New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 21 - Miscellaneous › Chapter XLII - New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation › Part 2604 - New York State Drinking Water Revolving Fund Regulations › Section 2604.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Unless defined
				herein, terms used in this Part shall have the meaning set forth under section
				1281 of
				the Public Authorities Law (PAL), and/or the Public Health Law (PHL). Terms
				used in this Part or to be used in complying with this Part have the following
				meanings.
(1) Act means title XIV of the
				Public Health Service Act (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act),
				42 U.S.C.
				§§
											300 f et seq., as amended, and
				as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
				P.L.
				111-5 (ARRA).
(2) Additional subsidization means
				forgiveness of principal, a negative interest loan or a grant to be provided in
				accordance with the act.
(3)
				Administrator means the administrator of the United States Environmental
				Protection Agency or the chief executive officer of such agency or any
				successor agency or department or any authorized representatives of the
				administrator.
(4) Ad valorem tax
				means a tax based upon the value of real property.
(5) Allocation means the amount of moneys of
				the DWSRF allocated in accordance with section 1162 of the PHL, or other
				security or funds used to reduce a recipient's total financing costs for an
				eligible project.
(6) Allowable
				costs means all costs of an eligible project which the corporation determines
				are:
(i) properly allocable to that project
				in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; and
(ii) not annual facility operation costs,
				including but not limited to, those for maintenance, or replacement and repair
				of minor equipment.
(7)
				Business day means any day on which New York State offices are open to conduct
				business.
(8) Commencement of
				construction means the date that:
(i) a
				notice to proceed is issued by the recipient to the contractor following the
				execution of the contract between the recipient and such contractor for the
				erection, building, acquisition, alteration, reconstruction, improvement,
				enlargement or extension of the project; or
(ii) in the event that the project will be
				built by recipient employees (force account) in lieu of a contractor, the first
				day that a work crew occupies the project; or
(iii) in the event that the project is a
				contract to purchase supplies, material or equipment, a binding purchase
				agreement is executed between the contracting parties and the recipient has
				provided evidence satisfactory to the corporation of the execution of such
				agreement.
(iv) at the election of
				the corporation, such other date as may be permitted by applicable
				law.
(9) Commissioner
				means the commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
(10) Comptroller means the Comptroller of New
				York State.
(11) Construction means
				the erection, building, acquisition, alteration, reconstruction, improvement,
				enlargement or extension of a project; the inspection and supervision thereof;
				and the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic investigations
				and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications,
				procedures, and other actions necessary thereto.
(12) Corporation means the New York State
				Environmental Facilities Corporation, or its successor, unless otherwise
				indicated.
(13) Department means
				the New York State Department of Health.
(14) Design means necessary design
				calculations and decisions and the preparation of construction drawings and
				specifications.
(15) Direct
				financing means a financing made available from moneys in the DWSRF other than
				proceeds of the Corporation's bonds or notes.
(16) Direct interest rate means the rate of
				interest no higher than the market rate of interest.
(17) Disbursement means a transfer of DWSRF
				assistance moneys to a recipient from accounts held by the corporation's
				custodian in accordance with the executed PFA.
(18) DWSRF or fund means the New York State
				Drinking Water Revolving Fund, established pursuant to chapter 413 of the Laws
				of 1996. Such fund shall include, without limitation, moneys available to
				finance state assistance payments in the manner set forth in paragraphs (d),
				(f) and (h) of subdivision four of section 1285-m of the PAL.
(19) DWSRF assistance means any financial
				assistance from the DWSRF provided by the corporation to a recipient for an
				eligible project, including, without limitation, a financing, including
				additional subsidization, or hardship assistance. It has the same meaning as
				"financial assistance to recipients" as set forth under Section 1285-m.4 of the
				PAL.
(20) Eligible project means a
				project for construction of a water supply facility which is intended to
				improve drinking water facilities, or which implements green infrastructure,
				water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative
				activities, or other activities permitted by the act, including a project that
				would be eligible for financing under or designed to comply with the
				requirements of the Act, which the Commissioner has certified, in writing, is
				an eligible project as set forth in PHL section 1160.
(21) Engineering report means the document or
				documents incorporating the results of preliminary project planning and
				technical and fiscal studies to determine the technical and economic
				feasibility of the project.
(22)
				Equivalency project means a project that must be constructed in compliance with
				the provisions of the act applicable to projects funded from Federal
				capitalization funds or their equivalent.
(23) Federal capitalization funds are funds
				deposited in the DWSRF pursuant to a Federal capitalization grant according to
				the provisions of the act or any lesser amount which the administrator shall
				determine is subject to the limitations imposed by the act.
(24) Financing means a loan, a purchase of
				debt obligations or other financing for an eligible project.
(25) Hardship assistance means DWSRF
				assistance, as may be authorized by law, including, without limitation, a
				reduced interest rate financing, forgiveness of principal or a principal
				subsidy, a grant and/or State assistance payments, provided by the corporation
				to a recipient in those instances where the corporation, in its discretion,
				determines financial hardship exists.
(26) Intended use plan (IUP) means a plan
				identifying the intended uses of the amounts available in the DWSRF, including
				but not limited to: a list of potentially eligible projects; a description of
				the short-term and long-term goals and objectives of the DWSRF; information on
				the activities to be supported including a description of project categories,
				terms of DWSRF assistance, recipients, and the criteria and method established
				for the distribution of funds. The IUP shall be published in accordance with
				the act, and shall be subject to public review and comment.
(27) Interest rate subsidy means the amount
				of moneys of the fund credited to the recipient to reduce the interest which
				the recipient would otherwise be required to pay, as determined by the
				corporation.
(28) Leveraged
				financing means a financing, including those secured by the DWSRF, made with
				DWSRF assistance that is made available from the proceeds of bonds or notes of
				the corporation.
(29) Long-term
				financing means a financing other than a short-term financing.
(30) Market rate of interest means the
				interest rate obtained on the most recent sale of bonds or notes by the
				corporation for a DWSRF leveraged financing or the interest rate determined by
				the corporation to be otherwise payable to reflect the current market
				conditions from time to time without the provision of any interest rate
				subsidy.
(31) Median household
				income (MHI) means the MHI published by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau
				of the Census, as it shall be adjusted to the most recent biennium for which
				income data is available. For special districts and other areas for which
				accurate census data is not available, other income data may be considered by
				the corporation.
(32) Municipality
				means any county, city, town, village, district corporation, county or town
				improvement district, school district, Indian nation or tribe recognized by the
				State or the United States with a reservation wholly or partly within the
				boundaries of New York State, any public benefit corporation or public
				authority established pursuant to the laws of New York, any sewer authority now
				existing in a city, or any agency of New York State which is empowered to
				construct and operate an eligible project, or any two or more of the foregoing
				which are acting jointly in connection with an eligible project.
(33) Planning means the orderly development
				of a project concept from the original statement of need or purpose through the
				evaluation of alternatives to a final recommendation on a course of action and
				measures to implement the selected alternative.
(34) Principal subsidy means a payment by the
				corporation of up to 75 percent of the principal of a financing made by the
				corporation to a recipient or a bond purchased by the corporation from a
				recipient under the DWSRF, such payment to be made pursuant to, and in
				accordance with, section 1285-m.4(g) of the PAL.
(35) Program obligations shall mean bonds,
				notes or other obligations issued by eligible entities to fund projects
				eligible for assistance under the DWSRF bearing interest at a market rate of
				interest.
(36) Project means a
				water supply facility or a facility or site for the supply, control, treatment
				or distribution of water, including but not limited to water transmission
				lines, pumping stations, reservoirs, dams and other impoundments, and all of
				the necessary appurtenances, and any other property, real or personal,
				functionally related and subordinate to said facility, for the purpose of
				providing a public water supply, or which implements green infrastructure,
				water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative
				activities, or other activities permitted by the act. A project may include an
				eligible project.
(37) Project
				completion means the later of:
(i) the date
				that operation of the project is initiated or is capable of being initiated;
				or
(ii) the date on which all
				construction or other activities for which allowable costs have been incurred,
				and for which DWSRF assistance has been provided, have been
				completed.
(38) Project
				financing agreement (PFA) means an agreement, or agreements, between the
				corporation and one or more recipients with respect to the financing of an
				eligible project or projects or pre-design planning for such, in such forms as
				may be approved by the corporation from time to time.
(39) Public Authorities Law (PAL) means
				chapter 43-A of the Consolidated Laws of New York State entitled the Public
				Authorities Law.
(40) Public Health
				Law (PHL) means chapter 45 of the Consolidated Laws of New York State entitled
				the Public Health Law.
(41) Public
				water supply means any water system as defined in 10 NYCRR Part 5, Subpart 5-1,
				section 5-1.1, Public water systems.
(42) Recipient means any municipality, public
				utility, or person, including any individual, firm, partnership, association,
				not-for-profit corporation or other corporation organized and existing under
				the laws of the State or any other state which is empowered to construct and
				operate an eligible project, or any two or more of the foregoing which are
				acting jointly in connection with an eligible project.
(43) Reduced interest rate means an interest
				rate or rates less than the market rate of interest, including a rate of zero
				percent, as determined by the Corporation from time to time.
(44) Segment of a project means one or more
				construction contracts and associated costs that the corporation and the
				department determine constitute a discrete portion of the project which may be
				financed and constructed separately from other project segments.
(45) Service charge means the total annual
				cost of service for a household or equivalent dwelling unit in the area served
				by the project, which includes a user charge, a charge for debt service, and
				all other annualized charges.
(46)
				Short-term financing means a financing in which the security provided by the
				recipient is a short-term note including but not limited to a bond anticipation
				note.
(47) State means the State of
				New York.
(48) State assistance
				payment means a payment by the corporation to a recipient of all or a part of
				the State share of the cost of an eligible project from moneys available
				therefore, pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 1285-m.4(h) of the
				PAL.
(49) Target service charge
				means the amount, as determined by the corporation, that a household or
				equivalent dwelling unit having an income equal to the MHI for the area served
				by the project reasonably could pay annually. Criteria for the corporation's
				calculation of the target service charge shall be set forth in the annual
				IUP.
(50) User charge means a
				charge levied on users of a project, or that portion of the ad valorem taxes
				paid by a user, for the user's proportionate share of the cost of operation and
				maintenance (including replacement) of such project.
(51) User charge system means a system for
				apportioning user charges.