The Financial
Management section administers the engineering planning advance, engineering
grant, and revolving loan programs. It also writes grant and loan awards for pollution
control and water supply treatment and distribution and wastewater treatment
and collections systems, and solid waste projects, and performs audit
functions for the above projects.
An engineering fee allowance applicable to water supply and wastewater projects funded by DEC grant and loan programs was originally established in 1987 and was amended periodically to adjust for inflation. The revision below addresses concerns about the appropriateness of the previous allowance to address engineering cost for very small projects and very large projects, and is based on more recent data from Vermont and Connecticut.
Greetings,
Regarding the DRAFT State Fiscal Year 2014 Pollution Control Projects Priority List and Planning List for 2015 to 2018
a) DRAFT State Fiscal Year 2014 Pollution Control Projects Priority List and Planning List for 2015 to 2018
b) Public hearing on this document, February 28, 2013, 2:00 pm in the Winooski Conference Room, National Life Main Building, Montpelier . Email me if you would like to have a visitor pass prepared for you in advance of the meeting. Driving directions and agenda below.
c) Comments due by March 15, 2013
State Fiscal Year 2014Pollution Control Projects Priority List and Planning List for 2015 to 2018
The Pollution Control Projects Priority List is adopted each year to identify municipal pollution control projects qualifying for available funding through the State Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program.
The Pollution Control Projects Planning List is adopted each year to identify municipal pollution Control projects and funding for the second to fifth year of the planning cycle.
The Priority List identifies projects and expected funding levels for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2014 (7/1/2013 to 6/30/2014). All projects requesting funding for preliminary engineering and final design (Steps I and II) are scheduled to receive loans in SFY 2014. Continuing projects and projects with higher priority points are scheduled to receive funding for construction in SFY 2014. Projects with lower priority points are scheduled to receive funding for construction in later years.
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides loans for qualifying projects. State grants may also be available for qualifying projects as noted below. Projects that may be funded include the following:
Refurbishment projects (REFURB) - Include improvements and renovations that are necessary to enable the treatment facility and/or pump stations to continue to operate efficiently and meet present discharge standards for another twenty to twenty-five year design period.
Combined Sewer Overflow projects (CSO) - These projects address problems caused by sewers that carry both wastewater and stormwater, and become hydraulically overloaded during rainfall events. This results in overflows to surface waters that are in violation of state and federal standards. State grants may be available for 25 percent of eligible costs.
Phosphorus Removal projects (PHOS)- State statute prohibits most discharges to the drainage basins of Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog that contain a phosphorus concentration in excess of standards, and requires that phosphorus effluent limits be implemented in any drainage basin (where needed) to meet the requirements of a total maximum load document or attain compliance with water quality standards. These projects are needed to meet existing phosphorus discharge permit limits. State grants may be available for eligible costs.
Dry Weather Flow projects (DWF)- These are projects which abate pollution that occurs during dry weather periods, when systems are not stressed by rainfall events (see CSO discussion). Examples include:
a) the construction of a collection system and new treatment facility to eliminate direct discharges to surface waters,
b) the extension of a sewerage system to collect the flows from failing septic tank or leach field systems and convey them to an existing treatment facility. State grants may be available for eligible costs.
Enlargement projects (ENL)- Upgrades of current facilities to handle increased wastewater flows or organic loading resulting from existing or planned municipal growth.
Sewer Line Replacement projects (SEWRP)- Upgrades of existing sewer lines to address aging infrastructure and limited capacities.
Sewer Line Extension projects (SEWEX)– Construction of new sewer lines in areas previously not served by municipal sewers.
Stormwater/ Green Infrastructure/ Non-Point Source projects (NPS)– These projects store and/or treat stormwater flows which impair surface waters. In addition, projects using natural landscapes and/or plantings to manage wet weather flows to maintain and restore natural hydrology may be funded. Non-point source projects may address discharges to groundwater in leach fields.
Water/Energy Efficiency or Environmentally Innovative projects (EEI)– These projects deliver equivalent, equal or superior services with less water, such as installing water meters, recycling water use, and /or addressing leaks. Energy efficiency projects reduce energy consumption at eligible water facilities or produce clean energy for these facilities. Environmentally innovative projects demonstrate new and/or innovative approaches to managing water resources in a more sustainable way.
Other (OTHER)- Projects that do not neatly fit into the categories above.
Project types with a “C” mean the project is a continuing project and moves to the top of the priority list.
Priority points consider the public health and environmental problem addressed, as well as population and economic factors, and are used to determine the priority of a project for receive a Clean Water State Revolving Loan.
The timeline for this year’s priority list is:
2/28/2013 Hearing in the Winooski Conference Room, National Life, 2 PM
3/15/2013 Comments due on draft Priority and Planning List
May -June 2013 Final Priority and Planning List
7/1/2013 Start of State Fiscal Year 2014
Driving Directions to National Life
From I-89: Exit 8. After exiting, you are on Memorial Drive. At the first traffic light, take a right onto National Life Drive. Go up the hill past the building to the main entrance on the left; park where you can; the Department offices are in the eastern part of the building so use the entrance between the two major buildings and be sure to bring photo ID for security.
From town: take a left at the last traffic light before I-89 (just past the Dept. of Labor & GMP facilities on the right) onto National Life Drive. Go up the hill past the building to the main entrance on the left; park where you can; the Department offices are in the eastern part of the building so use the entrance between the two major buildings and be sure to bring photo ID for security.
Signs will be placed to provide directions to the Winooski Conference Room.
Agenda for Public Hearing
Welcome
Introductions
Comments on proposed Priority and Planning List
Other topics
- Utility Budgets – Title 24 § 4756 (a)(4) requires CWSRF loan recipients to create a fund to be used only for the repair, replacement, improvement or enlargement of the project for which the loan is made. Annual budgets need to include an annual allocation to be deposited into these dedicated reserve funds. Under consideration is a requirement that final design engineering include a determination of amounts that should be deposited into the funds to repair, replacement, improvement or enlargement of the project. Comments are requested on the questions:
- What assumptions should be used in calculating annual deposits to dedicated reserve funds?
- What life span of project components should be considered in this calculation? 5 year or less, 10 year or less, 15 year or less, etc.?
- Asset Management – Asset management is a system of managing information about a utility and may include an inventory of assets, their useful life, age, replacement costs, what happens if they fail (criticality) as well as other factors. An evaluation of this information can be used to help determine cost-effective investments in equipment repair or replacement. Some states require municipalities to have an asset management system to be eligible for CWSRF loan. Comments are requested on the following questions:
- Should Vermont require an asset management system for CWSRF recipients?
- What is a minimum acceptable asset management system?
- Should this requirement be applied to utilities serving more than a certain population and if so, what population? (100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, etc)
- Annual Verification – Historically, many municipalities have not made regular annual deposits to reserve funds. Annual verification of these deposits is thought to increase the likelihood deposits being made. Comments are requested on the following questions:
- What process should be used to verify annual deposits to reserve funds?
- Should penalties be used when annual payments are not made?
- Should a process be developed to allow reductions in annual payments?
- Subsidy distribution – In previous years, EPA has required a certain amount of federal funds be distributed as subsidy, in FY 2013 the amount was $383,922. Should a subsidy be required again this year, comments are requested on the method we used to distribute the subsidy.
Please let us know if you have questions, Winslow
Winslow Ladue
Financial Management Chief
Facilities Engineering Division
Department of Environmental Conservation
http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/fed/fms.htm
802 498-7374 Cell Phone only
