33 U.S.C. § 3907
To be eligible to receive financial assistance under this chapter, a project shall meet the following criteria, as determined by the Secretary or Administrator, as applicable:
The project and obligor shall be creditworthy, which shall be determined by the Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable.
In determining the creditworthiness of a project and obligor, the Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall take into consideration relevant factors, including-
The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall ensure that any financing for the project has appropriate security features, such as a rate covenant, supporting the project obligations to ensure repayment.
The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall require each project applicant to provide, at the time of application, a preliminary rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency indicating that the senior obligations of the project (which may be the Federal credit instrument) have the potential to achieve an investment-grade rating.
The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall require each project applicant to provide, prior to final acceptance and financing of the project, a final rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency indicating that the senior obligations of the project have an investment-grade rating.
The Administrator shall develop a credit evaluation process for a Federal credit instrument provided to-
Subject to subparagraph (B), the eligible project costs of a project shall be reasonably anticipated to be not less than $20,000,000.
For a project described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 3905 of this title that serves a community of not more than 25,000 individuals, the eligible project costs of a project shall be reasonably anticipated to be not less than $5,000,000.
The Federal credit instrument for the project shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the project obligations.
If an eligible project is carried out by an entity that is not a State or local government or an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government or a tribal government or consortium of tribal governments, the project shall be publicly sponsored.
For purposes of this chapter, a project shall be considered to be publicly sponsored if the obligor can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary or the Administrator, as appropriate, that the project applicant has consulted with the affected State, local, or tribal government in which the project is located, or is otherwise affected by the project, and that such government supports the proposed project.
For each eligible project for which the Administrator has authority under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 3902(b) of this title and for which the Administrator has received an application for financial assistance under this chapter, the Administrator shall notify, not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator receives a complete application, the applicable State infrastructure financing authority of the State in which the project is located that such application has been submitted.
If, not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a notification under subparagraph (A), a State infrastructure financing authority notifies the Administrator that the State infrastructure financing authority intends to commit funds to the project in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount requested under the application, the Administrator may not provide any financial assistance for that project under this chapter unless-
The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall determine whether an applicant for assistance under this chapter has developed, and identified adequate revenues to implement, a plan for operating, maintaining, and repairing the project over the useful life of the project.
An eligible project described in section 3905(1) of this title that has not been specifically authorized by Congress shall not be eligible for Federal assistance for operations and maintenance.
The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall establish criteria for the selection of projects that meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (a), in accordance with paragraph (2).
The selection criteria shall include the following:
For a project described in section 3905(9) of this title, the Administrator shall only consider the criteria described in subparagraphs (B) through (K) of paragraph (2).
Nothing in this section supersedes the applicability of other requirements of Federal law (including regulations).
33 U.S.C. § 3907
EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS2021-Subsec. (a)(1)(D)(ii). Pub. L. 117-58 substituted "a final rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency" for "final rating opinion letters from at least 2 rating agencies". 2018-Subsec. (a)(1)(E). Pub. L. 115-270 amended subpar. (E) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "The Administrator shall develop a credit evaluation process for a Federal credit instrument provided to a State infrastructure financing authority for a project under section 3905(9) of this title or an entity for a project under section 3905(10) of this title, which may include requiring the provision of a final rating opinion letter from at least 2 rating agencies." 2016-Subsec. (a)(1)(E). Pub. L. 114-322, §5008(b)(2)(D)(i), substituted "section 3905(9)" for "section 3905(8)" and "section 3905(10)" for "section 3905(9)". Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114-322, §5008(b)(2)(D)(ii), substituted "section 3905(9)" for "section 3905(8)". 2015-Subsec. (a)(5) to (7). Pub. L. 114-94 redesignated pars. (6) and (7) as (5) and (6), respectively, and struck out former par. (5). Prior to amendment, text of par. (5) read as follows: "No project receiving Federal credit assistance under this chapter may be financed (directly or indirectly), in whole or in part, with proceeds of any obligation- "(A) the interest on which is exempt from the tax imposed under chapter 1 of title 26; or"(B) with respect to which credit is allowable under subpart I or J of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of title 26."
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114-94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114-94 set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
"SECRETARY" DEFINEDSecretary means the Secretary of the Army, see section 2 of Pub. L. 113-121 set out as a note under section 2201 of this title.
- Administrator
- The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Federal credit instrument
- The term "Federal credit instrument" means a secured loan or loan guarantee authorized to be made available under this chapter with respect to a project.
- State infrastructure financing authority
- The term "State infrastructure financing authority" means the State entity established or designated by the Governor of a State to receive a capitalization grant provided by, or otherwise carry out the requirements of, title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1381 et.1 seq.) or section 300j-12 of title 42.
- State
- The term "State" means-(A) a State;(B) the District of Columbia;(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and(D) any other territory or possession of the United States.
- investment-grade rating
- The term "investment-grade rating" means a rating of BBB minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher assigned by a rating agency to project obligations.
- obligor
- The term "obligor" means an eligible entity that is primarily liable for payment of the principal of, or interest on, a Federal credit instrument.
- rating agency
- The term "rating agency" means a credit rating agency registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (as defined in section 78c(a) of title 15).