Florida Administrative Code › 62 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 62 - Departmental › Chapter 62-552 - DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND LOAN PROGRAM › Section 62-552.200 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
For purposes of this rule chapter:
(1) "Act" means the Federal Safe Drinking
				Water Act, 42 USC §
										300f et seq., as amended, December 2019,
				hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. This document is available from
				the Department's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program, 3900 Commonwealth
				Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14077
.
(2) "Asset management plan" means a
				systematic management technique for utility systems that focuses on the
				long-term life cycle of the assets and their sustained performance, rather than
				on short-term, day-to-day aspects of the assets. This plan includes the
				identification of and costs for rehabilitating, repairing, or replacing all
				assets as well as the schedule to do so. Subsection
				 62-552.700(7),
				F.A.C., provides details on the contents of the plan.
(3) "Capitalization grant project" means a
				project for which the project sponsor shall document compliance with specific
				federal requirements under subsection
				 62-552.700(1),
				F.A.C., in addition to the general requirements under subsections
				 62-552.700(2) through
				(6), F.A.C., to qualify for a loan.
				Capitalization grant projects will be identified in an amount corresponding to
				the annual capitalization grant received by the Department from the United
				States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
(4) "Capitalized interest" means interest
				accruing at the loan interest rate and compounding annually from the time when
				disbursements are made until six (6) months before the first semiannual loan
				repayment is due.
(5) "Construction
				costs" means costs associated with allowable construction, equipment,
				materials, and demolition.
(6)
				"Construction loan" means a financial assistance agreement to fund a drinking
				water construction project, equipment purchase, system consolidation or
				regionalization, or public water system acquisition. To be eligible for a
				construction loan, a planning document and plans and specifications must be
				accepted by the Department, the environmental review process described in Rule
				 62-552.680, F.A.C., must be
				complete, all required Department permits and authorizations must have been
				obtained, all necessary site certifications must have been submitted to the
				Department, and any other pertinent information deemed necessary for success of
				the project. Plans, specifications, construction permits, and site
				certifications are not required for a public water system acquisition. For
				design/build projects using a best value procurement process, the approval of
				the procurement process shall be accepted in lieu of the plans, specifications,
				site certifications, and permits unless any portion of these documents are
				available at that time. The requirements for planning documents are described
				in subsection  62-552.700(2),
				F.A.C., and the requirements for plans and specifications are described in
				subsection  62-552.700(3),
				F.A.C.
(7) "Construction manager at
				risk" means a firm or other single entity that contracts with the project
				sponsor for a guaranteed maximum price for the work. The construction manager
				is responsible for performance under individual construction
				contracts.
(8) "Continuing
				contract" shall have the same meaning as provided in the Consultants'
				Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA), Section
				 287.055, F.S.
(9) "Cost-effective" means the lowest present
				worth (or equivalent annual value) of the implementable and environmentally
				acceptable alternatives to achieve the project sponsor's objectives considering
				capital costs as well as operation and maintenance costs.
(10) "Department" means the Department of
				Environmental Protection, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program, 3900
				Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000. For electronic information
				requests and submittals, email SRF_Reporting@dep.state.fl.us.
(11) "Design/build" means a contracting
				procedure whereby a firm or other single entity contracts with the project
				sponsor for a fixed price or a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee with a guaranteed maximum
				price and is responsible for both design and construction of the project. The
				procurement process must be competitive best value or competitive
				qualifications-based. For a competitive best value selection, the most
				advantageous proposal to the project sponsor is selected based on criteria that
				include price and other factors. For competitive qualifications-based
				procurement, the qualifications of the responsible firm are the primary
				consideration in the selection process and the responsible firm shall use open
				book accounting for this process.
(12) "Design loan" means a financial
				assistance agreement to fund design activities that will result in biddable,
				permittable plans and specifications for an eligible construction project.
				Design/build projects using a best value procurement process are not eligible
				for a design loan. Additionally, a planning document defining the scope of the
				project to be funded must have been accepted by the Department. The
				requirements for an acceptable planning document are described in subsection
				 62-552.700(2),
				F.A.C.
(13) "Financially
				disadvantaged community" means a municipality, county or agency (such as a
				county-wide department) thereof, franchised area, or other entity with a
				defined public water system service jurisdiction having a median household
				income of less than the statewide average. Verifiable documentation of the
				community's median household income is required to calculate the community's
				percentage of principal forgiveness in accordance with these rules.
(14) "Fiscal year" means the 12-month period
				between July 1 and the following June 30.
(15) "Fundable portion" means the portion of
				a priority list consisting of the projects to which funds allocated each year
				by the Department have been assigned.
(16) "Funds allocated each year by the
				Department" means funds that are available or expected to be available for
				loans during the fiscal year for which a priority list is being
				developed.
(17) "Interest rate"
				means the semiannual compounding rate at which charges are imposed on the
				unpaid principal, including capitalized interest, of a State Revolving Fund
				(SRF) loan as described in subsection
				 62-552.300(6),
				F.A.C. The interest rate for a loan shall not be less than 0.2
				percent.
(18) "Leveraged loan"
				means a loan issued by the Florida Water Pollution Control Financing
				Corporation (FWPCFC).
(19) "Loan
				Service Fee" means a fee paid by the project sponsor in an amount that ranges
				from two to four percent of the total loan amount less the portion of the loan
				for capitalized interest and shall not be included in the principal of the
				loan. The loan service fee shall be estimated at the time of execution of the
				loan agreement, revised with any increase or decrease amendment, and shall be
				finalized in the final loan amendment based on the total loan
				disbursed.
(20) "Planning loan"
				means a financial assistance agreement to perform the initial planning and
				administration for a project. The deliverable for this loan shall be a planning
				document. The requirements for the planning document are described in
				subsection  62-552.700(2),
				F.A.C. A planning loan shall not be used to acquire any interest in real
				property.
(21) "Planning portion"
				means the portion of the priority list consisting of projects that do not
				qualify for the fundable or waiting portion.
(22) "Pledged revenue" means revenue
				specifically approved by the Department and dedicated to the repayment of the
				loan.
(23) "Principal forgiveness"
				means the portion of a loan that does not have to be repaid.
(24) "Priority list" means the annual listing
				of fundable, waiting, and planning portion projects.
(25) "Project" means the planning, design, or
				construction of any components or facilities associated with the supply,
				storage, transmission, treatment, disinfection, and distribution of drinking
				water, including rehabilitation. This includes components of a water/energy
				conservation project that meet EPA eligibility requirements. The scope of a
				project shall include those components or facilities that qualify for funding
				under this rule chapter.
(26)
				"Project costs" means costs for planning, design and construction, procurement
				of equipment and materials, contingency, demolition, legal, technical services,
				land acquistion, public water system acquisition, system consolidation or
				regionalization, capitalized interest, and implementation of a qualifying
				conservation project.
(27) "Project
				sponsor" means an entity that owns a public water system that seeks or obtains
				financial assistance under this rule chapter.
(28) "Public water system" means a system for
				the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or,
				after August 5, 1998, other constructed conveyances, if such system has at
				least fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of at least
				twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year.
(29) "Request for inclusion" means completed
				form RFI-DW1, Request for Inclusion on the Drinking Water Priority List,
				effective March 9, 2022, hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. This
				form is available from the Department's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
				Program, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14078
.
(30) "Segment cap" means the maximum amount
				available to any one sponsor during a fiscal year. The segment cap amount shall
				be established at a public meeting approving the priority list and shall be
				less than 25 percent of the funds available. Adjustments to the segment cap
				amount shall be made at a list management public meeting if additional funds
				become available and all projects eligible for placement on the fundable
				portion of the priority list at the most recent list approval or list
				management public meeting have been funded.
(31) "Service area" means all connections and
				proposed connections to be served by the project sponsor's public water system.
				Population of the service area shall be calculated by multiplying the number of
				service connections by 2.5 persons per connection.
(32) "Small community" means a municipality
				or unincorporated community or other identifiable entity with a total service
				area population of less than 10, 000.
(33) "Useful life" means for land - 100
				years; conveyance pipes - 50 years; other structures such as buildings and
				tankage - 30 to 50 years; process equipment - 15 to 20 years; and auxiliary
				equipment such as power generators and controls - 10 to 15 years.
(34) "Waiting portion" means the portion of a
				priority list consisting of projects that are qualified to be on the fundable
				portion but cannot be placed on the fundable portion until there are sufficient
				funds.
(35) The following terms and
				phrases used throughout this rule chapter have the meaning given these words in
				Section  287.012,
				 403.8532 and
				 403.8532, F.S.: best value,
				Florida Water Pollution Control Financing Corporation (also referred to as
				FWPCFC), and local governmental agencies.
Rulemaking Authority
					 403.8532 FS. Law Implemented
					 403.852,
					 403.8532
					 FS.
New 4-7-98, Amended 8-10-98, 7-20-99, 7-17-17,
					 3-9-22.