WAC 173-322-100   Safe drinking water action grants.  (1) Purpose. The purpose of the safe drinking water action grant program is to assist local governments, or a local government applying on behalf of a purveyor, in providing safe drinking water to areas contaminated by, or threatened by contamination from, hazardous waste sites.

     (2) Applicant eligibility. To be eligible for a safe drinking water action grant, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

     (a) The applicant must be a local government, as defined in WAC 173-322-020;

     (b) The applicant must be a purveyor, as defined in WAC 173-322-020, or the applicant must be applying on behalf of a purveyor;

     (c) The applicant must be in substantial compliance, as determined by the department of health, with applicable rules of the state board of health or the department of health, as contained in chapter 246-290 WAC (Public water supplies), chapter 246-292 WAC (Water works operator certification), chapter 246-293 WAC (Water System Coordination Act), and chapter 246-294 WAC (Drinking water operating permits);

     (d) The public water system must be located in an area determined by the department to be a hazardous waste site or threatened by contamination from a hazardous waste site;

     (e) The public water system must exhibit levels of contamination which exceed the primary maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) established by the state board of health and set forth in WAC 246-290-310, exhibit levels of contamination which exceed the cleanup standards established by the department of ecology under WAC 173-340-700 through173-340-760 , or be certified by the state department of health that a contaminant threatens the safety and reliability of a public water system which cannot be remedied solely by operational solutions. Contaminants must include at least one hazardous substance. If the contaminant is a nitrate or trihalomethane, it must be determined to have originated from a hazardous waste site;

     (f) An order or decree must require safe drinking water action. The department may waive this requirement if it has determined that no viable potentially liable person (PLP) exists or that public health would be threatened from unreasonable delays associated with the search for PLPs or the development of an order or decree. If the safe drinking water action is required under an order or decree issued under the federal cleanup law, then the order or decree must have been signed or acknowledged in writing by the department as a sufficient basis for remedial action grant funding; and

     (g) If the safe drinking water action includes water line extensions, then the extensions must be consistent with the coordinated water system plan and growth management plan for the geographic area containing the affected water supplies.

     (3) Application process.

     (a) Submittal. If the safe drinking water actions are required under an order or decree, then the grant application must be submitted to the department within sixty days of the effective date of the order or decree. If the safe drinking water actions are not required under an order or decree, then the grant application may be submitted to the department at any time.

     (b) Content. The grant application must be completed on forms provided by the department and include the following:

     (i) Sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the eligibility requirements in subsection (2) of this section;

     (ii) A description of the history of the site, the current status of the site, the threat posed by the site to the public water system, and the remedial actions to be performed at the site to address that threat;

     (iii) A description of the environmental benefits of the project;

     (iv) A copy of the order or decree, if applicable;

     (v) A copy of the scope of work that specifies the remedial actions to be performed at the site to address the threat to the public water system;

     (vi) A budget for the scope of work;

     (vii) A description of all current or potential sources of funding including, but not limited to, other grants or loans and proceeds from contribution or insurance claims; and

     (viii) A commitment by the applicant to provide the required matching funds and a description of the sources of those funds.

     (4) Application evaluation and prioritization.

     (a) The grant application will be evaluated by the department for completeness and adequacy. After the application has been completed, the department and the applicant will negotiate the scope of work and budget for the grant. The department will consider cost eligibility and other sources of funding when negotiating the scope of work and budget for the grant.

     (b) When pending grant applications or anticipated demand for safe drinking water action grants exceed the amount of funds available, the department may prioritize applications or limit grant awards based on the following:

     (i) Relative risk to human health as jointly determined by the department of ecology, in accordance with WAC 173-340-330, and the department of health, in accordance with WAC 246-290-310. Sites with greater risk will receive higher funding priority;

     (ii) Relative readiness of the applicant to proceed promptly to accomplish the scope of work;

     (iii) Ownership of the water system to be extended or improved. Local government-owned systems will receive higher funding priority than other systems; and

     (iv) Number of people served by the water system and per capita cost of remediation.

     (5) Cost eligibility. Costs must be eligible under this section and be approved by the department in order to be eligible for reimbursement.

     (a) Eligible costs. Eligible costs for safe drinking water action grants include, but are not limited to, the reasonable costs for the following:

     (i) Water supply source development and replacement, including pumping and storage facilities, source meters, and reasonable appurtenances;

     (ii) Transmission lines between major system components, including inter-ties with other water systems;

     (iii) Treatment equipment and facilities;

     (iv) Distribution lines from major system components to system customers or service connections;

     (v) Bottled water, as an interim action;

     (vi) Fire hydrants;

     (vii) Service meters;

     (viii) Project inspection, engineering, and administration;

     (ix) Individual service connections, including any fees and charges, provided that property owners substantially participate in financing the cost of such connections;

     (x) Drinking water well abandonment for wells identified by the department as an environmental safety or health hazard and decommissioned in accordance with WAC 173-160-381;

     (xi) Interim financing where necessary as a prerequisite to local government issuance of revenue bonds;

     (xii) Other costs identified by the department of health as necessary to provide a system that operates in compliance with federal and state standards, or by the coordinated water system plan as necessary to meet required standards; and

     (xiii) Other costs identified by the department as necessary to protect a public water system from contamination from a hazardous waste site or to determine the source of such contamination.

     (b) Ineligible costs. Ineligible costs for safe drinking water action grants include, but are not limited to, the following:

     (i) Retroactive costs, except as provided under subsection (6) of this section;

     (ii) Oversight costs;

     (iii) Operating and maintenance costs;

     (iv) Natural resource damage assessment costs and natural resource damages;

     (v) Legal costs including, but not limited to, the cost of pursuing contribution or insurance claims, the cost of administrative hearings, the cost of pursuing penalties or civil or criminal actions against persons, the cost of penalties incurred by the applicant, the cost of defending actions taken against the applicant, and attorney fees; and

     (vi) In-kind services.

     (6) Retroactive cost eligibility. Retroactive costs are not eligible for reimbursement unless:

     (a) The department unreasonably delays the processing of the grant application;

     (b) The department provided only partial funding under a prior grant agreement because funds were not available; or

     (c) The costs were incurred conducting independent remedial actions and those actions are incorporated as part of the order or decree.

     (7) Funding and reimbursement.

     (a) Adjustment of eligible costs. If an order or decree requires a potentially liable person (PLP) or a potentially responsible party (PRP) other than a local government to conduct remedial action, then the department shall deduct the financial contribution of that PLP or PRP from the amount eligible for grant funding. If the applicant receives proceeds from a contribution claim before the effective date of the grant agreement, then the department shall deduct those proceeds from the amount eligible for grant funding, after subtracting from those proceeds the legal costs incurred by the applicant pursuing the contribution claim.

     (b) Funding of eligible costs. Except as provided under (c) of this subsection, the applicant shall be eligible to receive funding for up to fifty percent of eligible costs.

     (c) Additional funding. If the applicant is a county, or is located within a county, that is economically disadvantaged, as defined in WAC 173-322-020, then the applicant shall be eligible to receive funding for up to seventy-five percent of eligible costs.

     (d) Match requirement. The applicant shall fund those eligible costs not funded by the department under the grant. The applicant may not use in-kind services or proceeds from contribution claims to meet the match requirement.

     (e) Reimbursement of grant funds. If the applicant receives proceeds from a contribution claim after the effective date of the grant agreement, then the applicant shall reimburse the department for a proportional share of those proceeds, after subtracting from those proceeds the legal costs incurred by the applicant pursuing the contribution claim.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.105D.070. 05-07-104 (Order 04-06), § 173-322-100, filed 3/18/05, effective 4/18/05. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.105D RCW. 01-05-024 (Order 97-09A), § 173-322-100, filed 2/12/01, effective 3/15/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.080. 93-24-047, § 173-322-100, filed 11/23/93, effective 12/24/93. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.105D RCW. 90-10-057 (Order 89-45), § 173-322-100, filed 5/1/90, effective 6/1/90.]