to "necessary investments." Public Comment: Treasury received many comments responding to the water and sewer infrastructure provisions of the interim final rule from state, local, and Tribal governments, industry trade associations, public interest groups, private individuals, and other interested parties. Commenters requested that Treasury provide a wider set of eligible uses for water and sewer infrastructure beyond those uses articulated by the DWSRF and CWSRF, suggesting that Treasury expand the definition of necessary water and sewer infrastructure. Treasury Response: In response to commenters, Treasury is expanding the eligible use categories for water and sewer infrastructure, discussed in further detail below. Because the interim final rule aligned the definition of necessary water and sewer infrastructure with the eligible uses included in the DWSRF and CWSRF, Treasury is reflecting in the final rule a revised standard for determining a necessary water and sewer infrastructure investment for eligible water and sewer uses beyond those uses that are eligible under the DWSRF and CWSRF. 265