Section 457-318-3 - Eligibility (Wells Applicants)A. General eligibilityTo be eligible for financial assistance under the program, a recipient must demonstrate each of the following:
(1) The recipient, or a person or entity for which the recipient has agreed to assume liability for Response Costs (for reasons other than solely participation in the Program), has been determined by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) to be a Responsible Party with respect to the Wells Waste Oil Disposal Site;(2) If the recipient is not a municipality, and has applied for a loan, it has demonstrated financial need for assistance as determined by the Authority under section 3(C);(3) If the recipient has applied for a loan, it has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that it will be able to repay the loan;(4) The recipient has reached an agreement with an entity that has assumed liability for Total Response Costs at the Wells Waste Oil Disposal Site fixing the total liability of the recipient for Response Costs, and the recipient has incurred liability for or has paid Response Costs to that entity in connection with the Wells Waste Oil Disposal Site;(5) Any financial assistance will be used only for a Project; and(6) For loan applicants, the recipient is domiciled or has a place of business in the State or has agreed to assume liability for Response Costs (for reasons other than solely participation in the Program) of a person or entity which is domiciled or has a place of business in the State; for grant applicants, the recipient, or a person or entity for which the recipient has agreed to assume liability for Response Costs (for reasons other than solely participation in the Program) is: (a) a natural person domiciled in the State, (b) a corporation or partnership with a place of business in the State, (c) the State, any agency, authority, department, commission, municipality, quasi-municipality, special purpose district or other instrumentality of the State, a political subdivision of the State (including without limitation those defined in 14 MRSA c. 741 and 30-A MRSA c. 225), or (d) any other entity identified as a Responsible Party at the Wells Waste Oil Disposal Site whose waste oil is identified as delivered to the Wells Waste Oil Disposal Site and picked up from an address or location within the State in the records compiled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection or the United States Environmental Protection Agency or their agents. Anything in this subsection 3(A) to the contrary notwithstanding, neither (i) the Federal Government (including all of its agencies, authorities, departments, boards, commissions and instrumentalities), nor (ii) an entity assuming liability for Total Response Costs, shall be eligible for participation in the Program, and the participation of any other entity whose eligibility is based on the assumption of Response Costs of another person or entity is limited to the Response Costs of the party or parties whose liability is so assumed.
B.Grants(1) A recipient shall be eligible for a grant equal to the lesser of (i) $2,000.00, or (ii) the actual amount of Response Costs paid or incurred by the recipient, provided a completed application, together with a copy of an invoice or cancelled check (or other evidence of the recipient's liability for or payment of Response costs acceptable to the Authority) is submitted by the recipient on or before May 15, 2000. Grants will be disbursed directly to the recipient where the recipient has submitted evidence of its prior payment of Response Costs, and will be made in the form of joint checks payable to both the recipient and the service provider where the recipient has provided evidence of the incurrence but not payment of the Response costs.(2) A recipient shall be eligible for an additional grant equal to its pro rata share of the difference between $3,100,000.00 and the total sum of all grants awarded under section 3(B)(1) (with its pro rata share defined for the purposes of this paragraph as a fraction of such difference, the numerator of which fraction is the amount required to be paid by the recipient to settle its liability for response costs, reduced by the grant received by such recipient under section 3(B)(1), and the denominator of which is the total response costs attributable to persons who, after application, are determined to be eligible for a grant under section 3(B)(1)), provided however that the additional grant (when added to any grant received by the recipient under section 3(B)(1)) may not exceed the amount required to be paid by the recipient to settle its liability for response costs, multiplied by the Orphan Share. In order to receive an additional grant under this paragraph, the recipient must make a written election to receive the additional grant in lieu of receiving a deferred loan pursuant to section 3(C), and provide proof of payment of its share of total response costs, no later than June 15, 2000. No recipient may receive an additional grant under this paragraph and a deferred loan under section 3(C). The additional grants awarded under this paragraph will be disbursed in the same manner as those under section 3(B)(1), except that grants under this section 3(B)(2) to recipients who have received a loan under section 3(C) shall be retained by the Authority and applied to the recipient's loan balance, with any excess amount, if any, over the amount necessary to pay the loan in full, being paid to the recipient. Grants under this section 3(B)(2) will be completed on or before June 30, 2000.C. Direct LoansRecipients may be eligible for direct loans of up to an aggregate of $50,000.00 per recipient, in accordance with the following criteria:
(1) A recipient shall be eligible for a deferment of interest accrual and loan payments for a period of three years if: a) the recipient's debt service coverage is less than 1.0; b) the recipient has no other readily available source of funds to undertake the project, and c) the recipient has not received a grant under section 3(B)(2). The terms and conditions of such deferred loan shall include the terms set forth in subsection 3(C)(8) hereof.(2) A recipient shall be eligible for a direct loan with interest at the rate of 0% if the recipient's debt service coverage is 1.0 or greater, but less than 1.2;(3) Subject to the limitations of subsection 3(C)(6) a recipient shall be eligible for a direct loan with interest at the rate of 6% below the prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal on the date of the commitment letter if the recipient's debt service coverage is 1.2 or greater, but less than 1.5. In no event shall a loan to any recipient made under this subsection be at a rate less than 3%.(4) Subject to the limitations of subsection 3(C)(6), a recipient shall be eligible for a direct loan with interest at the rate of 2% below the prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal on the date of the commitment letter if the recipient's debt service coverage is 1.5 or greater, but less than 2.5.(5) Subject to the limitations of subsection 3(C)(6), a recipient shall be eligible for a direct loan with interest at the prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal on the date of the commitment letter, if the recipient's debt service coverage is 2.5 or greater, but less than 3.0.(6) A recipient with debt service coverage of 3.0 or greater or net worth of $750,000 or greater shall not be eligible for assistance under the program, unless the recipient can demonstrate financial need to the satisfaction of the Authority.(7) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section 3, a recipient that is a unit of a local government shall only be eligible for a direct loan with interest at the rate of 2% below the prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal on the date of the commitment letter.(8) All deferred loans made pursuant to subsection 3(C)(1) of this Rule shall be evidenced by a commercial note which shall bear interest at the rate of 2% below the prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal commencing on the date of the third anniversary of the Note, provided however, if the recipient provides updated, current financial statements satisfactory to the Authority prior to the third anniversary of the Note, the Authority may revise the commercial note in accordance with the repayment terms set forth in Section 3(C)(2)-(5).94-457 C.M.R. ch. 318, § 3