(c) The grant assistance is a State program grant awarded under section 205(g) or 205(j) of the Act.

[50 FR 45895, Nov. 4, 1985]

§ 35.2112 Marine discharge waiver applicants.

If the applicant is also an applicant for a secondary treatment requirement waiver under section 301(h) of the Act, a plan must be submitted which contains a modified scope of work, a schedule for completion of the less-than-secondary facility and an estimate of costs providing for building the proposed less-than-secondary facilities, including provisions for possible future additions of treatment processes or techniques to meet secondary treatment requirements.

§ 35.2113 Environmental review.

re

(a) The environmental review quired by part 6 of this chapter must be completed before submission of any application. The potential applicant should work with the State and EPA as early as possible in the facilities planning process to determine if the project qualifies for a categorical exclusion from part 6 requirements, or whether a finding of no significant impact or an environmental impact statement is required.

(b) In conjunction with the facilities planning process as described in §35.2030(c), a potential applicant may request, in writing, that EPA make a formal determination under part 6 of this chapter.

§ 35.2114 Value engineering.

(a) If the project has not received Step 2 grant assistance the applicant shall conduct value engineering if the total estimated cost of building the treatment works is more than $10 million.

(a) Shall be for the replacement or major rehabilitation of an existing collection system which was not build with Federal funds awarded on or after October 18, 1972, and shall be necessary to the integrity and performance of the complete waste treatment system; or

(b) Shall be for a new cost-effective collection system in a community in existence on October 18, 1972, which has sufficient existing or planned capacity to adequately treat such collected wastewater and where the bulk (generally two-thirds) of the expected flow (flow from existing plus future residential users) will be from the resident population on October 18, 1972. The expected flow will be subject to the limitations for interceptors contained in §35.2123. If assistance is awarded, the grantee shall provide assurances that the existing population will connect to the collection system within a reasonable time after project completion.

§35.2118 Preaward costs.

(a) EPA will not award grant assistance for Step 2-3 and Step 3 work performed before award of grant assistance for that project, except:

(1) In emergencies or instances where delay could result in significant cost increases, the Regional Administrator may approve preliminary building work (such as procurement of major equipment requiring long lead times, field testing of innovative and alternative technologies, minor sewer rehabilitation, acquisition of eligible land or an option for the purchase of eligible land or advance building on minor portions of treatment works) after completion of the environmental review as required by § 35.2113.

(2) If the Regional Administrator approves preliminary Step 3 work, such approval is not an actual or implied commitment of grant assistance and the applicant proceeds at its own risk.

(b) Any procurement is subject to the requirements of 40 CFR part 33, and in the case of acquisition of eligible real property, 40 CFR part 4.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027)

[49 FR 6234, Feb. 17, 1984, as amended at 55 FR 27097, June 29, 1990]

(a) General. The applicant shall demonstrate to the Regional Administrator's satisfaction that each sewer system discharging into the proposed treatment works project is not or will not be subject to excessive infiltration/ inflow. For combined sewers, inflow is not considered excessive in any event.

(b) Inflow. If the rainfall induced peak inflow rate results or will result in chronic operational problems during storm events, or the rainfall-induced total flow rate exceeds 275 gpcd during storm events, the applicant shall perform a study of the sewer system to determine the quantity of excessive inflow and to propose a rehabilitation program to eliminate the excessive inflow. All cases in which facilities are planned for the specific storage and/or treatment of inflow shall be subject to a cost-effectiveness analysis.

(c) Infiltration. (1) If the flow rate at the existing treatment facility is 120 gallons per capita per day or less during periods of high groundwater, the applicant shall build the project including sufficient capacity to transport and treat any existing infiltration. However, if the applicant believes any specific portion of its sewer system is subject to excessive infiltration, the applicant may confirm its belief in a cost-effectiveness analysis and propose a sewer rehabilitation program to eliminate that specific excessive infiltration.

(2) If the flow rate at the existing treatment facility is more than 120 gallons per capita per day during periods of high groundwater, the applicant shall either:

(i) Perform a study of the sewer system to determine the quantity of excessive infiltration and to propose a sewer rehabilitation program to eliminate the excessive infiltration; or

(ii) If the flow rate is not significantly more than 120 gallons per capita per day, request the Regional Administrator to determine that he may proceed without further study, in which case the allowable project cost will be limited to the cost of a project with a

capacity of 120 gallons per capita per day under appendix A.G.2.a.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027)

[49 FR 6234, Feb. 17, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 45895, Nov. 4, 1985]

§ 35.2122 Approval of user charge system and proposed sewer use ordi

nance.

If the project is for Step 3 grant assistance, unless it is solely for acquisition of eligible land, the applicant must obtain the Regional Administrator's approval of its user charge system (§ 35.2140) and proposed (or existing) sewer use ordinance §35.2130). If the applicant has a sewer use ordinance or user charge system in affect, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Regional Administrator's satisfaction that they meet the requirements of this part and are being enforced.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027)

§35.2123 Reserve capacity.

EPA will limit grant assistance for reserve capacity as follows:

(a) If EPA awarded a grant for a Step 3 interceptor segment before December 29, 1981, EPA may award grants for remaining interceptor segments included in the facilities plan with reserve capacity as planned, up to 40 years.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, if EPA awards a grant for a Step 3 or Step 3 segment of a primary, secondary, or advanced treatment facility or its interceptors included in the facilities plan before October 1, 1984, the grant for that Step 3 or Step 3 segment, and any remaining segments, may include 20 years reserve capacity.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, after September 30, 1984, no grant shall be made to provide reserve capacity for a project for secondary treatment or more stringent treatment or new interceptors and appurtenances. Grants for such projects shall be based on capacity necessary to serve existing needs (including existing needs of residential, commercial, industrial, and other users) as determined on the date of the approval of the Step 3 grant. Grant assistance

awarded after September 30, 1990 shall be limited to the needs existing on September 30, 1990.

(d) For any application with capacity in excess of that provided by this section:

(1) All incremental costs shall be paid by the applicant. Incremental costs include all costs which would not have been incurred but for the additional excess capacity, i.e., any cost in addition to the most cost-effective alternative with eligible reserve capacity described under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(2) It must be determined that the actual treatment works to be built meets the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and all applicable laws and regulations.

(3) The Regional Administrator shall approve the plans, specifications and estimates for the actual treatment works.

(4) The grantee shall assure the Regional Administrator satisfactorily that it has assessed the costs and financial impacts of the actual treatment works and has the capability to finance and manage their construction and operation.

(5) The grantee must implement a user charge system which applies to the entire service area of the grantee.

(6) The grantee shall execute appropriate grant conditions or releases protecting the Federal Government from any claim for any of the costs of construction due to the additional capacity.

§35.2125 Treatment of wastewater from industrial users.

(a) Grant assistance shall not be provided for a project unless the project is included in a complete waste treatment system and the principal purpose of both the project and the system is for the treatment of domestic wastewater of the entire community, area, region or district concerned.

(b) Allowable project costs do not include:

(1) Costs of interceptor or collector sewers constructed exclusively, or almost exclusively, to serve industrial users; or

(2) Costs for control or removal of pollutants in wastewater introduced

into the treatment works by industrial users, unless the applicant is required to remove such pollutants introduced from nonindustrial users.

§35.2127 Federal facilities.

Grant assistance shall not be provided for costs to transport or treat wastewater produced by a facility that is owned and operated by the Federal Government which contributes more than 250,000 gallons per day or 5 percent of the design flow of the complete waste treatment system, whichever is less.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027) §35.2130 Sewer use ordinance.

The sewer use ordinance (see also §§ 35.2122 and 35.2208) or other legally binding document shall prohibit any new connections from inflow sources into the treatment works and require that new sewers and connections to the treatment works are properly designed and constructed. The ordinance or other legally binding document shall also require that all wastewater introduced into the treatment works not contain toxics or other pollutants in amounts or concentrations that endanger public safety and physical integrity of the treatment works; cause violation of effluent or water quality limitations; or preclude the selection of the most cost-effective alternative for wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027)

§ 35.2140 User charge system.

The user charge system (see §§ 35.2122 and 35.2208) must be designed to produce adequate revenues required for operation and maintenance (including replacement). It shall provide that each user which discharges pollutants that cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or sludge from the treatment works shall pay for such increased cost. The user charge system shall be based on either actual use under paragraph (a) of this section, ad valorem taxes under paragraph (b) of this section, or a combination of the two.

(a) User charge system based on actual use. A grantee's user charge system based on actual use (or estimated use) of wastewater treatment services shall provide that each user (or user class) pays its proportionate share of operation and maintenance (including replacement) costs of treatment works within the grantee's service area, based on the user's proportionate contribution to the total wastewater loading from all users (or user classes).

(b) User charge system based on ad valorem taxes. A grantee's user charge system which is based on ad valorem taxes may be approved if:

(1) On December 27, 1977, the grantee had in existence a system of dedicated ad valorem taxes which collected revenues to pay the cost of operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment works within the grantee's service area and the grantee has continued to use that system;

(2) The ad valorem user charge system distributes the operation and maintenance (including replacement) costs for all treatment works in the grantee's jurisdiction to the residential and small non-residential user class (including at the grantee's option nonresidential, commercial and industrial users that introduce no more than the equivalent of 25,000 gallons per day of domestic sanitary wastes to the treatment works), in proportion to the use of the treatment works by this class; and

(3) Each member of the industrial user and commercial user class which discharges more than 25,000 gallons per day of sanitary waste pays its share of the costs of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the treatment works based upon charges for actual use.

(c) Notification. Each user charge system must provide that each user be notified, at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill (or other means acceptable to the Regional Administrator), of the rate and that portion of the user charges or ad valorem taxes which are attributable to wastewater treatment services.

(d) Financial management system. Each user charge system must include an adequate financial management system that will accurately account for

revenues generated by the system and expenditures for operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the treatment system, based on an adequate budget identifying the basis for determining the annual operation and maintenance costs and the costs of personnel, material, energy and administration.

(e) Charges for operation and maintenance for extraneous flows. The user charge system shall provide that the costs of operation and maintenance for all flow not directly attributable to users (i.e., infiltration/inflow) be distributed among all users based upon either of the following:

(1) In the same manner that it distributes the costs for their actual use,

or

(2) Under a system which uses one or any combination of the following factors on a reasonable basis:

(i) Flow volume of the users; (ii) Land area of the users;

(iii) Number of hookups or discharges of the users;

(iv) Property valuation of the users, if the grantee has an approved user charge system based on ad valorem taxes.

(f) After completion of building a project, revenue from the project (e.g., sale of a treatment-related by-product; lease of the land; or sale of crops grown on the land purchased under the grant agreement) shall be used to offset the costs of operation and maintenance. The grantee shall proportionately reduce all user charges.

(g) Adoption of system. One or more municipal legislative enactments or other appropriate authority must incorporate the user charge system. If the project accepts wastewater from other municipalities, the subscribers receiving waste treatment services from the grantee shall adopt user charge systems in accordance with this section. These user charge systems shall also be incorporated in appropriate municipal legislative enactments or other appropriate authority of all municipalities contributing wastes to the treatment works.

(h) Inconsistent agreements. The user charge system shall take precedence

over any terms or conditions of agreements or contracts which are inconsistent with the requirements of section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Act and this section.

(i) Low income residential user rates. (1) Grantees may establish lower user charge rates for low income residential users after providing for public notice and hearing. A low income residential user is any residence with a household income below the Federal poverty level as defined in 45 CFR 1060.2 or any residence designated as low income under State law or regulation.

(2) Any lower user charge rate for low income residential users must be defined as a uniform percentage of the user charge rate charged other residential users.

(3) The costs of any user charge reductions afforded a low income residential class must be proportionately absorbed by all other user classes. The total revenue for operation and maintenance (including equipment replacement) of the facilities must not be reduced as a result of establishing a low income residential user class.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2040-0027)

[49 FR 6234, Feb. 17, 1984, as amended at 55 FR 27097, June 29, 1990]

§35.2152 Federal share.

(a) General. The Federal share for each project shall be based on the sum of the total Step 3 or Step 7 allowable costs and the allowance established in the grant agreement under appendix B. Except as provided elsewhere in this section, the Federal share shall be:

(1) 75 percent for grant assistance awarded before October 1, 1984;

(2) 55 percent for grant assistance awarded after September 30, 1984, except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section; and

(3) Subject to paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, 75 percent for grant assistance awarded after September 30, 1984 and before October 1, 1990, for sequential phases or segments of a primary, secondary, or advanced treatment facility or its interceptors, or infiltration/inflow correction provided:

(i) The treatment works being phased or segmented is described in a facilities

plan approved by the Regional Administrator before October 1, 1984;

(ii) The Step 3 grant for the initial phase or segment of the treatment works described in (a)(3)(i) of this section is awarded prior to October 1, 1984; and

(iii) The phase or segment that receives 75 percent funding is necessary to (A) make a phase or segment previously funded by EPA operational and comply with the enforceable requirements of the Act, or (B) complete the treatment works referenced in (a)(3)(i) of this section provided that all phases or segments previously funded by EPA are operational and comply with the enforceable requirements of the Act.

(b) Innovative and alternative technology. In accordance with §35.2032, the Federal share for eligible treatment works or unit processes and techniques that the Regional Administrator determines meet the definition of innovative or alternative technology shall be 20 percent greater than the Federal share under paragraph (a) or (c) of this section, but in no event shall the total Federal share be greater than 85 percent. This increased Federal share depends on the availability of funds from the reserve under §35.2020. The proportional State contribution to the nonFederal share of building costs for I/A projects must be the same as or greater than the proportional State contribution (if any) to the non-Federal share of eligible building costs for all treatment works which receive 75 or 55 percent grants or such other Federal share under paragraph (c) of this section in the State.

(c) A project for which an application for grant assistance has been made before October 1, 1984, but which was under judicial injunction at that time prohibiting its construction, shall be eligible for a grant at 75 percent of the cost of its construction.

(d) Uniform lower Federal share. (1) Except as provided in §35.2032 (c) and (d) of this section, the Governor of a State may request the Regional Administrator's approval to revise uniformly throughout the State the Federal share of grant assistance for all future projects. The revised Federal share must apply to all needs categories (see §35.2015(b)(2)).