The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
Amendments of 1996 (Public Law 104-182) authorized the creation of
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program in each
State and Puerto Rico to assist public water systems to finance the
costs of infrastructure needed to achieve or maintain compliance
with SDWA requirements and to protect public health. Section 1452
authorizes the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to award capitalization grants to the States and
Puerto Rico who, in turn, provide low-cost loans and other types of
assistance to eligible drinking water systems. States can also
reserve a portion of their grants to conduct various set-aside
activities. The information collection activities will occur
primarily at the program level through the (1) Capitalization Grant
Application and Agreement/State Intended Use Plan; (2) Biennial
Report; (3) Annual Audit; and (4) Assistance Application Review.
Information collected is needed for input into the DWSRF National
Information Management System. (1) Capitalization Grant Application
and Agreement/State Intended Use Plan: The State must prepare a
Capitalization Grant Application that includes an Intended Use Plan
(IUP), outlining in detail how it will use all the funds covered by
the capitalization grant. The State may, as an alternative, develop
the IUP in a two part process with one part identifying the
distribution and uses of the funds among the various set-asides in
the DWSRF program and the other part dealing with project
assistance from the Fund. (2) Biennial Report: The State must agree
to complete and submit a Biennial Report on the uses of the
capitalization grant. The scope of the report must cover assistance
provided by the DWSRF Fund and all other set-aside activities
included under the Capital Grant Agreement. States, that jointly
administer DWSRF and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
programs, in accordance with section 1452(g)(1), may submit reports
(according to the schedule specified for each program) that cover
both programs. (3) Annual Audit: A State must comply with the
provisions of the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996. Best
management practices suggest and EPA recommends that a State
conduct an annual independent audit of its DWSRF program. The scope
of the report must cover the DWSRF Fund and all other set-aside
activities included in the Capitalization Grant Agreement. States
that jointly administer DWSRF and CWSRF programs, in accordance
with section 1452(g)(1), may submit audits that cover both
programs, but that report financial information for each program
separately. (4) Assistance Application Review: Local applicants
seeking financial assistance must prepare and submit DWSRF loan
applications. States then review completed loan applications and
verify that proposed projects will comply with applicable Federal
and State requirements.
The net increase in total
respondent burden hours from the previous ICR is attributed to the
need for States to prepare a Biennial Report. The Report is
required every two years. Approximately half the States will
prepare a Biennial Report in both 2006 and 2008, while the other
half will only prepare a report in 2007.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
1803ss05.doc
Safe Drinking Water Act State Revolving Fund Programs - Application Review