Ohio § 6109.22

§ 6109.22.

(A) There is hereby created the drinking water assistance fund to provide financial and

technical assistance for the purposes of protecting public health and achieving and

maintaining compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and this chapter.  In addition to the accounts created under divisions (G) and (H) of this section,

the drinking water assistance fund may include any other accounts established by the

director of environmental protection.  The fund shall be administered by the director consistent with the Safe Drinking

Water Act, this section, and rules adopted under division (M) of this section. (B) The drinking water assistance fund shall consist of the moneys credited to it from

all capitalization grants received under the Safe Drinking Water Act except for moneys

reserved by the governor pursuant to Title III, section 302 of that act, all moneys

credited to the fund from nonfederal sources, including, without limitation, the proceeds

of state bonds or notes issued for the benefit of the fund, all payments of principal

and interest on loans made from the fund, and all investment earnings on moneys held

in the fund.  On or before the date that a capitalization grant payment made under the authority

of the Safe Drinking Water Act is credited to the fund, required matching moneys shall

be credited to the fund.  Any moneys transferred to or reserved from the drinking water assistance fund pursuant

to Title III, section 302 of the Safe Drinking Water Act shall be accounted for separately. (C) In a manner consistent with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the applicable drinking

water assistance management plan prepared in accordance with this section, the director

may reserve and award for assistance moneys allotted to the state under section 1452

of the Safe Drinking Water Act, provided that the director makes a determination that

the use of the moneys will accomplish the state's objectives and the objectives established

for capitalization grants under the Safe Drinking Water Act.  The director may use a portion of the reserved moneys to enter into contracts with

qualified organizations, including private nonprofit organizations, to provide statewide

on-site technical assistance to small public water systems. (D) Subject to the terms of the agreements provided for in division (E) of this section,

moneys in the drinking water assistance fund shall be held in trust by the Ohio water

development authority for the purposes of this section, shall be kept in the same

manner that funds of the authority are kept under section 6121.11 of the Revised Code , and may be invested in the same manner that funds of the authority are invested

under section 6121.12 of the Revised Code .  Moneys in the drinking water assistance fund shall be separate and apart from and

not a part of the state treasury or of the other funds of the authority.  No withdrawals or disbursements shall be made from the drinking water assistance

fund without the written authorization of the director. (E) The director shall adopt written criteria to ensure that fiscal controls are established

for prudent administration of the drinking water assistance fund.  For that purpose, the director and the authority shall enter into any necessary

and appropriate agreements under which the authority may perform or provide any of

the following: (1) Fiscal controls and accounting procedures governing fund balances, receipts, and

disbursements; (2) Administration of loan accounts; (3) Maintenance, management, and investment of moneys in the fund. Any agreement entered into under division (E) of this section shall provide for the

payment of reasonable fees to the authority for any services it performs under the

agreement and may provide for reasonable fees for the assistance of financial or accounting

advisors.  Payment of any of the fees to the authority may be made from the drinking water

assistance administrative account established under division (G) of this section. (F) The authority may make moneys available to the director for the purpose of providing

matching moneys required to be credited to the drinking water assistance fund under

division (B) of this section, subject to any terms that the director and the authority

consider appropriate, and may pledge moneys that are held by the authority to secure

the payment of bonds or notes issued by the authority to provide those matching moneys. The director and the authority may enter into trust agreements to enable the authority

to issue and refund bonds or notes for the sole benefit of the drinking water assistance

fund, including, without limitation, the raising of matching moneys required to be

credited to the fund in accordance with division (B) of this section.  The agreements may authorize the pledge of moneys accruing to the fund from payments

of principal or interest or both on loans made from the fund to secure bonds or notes,

the proceeds of which bonds or notes shall be for the sole benefit of the drinking

water assistance fund.  The agreements may contain any terms that the director and the authority consider

reasonable and proper for the payment and security of the bondholders or noteholders. (G) There is hereby established within the drinking water assistance fund the drinking

water assistance administrative account.  No state matching moneys deposited into the fund under this section shall be used

for the purpose of paying for or defraying the costs of administering this section.  The director may establish and collect fees from applicants for assistance provided

under this section.  The total fees charged to an applicant under this division for assistance under

this section shall not exceed the following: (1) For the environmental protection agency, one per cent of the principal amount of

the assistance awarded to the applicant; (2) For the authority, thirty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the principal amount

of the assistance awarded to the applicant. All moneys from the fees shall be credited to the drinking water assistance administrative

account in the fund.  The moneys shall be used solely to defray the costs of administrating this section. (H) There is hereby established within the drinking water assistance fund the water supply

revolving loan account.  The director may provide financial assistance from the water supply revolving loan

account for improvements to community water systems and to nonprofit noncommunity

public water systems. (I) All moneys from the fund credited to the water supply revolving loan account, all

interest earned on moneys credited to the account, and all payments of principal and

interest on loans made from the account shall be dedicated in perpetuity and used

and reused solely for the following purposes, except as otherwise provided in this

section: (1) To make loans to community water systems and nonprofit noncommunity public water

systems, subject to all of the following conditions: (a) The loans are made at or below market rates of interest, including, without limitation,

interest-free loans; (b) Each recipient of a loan shall establish a dedicated source of security or revenue

for repayment of the loan; (c) Periodic payments of principal and interest shall be required on the dates and in

the amounts approved by the director; (d) All payments of principal and interest on the loans shall be credited to the water

supply revolving loan account. (2) To purchase or refinance at or below market rates interest debt obligations incurred

after July 1, 1993, by municipal corporations, other political subdivisions, and interstate

agencies having territory in the state.  If any debt obligations are purchased or refinanced under division (I)(2) of this

section to provide financial assistance for any of the purposes allowed under division

(I) of this section, the repayment period may extend up to forty-five years.  However, the repayment period shall not exceed the expected useful life of any facilities

that are financed by the obligations. (3) To guarantee or purchase insurance for debt obligations when the guarantee or insurance

would improve the borrower's access to credit markets or would reduce the interest

paid on those obligations; (4) As a source of revenue or security for the payment of principal and interest on general

obligation or revenue bonds or notes issued by this state if the proceeds of the sale

of the bonds or notes are or will be deposited into the account; (5) To provide subsidies in addition to any other financial assistance afforded disadvantaged

communities under this section; (6) To earn interest on moneys credited to the account; (7) To provide any other assistance authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act or any

other federal law related to the use of federal funds administered under the Safe

Drinking Water Act. (J) The director may provide financial assistance from the water supply revolving loan

account after determining all of the following: (1) The applicant for financial assistance has the legal, institutional, managerial,

and financial capability to construct, operate, and maintain its public water system

and the proposed improvements to it; (2) The applicant will implement a financial management plan that includes, without limitation,

provisions for satisfactory repayment of the financial assistance; (3) The public water system of which the project for which assistance is proposed is

a part is economically and nonmonetarily cost-effective, based on an evaluation of

feasible alternatives that meet the drinking water treatment needs of the planning

area in which the proposed project is located; (4) Based on a comprehensive environmental review approved by the director, there are

no significant adverse environmental effects resulting from all necessary improvements

to the public water system of which the project proposed for assistance is a part; (5) Public participation has occurred during the process of planning the project in compliance

with applicable requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act; (6) The application meets the requirements of this section and rules adopted under division

(M) of this section and is consistent with section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water

Act and regulations adopted under it; (7) If the applicant for assistance is a water district formed under Chapter 6119. of

the Revised Code that operates a public water system and that water district seeks

to extend the distribution facilities, increase the number of service connections

to its system, or provide for any other expansion of its system, the water district

has consulted with the board of county commissioners from each county in which is

located the proposed extension of distribution facilities, increase in the number

of service connections, or other expansion of the public water system; (8) The application meets any other requirements that the director considers necessary

or appropriate to protect public health and the environment and to ensure the financial

integrity of the water supply revolving loan account. Upon approval by the director of an application for financial assistance, the Ohio

water development authority shall disburse the appropriate financial assistance from

the water supply revolving loan account.  If the proposed financial assistance is a loan, and if the payments of the principal

or interest on the loan are or are expected to be pledged to secure payment of bonds

issued or expected to be issued by the authority, the director shall submit the application

for the loan to the authority for review and approval with respect to any matters

pertaining to security for and the marketability of authority bonds.  Review and approval by the authority shall be required prior to the making of such

a loan. (K) In accordance with rules adopted under division (M) of this section, the director

periodically shall prepare a drinking water assistance management plan establishing

the short-term and long-term goals for the assistance provided under this section,

the allocation of available resources for the purposes of this section, the environmental,

financial, and administrative terms, conditions, and criteria for the award of financial

and technical assistance under this section, and the intended uses of capitalization

grants and available moneys from the drinking water assistance fund.  Criteria for awarding financial or technical assistance under this section shall

not favor or disfavor any otherwise qualified nonprofit noncommunity public water

system because it is owned by, operated by, or services a religious organization or

a facility used for religious purposes.  Prior to its adoption, the director shall make the drinking water assistance management

plan available for public review and comment at a minimum of two public meetings and

shall take adequate steps to ensure that reasonable public notice of each public meeting

is given at least thirty days prior to the meeting. The plan shall include, without limitation, a system that prioritizes projects funded

by the water supply revolving loan account based on the relative risk to human health

being addressed, their necessity for ensuring compliance with requirements of the

Safe Drinking Water Act, and their affordability to the applicants, as determined

by the director.  Financial assistance for projects from the water supply revolving loan account shall

be limited to projects that are included in that prioritization and shall be awarded

based upon their priority position and the applicants' readiness to proceed with their

proposed activities as determined by the director.  The drinking water assistance management plan shall include terms, conditions, amounts

of moneys, and qualifying criteria, in addition to any other criteria established

under this section, governing the financial assistance to be awarded to applicants

from the water supply revolving loan account.  The director shall determine the most effective use of the moneys in that account

to achieve the state's drinking water assistance goals and objectives. (L) The director, consistent with this section and applicable rules adopted under division

(M) of this section, may enter into an agreement with an applicant for assistance

from the drinking water assistance fund.  Based on the director's review and approval of the project plans submitted under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code , any determinations made under division (J) of this section if an applicant seeks

funding from the water supply revolving loan account, and any other requirements of

this section and rules adopted under it, the director may establish in the agreement

environmental and financial terms and conditions of the financial assistance to be

offered to the applicant.  If the recipient of financial assistance under this section defaults on any payment

required in the agreement for financial assistance or otherwise violates a term or

condition of the agreement or of the plan approval for the project under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code , the director, in addition to any other available remedies, may terminate, suspend,

or require immediate repayment of the financial assistance.  The director also may take any enforcement action available under this chapter. (M) The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code

for the implementation and administration of this section.  The rules shall be consistent with section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act. (N)(1) For the purposes of this section, appealable actions of the director pursuant to section 3745.04 of the Revised Code are limited to the following: (a) Adoption of the drinking water assistance management plan prepared under division

(K) of this section; (b) Approval of priority systems, priority lists, and written program administration

policies; (c) Approval or disapproval under this section of applicants' project plans submitted

under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code ; (d) Approval or disapproval of an application for assistance. (2) Notwithstanding section 119.06 of the Revised Code , the director may take the final actions described in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (d)

of this section without holding an adjudication hearing in connection with the action

and without first issuing a proposed action under section 3745.07 of the Revised Code . (3) Each action described in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (d) of this section and each approval

of a plan under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code is a separate and discrete action of the director.  Appeals are limited to the issues concerning the specific action appealed.  Any appeal shall not include issues determined under the scope of any prior action. (O) The failure or inability of a public water system to obtain assistance under this

section does not alter the obligation of the public water system to comply with all

applicable requirements of this chapter and rules adopted under it.