Federal Register: Credit Assistance and Related Fees for Water Resources Infrastructure Projects
Credit Assistance and Related Fees for Water Resources Infrastructure Projects
Notice number: 2022-12050
Date: Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2022.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense (DoD).
Proposed rule.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is soliciting comments on a proposed rule implementing a new credit assistance program consistent with the funding provided under Subtitle C of Title V of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA), often referred to as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA), for safety projects to maintain, upgrade, and repair dams identified in the National Inventory of Dams with a primary owner type of state, local government, public utility or private and the process by which the Corps will administer such credit assistance including the assessment of fees. The proposed rule sets forth the policies and procedures that the Corps will use for receiving, evaluating, approving applications, and servicing and monitoring direct loans and loan guarantees.
The program was provided funding and further statutory direction in Division D Title 1 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and Division J, Title III of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. WIFIA authorizes the Corps to provide secured (direct) loans and guaranteed loans to eligible water resources infrastructure projects. The only eligible project type—under Division D, Title 1 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and Division J, Title III of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are: “. . . . safety projects to maintain, upgrade, and repair dams identified in the National Inventory of Dams with a primary owner type of state, local government, public utility, or private: Provided, That no project may be funded with amount provided under this heading for a dam that is identified as jointly owned in the National Inventory of Dams and where one of those joint owners is the Federal Government . . . . . .”—and this rule would limit implementation to only those project types listed in the Acts.
Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2022.
Submit your comments, identified by Docket Number COE-2022-0004, at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The Corps may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Aaron Snyder, Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Team, 441 G. Street NW, CECW-I Attn: Aaron Snyder 3K87, Washington, DC 20314; telephone number: (612) 518-0355; email address: CWIFP@usace.army.mil. The phone number above may also be reached by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have speech disabilities, through the Federal Relay Service's teletype service at 800-877-8339.