Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 33 - Public Health - Local Governments And Rural Water Systems Improvements Board › Part 6 - Drinking Water Systems Improvements Revolving Loan Fund Program Regulations › Section 33-6-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 (RJP) 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
				RJP is to convey the State of Mississippi's (State) DWSRF plan for Federal
				Fiscal Year (FFY) 2016 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 RJP which describes how the State of
				Mississippi will use the funding received from the EPA Cap grant which is
				received each year.
The amount of the FFY-2016 Cap Grant from EPA for Mississippi
				is not known at this time; therefore, the grant amount received by Mississippi
				in FFY-2015 will be used in this RJP for planning purposes until the actual Cap
				Grant amount is known. A Cap Grant amount of $9,099,000 will be used for these
				purposes. The FFY-2016 DWSRF Cap grant application will request an amount of
				$9,099,000; these funds must be used in the time period of July, 2016, through
				June, 2020. The FFY-2016 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 follows the requirements
				of the "Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law" prior to final submission of
				the RJP to EPA. A public notice period of at least twenty-five (25) days allows
				for review and comment before an oral proceeding. After adoption by the Board,
				a second filing with the Secretary of State's Office occurs; if no additional
				comments are received the RJP becomes law 30 days after the second filing.
Public notice will be given in
The Clarion
				Ledger,
a newspaper of statewide circulation, for written and oral
				comments on this RJP. An oral proceeding is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on
				Thursday, January 14, 2016. A transcript of the oral proceeding, recording any
				comments and recommended solutions, will be submitted to EPA along with the
				Final RJP. Those desiring to receive a copy of the oral proceeding 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
.