Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 33 - Public Health - Local Governments And Rural Water Systems Improvements Board › Part 3 - Drinking Water Systems Improvements Revolving Loan Fund Program Regulations › Section 33-3-I - Introduction

Current through June 25, 2024
A.
State of Mississippi's Drinking
			 Water State Revolving Loan Fund
The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (SDWA)
				established the national Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Program.
				That program allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make
				capitalization (Cap) grants to states to, in turn, provide low cost loans to
				public water systems to help achieve or maintain compliance with SDWA
				requirements. Accordingly, the State Legislature (through Section
				41-3-16,
				MS Code of 1972 Annotated) created what is now called the Drinking Water
				Systems Improvements Revolving Loan Fund (DWSIRLF) Program, to receive the
				federal DWSRF capitalization grants from EPA, and to provide low cost loans to
				the state's public water systems to finance needed infrastructure improvements.
				This legislation also allows the DWSIRLF, subject to the authority of State
				Law, to make loans that may utilize additional subsidization beyond standard
				DWSIRLF loans as well as setting appropriate criteria to determine eligible
				recipients.
That same legislation created the "Local Governments and Rural
				Water Systems Improvements Board" (Board), to oversee the administration of the
				DWSIRLF Program. The Mississippi State Department of Health (Department), as
				the state's drinking water primacy agency, supplies the staff and facilities
				necessary to administer the program. The Board is composed of the following
				nine (9) members: the State Health Officer, who shall serve as chairman of the
				Board; the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority; the
				Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality; the Executive
				Director of the Department of Finance and Administration; the Executive
				Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors; the Executive Director
				of the Mississippi Municipal League; the Executive Director of the American
				Council of Engineering Companies; the State Director of the United States
				Department of Agriculture, Rural Development; and a manager of a rural water
				system. Each agency director may appoint a designee to serve in his or her
				place on the Board. The rural water system manager is appointed by the
				Governor. In the creation of the Program it was the intent of the Legislature
				that the Board endeavor to ensure that the costs of administering the DWSIRLF
				Program are as low as possible in order to provide the water consumers of
				Mississippi with safe drinking water at affordable prices.
As a condition of receiving the DWSRF Cap grants, the SDWA
				requires that each state annually prepare an Intended Use Plan (IUP) designed
				to outline how a state will utilize DWSRF funds to assist in protecting public
				health. The DWSIRLF Fund consists of both state and federal funds. Federal
				funds are provided to the states in the form of awarded Cap grants. Each
				state's allotment of those grants is based on EPA's Needs Survey that is
				performed every four years. State matching funds totaling 20% of the federal
				grant amount to that state are required to be deposited into the Fund and have
				historically been provided through the issuance of bonds. The purpose of this
				IUP is to convey the State of Mississippi's (State) DWSRF plan for FFY-2014 to
				EPA, other state agencies, the state's public water supplies, and the general
				public.
B.
Program
			 Overview
The basic framework under which the DWSIRLF Program operates is
				established by two documents. The first document is the Drinking Water State
				Revolving Fund Loan Program Operating Agreement (Operating Agreement) between
				the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Environmental Protection
				Agency, Region IV. The current Operating Agreement was agreed to by both
				parties and approved on February 3, 2009. The Operating Agreement establishes
				the basic framework of the DWSIRLF that is not expected to change from
				year-to-year. The second document is the IUP which describes how the State of
				Mississippi will use the funding received from the EPA Cap grant which is
				received each year.
The FFY-2014 DWSRF Cap grant application will request an amount
				of $9,159,000; these funds must be used in the time period of July, 2014,
				through June, 2018. The FFY-2014 IUP will show in detail the goals (basic,
				long-term and short-term), the structure, and the financial status of the
				Program; the role of the set-aside activities within the state; and most
				importantly, the distribution of funds towards public water system improvements
				projects and the criteria used to determine their ranking within the priority
				system. Those desiring to receive a copy of this document may contact Ulysses
				Conley, Program Support Specialist, at (601) 576-7518.
C.
Public Input, Review, and Comment
			 Procedures
To ensure that the public has an ample opportunity to review
				and comment upon the IUP, the Department and the Board follow the requirements
				of the "Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law" prior to final submission of
				the IUP to EPA. A public notice period of at least twenty-five (25) days allows
				for review and comment before a public hearing. A second filing with the
				Secretary of State's Office occurs with the IUP becoming law 30 days
				later.
Public notice will be given in The Clarion Ledger, a newspaper
				of statewide circulation, to receive any written and oral comments on this IUP.
				A public hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2014. A
				transcript of the public hearing, recording the comments and recommended
				solutions, will be submitted to EPA along with the Final IUP. Those desiring to
				receive a copy of the public hearing transcript should contact Ulysses Conley,
				Program Support Specialist, at (601) 576-7518. A copy of the "Mississippi
				Administrative Procedures Law" may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary
				of State's Office, and can also be found on the Mississippi State Department of
				Health's website at
www.healthyms.com/dwsrf
.