18 AAC 76.215. Eligible projects and activities; allowable costs

(a) An owner of a drinking water system described in 18 AAC 76.210 may apply to the department for financial assistance from the Alaska drinking water fund for a project or activity that will facilitate compliance with the 40 C.F.R. 141, as applicable, or that will otherwise significantly further the health protection objectives of 42 U.S.C. 300f - 42 U.S.C. 300j-26 (Safe Drinking Water Act) and 18 AAC 80 (Drinking Water).

(b) Except as provided in (e) of this section, the following projects and activities are eligible for financial assistance from the Alaska drinking water fund:

(1) projects to address health standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the 18 AAC 80 (Drinking Water) that have been violated, or to prevent future violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act and 18 AAC 80, including projects to achieve and maintain compliance with the primary maximum contaminant levels in 18 AAC 80.300, the surface water treatment requirements in 18 AAC 80.600 - 18 AAC 80.699, the total coliform requirements in 18 AAC 80.400 - 18 AAC 80.440, and the lead and copper requirements in 18 AAC 80.500 - 18 AAC 80.565;

(2) projects to replace aging drinking water infrastructure, including projects to

(A) rehabilitate or develop sources (excluding dams, dam rehabilitation, reservoirs, and water rights) to replace contaminated sources;

(B) install or upgrade water treatment systems if the department determines that the project would improve the quality of drinking water to comply with primary or secondary maximum contaminant levels in 18 AAC 80.300;

(C) install or upgrade storage facilities, including finished water reservoirs, to prevent microbiological contaminants from entering the water system; and

(D) install or replace transmission and distribution pipes to prevent contamination caused by leaks or breaks in the pipe or to improve water pressure to safe levels;

(3) the purchase of a portion of another system's hydraulic capacity, if that is a more cost-effective solution than the development of a system's own source;

(4) for eligible drinking water systems described in 18 AAC 76.210(a) (2), projects to provide central treatment or treatment at the point of entry as described in 42 U.S.C. 300f(4)(B)(i)(III);

(5) acquisition of land or an interest in land, if needed to locate an eligible project and the purchase is from a willing seller;

(6) the cost of complying with 42 U.S.C. 4601 - 42 U.S.C. 4655 (Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970);

(7) planning and design of an eligible project, including

(A) investigations or studies necessary to complete a project plan, including preparation of an environmental assessment report; and

(B) surveys, designs, plans, work drawings, and specifications; and

(8) restructuring, including consolidation, of a drinking water system that is in noncompliance or that lacks the technical, managerial, and financial capacity under 18 AAC 80.207 to maintain the system, if the assistance will ensure that the system returns to and maintains compliance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. 141 and 18 AAC 80 (Drinking Water).

(c) Financial assistance from the Alaska drinking water fund may be used only for the following allowable costs, if required for an eligible project or activity:

(1) demolition costs and costs to plan, design, construct, alter, remodel, rehabilitate, improve, or extend a facility, including related administration, inspection, and supervision costs;

(2) the cost of acquiring real property or an interest in real property;

(3) the eligible portion of change orders approved by the department;

(4) machinery, furnishings, and equipment;

(5) laboratory fees for monitoring and testing needed for planning, design, and construction purposes;

(6) the purchase of vehicles used for facility operation, if approved by the department;

(7) insurance required by the financial assistance agreement;

(8) computer systems dedicated to facility use;

(9) reasonable landscaping costs associated with an eligible project;

(10) source water and distribution system protection devices; and

(11) costs associated with restructuring, including consolidation, of a drinking water system, including legal fees and water buy-in fees.

(d) Force account labor and equipment charge rates may be paid from financial assistance received from the Alaska drinking water fund, if included in the financial assistance agreement. To be approved, labor rates must be provided to the department in a form that documents basic pay, benefits, leave, and holiday rates.

(e) The following projects and activities are not eligible for financial assistance from the Alaska drinking water fund:

(1) dams or dam rehabilitation;

(2) reservoirs, except

(A) finished water reservoirs; and

(B) reservoirs that are part of the treatment process and located on the same property as the treatment facility;

(3) land acquisition for dams, dam rehabilitation, or reservoirs, except reservoirs identified in (2)(A) or (B) of this subsection;

(4) water rights, except water rights that are owned by a system that is being purchased through consolidation as part of a capacity development strategy to acquire and maintain technical, managerial, and financial capacity as described in 42 U.S.C. 300g-9;

(5) laboratory fees for monitoring, other than those described in (c)(5) of this section;

(6) operation and maintenance expenses;

(7) projects needed mainly for fire protection;

(8) projects proposed for drinking water systems that lack the technical, managerial, and financial capacity under 18 AAC 80.207 to ensure compliance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. 141 and 18 AAC 80 (Drinking Water), unless the financial assistance will enable the system to return to and maintain compliance and the owner of the system agrees to undertake feasible and appropriate changes in operations as described in 18 AAC 76.210(d) (2);

(9) projects proposed for drinking water systems that are in significant noncompliance with any requirement of a 40 C.F.R. 141 or 18 AAC 80, unless the assistance will enable the system to return to and maintain compliance; and

(10) projects primarily intended to serve future population growth by supplying or attracting such growth, except to the extent that growth is reasonably expected to occur over the useful life of a facility.

History: Eff. 8/2/97, Register 143; am 12/29/2000, Register 156; am 3/14/2002, Register 161

Authority: AS 46.03.020

AS 46.03.036

AS 46.03.720

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