Clean Water Act State
Revolving Fund Program (Renewal)
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
07/31/2020
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
01/31/2021
520
3,311
57,230
587,386
2,928,100
2,928,100
Title VI of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
of 1987 established the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
program, which replaced EPA’s Construction Grants Program. As
outlined in 40 CFR Part 35, Subpart K, State Water Pollution
Control Revolving Funds, and EPA guidance, each state and Puerto
Rico has its own CWSRF. A state CWSRF includes funds provided by
federal capitalization grants, repayments from prior assistance
agreements, interest that has been repaid to the CWSRF, and
investment income. In some cases, a state CWSRF secures additional
funding though bond proceeds. Each state designs and operates its
own revolving fund to provide financial assistance to eligible
recipients for water pollution control activities. States have the
authority to use the CWSRF to provide various types of assistance
to recipients, including issuing and refinancing loans, purchasing
or guaranteeing local debt, and purchasing bond insurance. States
may also set specific terms such as interest rates and repayment
periods. In 2009, Congress authorized states to provide further
financial assistance via the CWSRF program in the form of grants,
principal forgiveness, and negative interest rate loans. Congress
provides EPA annual appropriations for providing capitalization
grants to state CWSRFs. EPA awards these grants to each state upon
the state’s submission of a grant application, which includes an
intended use plan (IUP). While EPA provides oversight that ensures
that states’ procedures are consistent with the CWA and
accompanying regulations, the CWA and 40 CFR Part 35, Subpart K
provide the states with a great deal of autonomy in administering
the program and selecting which projects receive funding. In 2014,
Title VI of the CWA was amended by the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act (WRRDA). Additional information about the CWSRFs is
available at
http://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/learn-about-clean-water-state-revolving-fund-cwsrf.
The respondent average annual
hourly burden decreased by 530,156 hours. The Office of Management
and Budget provided additional guidance, recommending that the
burden associated with the CWSRF applications be removed as part of
this ICR renewal. Specifically, the Office of Management and Budget
noted that it was appropriate to exclude this burden since 1):
states have a significant degree of discretion in what information
they solicit through the CWSRF applications and 2): CWSRF
applications are not subject to EPA approval. Additionally, the
burden of the public awareness policy was slightly decreased from
786 hours to 640 hours. Though the estimate of the total number of
borrowers is expected to increase, it is also estimated that the
proportion of borrowers that will be impacted by this requirement
will be lower given the increase of SRF funding relative to the
federal investment in recent years.
$653,610
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Mark Mylin 202 564-0607
No
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.
1391ss12.docx
Capitalization Grant Agreement/Intended Use Plan