Current through Register Vol. 54, No.43, October 26, 2024
Section 963.7 - Application procedure(a) A potential applicant shall first participate in a planning consultation with the Department's Project Engineer serving the potential applicant's county. The purpose of the planning consultation is to: (1) Discuss relevant water supply, wastewater abatement and stormwater management needs.(2) Perform a prefeasibility assessment to identify and screen alternative solutions, including opportunities for consolidating water systems and other institutional alternatives.(3) Examine alternative funding sources.(4) Discuss procedures and information needed to complete the application and implement the project.(b) The Department's Project Engineer will follow up the planning consultation with a report sent to the potential applicant describing the meeting contents and decisions reached.(c) A wastewater project shall meet the planning requirements described in Chapter 71 (relating to administration of sewage facilities program). If the potential applicant is a municipality or municipal authority, it shall prepare or update its Official Sewage Plan under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. §§ 750.1-750.20). If the potential applicant is a private entity, it shall ensure that its facility is included in the Official Sewage Plan prepared by the municipality in which its wastewater facility is located.(d) An application shall be made on forms acceptable to the Authority and shall be addressed to the Authority.(e) A complete application shall be received by the Authority administrative staff by the application cutoff date associated with each regular meeting. The application cutoff dates will be established and published at the same time as the regular meeting schedule for the fiscal or calendar year is established, under the Sunshine Act (65 P. S. §§ 271-286). The application cutoff date can be waived by the Board if the project addresses an emergency situation which threatens public health or safety, or the project makes possible an economic development project resulting in retention of existing jobs or the creation of new jobs where the opportunity may be lost without prompt Authority action. The Authority will seek independent confirmation from the Department or the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency that a public health or safety emergency does exist, or will seek independent confirmation from the Department of Commerce that an economic development opportunity will be lost without Board action.(f) An application received by the Authority will be reviewed by the administrative staff for completeness and eligibility. Substantive issues affecting material elements of an applicant's project shall be resolved to the Authority's satisfaction at the time of the Authority Board meeting. An application shall include a statement of the status of the permits necessary for the construction and operation of the proposed project which can be obtained prior to construction. For projects which include acquisition, permits are not required until the applicant has the legal authority to submit applications to receive those permits. Construction may not begin until the required permits are in place and written permission is obtained from the Authority.(g) An application determined to be eligible and complete by the administrative staff will be logged in the order of final receipt by the Authority, and will be dated and forwarded to the Department and the Department of Commerce for review.(h) If the administrative staff determines an application is ineligible or incomplete, it will provide the applicant with a written explanation of the reasons for the determination.(i) If an application is determined to be ineligible by the administrative staff, the Board will review the decision if the applicant files a written request with the Authority within 30 days of receipt of the determination.(j) The Department and the Department of Commerce will provide the administrative staff with a written evaluation of each application. The evaluation by the Department of Commerce will address the economic development criterion while the Department evaluation will address other criteria contained in §§ 963.8 and 963.9 (relating to wastewater project evaluation criteria; and water project evaluation criteria).(k) The administrative staff will provide to the Authority prior to each regularly scheduled Board meeting a written evaluation of each application based upon the criteria in section 10 of the act (35 P. S. § 751.10), including a recommendation to accept, deny or defer. The administrative staff shall provide a recommendation on the amount, types and terms of the financial assistance.(l) The administrative staff shall provide notice to each applicant, in writing, advising it of the meeting at which its application will be considered.(m) Following each Board meeting, applicants will be notified in writing of the action taken on their applications.(n) The fundamental objectives that will guide project selection are long-term improvements to public health, public safety and the environment. Performance on other criteria will also influence project evaluations and selection. Sections 963.8 and 963.9 contain the general criteria that will be used in evaluating projects, and specific examples of performance in each of these criteria.The provisions of this §963.7 amended July 7, 1995, effective 7/8/1995, 25 Pa.B. 2720. This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 963.13 (relating to advance funding).