Notice2023-20286
Notice of Funding Availability for Applications for Credit Assistance Under the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
The Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) new credit assistance program for non-federal dam safety projects. Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, CWIFP has been provided $81 million in budget authority. The purpose of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is to solicit preliminary applications from prospective borrowers seeking credit assistance from the Corps under CWIFP. The Corps will evaluate and select projects using selection criteria as further described in this NOFA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 181 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64892-64897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20286]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Notice of Funding Availability for Applications for Credit
Assistance Under the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
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SUMMARY: The Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) is
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) new credit assistance program
for non-federal dam safety projects. Through the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,
and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, CWIFP has been
provided $81 million in budget authority. The purpose of this Notice of
Funding Availability (NOFA) is to solicit preliminary applications from
prospective borrowers seeking credit assistance from the Corps under
CWIFP. The Corps will evaluate and select projects using selection
criteria as further described in this NOFA.
DATES: The preliminary application submittal period begins today and
ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 19, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Prospective borrowers should submit all preliminary
applications (OMB Control Number 0710-0026) electronically via the
Corps online application portal, located at: <a href="https://CWIFPapp.usace.army.mil">https://CWIFPapp.usace.army.mil</a>. After registering within the application
portal, prospective borrowers will be able to securely provide all
required information for the preliminary application. If a prospective
borrower has any questions or needs assistance, they should contact
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f5c4856594f5f6a6c7e7c7a317e6d726631727673"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbf8ecf2fdebfbcec8dad8de95dac9d6c295d6d2d7">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan Campbell at 651-219-2963 or by
[[Page 64893]]
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#137d72677b727d3d793d70727e6371767f7f5366607270763d72617e6a3d7e7a7f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="117f706579707f3f7b3f72707c6173747d7d5164627072743f70637c683f7c787d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This NOFA discusses threshold and selection
criteria for the funding announced by this NOFA, explains factors for
budgetary screening criteria, and outlines the process that prospective
borrowers should follow to be considered for credit assistance made
available for this funding round.
For a project to be considered during a selection round, CWIFP
application materials must be submitted via the online application
portal prior to the corresponding deadline listed in the Dates section.
Section V. Preliminary Applications and Applications of this NOFA
provides additional details on the preliminary application's content.
CWIFP has recently held webinars to give interested parties the
opportunity to ask CWIFP staff questions about the preliminary
application and the program. A video recording and copy of the webinar,
as well as the schedule and registration instructions for any future
webinars, can be found on the CWIFP website: <a href="http://www.usace.army.mil/CWIFP">http://www.usace.army.mil/CWIFP</a>.
Prospective borrowers with questions about the program or who have
interest in meeting with the CWIFP staff may send a request to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3576627c73657540465456501b5447584c1b585c59"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b180c121d0b1b2e283a383e753a29362275363237">[email protected]</span></a>. The Corps intends to meet with all prospective
borrowers interested in discussing the program, but only prior to
submission of a request under this NOFA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Program Funding
III. Eligibility Requirements
IV. Types of Credit Assistance
V. Preliminary Applications and Applications
VI. Fees
VII. Selection Criteria
I. Background
Congress enacted the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Act (WIFIA) statute as part of the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA). Codified in Chapter 52 of Title 33,
U.S. Code (Sections 3901-3914), the WIFIA statute authorizes a federal
credit program for water infrastructure projects to be administered by
the Corps. The WIFIA statute authorizes the Corps to provide federal
credit assistance in the form of secured (direct) loans or loan
guarantees for eligible water infrastructure projects.
CWIFP has been developed to accelerate non-federal investments in
water resources infrastructure by providing credit assistance to
creditworthy borrowers. CWIFP facilitates local investment in non-
federal dam safety projects that enhance community resilience to
flooding, promotes economic prosperity, and improves environmental
quality.
II. Program Funding
Congress appropriated $81 million in funding to cover the subsidy
cost of providing WIFIA credit assistance. The subsidy is the estimated
present value of the cash flows to and from the Government, adjusted
for deviations such as defaults, prepayments, and other factors.
III. Eligibility Requirements
The WIFIA statute (33 U.S.C. Ch. 52) \1\ and CWIFP implementing
rules (33 CFR 386) \2\ set forth eligibility requirements for
prospective borrowers, projects, and project costs.
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\1\ <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title33/chapter52&edition=prelim">https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title33/chapter52&edition=prelim</a>.
\2\ <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/22/2023-10520/credit-assistance-and-related-fees-for-water-resources-infrastructure-projects">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/22/2023-10520/credit-assistance-and-related-fees-for-water-resources-infrastructure-projects</a>.
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A. Eligible Entities Who May Apply
Prospective borrowers must be one of the following in order to be
eligible for CWIFP credit assistance:
(i) A corporation;
(ii) A partnership;
(iii) A joint venture;
(iv) A trust;
(v) A State, or local governmental entity, agency, or
instrumentality;
(vi) A Tribal government or consortium of Tribal governments; or
(vii) A state infrastructure financing authority.
B. Project Eligibility
Funding appropriated by Congress and made available under this NOFA
is limited to safety projects to maintain, upgrade, and repair dams
identified in the National Inventory of Dams (<a href="https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/">https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/</a>) with a primary owner type of State, Tribal
government, local government, public utility, or private (referred to
here after as ``non-Federal dams'').
Dam removals are eligible to receive CWIFP credit assistance.
Requests may also be made for a combination of projects described
above, provided that a single application is submitted for the
combination of projects and that the requested credit assistance is
secured by a common security pledge.
C. Eligible Costs
As defined under 33 U.S.C. 3906 eligible project costs are costs
associated with the following activities:
(i) Development-phase activities, including planning, feasibility
analysis (including any related analysis necessary to carry out an
eligible project), revenue forecasting, environmental review,
permitting, preliminary engineering and design work, and other pre-
construction activities.
(ii) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and replacement
activities.
(iii) Acquisition of real property or an interest in real property
(including water rights, land relating to the project, and improvements
to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, and
acquisition of equipment; and
(iv) Capitalized interest necessary to meet market requirements,
reasonably required reserve funds, capital issuance expenses, and other
carrying costs during construction.
Fees charged by the Corps to the borrower in connection with
obtaining CWIFP credit assistance may be considered as part of eligible
project costs as permitted under 33 U.S.C. 3908(b)(7).
Proceeds from the CWIFP credit assistance shall not be utilized to
provide cash contributions to the Corps for project-related costs,
except for such fees described in Section VI Fees.
D. Threshold Requirements
(i) To be eligible to receive Federal credit assistance under this
part, a project shall meet the following threshold criteria:
a. The project and obligor shall be creditworthy; the Corps will
assess the financing plan to ensure that the project and borrower are
creditworthy. Considerations will include relevant factors such as the
dedicated revenue sources that will secure or fund the project
obligations; the financial assumptions upon which the project is based;
and the financial soundness and credit history of the obligor.
b. The project sponsor shall submit a project application to the
Secretary;
c. A project shall have eligible project costs that are reasonably
anticipated to equal or exceed $20 million;
d. Project financing shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from
State or local taxes, user fees, or other dedicated revenue sources
that also secure the senior project obligations of the project; shall
include a rate covenant, coverage requirement, or similar security
feature supporting the project obligations; and may have a lien on
revenues subject to any lien securing project obligations;
[[Page 64894]]
e. In the case of a project that is undertaken 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 that the entity is undertaking shall be
publicly sponsored;
f. The applicant shall have developed an operations and maintenance
plan that identifies adequate revenues to operate, maintain, and repair
the project during its useful life; and
g. Be a non-federal dam safety project, including dam removal, and
be for flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction,
environmental restoration, coastal or inland harbor navigation
improvement, or inland and intracoastal waterways navigation
improvement that the Secretary determines is technically sound,
economically justified, and environmentally acceptable.
E. Federal Requirements
All projects receiving credit assistance under this part shall
comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not
limited to the following:
(i) Environmental authorities:
a. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.;
b. Archeological and Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 469-469c;
c. Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.;
d. Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.;
e. Coastal Barrier Resources Act, 16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.;
f. Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.;
g. Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.;
h. Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low Income Populations, Executive Order 12898, 59 FR
7629, February 16, 1994;
i. Floodplain Management, Executive Order 11988, as amended by
Executive Order 13690;
j. Protection of Wetlands, Executive Order 11990, 3 CFR, 1977
Comp., p. 121, as amended by Executive Order 12608, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp.,
p. 245
k. Farmland Protection Policy Act, 7 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.;
l. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661-666c, as
amended;
m. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.;
n. National Historic Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.;
o. Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.; and
p. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, 16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.
(ii) Economic and miscellaneous authorities:
a. Debarment and Suspension, Executive Order 12549, 51 FR 6370,
February 21, 1986;
b. New Restrictions on Lobbying, 31 U.S.C. 1352;
c. Prohibitions relating to violations of the Clean Water Act or
Clean Air Act with respect to Federal contracts, grants, or loans under
42 U.S.C. 7606 and 33 U.S.C. 1368, and Executive Order 11738, 3 CFR,
1971-1975 Comp., p. 799; and
d. The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition
Policies Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.
(iii) Civil Rights, Nondiscrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity
Authorities:
a. Age Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.;
b. Equal Employment Opportunity, Executive Order 11246, 30 FR
12319, September 28, 1965;
c. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794,
supplemented by Executive Orders 11914, 3 CFR, 1976 Comp., p. 117, and
11250, 3 CFR, 1964-1965 Comp., p. 351; and
d. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et
seq.
(iv) Budgetary Screening Criteria:
To comply with Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program
Account heading in the Energy and Water Development and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260 \3\), a project
seeking CWIFP financing will be assessed using two initial screening
questions and sixteen scoring factors. These questions will help the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Army Corps of Engineers
certify compliance with budgetary scoring rules for lending to non-
Federal entities, a process that will be conducted in parallel to the
Corps' pre-application evaluation process outlined in this NOFA. As
articulated in Public Law 116-260, only projects that are certified in
advance in writing by the Director of OMB and the Secretary of the Army
as complying with these criteria are eligible to receive CWIFP credit
assistance. For example, a project authorized by an Act of Congress to
be built by the Army Corps of Engineers of the Bureau of Reclamation is
ineligible for WIFIA financing. However, a project that may connect to,
or be tangentially related, to such a project, may be eligible
depending on the factual circumstances. Furthermore, a project at a
local municipal dam might not be deemed ineligible simply because it
was originally built by the Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of
Reclamation. Such questions will need to be resolved on a case-by-case
basis. The questions may be found in Federal Register publication:
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program (WIFIA)
Criteria Pursuant to Public Law 116-94 \4\ 85 FR 39189,\5\ June 30,
2020. The Corps encourages prospective borrowers to review the
screening criteria and provide sufficient information in the
preliminary application to facilitate OMB and Army review of the
prospective project considering the screening criteria.
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\3\ <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ260/pdf/PLAW-116publ260.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ260/pdf/PLAW-116publ260.pdf</a>.
\4\ <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ94/pdf/PLAW-116publ94.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ94/pdf/PLAW-116publ94.pdf</a>.
\5\ <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/30/2020-13889/water-infrastructure-finance-and-innovation-act-program-wifia-criteria-pursuant-to-the-further">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/30/2020-13889/water-infrastructure-finance-and-innovation-act-program-wifia-criteria-pursuant-to-the-further</a>.
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IV. Types of Credit Assistance and Maximum Credit Assistance
Two types of credit instruments are permitted under the WIFIA
statue: secured (direct) loans and loan guarantees. General rules
concerning the terms governing these credit instruments appear at 33
U.S.C. 3908 and 3909. The maximum amount of CWIFP credit assistance to
a project is 49 percent of eligible project costs or up to 80 percent
for projects serving economically disadvantaged communities.
V. Preliminary Applications and Applications
This section primarily describes the preliminary application.
A. Preliminary Application
Prospective borrowers seeking CWIFP credit assistance must submit a
preliminary application describing the project fundamentals and
addressing the CWIFP selection criteria.
In the preliminary application, prospective borrowers provide CWIFP
with enough information to do the following:
(i) Validate the eligibility of the prospective borrower and the
proposed project,
(ii) Perform a preliminary creditworthiness assessment,
(iii) Perform a preliminary technical feasibility analysis, and
(iv) Evaluate the project against the selection criteria defined in
Section VII of this NOFA.
Prospective borrowers should complete the preliminary application
electronically via the Corps online application portal, located at
https://
[[Page 64895]]
CWIFPapp.usace.army.mil. The Corps will notify prospective borrowers
via email that their preliminary application has been received via the
online application portal.
Prospective borrowers can access additional information about the
online platform on the CWIFP website: <a href="http://www.usace.army.mil/CWIFP">http://www.usace.army.mil/CWIFP</a>.
All submitted application materials should stand alone, and
additional research by CWIFP will only be conducted in extenuating
circumstances.
The preliminary application contains the following six (6)
sections:
1. Prospective Borrower Information
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower describes the entity seeking CWIFP assistance, including its
legal name, address, website, employer identification number (EIN),
unique entity ID number created in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>, verification of active
registration in System for Award Management (SAM) number, and a brief
summary of organizational structure.
The prospective borrower must provide a description of the legal
authority used to carry out the project and to receive and pledge the
revenue stream proposed as their source of repayment. Prospective
borrowers must also identify the statutory types under which the
project and loan obligor can be categorized. In the case of a project
that is undertaken by an entity that is not a Tribal government or
consortium of Tribal governments, or a State or local government or an
agency or instrumentality of a State or local government, the project
that the entity is undertaking must be publicly sponsored. Public
sponsorship means that the prospective borrower can demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the Corps, that it has consulted with the affected
Tribal, State, or local government in which the project is located, or
is otherwise affected by the project, and that such government supports
the proposed project. A prospective borrower can show support by
including a certified letter signed by the approving Tribal, State, or
municipal department or similar agency; governor, mayor or other
similar designated authority; statute or local ordinance, or any other
means by which government approval can be evidenced.
At the end of this section, prospective borrowers will be asked to
provide anticipated dates for (1) the completion of a full application
(in the event they were invited to apply after review of their
preliminary application, and (2) loan closure (in the event the full
application was approved).
2. Project Plan
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower provides a general description of the project and its purpose,
location, the localities and population served, environmental impacts,
delivery method, project completion schedule, eligible costs, and the
requested loan amount.
The prospective borrower must specify whether the project has been
federally authorized by Congress and whether the project team has
previously consulted with any Corps Districts and/or Divisions. If so,
the prospective borrower must specify the Corps point of contact(s).
Consistent with FR 39189, a project authorized by an Act of Congress to
be built by the Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of Reclamation is
ineligible for WIFIA financing. However, a project that may connect to,
or be tangentially related to, such a project, may be eligible
depending on the factual circumstances (e.g., a project to upgrade a
water distribution system that is connected to an Army Corps of
Engineers or Bureau of Reclamation constructed water source may be
eligible for WIFIA financing in some circumstances). Furthermore, a
project at a local municipal facility might not be deemed ineligible
simply because it was originally built by the Army Corps of Engineers
or Bureau of Reclamation. Such questions will need to be resolved on a
case-by-case basis.
The prospective borrower should summarize other relevant
information that could affect the development of the project, such as
community outreach, environmental review, permits, operations and
maintenance agreement plan, and other approvals or issues that are
integral to the project's development.
The prospective borrower also should provide the following as
attachments: (1) A map of the project location, and (2) all applicable
technical reports for each project, addressing the project(s) scope,
cost, schedule, contingency plans, and status of project design
(including consideration for cost overruns).
3. Financing Plan
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower indicates the amount and terms of the requested CWIFP credit
assistance, including the assumed disbursement period and repayment
term of the loan, the anticipated amortization structure, and whether
interest is expected to capitalize during construction.
In addition, the prospective borrower should detail the proposed
sources and uses of funds for the project. The discussion of proposed
financing should identify the source(s) of revenue or other security
that would be pledged to the CWIFP assistance. As part of the
description of its financial condition, the prospective borrower should
include its year-end audited financial statements for the past two
years, as available, or comprehensive financial reports, as applicable.
Additionally, the prospective borrower must describe the credit
characteristics of the proposed credit assistance, how the CWIFP
assistance will receive an investment grade rating, as well as the
anticipated rating on the CWIFP assistance. Whenever possible, the
prospective borrower should include existing credit ratings on the
proposed source of repayment.
The prospective borrower should also include a summary financial
pro forma, presented in a formula-based Microsoft Excel document, which
presents key revenue, expense, and debt repayment assumptions for the
revenue pledged to repay the CWIFP loan for the tenor of the proposed
credit assistance. The financial pro forma should include all the
following items:
<bullet> Sources of revenue
<bullet> Operation & Maintenance expenses
<bullet> Dedicated source(s) of repayment
<bullet> Capital expenditures
<bullet> Debt service payments and reserve transfers by funding source
(including the CWIFP credit assistance)
<bullet> Debt balances by funding source
<bullet> Projected debt service coverage ratios for total existing debt
and the CWIFP debt
4. Selection Criteria
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower describes the potential policy benefits achieved using CWIFP
assistance with respect to each of the CWIFP selection criteria. These
criteria are described in Section VII. Selection Criteria of this NOFA.
5. Contact Information
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower identifies primary and secondary points of contact with whom
CWIFP should communicate regarding the preliminary application. To
complete the Corps' evaluation, CWIFP staff may contact a prospective
borrower regarding specific information in the preliminary application.
[[Page 64896]]
6. Federal Requirements and Certification
In this section of the preliminary application, the prospective
borrower certifies that it will abide by all applicable laws and
regulations, including NEPA, the American Iron and Steel requirements,
the Build America, Buy America Act, and Federal labor standards, among
others, if selected to receive funding. The prospective borrower also
certifies that the information provided in the preliminary application
is true, to the best of the prospective borrower's knowledge and belief
after due inquiry, and that the prospective borrower has not omitted
any material facts.
B. Application
After the Corps concludes its evaluation of the preliminary
application, prospective borrowers will be invited to apply based on
the scoring of the selection criteria and preliminary evaluation of
creditworthiness and feasibility, while taking into consideration
geographic and project type diversity.
The purpose of the Corps' preliminary application review is to pre-
screen prospective borrowers to the extent practicable. An invitation
to apply for CWIFP credit assistance does not guarantee the Corps'
approval or represent an obligation by the Corps to enter into a credit
agreement, which remains subject to a project's continued eligibility,
including creditworthiness, the successful negotiation of terms
acceptable to the Corps, and the availability of funds at the time at
which all necessary recommendations and evaluations have been
completed. Detailed informational needs for the application are listed
in the application form (OMB Control Number 0710-0026).
Final and completed applications should be received by CWIFP within
365 days of the invitation to apply, but the Corps may extend the
deadline on a case-by-case basis if the project schedule in the
preliminary application or other applicable factors signal that
additional time might be needed.
VI. Fees
There is no fee to submit a preliminary application.
For projects invited to apply for credit assistance, the Corps
incurs both internal administrative costs (staffing, program support
contracts, etc.) as well as costs associated with conducting
engineering reviews and retaining expert firms, including financial and
legal services in the field of municipal and project finance, to assist
in the underwriting of the federal credit instrument.
As a result, each invited applicant will be required to submit,
concurrent with its application, an application fee of $25,000, this
application fee will be waived for public entities serving small
communities or economically disadvantaged communities. Applications
will not be evaluated until the application fee is paid, if applicable.
This fee will be credited toward final payment of a Transaction
Processing Fee, which is used to pay the remaining portion of the
Corps' cost of processing the application for credit assistance. In the
event a final credit agreement is not executed, the borrower will be
required to reimburse the Corps for the costs incurred.
As noted above, the Corps will only invite projects to apply if it
anticipates a high probability of proceeding to closing.
VII. Selection Criteria
Prior to consideration under the Selection Criteria, a project must
first satisfy all of the threshold criteria (also outlined in Section
III(D)):
a. The project and obligor shall be creditworthy; the Corps will
assess the financing plan to ensure that the project and borrower are
creditworthy. Considerations will include relevant factors such as the
dedicated revenue sources that will secure or fund the project
obligations; the financial assumptions upon which the project is based;
and the financial soundness and credit history of the obligor.
b. The project sponsor shall submit a project application to the
Secretary;
c. A project shall have eligible project costs that are reasonably
anticipated to equal or exceed $20 million;
d. Project financing shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from
State or local taxes, user fees, or other dedicated revenue sources
that also secure the senior project obligations of the project; shall
include a rate covenant, coverage requirement, or similar security
feature supporting the project obligations; and may have a lien on
revenues subject to any lien securing project obligations;
e. In the case of a project that is undertaken 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 that the entity is undertaking shall be
publicly sponsored;
f. The applicant shall have developed an operations and maintenance
plan that identifies adequate revenues to operate, maintain, and repair
the project during its useful life; and
g. Be a non-federal dam safety project, including dam removal, and
be for flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction,
environmental restoration, coastal or inland harbor navigation
improvement, or inland and intracoastal waterways navigation
improvement that the Secretary determines is technically sound,
economically justified, and environmentally acceptable.
CWIFP Priorities
This section specifies the process that the Corps will use to
evaluate preliminary applications, (only after satisfaction of the
threshold criteria as described in the section above are met) and
select projects to apply for CWIFP credit assistance.
There are 14 total CWIFP selection criteria that will be considered
with this NOFA. 12 are identified in the implementation rules (33 CFR
386 Section O); criterion (L) was added to ensure compliance with FR
39189 and criterion (N) was added to reflect proper consideration for
dam removal projects in the selection process. The following criteria
contain weights that combine to make up a total score out of 100
points: (A), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (K), and (N).
Overall scores will help inform the selection committee's deliberations
within the overall program framework. Criterion (B), Extent of Public
or Private Financing, is not assigned a selection criteria weight as it
is considered part of the threshold criteria. Criterion (L), Project is
Non-Federally Owned, Operated or Maintained, is not assigned a weight
as it is considered part of the threshold criteria. Criterion (M),
Amount of Budget Authority, is evaluated in the context of an entire
cohort or NOFA round given the amount of funding available, thus is not
provided a weight.
(A) 40 points: The extent to which the project is nationally or
regionally significant, with respect to the generation of economic and
public benefits, such as--(i) the reduction of flood risk; (ii) the
improvement of water quality and quantity, including aquifer recharge;
(iii) the protection of drinking water, including source water
protection; (iv) the support of domestic or international commerce; and
(v) the restoration of aquatic ecosystem structures.
The Corps will assess the risk associated with the dam by
considering the consequences (e.g., the extent of the loss of life,
economic losses, and damage to important environmental resources or
cultural sites) and the
[[Page 64897]]
likelihood of dam failure as defined below; projects at higher risk
will receive a greater score:
Low risk: low or significant hazard potential combined with a low
likelihood of failure; or low hazard potential combined with a medium
likelihood of failure.
Moderate Risk: low hazard potential combined with a high likelihood
of failure; or significant hazard potential combined with medium
likelihood of failure; or high hazard potential combined with a Low
likelihood of failure.
High Risk: high or significant hazard potential combined with a
high likelihood of failure; or high hazard potential combined with a
medium likelihood of failure.
(B) 0 points: The extent to which the project financing plan
includes public or private financing in addition to WIFIA credit
assistance. The Corps will assess this as a threshold criterion for
creditworthiness and will assess the financing plan to ensure that the
project and borrower are creditworthy. Considerations will include
relevant factors such as the dedicated revenue sources that will secure
or fund the project obligations; the financial assumptions upon which
the project is based; and the financial soundness and credit history of
the obligor.
(C) 5 points: The likelihood that WIFIA credit assistance would
enable the project to proceed at an earlier date than the project would
otherwise be able to proceed
(D) 1 point: The extent to which the project uses new or innovative
approaches.
(E) 10 points: The extent to which the project--(i) protects
against extreme weather events, such as floods or hurricanes; or (ii)
helps maintain or protect the environment. The Corps will assess the
risk associated with the dam and how the proposed project minimizes
that risk by considering the ability of the dam to pass the Inflow
Design Flood (IDF) which is used as a proxy to evaluate the probability
of an event occurring (i.e., dams not able to pass the IDF are more
likely to have failures). The scoring will favor those projects that
are increasing their capacity to successfully pass the IDF, which
includes dam removal.
(F) 1 point: The extent to which a project serves regions with
significant clean energy exploration, development, or production areas.
(G) 5 points: The extent to which a project serves regions with
significant water resource challenges, including the need to address--
(i) water quality concerns in areas of regional, national, or
international significance; (ii) water quantity concerns related to
groundwater, surface water, or other water sources; (iii) significant
flood risk; (iv) water resource challenges identified in existing
regional, State, or multistate agreements; or (v) water resources with
exceptional recreational value or ecological importance.
(H) 1 point: The extent to which the project addresses identified
municipal, State, or regional priorities.
(I) 5 points: The readiness of the project to proceed toward
development, including a demonstration by the obligor that there is a
reasonable expectation that the contracting process for construction of
the project can commence by not later than 90 days after the date on
which a Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project under
WIFIA.
(J) 1 point: The extent to which WIFIA credit assistance reduces
the overall Federal contributions to the project. As noted above, a
project is not eligible to receive CWIFP credit assistance if it is a
congressionally authorized federal project authorized by an Act of
Congress to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers or the Bureau of
Reclamation.
(K) 17 points: The extent to which the project serves economically
disadvantaged communities and spurs economic opportunity for, and
minimally adversely impacts, disadvantaged communities and their
populations, which meet at least one of the following criteria: (i)
low-income (the area has a per capita income of 80 percent or less of
the national average), (ii) unemployment rate above national average
(the area has an unemployment rate that is, for the most recent 24-
month period for which data are available, at least 1 percent greater
than the national average unemployment rate), (iii) Indian country as
defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151 or in the proximity of an Alaska Native
Village, (iv) U.S. Territories, or (v) identified as disadvantaged by
the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (developed by the
Council on Environmental Quality and currently available at <a href="https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov">https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov</a>).
(L) 0 points: The project is non-federally owned, operated or
maintained. This criterion, which is being treated as a threshold
criterion, was added for the purposes of this NOFA to be consistent
with FR 39189. FR 39189 indicates that a project authorized by an Act
of Congress to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of
Reclamation is ineligible for WIFIA financing. However, a project that
may connect to, or be tangentially related to, such a project, may be
eligible depending on the factual circumstances (e.g., a project to
upgrade a water distribution system that is connected to an Army Corps
of Engineers or Bureau of Reclamation constructed water source may be
eligible for WIFIA financing in some circumstances). Furthermore, a
project at a local municipal facility might not be deemed ineligible
simply because it was originally built by the Army Corps of Engineers
or Bureau of Reclamation. Such questions will need to be resolved on a
case-by-case basis.
(M): 0 points: The amount of budget authority required to fund the
Federal credit instrument made available under this chapter. Note:
Corps will use this to verify that there will be sufficient budget
authority to invite an applicant to apply for credit assistance.
(N) 14 points: The project is for dam removal. This selection
criterion was added for the purposes of this NOFA to ensure proper
consideration for dam removal projects in the selection process.
In addition to the selection criteria score, the Corps is required
by 33 U.S.C. 3902(a) to ``ensure a diversity of project types and
geographical locations.''
Following analysis by the Corps staff, a final score is calculated
for each project. Projects will be selected in order of score, subject
to the requirement to ensure a diversity of project types and
geographical locations.
(Authority: 33 U.S.C. 3901-3914, 33 CFR 386)
Michael L. Connor,
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).
[FR Doc. 2023-20286 Filed 9-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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