256 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 2, § 014
Except as otherwise specified by subsection 014.04 or subsection 014.05 of this section, a project is economically feasible if primary, tangible benefits exceed project costs. In addition, for projects for which $100,000 or more is requested from the Fund, each project's purpose in a multi-purpose project must provide benefits equal to or greater than its separable or specific cost as specified by the Director and there must be no known means of accomplishing the same purpose or purposes more economically. The Director and the Commission may also require that separable project features or increments have benefits which equal or exceed their costs. All costs and benefit data reported by the applicant will be based upon current data and sources for all data must be documented. Certain commodity prices, recreation benefit prices, and wildlife prices will be prescribed by the Director. The Director may also prescribe other cost and benefit information necessary for completion of the feasibility report. The period of analysis for economic feasibility studies shall be fifty (50) years or the life of the project, whichever is less.
The report shall include all relevant cost information including, but not limited to, all actual or anticipated costs for the feasibility study, the engineering and inspection costs, capital construction costs, annual operation and maintenance costs, and annual replacement costs. Cost information shall also include the estimated construction period as well as the estimated project life.
Only primary tangible benefits may be counted in providing the monetary benefit information. In a multi-purpose project, the benefits will be estimated for each purpose and displayed by year for the project life. Intangible and secondary benefits of the proposed project or program should be described for consideration and evaluation by the Director and the Commission. Benefit measurement techniques and criteria shall be provided to the applicant by the Director.
All benefit and cost data will also be presented in a table form to indicate the annual cash flow for the life of the project, not to exceed 50 years. A form for so indicating the annual cash flow shall be supplied by the Director.
The cost and benefit data expressed in the cash flow stream will be utilized by the Director to calculate the rate-of-return on the investment. The rate-of-return on the investment is the discount rate applied to future benefits and costs at which costs and benefits become equal and the net present worth of the project cash flow is zero. The Commission may prescribe a minimum rate-of-return for a project to be considered economically feasible.
In the case of proposed programs or projects for which there is no generally accepted method for calculation of primary, tangible benefits, the economic feasibility of such program or project shall be demonstrated by such method as the Director and the Commission deem appropriate.
256 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 2, § 014