General Program Information, Loan Applications and Agreements, Planning, Design, Construction, and Procurement Requirements, Audits Required
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
RULE NOS.:RULE TITLES:
62-503.300General Program Information
62-503.430Loan Applications and Agreements
62-503.700Planning, Design, Construction, and Procurement Requirements
62-503.800Audits Required
NOTICE OF CHANGE
Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 47 No. 241, December 15, 2021 issue of the Florida Administrative Register.
The following changes are made in response to written comments received from the staff of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.
62-503.300 General Program Information
(1) No change.
(2) Allowable project costs. Categories of allowable project costs include the following water pollution control activities subject to such limitations for leveraged loans as are necessary to maintain the tax-exempt status of bonds issued by the FWPCFC:
(a) through (o) No change
(p) The refinancing of unretired debt principal for a qualifying sponsor whose project meets the environmental review and procurement process of these rules, and only if in conjunction with a construction project being funded by SRF; however, a project that is financed with a loan from the Department shall not be refinanced by the Department at a lower interest rate.
(3) through (6) No Change.
62-503.430 Loan Applications and Agreements
(1) General.
(a) through (f) No change.
(g) The loan recipient shall certify that it is not listed on the governmentwide exclusions in the System for Award Management (SAM), in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR part 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR part 1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.”.
(2) through (5) No Change
(6) Disbursements. Disbursements to the project sponsor shall be for allowable invoiced costs, unless the project theproject sponsor qualifies and is approved for advanced payments in accordance with Section 216.181(16), F.S. Disbursements shall be subject to the following requirements:
(a) through (c) No Change.
(7) through (8) No Change.
(9) Annual certification. No later than three (3) months prior to the first loan repayment and annually thereafter
until the final loan repayment is made, the project sponsor’s authorized representative or its chief financial officer shall submit a certification that:
(a) Pledged revenue collections satisfy the rate coverage requirement;
(b) The restricted or assigned pledged revenue account contains the funds required;
(c) The debt service account contains the funds required, if applicable; and
(d) For loans awarded after 4-22-14, that the revenue generation system is in conformance with subparagraph 62-503.700(2)(h)3., F.A.C.
(9) No Change.
62-503.700 Planning, Design, Construction, and Procurement Requirements
(1) No Change.
(2) Project planning documentation shall include the following:
(a) through (f) No Change.
(g) The public participation process used to explain the project and the financial impacts to the public.
1. No Change.2. When an agricultural practice identified in subparagraphs (e)1. through 2.4. above, is selected for implementation on the project sponsor’s property and it is eligible for funding as a result of section 319 or 320 of the Act, the public participation requirement shall be deemed to have been met as a result of the environmental review process in Rule 62-503.751, F.A.C.
3. When an agricultural practice identified in subparagraphs (e)1. through 2.4., above, is selected for implementation on property the project sponsor will acquire, and it is eligible for funding as a result of section 319 or 320 of the Act, the public participation requirement shall be as described in subparagraph (g)1., above.
(h) through (l) No Change.
(3) through (5) No Change.
(6) Procurement must be in conformance with 40 CFR 31.36, (July 1, 2011), hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. This document is available from the Department’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 3505, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or at http://www.flrules.org/gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-03917. When procuring property and services under a SRF loan, a project sponsor shall follow the policies and procedures it uses for procurements from its non-SRF funds provided that the procurement conforms to applicable federal, State and local laws and regulations, and the following requirements. : The procurement of professional services for planning, design, and construction shall meet CCNA requirements and shall not exceed the monetary limits of a continuing contract.
(a) through (o) No Change.
(7) through (8) No Change.
62-503.800 Audits Required
(1) Federal or State Audit Required.
(a) In the event that the project sponsor expends more than the federal audit threshold in federal awards in its fiscal year, the project sponsor must have a single or program-specific audit conducted in accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F, Appendix XI Compliance Supplement, June 2019, hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. This document is available from the Department’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 3505, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 or electronic versions are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2-CFR_Part-200_Appendix-XI_Compliance- Supplement_2019_FINAL_07.01.19.pdf or at http://www.flrules.org/gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-XXXXX.
(b) Section 215.97, Florida Statutes; applicable rules of the Department of Financial Services; and Chapters 10.550 (local governmental entities) or 10.650 (nonprofit and for-profit organizations), Rules of the Auditor General, imposes audit requirements on the project sponsor and sub-recipients based on designated thresholds for expenditures. Each agreement entered into pursuant to this rule chapter shall include the audit requirements applicable to the project at the time the agreement is executed.
(2) No Change.
