Section Chief: Philip Royer
Address:
401 East State Street
P.O. Box 426
Trenton, New
Jersey 08625-0426
Telephone: 609-292-5550
Facsimile:
609-292-1654
The Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund program under the Bureau
of Loan and Data Management, coordinates and oversees the Federal
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to
assist publicly owned and privately owned community
water systems and nonprofit noncommunity water
systems to finance the cost of the infrastructure
needed to achieve or maintain compliance with
Safe Drinking Water Act requirements and to protect
the public health in conformance with the objectives
of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The DWSRF is
administered as a component of the Environmental
Infrastructure Financing Program, which also
administers the State’s Clean Water State
Revolving Fund.
The Bureau of Loan and Data Management
jointly manages the DWSRF program with the Municipal
Finance and Construction Element of the NJDEP
and the New Jersey Environmental
Infrastructure Trust (the Trust). Through leveraging by the
Trust (that is, the sale of revenue bonds, the
proceeds of which are loaned to project sponsors),
the State is able to provide low interest loans
to far more projects than if leveraging was not
done. Project sponsors receive a loan for half
of the project costs from the Trust at market
rate, and half of the project costs from NJDEP
at 0% interest. The Trust and the NJDEP provide
loans for a maximum of 20-year repayment terms,
not to exceed the useful life.
In an effort to
promote Smart Growth Initiatives, the NJDEP will
provide up to 75% of the project costs at 0%
interest, while the Trust will provide at least
25% of the project costs at market rate to projects
that serve smart growth areas. The NJDEP has
determined to make the "75/25" funding
package available to projects that serve Urban
Centers and Urban Complexes designated by the
New Jersey State Planning Commission, and Transit
Villages designated by the New Jersey Department
of Transportation. In addition, the NJDEP will
fully fund its share of reserve capacity costs
for designated Urban Centers, Complexes and Transit
Villages.
The DWSRF program facilitates funding
to project sponsors for authorized water system
improvements. The DWSRF program secures annual
Federal capitalization grants from the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA),
ensures compliance with USEPA grant conditions,
and participates with the USEPA in the development
of DWSRF program enhancements.
The DWSRF program
prepares annual intended use plans (IUP). States
must file capitalization grant applications each
year with the USEPA to secure an allotment of
federal funds needed to initialize and to continue
the DWSRF at the State level. The IUP is a central
component of the State’s application to
the USEPA. The IUP describes how the State intends
to spend the federal grant moneys, including
eligible projects and non-project set-aside expenditures.
The DWSRF program updates project priority system
and project priority lists, verifies capacity
development for project sponsors, assists in
the development of SRF policies and procedures,
and coordinates and prepares work plans for non-project
set-aside expenditures.
The DWSRF program prepares
annual set-aside performance reports, and data
submissions to the National Information Management
System database for the project and non-project
activities and expenditures. The DWSRF program
also prepares biennial audit reports.
The DWSRF
program participates with USEPA in the development,
improvement, and completion of periodic water
systems infrastructure needs surveys; coordinates
with the Municipal
Finance and Construction Element,
the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure
Trust and other State agencies; and updates enabling
DWSRF operating documentation and agreements.
Implementing
Regulation
Additional
Information
Although
the information in this document will be funded
wholly or in part by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency under an assistance agreement
to NJDEP’s DWSRF program, it may not necessarily
reflect the views of the Agency and no official
endorsement should be inferred.
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