I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 434 

To authorize a pilot project for an innovative water project financing program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2017 

Mr. DENHAM (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. CALVERT, 

Mr. COSTA, and Mr. GARAMENDI) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize a pilot project for an innovative water project 

financing program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘New Water Available To Every Reclamation State Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘New WATER Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Authority to provide assistance. 

Sec. 4. Applications. 


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Sec. 5. Eligibility for assistance. 

Sec. 6. Selection criteria. 

Sec. 7. Federal requirements. 

Sec. 8. Secured loans. 

Sec. 9. Program administration. 

Sec. 10. State, tribal, and local permits. 

Sec. 11. Regulations. 

Sec. 12. Funding. 

Sec. 13. Report to Congress on pilot project implementation. 

Sec. 14. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to promote increased development of critical 

4 water resources infrastructure by establishing addi5 tional opportunities for financing water resources 

6 projects; 

7 (2) to attract new investment capital to infra8 structure projects that are capable of generating rev9 enue streams through user fees or other dedicated 

10 funding sources; and 

11 (3) to leverage private investment in water re12 sources infrastructure. 

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—For 15 years after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary may provide financial 

16 assistance under this Act to carry eligible projects with17 in— 

18 (1) any Reclamation State; 


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1 (2) any other State in which the Bureau of 

2 Reclamation is authorized to provide project assist3 ance; and 

4 (3) the States of Alaska and Hawaii. 

5 (b) SELECTION.—In selecting projects to receive fi6 nancial assistance under subsection (a), the Secretary 

7 shall ensure diversity with respect to— 

8 (1) project types; and 

9 (2) geographical locations. 

10 SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS. 

11 To be eligible to receive assistance under this Act, 

12 an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica13 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

14 information as the Secretary may require. 

15 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The following projects 

17 may be carried out using assistance made available under 

18 this Act: 

19 (1) Any non-Federal water infrastructure 

20 project that— 

21 (A) the Secretary determines, through the 

22 completion of an appraisal investigation and 

23 feasibility study, would contribute to a safe, 

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1 tural, environmental, or municipal and indus2 trial use; and 

3 (B) is otherwise eligible for assistance 

4 under this Act. 

5 (2) A project for enhanced energy efficiency in 

6 the operation of a water system. 

7 (3) A project for accelerated repair and replace8 ment of an aging water distribution facility. 

9 (4) A brackish or sea water desalination 

10 project. 

11 (5) Acquisition of real property or an interest 

12 in real property for water storage, reclaimed or recy13 cled water, or wastewater, if the acquisition is inte14 gral to a project described in paragraphs (1) 

15 through (5). 

16 (6) A combination of projects, each of which is 

17 eligible under paragraphs (1) through (6), for which 

18 an eligible entity or group of eligible entities submits 

19 a single application. 

20 (b) ELIGIBLE COSTS.—Assistance made available 

21 under this Act (as paid by or for the account of an obligor) 

22 may be used to cover the following costs with respect to 

23 an eligible project: 

24 (1) Development-phase activities, including 

25 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, 


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1 environmental review, permitting, preliminary engi2 neering and design work, and other preconstruction 

3 activities. 

4 (2) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, 

5 and replacement activities. 

6 (3) Acquisition of real property (including water 

7 rights, land relating to the project, and improve8 ments to land), environmental mitigation, construc9 tion contingencies, and acquisition of equipment. 

10 (4) Capitalized interest necessary to meet mar11 ket requirements, reasonably required reserve funds, 

12 capital issuance expenses, and other carrying costs 

13 during construction. 

14 (5) Refinancing interim construction funding, 

15 existing long-term project obligations, or a secured 

16 loan or loan guarantee made under this Act. 

17 (c) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To 

18 be eligible to receive financial assistance under this Act, 

19 a project shall meet the following criteria, as determined 

20 by the Secretary: 

21 (1) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), the project shall be creditworthy, as 

24 determined by the Secretary, who shall ensure 

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1 priate security features, such as a rate cov2 enant, if applicable, and adequate coverage re3 quirements, to ensure repayment. 

4 (B) OPINION LETTER.— 

5 (i) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION

6 LETTER.—The Secretary shall require each 

7 applicant to provide a preliminary rating 

8 opinion letter from at least one rating 

9 agency indicating that the senior obliga10 tions of the project (which may be the 

11 Federal credit instrument) have the poten12 tial to achieve an investment-grade rating. 

13 (ii) FINAL RATING OPINION LET14 TERS.—The Secretary or the Adminis15 trator, as applicable, shall require each 

16 project applicant to provide, prior to final 

17 acceptance and financing of the project, 

18 final rating opinion letters from at least 

19 one rating agency indicating that the sen20 ior obligations of the project have an in21 vestment-grade rating. 

22 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The eligible 

23 project costs of a project shall be reasonably antici24 pated to be not less than $20,000,000. 


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1 (3) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The Fed2 eral credit instrument for the project shall be repay3 able, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue 

4 sources that also secure or fund the project obliga5 tions. 

6 (4) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTI7 TIES.—In the case of a project carried out by an en8 tity that is not a State or local government or an 

9 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern10 ment, the project shall be publicly sponsored as dem11 onstrated by certification of the same by an agency 

12 of the relevant State, inclusion in the relevant 

13 State’s official improvement plan or by other means 

14 acceptable to the Secretary. 

15 (d) RECEIPT OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING.—Re16 ceipt of a Federal grant or contract or other Federal fund17 ing to support an eligible project shall not preclude the 

18 project from being eligible for assistance under this Act. 

19 SEC. 6. SELECTION CRITERIA. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

21 criteria for the selection of one or more projects that meet 

22 the eligibility requirements section 5 in accordance with 

23 paragraph (2). The Secretary may enter into a master 

24 credit agreement for a projects secured by a common secu25 rity pledge on terms acceptable to the Secretary. 


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1 (b) CRITERIA.—The selection criteria shall include 

2 the following: 

3 (1) The extent to which the project is nationally 

4 or regionally significant. 

5 (2) The extent to which assistance under this 

6 section would foster innovative public-private part7 nerships and attract private debt or equity invest8 ment. 

9 (3) The likelihood that assistance under this 

10 section would enable the project to proceed at an 

11 earlier date than the project would otherwise be able 

12 to proceed. 

13 (4) The extent to which the project uses new or 

14 innovative approaches. 

15 (5) The amount of budget authority required to 

16 fund the Federal credit instrument made available 

17 under this Act. 

18 (6) The extent to which the project helps main19 tain or protect the environment. 

20 SEC. 7. FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section 

22 supersedes the applicability of other requirements of Fed23 eral law (including regulations). 

24 (b) NEPA.—A Federal action carried out regarding 

25 a loan or loan guarantee provided under this Act shall not 


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1 be considered to be a Federal action for purposes of the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4321 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 8. SECURED LOANS. 

5 (a) AGREEMENTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

7 through (4), the Secretary may enter into agree8 ments with one or more obligors to make secured 

9 loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

10 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

11 project selected under section 6; 

12 (B) to refinance interim construction fi13 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

14 selected under section 6; or 

15 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga16 tions or Federal credit instruments, if that refi17 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

18 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

19 any project that is selected under section 6. 

20 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

21 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A secured loan under 

22 paragraph (1) shall not be used to refinance interim 

23 construction financing under paragraph (1)(B)— 


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1 (A) if the maturity of such interim con2 struction financing is later than 1 year after 

3 the substantial completion of the project; and 

4 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub5 stantial completion of the applicable project. 

6 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

7 an agreement under this subsection for a secured 

8 loan, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director 

9 of the Office of Management and Budget shall deter10 mine an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount 

11 for the secured loan, taking into account each such 

12 preliminary rating opinion letter. 

13 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE14 MENT.—The execution of a secured loan under this 

15 section shall be contingent on receipt by the senior 

16 obligations of the project secured by the same rev17 enue pledge of an investment-grade rating from at 

18 least one rating agency. 

19 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secured loan provided for 

21 a project under this section shall be subject to such 

22 terms and conditions, and contain such covenants, 

23 representations, warranties, and requirements (in24 cluding requirements for audits), as the Secretary 

25 determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se2 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

3 lesser of— 

4 (A) an amount equal to 49 percent of the 

5 reasonably anticipated eligible project costs; and 

6 (B) if the secured loan does not receive an 

7 investment-grade rating, the amount of the sen8 ior project obligations of the project. 

9 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec10 tion— 

11 (A) shall be payable, in whole or in part, 

12 from State or local taxes, user fees, or other 

13 dedicated revenue sources that also secure the 

14 senior project obligations of the relevant 

15 project; 

16 (B) shall include a rate covenant, coverage 

17 requirement, or similar security feature sup18 porting the project obligations; and 

19 (C) may have a lien on revenues described 

20 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur21 ing project obligations. 

22 (4) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

23 secured loan under this section shall not be less than 

24 a rate equal to the yield on United States Treasury 

25 securities of a similar maturity to the maturity of 


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1 the secured loan on the date of execution of the loan 

2 agreement. 

3 (5) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date 

4 of a secured loan under this section shall be not 

5 later than the earlier of— 

6 (A) 35 years after the date of substantial 

7 completion of the relevant project; and 

8 (B) the final day of the useful life of the 

9 capital asset being financed. 

10 (6) NONSUBORDINATION.—A secured loan 

11 under this section shall not be subordinated to the 

12 claims of any holder of project obligations in the 

13 event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation of the 

14 obligor. 

15 (7) FEES.—The Secretary may establish fees, 

16 as provided for in section 10(b), at a level sufficient 

17 to cover all or a portion of the costs to the Federal 

18 Government of making a secured loan under this 

19 section. 

20 (8) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The proceeds of a 

21 secured loan under this section may be used to pay 

22 any non-Federal share of project costs required if 

23 the loan is repayable from non-Federal funds. 

24 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—For 

25 each project for which assistance is provided under 


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1 this Act, the total amount of Federal assistance 

2 from all sources, including the assistance provided 

3 under this Act, shall not exceed 80 percent of the 

4 total project cost. 

5 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

6 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall establish 

7 a repayment schedule for each secured loan provided 

8 under this section, based on the projected cash flow 

9 from project revenues, other repayment sources, and 

10 the useful life of the project. 

11 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay12 ment of principal or interest on a secured loan under 

13 this section shall commence not later than 5 years 

14 after the date of substantial completion of the 

15 project. 

16 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

17 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—If, at any time 

18 after the date of substantial completion of a 

19 project for which a secured loan is provided 

20 under this section, the project is unable to gen21 erate sufficient revenues to pay the scheduled 

22 loan repayments of principal and interest on the 

23 secured loan, the Secretary may allow the obli24 gor, subject to subparagraph (C), to add unpaid 


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1 principal and interest to the outstanding bal2 ance of the secured loan. 

3 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

5 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac6 cordance with subsection (b)(4) until fully 

7 repaid; and 

8 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

9 the remaining term of the secured loan. 

10 (C) CRITERIA.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer12 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con13 tingent on the project meeting such cri14 teria as the Secretary may establish. 

15 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

16 criteria established under clause (i) shall 

17 include standards for reasonable assurance 

18 of repayment. 

19 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

20 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex21 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

22 scheduled debt service requirements on the 

23 project obligations and secured loan and all de24 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

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1 ment securing project obligations may be ap2 plied annually to prepay a secured loan under 

3 this section without penalty. 

4 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI5 NANCING.—A secured loan under this section 

6 may be prepaid at any time without penalty 

7 from the proceeds of refinancing from non-Fed8 eral funding sources. 

9 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), as 

11 soon as practicable after the date of substantial 

12 completion of a project and after providing a notice 

13 to the obligor, the Secretary may sell to another en14 tity or reoffer into the capital markets a secured 

15 loan for a project under this section, if the Secretary 

16 determines that the sale or reoffering can be made 

17 on favorable terms. 

18 (2) CONSENT OF OBLIGOR.—In making a sale 

19 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

20 may not change the original terms and conditions of 

21 the secured loan without the written consent of the 

22 obligor. 

23 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide a 

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1 cured loan under this section, if the Secretary deter2 mines that the budgetary cost of the loan guarantee 

3 is substantially the same as that of a secured loan. 

4 (2) TERMS.—The terms of a loan guarantee 

5 provided under this subsection shall be consistent 

6 with the terms required under this section for a se7 cured loan, except that the rate on the guaranteed 

8 loan and any prepayment features shall be nego9 tiated between the obligor and the lender, with the 

10 consent of the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 9. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a 

13 uniform system to service the Federal credit instruments 

14 made available under this Act. 

15 (b) SERVICER.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint 

17 a financial entity to assist the Secretary in servicing 

18 the Federal credit instruments provided under this 

19 Act. 

20 (2) DUTIES; FEE.—A servicer appointed under 

21 paragraph (1) shall— 

22 (A) act as the agent for the Secretary; and 

23 (B) receive a servicing fee, subject to ap24 proval by the Secretary. 


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1 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM EXPERTS.—The Secretary 

2 may retain the services, including counsel, of any organi3 zation or entity with expertise in the field of municipal 

4 and project finance to assist in the underwriting and serv5 icing of Federal credit instruments provided under this 

6 Act. 

7 SEC. 10. STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL PERMITS. 

8 The provision of financial assistance for a project 

9 under this Act shall not— 

10 (1) relieve any recipient of the assistance of any 

11 obligation to obtain any required State, local, or 

12 tribal permit or approval with respect to the project; 

13 (2) limit the right of any unit of State, local, 

14 or tribal government to approve or regulate any rate 

15 of return on private equity invested in the project; 

16 or 

17 (3) otherwise supersede any State, local, or 

18 tribal law (including any regulation) applicable to 

19 the construction or operation of the project. 

20 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

21 The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as 

22 the Secretary determines to be appropriate to carry out 

23 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 12. FUNDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to each of the Secretary and the Administrator 

4 to carry out this Act, to remain available until expended— 

5 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

6 (2) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

7 (3) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

8 (4) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and 

9 (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

10 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the funds made 

11 available to carry out this Act, the Secretary may use for 

12 the administration of this Act not more than $2,200,000 

13 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022. 

14 SEC. 13. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PILOT PROJECT IMPLE15 MENTATION. 

16 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary 

18 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re20 sources of the House of Representatives a report summa21 rizing the financial performance of the projects that are 

22 receiving, or have received, assistance under this Act, in23 cluding an assessment of whether the objectives of this 

24 Act are being met. 

25 SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS. 

26 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (A) a corporation; 

4 (B) a partnership; 

5 (C) a joint venture; 

6 (D) a trust; 

7 (E) a State, local or non-Federal govern8 mental entity, agency, or instrumentality; and 

9 (F) a conservancy district, irrigation dis10 trict, canal company, mutual water company, 

11 water users’ association, Indian tribe, agency 

12 created by interstate compact, or any other en13 tity that has the capacity to contract with the 

14 United States under Federal reclamation law. 

15 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli16 gible project costs’’ means the total cost of activities 

17 deemed eligible for assistance in section 6(b) of this 

18 Act. 

19 (3) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

20 ‘‘Federal credit instrument’’ means a secured loan 

21 or loan guarantee authorized to be made available 

22 under this Act with respect to a project. 

23 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

24 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 


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1 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as 

2 assigned by a rating agency to project obligations. 

3 (5) LENDER.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘lender’’ 

5 means any non-Federal qualified institutional 

6 buyer (as defined in section 230.144A(a) of 

7 title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc8 cessor regulation) (commonly known as ‘‘Rule 

9 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com10 mission’’ and issued under the Securities Act of 

11 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.))). 

12 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘lender’’ in13 cludes— 

14 (i) a qualified retirement plan (as de15 fined in section 4974 of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986) that is a qualified in17 stitutional buyer; and 

18 (ii) a governmental plan (as defined in 

19 section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional 

21 buyer. 

22 (6) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar23 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

24 Secretary to pay all or part of the principal of, and 


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1 interest on, a loan or other debt obligation issued by 

2 an obligor and funded by a lender. 

3 (7) MASTER CREDIT AGREEMENT.—The term 

4 ‘‘master credit agreement’’ means an Agreement to 

5 extend credit assistance for one or more projects se6 cured by a common security pledge (which shall re7 ceive an investment-grade rating from a rating agen8 cy), or for a single project that would— 

9 (A) make contingent commitments of one 

10 or more secured loans or other Federal credit 

11 instruments at future dates, subject to the 

12 availability of future funds being made available 

13 to carry out this Act; 

14 (B) establish the maximum amounts and 

15 general terms and conditions of the secured 

16 loans or other Federal credit instruments; 

17 (C) identify the one or more dedicated 

18 non-Federal revenue sources that will secure 

19 the repayment of the secured loans or secured 

20 Federal credit instruments; 

21 (D) provide for the obligation of funds for 

22 the secured loans or secured Federal credit in23 struments after all requirements have been met 

24 for the projects subject to the master credit 

25 agreement, including— 


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1 (i) completion of an environmental im2 pact statement or similar analysis required 

3 under the National Environmental Policy 

4 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

5 (ii) compliance with such other re6 quirements as are specified in this Act; 

7 and 

8 (iii) the availability of funds to carry 

9 out this Act; and 

10 (E) require that contingent commitments 

11 result in a financial close and obligation of 

12 credit assistance not later than 3 years after 

13 the date of entry into the master credit agree14 ment, or release of the commitment, unless oth15 erwise extended by the Secretary. 

16 (8) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means an 

17 eligible entity that is primarily liable for payment of 

18 the principal of, or interest on, a Federal credit in19 strument. 

20 (9) PROJECT OBLIGATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘project obli22 gation’’ means any note, bond, debenture, or 

23 other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

24 connection with the financing of a project. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘project obli2 gation’’ does not include a Federal credit in3 strument. 

4 (10) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen5 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

6 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

7 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

8 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

9 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

10 (11) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec11 lamation State’’ means any of the following States: 

12 (A) Arizona; 

13 (B) California; 

14 (C) Colorado; 

15 (D) Idaho; 

16 (E) Kansas; 

17 (F) Montana; 

18 (G) Nebraska; 

19 (H) Nevada; 

20 (I) New Mexico; 

21 (J) North Dakota; 

22 (K) Oklahoma; 

23 (L) Oregon; 

24 (M) South Dakota; 

25 (N) Texas; 


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1 (O) Utah; 

2 (P) Washington; and 

3 (Q) Wyoming. 

4 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 (13) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘‘secured 

7 loan’’ means a direct loan or other debt obligation 

8 issued by an obligor and funded by the Secretary in 

9 connection with the financing of a project under this 

10 Act. 

11 (14) SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘subsidy 

12 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf13 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

14 Federal Government of a Federal credit instrument, 

15 as calculated on a net present value basis, excluding 

16 administrative costs and any incidental effects on 

17 governmental receipts or outlays in accordance with 

18 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

19 661 et seq.). 

20 (15) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

21 ‘‘substantial completion’’, with respect to a project, 

22 means— 

23 (A) the initial operation of a project (after 

24 completion of any startup tests), resulting in 


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1 producing, storage, delivery, receiving, or con2 serving water; or 

3 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

4 the Secretary and specified in the master credit 

5 agreement. 

Æ 


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